According to Eurogamer.net, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé said he’s “surprised that Xbox has not yet fully embraced Switch 2 from a software perspective” and expected more dedicated announcements throughout the fall leading into the Holiday season. Fils-Aimé stated Nintendo will “never position itself as a direct competitor to PlayStation” but would welcome more core gamer content, while Xbox’s Phil Spencer confirmed support for Switch 2 though little has been announced. The former executive noted that Pentiment and Grounded already made their way to Switch, with Hi-Fi Rush reportedly shifting to Switch 2 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle officially coming to the new console next year. Fils-Aimé believes “the years of direct competition are done” as Xbox moves further into publishing, making them “a big third-party publisher that also makes some hardware” rather than a direct PlayStation competitor.
The Console Wars Are Over
Reggie’s making a pretty compelling case here. Basically, he’s saying what many of us have been thinking – the old model of console competition is breaking down. Xbox is becoming more of a publisher that happens to make hardware, while Nintendo does its own thing with hybrid consoles, and PlayStation sticks to premium exclusives.
And honestly, it makes sense. Microsoft’s been pretty clear about their “play anywhere” strategy for a while now. They want Xbox games everywhere – PC, cloud, and yes, even competing consoles. The recent Halo announcement for PS5 just confirms this direction. So why wouldn’t they want their games on Switch 2’s massive install base?
The Surprising Absence
Here’s the thing that gets me – Reggie’s right to be surprised. We’ve seen Pentiment and Grounded make the jump to Switch, and Indiana Jones is confirmed for Switch 2 next year. But where’s the flood? Where are the bigger titles?
I mean, think about it. Switch 2 is probably going to have what, 100+ million potential customers? That’s a huge market for Xbox Game Pass titles and standalone releases. So what’s holding them back? Is it technical limitations? Business negotiations? Or is Microsoft just being cautious about their rollout strategy?
A New Kind of Battlefield
Reggie makes an interesting distinction though. While the direct hardware competition might be fading, there’s still a war happening. It’s just shifted to competing for attention and dollars in a different way.
“Gamers out there have limited budgets,” he notes. “You have to win for every dollar spent; you need to win for every minute spent playing.” That’s the real battle now – it’s not about which plastic box you buy, but which games and services get your time and money. And in that sense, the competition is fiercer than ever.
So what does this mean for the future? Probably more Xbox games on Nintendo platforms, more cross-platform releases, and maybe even Game Pass eventually making its way to Switch 2. The walls are coming down, whether the traditionalists like it or not.
