Former Xbox boss 'surprised' by the Switch, says it has a fighting chance

Phil Harrison has been around the block. Although he's most widely known as corporate VP for Microsoft he also worked with Sony Computer Entertainment in the '90s -- now he's a self-described "game investor."

Speaking to Venturebeat he mused on the big three, mostly talking about Nintendo's comeback, noting: "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. Maybe I should give Nintendo more credit. I really enjoy that."

Going on he comments that part of the reason the Wii U failed is because of the tethered under-powered tablet (because it inherently draws power from the under-powered console), and that due to Sony's efforts to build a "powerful distribution network outside of the US and the UK," they're reaping the benefits now with the PS4. There's a few great insights in the full interview, so I suggest reading it if you have the chance.

Game investor Phil Harrison sees the broader view of games beyond Sony and Microsoft [VentureBeat]