It was November 15, 2001 and Microsoft has just entered the so-called console wars by publishing its first home game system, the Xbox. The main competition of the technological conglomerate is PlayStation 2, the second console of Sony (which would continue to be the best -selling console of all time), and the gamecube named in the same way of NintendoOriginally a 19th century playing card company which became a familiar name and, for technician grandparents, a nickname for video games in general.
It was the war of console that has dominated the game industry for more than two decades, but which has just ended in August 2025. This is where I tell you that “console wars” are nothing more than a capitalist ploy, perpetuated to evoke tribal favoritism among consumers and build brands that may feel that they are part. But the name seems really cool and there is legitimate competition to analyze – a competition that Nintendo seems to winAt least by very specific measures, but nevertheless significant.
PlayStation is “moving away from” a main accent on the exclusivity of the console
Sorry Ponies, PlayStation is a “platform” now
In a panel of August 7, 2025, concerning Sony’s profits in the first quarter of the 2025 financial year, said the main vice-president Sadahiko Hayakawa: “In the games sector, we are getting more away from a business model focused on equipment in a platform company that widens the community and increases commitment.“The translation comes from Genki, a journalist from the Japanese game industry, and if you really want to dive, here is a Sony PDF transcribing the panel with many chips and graphics.
Many will note that this is well in accordance with the strategy of Sony Interactive Entertainment during the PlayStation 5 generation, but it is notable because of the way it was clearly explained. “”Get away from a business model centered on equipment” means Sony is less concerned with consoles and shipping gamesand focuses on “A platform company“Ie a destination for users to find a wide range of entertainment.
This corresponds to the notable lack of first party exclusives compared to past generations. Said PDF references to two outings in 2025: Death Stranding 2: On the beach (a masterpiece, according to my criticism) and the next Yōtei ghost. In fact, if you look at a graphic on page 11 of the PDF – brought to my attention by the entry show of Kyle Bosman by Kyle Bosman, at the weekly entrance to Kyle Bosman – “Network services“PlayStation Plus means, is an important part of this exercise in SIE.
PlayStation Plus has long played in the second violin of Xbox Game Pass in, let’s say, the subscription wars, but that has little consequence when PS5 sales follow the very successful of the PlayStation 4. But what Hayakawa’s words were taken to signify that Sony Ira Multiplateform. The only problem with this analysis is that PlayStation Games are already multiplateform.
Helldivers 2 On Xbox only counts for half, because the developer Arrowhead Game Studios is not part of PlayStation Studios, but it is also on PC. God of war,, Horizon,, Marvel Spider-Man,, Tsushima ghost,, The last of us,, Unexplored,, Ratchet & Clank (Don’t forget my beloved, criminal underestimated Turned) … All these names synonymous with PlayStation are not PlayStation exclusivesAnd they haven’t been so for years. Oh yeah, and Adventures Lego Horizon is on the Nintendo switch.
Xbox is already a glorified third -party editor
Sorry Xbots, Xbox has already been a “platform” for some time
Sony more prudently takes a similar approach to Microsoft, which, if we are talking about the Wars console, is the big loser. Preface: Game Pass is a massive source of income, and Microsoft will continue to be force majeure in the game industry, even with the decrease in the presence of Xbox consoles and after having cruelly dismissed thousands of workers and praising practically on this subject.
However, sales of consoles are considerably decreasing, and Xbox has been mired in a long strategic change encouraged by its right -wing unveiling of the Xbox One – and subsequent salt in the injury of the educational game video used by PlayStation. There have been no Xbox exclusions for a long timeSince all the titles of the Xbox game studios come out the same day on PC.
Xbox has long been the “Platform business that extends the community and increases the commitment“This PlayStation is now clearly online. Since he has entered the console wars, Xbox has always lost. The PlayStation 2 dominated the sixth generation, and even the most successful system of Microsoft, the Xbox 360, was finally exceeded (by only a few million unit sales) by the PlayStation 3 in the seventh generation. The box one was more was more.
But I would say that Console wars do not simply concern sales of equipment; There are less tangible data to consider. During the eighth generation, if I had to top a winner, he would have been PlayStation because of his richness of first part exclusives which made the PS4 so popular. In a post-exclusive era for PlayStation and Xbox, however, it is difficult to assess the competition so simple.
Nintendo won console wars in a very specific way
Is there a pejorative for Nintendo fans?
If you want to play HaloYou don’t necessarily need an Xbox. If you want to play God of warYou don’t necessarily need a PlayStation. If you want to play MarioOr ZeldaOr PokémonOr CrosspieceOr MetroidOr SplashOr XenobladeOr Fire emblemOr PikminYou need a Nintendo console. It is quite remarkable that after the disappointment of the gamecube and the relative failure of Wii U, Nintendo is the manufacturer of equipment which has stubbornly kept its exclusive games to its own systems.
The DS and the Switch were massively popular, and the Switch 2 seems to be another success, but I would say that the console wars are more or less lowered, and Nintendo is simply the last holder, winning almost by default. Xbox tries to sell you Game Pass, and PlayStation always tries to sell you games, but now in more places, the content to let its consoles continue as the most popular destination for advanced AAA games on console.
At one point, it seemed that Nintendo had simply retired from the wars of the console, exchanging the last graphic fidelity for a laser concentration on the satisfaction of the gameplay. It is now strange to see the Switch and Switch 2 become the last faithful defenders of the old way. If you have a PC, you can play Xbox games and probably get the PlayStation Games; You can’t play Donkey Kong Bananza Unless you buy a switch 2.
If the objective of the Wars console was to be the last company that refuses to put its matches in the first part on other platforms, then yes, Nintendo won. Nintendo is the last company that looks almost entirely on the exclusives of the first parties. An Xbox is attractive because you can get Game Pass. A PlayStation is attractive because the matches of the first parties of Sony come out there first, and you can get most modern third -party titles. A NintendoAs the grandparents in technological allitivity could still call it, it is attractive because it is the last fighter in console wars, because there is nowhere else to play the sellers of good faith systems of the company.
- Founded date
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September 23, 1889
- Subsidiaries
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Nintendo EPD, Nintendo SPD, Nintendo EAD
- Consoles
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Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo Game Color Boy Color
- Services
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Nintendo Switch online
- CEO
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Sator Iwata
- Parent company
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Nintendo
Nintendo is one of the most successful and popular video game companies in the world. It was founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, who launched the company by making Japanese playing cards. When Nintendo broke into the video game industry, it exploded in popularity. Nintendo has published several consoles over the years, such as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo 64, Gameboy, Wii and Nintendo Switch. The company has also created several emblematic franchises such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing and Pokémon.
