Right now, the main focus of the game industry is on VR platforms.
As for handheld game consoles, like Marcus said before, they are dying out.
Many long-standing handheld console companies have gone bankrupt or been bought out.
Lucas knows a bit about this too.
But in Lucas's opinion, these handheld consoles in this parallel world have completely gone down the wrong path, narrowing their options.
How should I put it?
Lucas doesn't think it's possible to completely replace them.
Phones will take away some of the handheld console market, and there's no denying that.
Actually, the relationship between phones and handheld consoles is a bit like the relationship between consoles and PCs in his past life.
As PCs get stronger, the console market also gets smaller.
That's why in his past life, platform-exclusive games that used to be only on consoles started appearing on PCs.
But could PCs replace consoles in his past life? Obviously not.
And the PCs in this parallel world are kind of like the consoles from his past life.
The main reason is that they can't be replaced.
Exclusive games, a better focus on the gaming experience, cheaper than a PC with the same specs, and an easier system for game developers to work with—these are all advantages that mean consoles won't be replaced by PCs.
And it's the same with handheld consoles. Why would people still buy handheld consoles when phones are getting more powerful?
If it's just about being easy to carry, aren't phones more convenient?
After all, there's that famous saying: "Don't you guys have phones?"
The real reason is that handheld consoles have unique, irreplaceable advantages.
In his past life, as smartphones took off, the company Nintendo's handheld console market kept getting smaller. But eventually, under the leadership of Satoru Iwata, they made big changes in the company, changing their old ideas about how to develop games and how the company was run. In this new environment, the Switch was born.
Just like PCs, phones aren't just for playing games, even so-called "gaming phones."
And then there's the price. If you just want to play games, a high-end phone is actually more expensive than a handheld console.
Also, compared to just touching a screen on a phone, a handheld console can give players a better feeling when they play.
The bottom line is that phones aren't game consoles.
Phones are different from PCs in this way because PCs can be expanded more easily.
And when you're controlling the game, even without a controller, a keyboard and mouse give you a better experience than a touch screen.
Also, keyboards and mice are better for certain games, like RTS and shooting games.
Of course, if technology gets really advanced, handheld consoles might disappear. For example, if there was a portable VR device that you could control with your mind and that also had phone features, but by then, phones would probably be history too.
The reason Lucas says handheld consoles in this parallel world are going in the wrong direction is that they're completely giving up what makes handheld consoles special. They're just trying to make the hardware as powerful as possible.
Come to think of it, some of the handheld console brands that went bankrupt in the last few years had a lot to do with Nebula Games.
Because these handheld consoles were trying to run games like "Monster Hunter: World" and "Dark Souls," games that need a lot of power.
Lucas finds this pretty ridiculous.
When it comes to handheld consoles, the games are the most important thing. The hardware just helps.
Think about it. In his past life, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo were the three big players. In terms of hardware, Microsoft was the strongest.
Besides starting later than the others, the most important thing was the games.
Sony had exclusive big games like "The Last of Us," "Uncharted," "Bloodborne," and "God of War." Even though these exclusive games would eventually come out on PC as the PC market grew,
you can't deny that they were very appealing early on.
But Microsoft had very few games that could compete. They only had "Halo," "Gears of War," and "Forza."
As for Nintendo, there's not much to say. The Mario, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros., and Pokémon games on the Switch, as well as The Legend of Zelda, which many players call the best game of all time, each sold millions of copies.
Of course, the games are important, but more importantly, Nintendo understood what makes handheld consoles appealing.
That's the fact that they can't be replaced.
But the games on the Switch will.
Motion controls, being easy to carry, and sharing the experience—these are what make the Switch special.
Some games were even made to show off a function of the Switch. If you didn't play some games on the Switch, you'd feel like you were missing something.
The machine makes the games, and the games make the machine.
But Lucas knows that it's because of the times in this parallel world that these handheld console companies are more like hardware companies than software companies.
So when it comes to developing handheld consoles, they're always focused on keeping up with the latest hardware, instead of trying to break new ground from the perspective of the games.
This leads to handheld consoles that cost more and more, and because they're trying to cram in as much power as possible, they even lose the portability that makes handheld consoles special.
Who wants to carry around a handheld console that's as big as a brick?
The reason Atari and Nintendo were able to rise to the top in his past life is that in the beginning, they were game software companies. They knew how to design hardware from the perspective of the games.
As for Sony, that was an accident. If Nintendo's royalty system hadn't made game designers around the world suffer for so long, they wouldn't have all flocked to Sony after the PlayStation came out to develop games for them. Sony wouldn't have been able to establish its first-party studios, consider things from the perspective of game players, and drive the development of cinematic games.
And Microsoft? That's even more of an exception. Two words: "loaded." If I don't have the technology or the experience, I can just buy it! Sega, haven't you just lost the console war and become dirt poor? I have plenty of money! You don't want to sell out? I can hire you for a year or so, right?
So Microsoft just jumped into the console market. That's why Microsoft's first console looked almost exactly like Sega's.
As for the handheld console market in this parallel world, Lucas thinks there's still a lot of potential.
In his past life, the Switch sold 85 million units worldwide, and it's still breaking records.
That's partly because of the Nintendo brand and the Pokémon, Mario, and Zelda games that have been around for decades.
But it's also because of the Switch's unique features and the games made specifically for the Switch, which have also attracted countless new players.
By using the Switch as a starting point, Lucas believes he can fill this gap in the parallel world.
And another very important thing is that he might be able to build the Switch into a unique platform.
Not a software platform, but a hardware platform.
(End of Chapter)
---
Read +100 advanced chapters on my patre*n
patr eon.com/GustinaKamiya
Free Tier can read 3 advanced chapters
---