A Foolish Take: Which company is winning the video game console wars?

The modern video game console market is dominated by three companies: Sony (NYSE: SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nintendo (NASDAQOTH: NTDOY). Sony's current-generation consoles include the handheld PS Vita and the PlayStation 4. Microsoft's home console is the Xbox One, and Nintendo sells the handheld 3DS, the Wii U home console, and a new hybrid handheld and home console called the Switch. As we can see in the following graph (which doesn't include Switch figures yet), Nintendo's 3DS is currently the most popular console in the world, followed by Sony's PlayStation 4 (figures are units shipped since each console's launch). The longevity of Nintendo's 6-year-old 3DS is impressive, since smartphone games were expected to render handheld consoles obsolete. Its popularity was mainly fueled by compact versions of Nintendo's hit first-party franchises like Pokemon, Mario Kart, and Super Mario 3D Land.