Nintendo's hardware division is undoubtedly having a positive impact on the industry at large. I would argue that the Steam Deck would not exist without the Switch. There have been other mobile consoles in the same form factor (most obviously the PSP and PS Vita), but by the mid-2010s, smartphones had cannibalized that form factor significantly (even Nintendo's 3DS line had 50% lower lifetime sales than the original DS line in the 2000s). If it weren't for the Switch innovating in this form factor, I doubt that the mobile console form factor would exist at all today (except maybe for those shells where you plop your phone into to get a D-pad for your mobile game).
If we want to cut down on e-waste, we should rather lengthen the smartphone replacement cycle. That's a better impact just because of sheer numbers. Lobby for replaceable-battery mandates in smartphones and a minimum duration for security updates of 5 years or even 10 years.
> If it weren't for the Switch innovating in this form factor, I doubt that the mobile console form factor would exist at all today (except maybe for those shells where you plop your phone into to get a D-pad for your mobile game).
How is a Switch materially different from a laptop, or a tablet with a controller strapped on to it?
> If we want to cut down on e-waste, we should rather lengthen the smartphone replacement cycle. That's a better impact just because of sheer numbers. Lobby for replaceable-battery mandates in smartphones and a minimum duration for security updates of 5 years or even 10 years.
Why not both? Disposable devices are bad, needing duplicate devices in the same form factor is bad, DRM is bad (especially when it's locking down how you can use or repair your own hardware). Tackling one doesn't prevent anyone from tackling the rest. We need to fix all of them
Nothing's preventing Nintendo from releasing their games on PC, aside from their own stubborn refusal to do so.
They don't even need to stop releasing their own accessories when they have a legitimate reason to do so. The Wiimote could have just been a Bluetooth gamepad and a LED strip. In fact, that's exactly what it was!
Nintendo's hardware business would cease to exist, and the world would have a little less e-waste in it. How would that be a bad thing?