The Nintendo Switch games console appears to have cemented its place on the top rung of gaming hardware.
While Sony’s PS4 continues to rule supreme when it comes to overall sales, other consoles are excelling in other areas.
While having not achieved the same level of ownership, Microsoft’s Xbox One brand is still making a tidy profit through its own Xbox Live subscription service and marketplace.
And analysts are now upping their predictions when it comes to the Nintendo Switch’s lifetime sales, putting it closer to that of the Wii.
This continuing success looks to have caught the attention of Sony, who have provided an update on the current situation.
Speaking to Asia Nikkei, Sony’s Kazuhiko Takeda, that the Switch was on their radar, due to its big debut year.
Takeda goes as far as to suggest that the PlayStation brand is looking at what has made the Switch a success, although it seem unlikely that we’ll see anything handheld from them in the near future.
“At our gaming business, sales of the PlayStation 4 are strong heading into the holidays,” he said.
“But we can’t ignore the Nintendo Switch, which has also captured consumers’ attention.
“Our business model involves selling both the game console and the software for it, so we’re working to get more customers paying continuously for content, for example through paid subscription services.”
What this ultimately means is hard to decypher, and it’s unclear just what steps Sony could take to bring a serious challenge to a device like the Switch.
It was recently revealed that Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Punch-out!! are coming to the NVIDIA Shield.
The bad news is that the games will only be available on the device in China.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is said to run at 1080p, while games will cost RMB 68 (£7.60).
While it’s unlikely we’ll see these games on NVIDIA devices outside of China, it’s worth pointing out that the Nintendo Switch uses Nvidia’s Tegra chip technology.
It’s possible, therefore, that we’ll see these games make an appearance when the Virtual Console hits the Nintendo Switch.
And Virtual Console support could be coming soon, as Nintendo adds Gamecube controller support for the Switch.
The recently released update 4.0.0 lets users use classic Gamecube controllers via USB.
This will almost certainly be followed by Gamecube games on the Virtual Console when it launches next year.