Well let’s see, what’s on the market in the video game console vertical?

• Playstation 5, initially released in 2020 with 84 million units shipped. Still not an amazing software library, it’s been since the PS3 that I’ve heard of anything on Playstation that even made me want to go over to a friend’s house to play that with them.
• Xbox Series S and X, again released in 2020, only 24 million units sold between the two models, and I’m amazed that many people bought one given how many balls Microsoft’s gaming division has dropped since the 360, to include naming the consoles the “Series S and X” immediately after the “One S and One X”. They’ve all but announced they’re exiting the entertainment-capable software market entirely; it wouldn’t surprise me if they removed the ability to render knock knock jokes from TrueType fonts at this point.
• Switch 2, the only main console that came out this year, in 6 months it’s sold 10 million units pretty much entirely out of force of habit I think because we’re entering our third human generation of “You buy a Nintendo for children.” The library consists of $80 games, most of which are Switch games that run at higher resolution and frame rates. And they’ve been egregiously anti-consumer this generation, like, more than usual and that’s saying something. Oh, and doesn’t the console fall out from between the joycons now?
• Steam Deck, released in 2003 2023, has sold some 4 million units, it almost doesn’t count as it’s a gaming laptop with face buttons and joysticks instead of a keyboard, is also here.

For some context:

• Playstation 4 sold 117 million units
• Xbox One sold 58 million
• Switch sold 154 million

Prices are going up, fewer games are being made, “monetization” is getting more and more egregious, and again I wonder how many people are buying Nintendos for children out of sheer force of habit.