With the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and its successor, the SNES, Nintendo was THE console company on the market. Sure, there were other options available, but Nintendo put console gaming on the map with its first two ventures.

Many people probably remember booting up the NES and Super Mario Bros. for the first time and playing through one of the most iconic games ever made; that, or perhaps you remember the “quack quack” of ducks trying to get across the screen safely in Duck Hunt.

Nintendo gave us Mario and Zelda alongside a plethora of other amazing game series that continue to this day. They gave us an appreciation for a burgeoning entertainment medium that people could lose themselves in for hours on end.

After SNES, Nintendo Struggled to Compete With Its N64 and Gamecube

The NES and SNES sold well enough to be the consoles of their time. Then, in 1994, Sony launched the PlayStation, its very first console, in the same year Sega released their Sega Saturn console, which did not sell well.

The Sega Saturn marked the beginning of the end for Sega. Their next console after, the Sega Dreamcast, sold less than 10 million units and ended Sega’s participation in the console market. Even with the demise of Sega, the success of the PlayStation meant that Nintendo had new legitimate competition.

Nintendo’s answer to the Sony PlayStation was the Nintendo 64, which didn’t launch until 1996, and still used the cartridge system from Nintendo’s previous consoles. PlayStation, on the other hand, used CD-ROM. The PlayStation could play game discs and CDs, the beginning of its plans to expand the use of a home console into entertainment mediums that extended beyond gaming.

PlayStation held a 10 million unit lead by the time the Nintendo launched the Nintendo 64. This time, Nintendo was playing catch-up with the new kid on the block. Sony’s first console sold over a 100 million units, becoming the first home gaming system to do so. The Nintendo 64 never even came close to matching the PlayStations sales numbers. The console finished with around 33 million units sold.

Source: Nintendo

The people who played the games on Nintendo 64 loved it though. Some of the most beloved games of all-time released on the Nintendo 64, including Super Smash Bros., GoldenEye 007, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which sits atop the Metacritic list as the highest ranked game of all time. Even with some incredible games, the console itself just didn’t sell close to as many units when compared to the new PlayStation competition.

Sony continued on its success by introducing the PlayStation 2 in early 2000, which went on to become the best selling home console of all time. Trying to respond to Sony, Nintendo released the Gamecube in late 2001, but the console’s sales didn’t even come close to the PlayStation 2. It also didn’t help that Microsoft entered the console market with the introduction of its Xbox a couple months after the Gamecube. Unfortunately, the Nintendo Gamecube had no chance and sold even less than the Nintendo 64.

Source: Nintendo

Sega, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft all had consoles on the market at the same time. When the Xbox came to market in 2001, it was the first time since the 80s that four consoles from four different parent companies were available at the same time.

The PlayStation and the Xbox both brought something new to the console market. Sony was setting the trend with diversifying the usage of consoles from just playing games to watching movies through DVDs and playing music as well. Although Sega had an internet service on the Dreamcast, Microsoft launched Xbox Live in 2002, which helped set the company apart.

Microsoft had online play and Sony had the DVD machine. The Gamecube tried something a little different by using miniDVDs as the medium for its games. This meant the Gamecube couldn’t play DVDs. These miniDVD’s were more expensive to produce and likely pushed third-party developers away from Nintendo as DVDs became commonplace. Nintendo wasn’t keeping up with what people wanted in a console and their sales declined roughly 40% per generation.

Wii Proved to Be a Massive Success, but Was It a Fluke?

Nintendo’s newest consoles weren’t selling well until the Nintendo Wii entered the scene at the end of 2006. The Nintendo Wii offered something very different from its PlayStation and Xbox competition, neglecting HD graphics and processing power for a low-priced console with a novel way to play games through motion controls. 

The Wii launched in a package with Wii Sports, and at much lower price than its competitors. The entire Wii package cost just $250, at least $50 lower than the Xbox 360 launch console and half of the PS3.

The move paid off as the console was accessible and appealing to people outside the core gaming market. Everyone from children to grandparents wanted to play the Wii, and Nintendo’s affordable, family-friendly platform made it a must-have item. It became a cultural zeitgeist that people needed. If you didn’t have your own Wii, then you probably knew someone who did; it became that popular and that common. It was so successful you couldn’t find it on stores shelves for years after its release.

Source: Nintendo

The Wii marked a return to form for Nintendo. This reversal of diminishing sales with each new console release meant that Nintendo still mattered in the world of home consoles. The Nintendo Wii represented a much-needed victory for the company.

Wii U Gets Nintendo Back on Track With Unsuccessful Console Releases

People were excited about what the future would bring. Nintendo already had a reputation for making some of the best first-party games ever created, and the Wii showed that Nintendo could take game consoles in new and innovative directions. The world couldn’t wait for what Nintendo would do with its next console release. Things could only go up from here, right? Nintendo was back in the minds and hearts of the console world.

And then we got the Wii U.

“That’s just a better version of the Wii, right?” People would ask. The change to Wii U from Wii created brand confusion. You might have heard it was Wii in HD or something similar. People didn’t know what to think about the new console because Nintendo didn’t market the Wii U well. It seemed to be a graphics upgrade with a new tablet controller, but it was hardly innovative.

When compared to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it was woefully underpowered and lacked third-party support. The Wii U also didn’t have some of the first-party support that’s expected from Nintendo either. It didn’t get anything like Super Mario Galaxy or Super Mario Sunshine that were available on past consoles, nor did the console receive a dedicated Zelda game on its own.

Of course, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released on the Wii U, but it shared the game with its younger console sibling. The Wii U didn’t sell as Nintendo didn’t release as many games for the console and third-party publishers pretty much stayed away from the Wii U. The Wii U featured an interesting controller console in the form of the Wii U gamepad.

The Wii U brought Nintendo back on track when it comes to console failures. The Wii U ended its lifecycle with around 13 million units sold, roughly 60% of the Gamecube and barely 10% of the Wii. 

Source: Nintendo

Expectation That Nintendo Switch Would Fail vs. Reality

As the Wii brought many people back to Nintendo, the Wii U’s massive failure pushed them away again and made people skeptical about Nintendo’s console plans for the future. The next Nintendo console would need to be special and have third-party game support if it would succeed.

In the video reveal of the Nintendo Switch, it showed off a huge range of beloved first-party games as well as third-party support, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, NBA 2k18, Super Mario Odyssey, and Splatoon 2.

The Nintendo Switch also showed off something truly innovative as we got to see these games being played on a TV as well as on the go. The Switch offered a hybrid home gaming console and portable device that plays full-fledged consoles games.

At the time of its release, Skyrim was one of the most popular single-player RPG games on the market. And the Nintendo Switch allowed you to play the game on the go. From this initial reveal of the Switch, we could tell that Nintendo wanted to make console quality games that were able to be played mobile. Nintendo has been known for their handheld consoles since the Nintendo Gameboy, but the games never look as good as the console options. While this was something never done before, it was a big risk, but it also had the potential to be another massive success.

Switch’s Unexpected Success: Will Nintendo Buck the Trend?

A year after the Nintendo Switch release, we easily see the success of the console. If we compare the Nintendo Switch sales, within one year, to the Wii U over its entire five-year lifespan, we can see Nintendo has bucked the downward trend of console sales. Not only is the Nintendo Switch outselling its predecessor, the console is outpacing the PS2, which, as mentioned earlier, is the best selling console of all time.

Source: Nintendo Soup

Nintendo released many of its iconic franchise title games the same year it launched the Switch, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Pair those titles with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle,  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim from major third-party developers, as well as indie money makers Stardew Valley and Rocket League, and the console launched with a large number of quality games.

Many of us weren’t sold on the Switch prior to its release. It represents a completely new concept and a new way to play games. But, it makes sense that the Nintendo Switch is poised for success given the innovative hardware and available games: You’re getting all Nintendo’s high-quality games and some phenomenal third party-support in a console that can be played on your TV at home or on the go.

It seems that Nintendo has landed on a console that people want to play again. While this console cycle has a ways to go, the world is now back on the Nintendo bandwagon—only time will tell if this leads to continued success for Nintendo’s home consoles; but, for now, the Nintendo Switch remains at the top of everyone’s wish list.