I have a question for this thread:
How does Nintendo plans to secure adoption of this device from the mass market(not enthusiasts) in its early years(I assume they would want as many people as possible buying it since they will release exclusives for it and third parties too) considering the following thoughts some have mentioned here:
- It will not receive exclusive first party games for at least a year and half
- It will be at least 400$, some say 450$(I actually think either one of those will be the price)
- It will not be called Switch 2(suggesting it is a clear successor) but another name which is ambiguous enough to sound like a more powerful hardware that can be counted as in the same family
- It will still be marketed as part of the Switch family of systems
- Some say it will reuse the OLED body
I'm sorry but I feel there is something off. I am fairly confident such a device as above wouldn't be enough to convince many random people in buying it over the Switch. Imagine: It cost 100-150$ more, has no first party exclusives, is not marketed as the next big thing, looks just like the Switch OLED... Infact it looks more like a revision
than something Nintendo would want to last for at least six years. And if it is treated as a revision I'm afraid it will be perceived by the random mass market as such and do revision sales.
If they are
perceived too close together despite the gap in performance or 4K patches/versions, the Switch will be its first competitor, stealing its sales which would have been much more beneficial to the new device long term. Some people(not the enthusiasts) who already have a Switch may not even feel the incentive to upgrade. I feel trying to be too ambiguous will just create a very weird situation for this device especially long term.
If this device succeeds to the Switch even if eventually, i'm guessing Nintendo would want to sell it as much as possible even from the get go. Will this device be able to sell 17million units(or close) like its predecessor in its first year? I guess time will tell but if it is goes by the ambiguous route I feel it will certainly not.