According to the Financial Times, neither Nintendo nor PlayStation will be able to come up with fascinating titles for the Christmas season…

Sony announced earlier this year that 2024 would be a “drought” year for the company, with no major releases of its own and a calendar full of third-party games that only own their IPs. However, this does not only affect the PlayStation family. After all, Nintendo is also facing the end of a tough year. Despite Christmas being a pivotal time for product sales, both companies are approaching the holiday season with little to offer for mass consumers, which analysts say is forecasting a “bleak holiday season”. Meanwhile, Xbox closes out the year with two AAA games of its own.

While Sony recently unveiled the PlayStation 5 Pro, the launch price of which was met with unanimous rejection, Nintendo has lowered its sales expectations for the Switch as the seven-year-old model isn’t selling as well as it used to.

According to the Financial Times, the life cycle of Nintendo’s consoles has passed its zenith. Thus, the situation of the Japanese company is complicated. For its part, the Switch, despite its success with 146 million copies sold, is in its eighth year, and the announcement of their next console could be right around the corner. Meanwhile, with over 65 million units sold, the PS5 is still struggling to overtake its predecessor, the PS4, in terms of sales. This, along with the fact that the industry, in general, is going through a period of transition from projects by hegemonic studios to more diversified releases, hurts the year-end outlook for both consoles.

There won’t be new Nintendo and PlayStation games in the Christmas season?!

The situation is similarly bleak for video game appearances. There aren’t any big titles to boost holiday hardware sales. Most of the games from both companies that will be in the spotlight this season are releases from the last six months, such as Black Myth: Wukong, Echoes of Wisdom or Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Meanwhile, many developers are shelving their projects in anticipation of 2025, which, as PlayStation confirmed last week, marks the start of Japan’s old strategy of releasing big projects in an annual rhythm that hasn’t been the norm this year.

In addition, the high production costs of traditional consoles also affect the market dynamics, where the demand has reached the limit.

Still, Sony’s decision to launch a premium product like the PS5 Pro that targets a very narrow segment of gamers has sparked backlash from the community. This “predatory pricing” approach is aimed at “maintaining high margins in a saturated market,” adds Robin Zhu of analyst firm Bernstein. “This year is quite gloomy. It would be hard to imagine a less exciting holiday season than this year,” said Gareth Sutcliffe, head of Enders Analysis.

Nintendo seems to be skipping the classic “generation” jump for previous games. The company has confirmed that the new console will be compatible with existing Switch games, which could make it easier to make a successful transition if the price is right. Either way, the question mark over the future of consoles will depend on how gamers respond to these new products and how they adapt to an increasingly subscription-centric environment.

Source: Financial Times