Nintendo's consoles vs. Nintendo's handhelds.

[CastletonSnob]

Why are Nintendo's handhelds so much more successful than their home consoles?

[kingpotato]

Well in my opinion its because they are usually cheaper than the consoles or at least they used to be back when nintendo still had home and handheld consoles. So for parents it was a better investment rather than buying a more expensive home console. 

[The Blackangel]

Their handhelds have come with features and abilities that others simply couldn't match. Sure the PSP could watch movies. I don't know much about PS Vita, so I'm ignoring that one for now. But some of the games that Nintendo offers have been classics and fan favorites for 30+ years. And the ability to take them with you when you're on the go, has always been a huge draw. Now with the Switch, not only do you have thousands of games at your fingertips in the eShop, but you can also download things like Hulu and YouTube. The last true home console that they put out was the Wii in 2006. While it sold like wildfire, once people got a full taste of it, the interest waned considerably. The Wii U afterwards, was a failure at a hybrid system. But through failure, we learn. They looked at what they had done wrong, and worked to fix it so that when the Switch was released it was a huge success.

[Yaramaki]

On 5/13/2022 at 3:49 AM, CastletonSnob said:

Why are Nintendo's handhelds so much more successful than their home consoles?

It's simple because the library of games on nintendo handhelds was vastly superior if you compare it their consoles. It's probably even between gba and gamecube imo but if you look at the ds and 3ds library and compare it to the wii and wii u library of games,the handhelds win hands down. To this days the ds and 3ds library have been unmatched (well maybe the switch rivals it now) because there is something for everybody, games for children check, games for hardcore gamers check, plenty of nintendo first party games check. Hell even your grandparents could enjoy the system if they wanted to. Another big reason was probably the pokemon games which i'm sure whenever a new one launched it sold a ton of systems aswell. 

Consider in the fact you don't need a tv to play it was another huge factor for parents with little kids, their kids could enjoy their games, while parents watched tv. Atleast that's why i think as i'm guessing not every household has multiple tv's in their house/appartement. As pointed out already games and systems were also cheaper so yeah already a few good reasons why nintendo their handhelds did better then their consoles.

Sure you could always argue the wii did extremly well but the majority of the people just bought it for wii sports and maybe one or two games if at all and once they were bored with that the system was just catching dust.

[Justin11]

I never used any of the Nintendo device for gaming, with the information I have gotten, the handheld version of Nintendo's will always be in-demand due to it's price being cheaper than the console versions. They're flexible with better games too, you can carry it anywhere, but you can't play the console versions everywhere you go. 

[Heatman]

On 5/13/2022 at 5:50 AM, kingpotato said:

Well in my opinion its because they are usually cheaper than the consoles or at least they used to be back when nintendo still had home and handheld consoles. So for parents it was a better investment rather than buying a more expensive home console. 

And even at that, there are so many great games on it that rival the one's on consoles. So, it's just like you have nothing much to miss from playing on it. Don't forget about the portability of the handheld Nintendo. 

[Justin11]

I was so much in love with PS Vita device in the past, but couldn't get it, due to the price then being at same tag with PS4. Now we got Nintendo switch and it's lite, their is no doubt, handheld gaming devices are very much comfortable while playing, which you can go anywhere with your gaming device and not waiting until you get home to start your console. 

[NightmareFarm]

Handhelds are more casual oriented than home consoles. Nintendo generally caters more towards the casual audience so it suits them best.

 

[Heatman]

6 minutes ago, NightmareFarm said:

Handhelds are more casual oriented than home consoles. Nintendo generally caters more towards the casual audience so it suits them best.

 

When you can easily pocket your gaming system and go with it to anywhere you want to go, there is nothing more fun than that. It helps you to take your pleasure anywhere you go. 

[NightmareFarm]

3 hours ago, Heatman said:

When you can easily pocket your gaming system and go with it to anywhere you want to go, there is nothing more fun than that. It helps you to take your pleasure anywhere you go. 

Yeah. Being able to play games such as bayonetta 2 on the go with my switch is great. Portable gaming has it's perks. 

[Heatman]

6 hours ago, NightmareFarm said:

Yeah. Being able to play games such as bayonetta 2 on the go with my switch is great. Portable gaming has it's perks. 

Exactly, and it's why those that can't afford getting any of the switch players rely on their smartphone as a good substitute. 

[The Blackangel]

On 5/19/2022 at 11:21 AM, Yaramaki said:

It's simple because the library of games on nintendo handhelds was vastly superior if you compare it their consoles. 

That’s factually incorrect. The handheld systems made by Nintendo only have a fraction of the games in the NES’s library. The Switch is a gray area , but I’m not counting it. Also you have to consider the SNES library, while smaller than the NES library, is still vastly bigger than any handheld device from Nintendo. The library of games offered on the DS series was actually quite small. Even the Game Boy (not GBA) had a bigger library than the DS.

[The Blackangel]

On 5/19/2022 at 11:27 AM, Justin11 said:

you can't play the console versions everywhere you go. 

You actually can play any console game on-the-go. While they’re made by third party manufacturers, there are portable NES, SNES, and even N64 gaming systems. I’ve tried the SNES, as it’s more affordable than the others (not to mention easier to find) and they work quite well. But mine disappeared long ago, so I haven’t used it in more than 10 years.

[Head_Hunter]

On 5/19/2022 at 8:15 PM, Justin11 said:

I was so much in love with PS Vita device in the past, but couldn't get it, due to the price then being at same tag with PS4. Now we got Nintendo switch and it's lite, their is no doubt, handheld gaming devices are very much comfortable while playing, which you can go anywhere with your gaming device and not waiting until you get home to start your console. 

An interesting fact about the Nintendo switch handheld games was that it consists of quite a lot of games one could choose from and play. It never gets old to me and I would still love to own one. With the dope release of Nintendo switch lite which could is an on the go gaming console for your maximum Gaming experience and also good for kids.

[Heatman]

47 minutes ago, Head_Hunter said:

An interesting fact about the Nintendo switch handheld games was that it consists of quite a lot of games one could choose from and play. It never gets old to me and I would still love to own one. With the dope release of Nintendo switch lite which could is an on the go gaming console for your maximum Gaming experience and also good for kids.

Lately, my gaming time on my Playstation 4 have been in a constant battle with my Nintendo Switch. Seriously, that system is one massive platform where you won't get bored or tired easily.