Phil Harrison Has Nothing but Good Things to Say About Nintendo
So far 2017 has been the year for Nintendo to shine. From the launch of the Nintendo Switch, and subsequent same-day sellouts to a hugely successful E3 press conference, it seems like they are just untouchable! Yesterday we told you about the prediction that the Switch might just outsell the Xbox One this year, and now, in a recent interview, Phil Harrison, a former executive who worked with both Sony and Microsoft says he has been surprised by Nintendo.
As Phil Harrison has a lengthy history within the gaming industry, his opinion is certainly of some note. He worked with Sony from 1994 to 2008, seeing the PlayStation’s successful rise in Europe, and then he joined Microsoft in 2012 where he worked until 2015. During his time at Microsoft he oversaw the launch of the Xbox One. While he may not have such a prominent place within the gaming companies, he has been keeping up with the industry and says he has been pleasantly surprised by Nintendo.
In his interview with VentureBeat Harrison says, “Nintendo has surprised me in a good way. They’ve put some excitement back in, or at least added a dynamic to the console equation that wasn’t there previously. From my focus group of a household with younger children, Switch is definitely the console that gets used. Mainly because of the content types. Surprisingly, the TV-to-mobile use case works way more effectively than I expected. I really enjoy that.”
Phil Harrison also discussed why the Wii U didn’t work out the same way as the Switch, despite being a fairly similar concept. “The tablet mode on Wii U just wasn’t powerful enough. It was rendered as a single frame from the console sent wirelessly from the console to the device. The Switch combined both modes into one and just switched the power state. When you’re tethered you get access to more wattage on the CPU and GPU. Maybe that technology didn’t exist when they were developing the Wii U. I suspect not. A great idea is about timing as much as it is about technology.”
So far the Switch has sold very well, to the point where Nintendo has had a significantly difficult time keeping up with the demand. Hopefully this momentum will continue moving forward. What do you think about these recent comments about Nintendo and the Switch? And do you think that the Switch can sustain the success it’s seen so far? Let us know in the comments below!