Datastream
Visualizing Nintendo’s Handheld vs. Home Console Sales
The Briefing
- Nintendo’s handheld consoles have regularly outsold their home console counterparts
- Nintendo handhelds have sold 440.53M units vs. 280.87M Nintendo home console units
- Despite the Switch being hybrid, Nintendo still released a handheld-only version: the Switch Lite
Comparing Nintendo’s Handheld vs. Home Console Sales
Since the release of the original Game Boy in 1989, Nintendo has dominated the handheld game console marketplace.
Since then, the company has always offered a handheld and a home console, enabling them to capture a broader audience of gamers and non-gamers.
While handheld systems have regularly outsold their home console counterparts, combining the two into the hybrid Nintendo Switch has proven profitable for Nintendo.
The Power of Portable Games
The popularity of handheld game consoles isn’t surprising when considering their lower price points and accessibility.
Nintendo’s handheld consoles typically cost about 30-50% less compared to the home console of the same generation.
| Game Console | Console Type | U.S. Price |
|---|---|---|
| NES | Home | $199 |
| Game Boy | Handheld | $89 |
| SNES | Home | $199 |
| Nintendo 64 | Home | $199 |
| Game Boy Color | Handheld | $99 |
| Game Boy Advance | Handheld | $99 |
| Nintendo GameCube | Home | $199 |
| Nintendo DS | Handheld | $149 |
| Nintendo Wii | Home | $249 |
| Nintendo 3DS | Handheld | $249 |
| Wii U | Home | $349 |
| Nintendo Switch | Hybrid | $299 |
| Nintendo Switch Lite | Handheld | $199 |
The lower price point makes handhelds an easier purchase for parents, and their portability makes them a flexible entertainment option. A handheld console is an easy distraction wherever the kids are, and ensures the TV isn’t occupied when they’re gaming at home.
How the Switch Unified the Handheld and Home Console
The hybrid approach for the Nintendo Switch has proven successful, offering flexibility in how to play while bringing home console graphics and bigger budget games to the small screen.
With more than 58M units sold since release, the Switch’s popularity led to the 2019 release of the Nintendo Switch Lite, a sleeker handheld-only version which costs $100 less.
The new console’s lower price-point and color variations have helped it sell more than 10M units as of Nintendo’s latest numbers (Sept. 2020). In a financial results briefing, Nintendo noted that the Switch lite has attracted more female users, and that it was the second Nintendo Switch system for more than 40% of buyers.
While many thought the Switch Lite to be redundant considering the original’s handheld capabilities, both new and old audiences have shown there’s still an appetite for handheld-only consoles.
»If you found this article interesting, you might enjoy this full-length post on Nintendo console sales: Switch to Success: 20 Years of Nintendo Console Sales
Where does this data come from?
Source: Nintendo filings
Datastream
The Link Between Entrepreneurship and Mental Health Conditions
Research explores the link between entrepreneurship and mental health conditions such as ADHD and bipolar disorder
The Briefing
- Prevalence of ADHD, substance use disorders, and mood disorders appears to be higher in entrepreneurs than in the general public
- One-third of entrepreneurs reported two or more co-occurring mental health conditions
The Link Between Entrepreneurship and Mental Health Conditions
Entrepreneurship has long been associated with traits like risk-taking, persistence, and creativity. It’s no surprise, then, many of the world’s most successful companies were brought to life by neurodivergent founders.
Neurodivergence refers to natural differences in brain function among individuals with conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and bipolar disorder. As this 2019 study demonstrates, entrepreneurs appear to experience mental health and addiction issues more frequently than the general public, and tend to have families with these illnesses at a higher rate.
Nearly half of entrepreneurs included in the study have one or more mental health conditions. Below the are the numbers for four of the conditions studied.
| Entrepreneurs | General Sample Group | |
|---|---|---|
| ADHD | 29% | 5% |
| Depression | 30% | 15% |
| Bipolar | 11% | 1% |
| Addiction | 12% | 4% |
The research also looked at anxiety, but found that levels were similar between entrepreneurs and the sample group.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), dyslexia, and Asperger’s Syndrome, which are not included in this research, are other noteworthy conditions that are sometimes connected with entrepreneurship.
Asperger’s, in particular, is present in a number of successful founders, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Peter Thiel, billionaire investor and serial entrepreneur, has argued that this mild version of autism could be an asset in founding successful companies.
An Open Question
There are two competing ideas around the link between entrepreneurship and mental health conditions.
First, some posit that traits associated with mental health conditions (e.g. hyperfocus for ADHD, or attention to detail for Asperger’s) are assets in the startup world.
Secondly, it is also thought that because neurodivergent individuals have more trouble succeeding in conventional frameworks in academia and business, they are more likely to forge their own path by founding companies and pursuing self-employment.
It’s entirely possible that both these ideas are true. The more research that is published around mental health and entrepreneurship, the clearer view we have on the traits associated with creating successful businesses.
The more open the conversation is around mental health, the more we can create conditions in the workplace that empower neurodivergent individuals.
Source: Freeman, M.A., Staudenmaier, P.J., Zisser, M.R. et al. The prevalence and co-occurrence of psychiatric conditions among entrepreneurs and their families. Small Bus Econ 53, 323–342 (2019).
Data notes: Data was analyzed from 76 MBA student and faculty pool participants, 149 psychology students, and 110 entrepreneurs not affiliated with the university. Participants from either recruitment group who reported a history of self-employment or founding or co-founding a for-profit or non-profit business were categorized as entrepreneurs (n = 242).
Hat tip: We discovered this research via The Generalist who published a fantastic post on who becomes an entrepreneur.
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