@UmniKnight does one half of the Switch really sit in an oversaturated market that only desires power though?
That's the perception but then that was the perception before the Wii launched too and that console cleaned up. Perhaps the actual market for home consoles is much bigger but hidden from view because all of the competition from Sony and Microsoft is over a very small island in a very big ocean.
Perhaps there's a big market out there for the next 'Just Dance' or 'Wii Sports'? (I don't just mean the next instalments - I mean the next series that hits the same demographics) Abandon the home market and you abandon any hope of capturing that audience.
More pointedly Nintendo has sold millions of NES and SNES minis. That alone says that there's a huge underserved audience for a less powerful home console that offers something completely different to the PS4 and Xbox One.
On top of all that - the hybrid play is hugely appealing to indies. It's perhaps the thing that makes people most likely to buy indie games on Switch over the alternatives and could (should) lead to Switch becoming an indie powerhouse - something which benefits it greatly as a handheld too.
@StuTwo I've got a feeling the NES/SNES part points to people growing up with those being quite a few, and now having money and strong nostalgia, which compels them to buy it.
I agree with the indie part. As for the Wii part, that was a time before smartphones, and I don't think we'll see another time like that.
@Agriculture
It's not out of context. If someone wants to make an allegation that the Switch would be better off as a handheld (which first it was console, then when that argument fell apart it changed to handheld... come on) then there is only one thing to do, and that is look at the sales numbers. That is the only context that is relevant. Of course there's a number of factors that will play in but at the end of the day, the general trend is what matters. And right now Switch is super hot, and when you look at the data to see why people bought it, it's clear that it's because of the hybrid nature.
I don't know how else to put it. How about this- any person making the allegations can bring their own evidence to show why they're right... otherwise lets move on.
All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans
God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John
The idea that the Switch would be better off as a pure handheld or home console is completely rediculous. Maybe you want that, and that's fine, but I would rather just buy one system (which also will have the advantage of having a bigger library than previous Nintendo systems once they kill the 3DS) than have to buy a console and a handheld separately. Besides, clearly it's selling much better than most people anticipated, and I think at the end of the generation, once they've dropped the price and released a Switch Lite and it has a complete library, it will have sold better than a regular home console or handheld would have.
Not sure if intentional or auto spell shenanigans lol
All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans
God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John
@UmniKnight It could be a lot of things, but the most likely one IMO is one that has the JoyCons "fused" to the screen, essentially making it a Vita. It most likely wouldn't include a dock, either.
@KirbyTheVampire Yeah, I can see that. I can also see them improve on the Switch as it's current concept, considering Nvidia's long-term partnership with them now, which also works with that lite version.
But I don't think it'll be for a while.
That said, I wonder if they'll do anything with that supplemental computing device patent of theirs.
I’m not feeling the home console only version or the handheld only version. It’s called The Switch (or just Switch) because you can easily switch between the modes. That’s what the whole concept is built around. If it sold like cold mouldy flapjacks Nintendo might abonden the core concept ala Wii U but thankfully it’s selling like piping hot scones.
@BigBadJohn It's not like Nintendo isn't willing to design something in the same family of devices that ditches the core "gimmick" (2DS being a prime example), but I doubt it'll happen for a long time. I could see them launching cheap home console only Switches in the twilight years of its life once sales start sagging. The thing with the Switch is that it's the handheld form factor that is adding to the cost of the machine: taking out the screen, battery, etc. would, alongside the falling cost of components, allow Nintendo to shave off a really decent fraction of the price and target hold-outs with an alluring $200 price point.
I'd like to see Bandai/Namco go head-on with their support and port over their three Digimon games to the Switch. Cyber Sleuth in particular is a pretty good game, though I think the v-pet nature of Digimon World Next Order would benefit from the system the most.
@JaxonH Ironic, I could say the same of you. But what you don't know, and probably don't believe, is that I'm playing Devil's Advocate to find legitimacy in the dock. I'm merely exploring the outer corners here.
The dock is hardly expensive though, it's just overpriced. The real price savings would come from not having to have detachable joycons with motion controllers and hd rumble. But they've already painted themselves into a corner by releasing games that make use of all the different configurations of joycons. It would probably be some consumer backlash if you couldn't play all Switch games on all Switches.
Just soldering the joycons on the main board won't do anywhere near the savings they could do by ditch the battery, dock and screen. Aka a stationary console. If they did that, they can also change the internal flash to an hdd to add storage without the cost going up.
Soldering the joycons on the board would destroy one of the biggest features of the switch, local portable multiplayer out of the box.
@UmniKnight There is no reason at all for nintendo to make the switch handheld only. None. It won't save much money, which means they can't really lower the price. 20% of users are using it primarily as a home console. This means an handheld only would be expected to have at least 20% less sales. Unless you think an handheld only model for $300 would take up the slack.
The traditional handheld market is gone. Many of the DS sales was because you could dump one on your kids and hopefully they were quiet in the car for the ride to grandma. That part of the market has been completely eclipsed by cheap android tablets. Not only are they cheaper than the 2ds, the games cost far less. It isn't fun to give the kids a game for $40 and they are playing it for 20 minutes and never pick it up again. Far better to give them some free shovelware or something that costs a fraction of that price.
This also means Nintendo started losing brand awareness with younger audiences. This is a huge deal for a company that has built their entire brand around family friendly. The switch is rebranding Nintendo slightly more towards mature gamers. The games so far seems to be slightly more edgy than their counterparts on the wii u.
I think it does make sense to sell more SKUs. One without handheld for example. Options are always good.
It is interesting that we find different opinions here. One side thinks that Nintendo will release a Switch version as home console only and the other group thinks that a portable-only Switch will come.
Both scenarios will probably never happen. The core concept of the Switch is the hybrid concept and this is what makes the Switch attractive for many people. Confusing people with different versions doesn't work. A large part of the failure of the WiiU is due to that. Having WiiU besides the popular Wii and having different controllers was not transparent.
The comparison with the 2DS is similar but the 2DS just ditched an optional feature. However, the confusion also was present. It only works since Nintendo dominates the portable market.
Maybe we will get a Switch-Lite but only the design and memory will change there, I guess. Like going from DS to DS Lite. Going from 3DS to New3DS. Attachable Joy-Cons are essential. They won't vanish. The same holds for the screen, the dock and even the motion controls.
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