Street Smarts — Sony V.S. Nintendo

Posted on Dec 31 2012

There is a more-or-less unlimited amount of information on the internet for comparisons between Sony and Nintendo. There is information on their yearly sales and yearly profits, on their histories and backgrounds, and where they started and when. There are countless comparisons between Sony and Nintendo’s latest systems and the pros and cons of each.

The majority of these articles on the internet are accurate, but, for the most part, whether an individual prefers Sony or Nintendo is mostly due to personal preference and personal opinion.

Why are consoles falling behind? This isn’t an age old question and has been explained many times over. Consoles are falling behind largely because of mobile devices. Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS provide all the basics of cell phone use we strived for years ago, but along with all those basic usages come the not so basic, including apps and games that now provide enough of a quick fix for the casual gamer. For the less casual gamer, there are games that are longer in duration, more fleshed out, and more elaborately written.

Consoles still exist, but with that existence comes another question:

Who will survive?

It’s not all about the consoles. Sony is doing well with their Playstation 3 and PS Vita and Nintendo is doing well with their Wii and 3DS. The pros and cons of each system can make or break the system, as these pros and cons are taken into consideration by buyers.

Sony’s main flaw is in their game selection. They have the more popular titles like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, God of War, and Call of Duty, and they offer some of the more obscure but still wonderful gems such as Tactics Ogre and Valkyria Chronicles. But a large number of the best selling games they offer are also offered by Nintendo. Nintendo offers Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy on their own consoles and, if you look back, even Tactics Ogre existed for the Game Boy Advance.

Nintendo has its own supply of popular titles to offer, including Mario, Zelda, and–of course–Pokemon.

One of the largest differences between Sony and Nintendo is their target audience. Whereas Sony aims for an older audience, Nintendo aims for the younger generation. While it can be argued Sony’s audience will have more money to spend on games because they are more likely to be employed than the younger generation, Nintendo is who many people turn to when they are looking for a console for a younger person. Nintendo pulls this off with their bright colors and more laid back look, contrasting Sony’s more serious, sleek outward appearance.

The audience these companies aim for is reflected in the games they offer. Casual and hardcore gamers alike enjoy Nintendo’s games; however, because Sony offers primarily hardcore games, the company loses touch with casual gamers.

This by no means suggests one company is superior to the other. In terms of systems they offer, all of their systems are solid and have their own pros and cons. Both Sony and Nintendo have excellent games to offer, but, for the individual on a budget who is planning to buy only one console, whether for a casual or more serious gamer, it is just as important to take into consideration as the pros and cons of each system.

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Comments
  • Kayarath January 1, 2013 at 8:44 PM

    frak consoles, get Steam 😛

    • nerdwerld January 1, 2013 at 9:48 PM

      I’m feeling this way more and more as late.

  • Shidohari January 3, 2013 at 1:45 PM

    I know i’ve seen some really good games on steam lately

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