In the face of Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation, two traditional competitors, as well as Google, Amazon, Apple and other backward multi-party rings, Nintendo's positioning in the game industry is actually very difficult to express in words.
Nintendo and many manufacturers maintain a friendly attitude, neither like to conflict with others, but also relatively conservative about cooperation, it is indeed a very maverick existence.
Looking back at the console market in 2021, Nintendo did not bring players a performance boost switch Pro, only launched a modified Switch console with an OLED screen version. It is speculated that whether it is called Switch Pro, Switch Max or Switch XL, the "more evolved Switch console" should be stillborn unexpectedly, and players can only wait for the next generation of products to appear.
However, the host hardware itself for Nintendo, has never been the most important thing, after all, they are a game IP-based, more focused on the work of the pioneering, rich entertainment company, the game itself is fun or not, is always more critical and important than what kind of performance the host should have.
It's often hard for outsiders to predict Nintendo's next move unless they reveal anything themselves.
At a recent financial conference, Nintendo said that the next generation of consoles will appear in 20XX, but the projection has also caused players to ridicule, saying that in just 70 years at the latest, we will see a successor to the Switch. However, in fact, the most important part of Nintendo's prompting to the outside world is not the vague time, but the "online service" that will expand in the future.
Nintendo launched the Nintendo Switch Online expansion package this year, adding value to the original NSO service at a higher price, in addition to the nostalgic games including the SEGA MD platform, there are other benefits such as the Animal Friends DLC, etc., which once again improve the cost performance of the Nintendo Switch console.
When it comes to subscription and cloud computing games, these two terms are both familiar and unfamiliar concepts for Nintendo. Microsoft and Sony's play on the Xbox Game Pass, Cloud Gaming, PlatStation Plus and PS Now service models all highlight the content of NSO in Paradise, which seems to be a bit too basic.
Since the potential of cloud computing and subscription-based services has not been greatly tapped, Nintendo has mentioned that it will continue to expand online services in the future, so naturally it leaves a lot of imagination for the outside world.
Excluding the mobile phone market occupied by Android and iOS, the Nintendo Switch is still the handheld game console with the largest number of players and the widest user base, even if there are competitors like Steam Deck, it is still insignificant.
Nintendo actually has many ways to enter the cloud computing battlefield through the Switch host, such as adding streaming functions to Nintendo Switch Online, with the subscription system will be the most intuitive approach, but Nintendo's own IP does not seem to have any game, there is a need to play through cloud computing, so this form is not necessarily the best choice.
To take advantage of the Nintendo Switch's thick player base, choosing to work with third-party cloud streaming platforms will be a more appropriate strategy and option, two of which are strong competitors, the Xbox and NVIDIA.
NVIDIA as the core components of the Switch host hardware supplier, for their own hardware how much power and optimization space, is absolutely familiar, if geForce NOW and Switch combined, then NVIDIA will be able to easily step into the console and game market, no longer have to spend time and energy with Xbox, Sony bloody fight.
As for Xbox, it carries the advantages of IP and cloud computing construction, so that Switch players have the opportunity to experience richer content, XGP plus NSO, both as a selling point to attract new players, but also coincides with Nintendo's idea of expanding the user base, if the two sides successfully cooperate, it seems to be a win-win situation that most players are happy to see.
The next battlefield and niche of Nintendo's game market will happen in cloud computing, but how to provoke war lies in the choice of partners. Now that Nintendo has called out to expand its online service, perhaps in a little while we will get the much-anticipated answer.