A powerful statement from Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie FILS-AIME about what business they are in and who they are competing against:
He counted the exact number of minutes per day and said that outside of the time a consumer spends eating, sleeping, working, and going to school, “all of the rest of that time is entertainment time. That’s what I compete for, minute by minute. That time you spend surfing the Web, watching a movie, watching a telecast of a conference: that’s all entertainment time we’re competing for. My competitive set is much bigger than my direct competitors in Sony and Microsoft. I compete for time. When I do that, I have to be creative and innovative in order to win that battle. - Ars Technica interview, Oct. 3, 2018
Granted, this is not just PR material; it’s a very educated positioning and explanation that Nintendo doesn’t sell products, games, or electronics. The end value of Nintendo is entertainment. This means they compete directly with Netflix, as with Microsoft or Sony. As such, matching feature for feature with other gaming consoles is not the end game but rather a short-sighted trap.
