PS4 and Xbox One
2017 signifies Nintendo re-entering the console space in earnest. The Wii U had a one year headstart on the competition yet still managed to be cast aside as the PS4 gathered impressive momentum and the Xbox One had its ship righted by Phil Spencer. It wasn’t long before the “Big Three” discussion became a battle between solely Sony and Microsoft. A strong 3DS and the Switch impressing fans can lead to Nintendo being a larger part of the conversation again, but that’s going to require a lot of work.
Dealing with Sony will be primarily scheduling games in a way that it can contend with the big titles. Horizon Zero Dawn releases late February, so Nintendo releasing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild just a few days later is a good match up. Both are open world, action-RPGs, but only Breath of the Wild has the benefit of being loved for decades. It definitely has the edge and will undoubtedly help Nintendo sell consoles between Horizon as well as the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda. The rest of the year is pretty rough as Sony is currently the only company that will have at least one major exclusive release every month, while Microsoft and Nintendo are spread relatively thin. Sony also has the more powerful hardware, but that’s never been an arena that Nintendo really wanted to compete in anyway.
For Microsoft, the biggest concern will be the upcoming Project Scorpio. It’s a beefed up Xbox One capable of VR and true 4K Gaming. Granted, that’s a different arena, but what this means is that Microsoft will also be vying for attention, especially around the holiday season when this new console is set to release. In order to combat the influx of advertisements from Microsoft, Nintendo will have to put out some of their own, as well as rely on deals and (hopefully) growing momentum. One ace that the Switch will have is a brand new Super Mario game which is going to be a killer come Christmas. Bundles with that game as well as some peripherals for a solid price will certainly help to give Nintendo an edge, especially since Microsoft will have to convince Xbox One owners to switch and pay more for a premium product.
It will be tough, but you can expect large campaigns as well as strategic bundles during slow months to help counter balance the competition. Whether or not that will be enough is something we cannot predict.
