Reggie Admits Switch Was A "Make Or Break Product" For Nintendo After Poor Performance Of Wii U

GOOD now just make sure you don't go back on the idea keep doing more and better switch consoles.

@Snatcher yes. Stay with this concept now please. Don't just create something completely new and toss it away.

Good thing it moke

VGchartz lists 78 million sold, which of the two statistics is correct? is 68 an old number or a typo?

I went back to the Wii U yesterday to compare Splatoon to Spla2n. My god is the Gamepad bulky!

@ferryb001 it must have sold 68 million at some point, so I suppose maybe both?

I am not a Nintendo fanboy that needs to come out in its defense everytime anyone bad-mouth it. In fact, I'm very disappointed with how they have handled the Joy-Con fiasco. I had a good image of Reggie prior to this moment. You don't go around talking about internal matters just to make yourself look better.

Stay with the switch concept and build up this concept. Switch 2 / 3/4
Like playstation 2 / 3 /4 etc.

Everyone knows the name Nintendo switch by now, it would be a huge mistake to change that.

@Snatcher

Absolutely.

Nintendo is all about innovation. I think they should continue to experiment. They should keep pushing on boundaries to give us the next brilliant idea, the next "Switch" However, that should be a second line, on the side.
The Switch deserves at the very least a direct successor with backward compatibility that improves on performance through a more powerful chip. By the time it is released, maybe 4K TVs will be widely available in the homes of gamers to make it an attractive feature for the console. I am content with 60 fps 1080 p, but more is of course better.

As long as I can carry over my eShop purchases to the Switch successor and not have to pay an 'upgrade fee', I'm a happy bunny.

@ferryb001 VGChartz are estimates at best.

the hybrid concept with Switch so far, is Nintendo best innovation, i hope and expect future Nintendo consoles keep bulding on the Switch concept, until Nintendo found another sucefull/inovative formula, please Nintendo don't make a Wii U 2.0 or a gimmicky no one want, please stay with the Switch concept.

@ferryb001 we have to wait Nintendo financial results in february 2th to know Switch actual sales, i believe Switch is close to 80 milions consoles sold.

The odds were heavily against the Switch. And fundamentally so, as most tech companies don’t reclaim their market high points after an abysmal product line. But Nintendo is a careful business with a history of incredible designers that have stayed with the company, not unlike some of the biggest brands in other industries that have endured

@ferryb001 it was at 68mio as of September 30th. I think it's definitely possible it sold around 10mio units since then (because of christmas etc) but we don't have an official statement from Nintendo yet therefore Vgchartz number is just an estimation

But on monday Nintendo will reveal their new sales figures, we will know by then how much the switch has sold

With all respect, Reggie-sensei (unironic address, really), and understanding that was before your arrival... "a little worse"? Did you just seriously compare Wii U's one-and-a-half-Belarus sales and library to a life cycle of 770k units and 22 games? Let's agree to disagree.😅

@John_Deacon FWIW, among Nintendo's consoles (so not counting built-in game machines like G&W, of course), only the first four home consoles, all before Iwata era, one tabletop console and zero handhelds had no backward compatibility. And Switch became an exception for the same obvious excuse that you could nominally apply in Gamecube's defense as well - incompatible physical storage. Time will tell, but the hardware approach may well be streamlined enough for better collection keeping odds on your part now.

Same for "Switch with numbers", perhaps - after all, people affectionately joke how Wii was an upgraded Gamecube on the hardware side and Wii U innards could be crudely called "Wii HD". I'm sure Nintendo will seek to offer something new with the successor, but they struck a gold vein with the hybrid format, and their previous gold vein functions like motion controls (albeit in different incarnations) and touchscreens have already stood the test of several generations. Switch itself was partly marketed for its amassed legacy features when presented in detail four years ago.

@ferryb001 Vgchartz don't have conclusive sources you can look at. Nintendo updates their official numbers quarterly. I'd way to see what Nintendo reports, actual numbers could be a little lower or a little higher.

@CowCatcher Calling it Wii 2 would've helped I think.

This is nonsense?

Their bank balance from Wii's success alone is still considerableto this day! Not to mention DS and 3DS sales. They were cash rich prior to Switch even with Wii U's relative failure. Not to mention the outrageously high value of several of their IP's, development studios, and assets which they could always borrow considerable money against even if they didnt have so much cash in the bank!

@BloodyMurder "Then again, maybe Reggie is just mad he couldn't make another crap video insulting people who want Japanese games brought over. "Mother 3 lulz"

Wait, what video are you referring to? What did Reggie say?

My wishlist for "Switch 2":
1. Powerful chip: Be able to play more demanding games. Make all current games 60fps
2. Screen size & Resolution: 7.3in 1920×1080 screen with "power-saving" toggle to 720p resolution and smaller bezels
3. Battery: 5000mAh
4. Backwards compatible: to current Switch
5. Internal storage: 64GB
6. RAM: 8GB
7. Better Joy-Cons
8. Price: $400

@Clyde_Radcliffe
Search for "Reggie gives us Mother 3: E3 2014" on Youtube
Yeah, that was in fact part of their E3 2014 presentation ^^

It's just a shame that they had to regress from some of the great things of the Wii U (usernames instead of friend codes, Virtual Console, etc.) and fill the Switch with Wii U ports.

As someone who has owned all Nintendo consoles save for Virtual Boy, the Switch isn't feeling so special at this point.

So, would they have gone third party?

Nintendo should absolutely continue to innovate. There wouldn't have been a Switch without Nintendo's experimentation. It's unbelievably foolish to say they could just keep releasing Switch 2, 3, 4 forever and people would just keep buying it because it had Switch in the name. It didn't work for the Wii U and the name Wii was just as well known at the time as Switch is now, arguably more so!

@ferryb001 as of 30 september 2020 it was 68mill. Think its close to 80mill now.

@nocdaes

The point not being about money, but consumer trust.

I wouldnt have bought the next nintendo system if the switch turned out to be a wii u repeat and a lot of other people would agree.

It already happened with sega before.

Nintendo wouldnt go out of buseniss, but would be a third party conpany at that point.

Some of you are missing the point. Reggie is not saying Nintendo were in financial ruin after the Wii U disaster. He means the switch was make or break as you can't have successive consoles flopping and losing so much market share. He is totally correct in what he is saying. If the switch was a disaster like the Wii U was do you think people would buy the switch successor? The brand would be in the mud.

Also The Wii U was a mess from day dot. Should have never been commissioned for production and whoever made that decision made a huge error.

@fiben1002 moke?

The next console should be called the Super Nintendo Switch, like how the console after the NES was called the Super NES.

People know that the NES and SNES are separate things, so doing something similar wouldn't be too much of a bad idea, would it?

I bought the Wii U at some point, thinking it to be the Wii+ or something, noticed it wasn't backwards compatible with my teenage times, the Gamecube, so sold it again and bought a 2nd hand Wii.

The marketing of the Wii U was indeed a mess.

@ferryb001 it's an old stat.

It was posted on October 2020, but actually dated from end of September (so even when Nintendo first posted the new sales figures, it was already slightly out of date), so we need to factor in the entire holiday sales period.

@Yanina @Snatcher Seeing other people say this too is nice since I've been hoping the same thing from the beginning. I think Nintendo has the perfect hardware model now. They just need to refine it and make it better (fix the joysticks first and foremost) but keep the same concept. The games are where all the innovation needs to be focused.

The Wii u was a Wii Pro

I also hope they stick with the hybrid design, which I’m sure they will due to the success of the switch. I love having the option to play on the TV and handheld. Also the kids like the switch too which is extremely important for the longevity of Nintendo as a company, to attract new players. Makes me happy I have something to relate to with my younger family members. I see the joy of the “new game” coming out like I did as a child.

@CowCatcher yeah the name marketing and message was a total mess. still dont think it would have been a big success but would have done better than the mess it was.

it makes me wonder how a concept LIKE the switch could even fail. maybe more bad marketing? nintendo really struck gold with the concept

also its cool hearing reggies more opinionated stance on nintendo now that he doenst work for them anymore

Being able to repurpose the Wii U library for what is essentially a hybrid Wii U sure helped Nintendo a lot.

If the WiiU wasnt a failure, we wouldnt of have Super Nintendo World, Amibo, and other things the failure of the Wiiu forced them to find other needs of Revenue Im glad Switch was a success because if Nintendo did go third party i dont think thier games would be the same.

Wow, so many official Nintendo analysts here in this comment section, good thing we have you guys to correctly inform us about Nintendo’s financial situation so we won’t be misled by this nobody called Reggie Fils-Aime.

Too bad for him, Reggie had nothing to do with the development of the Switch. He's just a suit, with less influence then he thinks.

@nocdaes Unfortunately in the world of business, having money in the bank doesn’t keep you alive. Its all about growth. There are so many companies that are in debt and continue to lose money, but keep growing rapidly and are considered a huge success.

If you aren’t growing, investors lose faith, and in most cases you tumble backwards uncontrollably. Lost faith is hard to recover from no matter how much you have in the bank.

When investors leave, partners leave, when partners leave, top performing employees get spooked and jump ship. Consumers are also hard to pull in after too much failure. Momentum is the most important thing in business.

Look at Sonys phone business. The company has a huge bank account, and right now Sony builds some of the best phones you can buy. But... no one buys them and their phone sales keep shrinking on a never ending slide backwards. All because consumers and investors lost faith in them during the Ericsson days.

I'm a big fan of the Wii U and I prefer it to the Switch.

But that might be because I don't care about portability.

The Wii U was quirky & had it's own personality with Miis & Miiverse.

Remember how all the Miis would run out to celebrate your birthday?

NintendoLand was the best system pack-in of all time, IMHO.

Mario Party 10 was a blast to play and uses the Gamepad well.

Mario Party Switch is genetic, boring, and safe (like Nintendo now).

Nintendo is successful, but they gave up on what made them unique.

I have some issues with Sony in this department as well...

@CowCatcher Maybe a bit. The problems were intrinsic to the design, though. It was designed before iPad became a hit and tablets were commonplace. It was a great idea to have such a functional tablet and move it in that direction until, when it released in the face of competing tablets, it felt more like a huge compromise. The form of the GamePad could have been far closer to something a gamer would see the value in. Advertising was also a problem — as was Nintendo Land's strangely-themed look (amusement park with things made of cloth?) and too-similar-sounding-to-cheap-Wii-mini-game problem that robbed people of how great that game is.

I loved the Wii U and some of my best video game memories are attached to it thanks to Nintendo Land and my children. The asymmetric game design was crazy-fun. I even had a blast with Star Fox Zero playing together with my son, despite that game being so quickly wrapped and incomplete near the end of Wii U's life.

So, yes, marketing could have been better, but it was hard to market because of what it actually was.

I enjoyed Wii U a lot more than Wii.

Personally I really like the Wii U, but there were many marketing and communication missteps. At this point I can safely say the Switch is a definite step up in many aspects. Still, the former has folders, and I much prefer its approach to retro games.

It was obvious that the Switch was a risk. It started out with hardly any third party support.

Nintendo is always going to keep innovating, it's pretty obvious. I think what they need to do to make that effective is to find a way to test the waters with the innovative products without disturbing what is already good.

@Snatcher You are not the only one to do this here, but not wanting to lose the magic of the current console is part of what made Wii U happen... and fail. “Just keep it the same.” The world doesn’t stand still, though, so the future offerings from Nintendo will need to adapt and adjust.

If Nintendo really wants to capture the magic of the Switch / Wii / DS / NES again what it needs to accomplish is another unexpected disruption.

It’s always going to be a gamble though, and the Wii U, early 3DS, N64 help demonstrate that. I do wonder if post-Iwata Nintendo has the guts to disrupt markets again. Switch really, really smells like something to encourage some complacency in the management.

Software teams have been pretty good about being brave enough to shake things up, though. I’m still amazed at Splatoon emerging in the days of Wii U, for instance, and just how giant a swing (and hit!) BotW was.

Without mistakes a Company cannot grow. I like the WiiU, not my favorite Nintendo System but without it, there wouldn't be the Amazing System that is The Switch.

@Sandro89 No. The importance of the US market to Nintendo is huge and Reggie, as far as I can tell, is the reason Metroid has continued at all (that detail is speculation, though). He has helped make decisions on American gamer sensibilities and how to reach them. Look into Nintendo’s success in the US through its history and you’ll see the culture-battles to make it happen. Nintendo of America suits do not make the games but they shape the markets and inform the creators of the games, and Treehouse helps translate the quirky Nintendo charm successfully

Not going to defend all of his decisions but I expect it was a difficult job and the games and systems that we love were hewed into shape by difficult conversations and a balancing act because Nintendo HQ always has the ultimate power to just ignore the other territory presidents when it wants to.

The Switch is primarily successful because Nintendo fell back on their strength as a manufacturer of portable gaming hardware. I doubt Nintendo will abandon the hybrid concept, considering ditching the handheld gaming space, where they're successful and enjoy monopoly control, is unthinkable for them, and they're unlikely to go back to multiple devices with unique libraries, especially now that their handheld consoles are HD systems as well.

I'm sure they'll find other ways to experiment with future devices, but I'm pretty confident that the Switch's hybrid functionality is probably here to stay.

Actually the Wii U was great for fans and the Switch isn't. Everyone knows, one way or another, the Wii U's first party exclusives were excellent. That's why they're all being ported to Switch. So if you were an actual fan, you'd be getting shafted by nintendo right about now, unless you like repurchasing the same games you already paid for and beat.

As with all corporate k**bs he’s taking credit for switch success yet his involvement and failure with the Wii U was his true legacy

It all went into marketing. The Switch was insane, the Wii U was lazy, not to mention it showcased games that either looked like Wii games or it showcased too many unfinished concepts. The Switch was at the point where when we fist saw it, it's almost the same as now.

@jamesthemagi
To Piggy back on this:
My wishlist for "Switch 2":
1. Powerful chip: Be able to play more demanding games. Make all current games 60fps
A 4k gpu(When Docked) and faster CPU
2. Screen size & Resolution: 7.3in 1920×1080 screen with "power-saving" toggle to 720p resolution and smaller bezels
3. Battery: 5000mAh
User replaceable Battery
4. Backwards compatible: to current Switch
Keep same cart dimension but be bigger carts aka 64gb carts-I know they exits.
5. Internal storage: 64GB
Bigger: 128-256gb ie iPhone version
6. RAM: 8GB
Bigger: 16gb the minimum now...
7. Better Joy-Cons
That will be see what happens for now
8. Price: $400
I am expecting the new v3 @ least 450usd if we want PowerUsers.

@Bizaster you'll want to read Post #16. That already tells the Switch success.

@ripebaby That's so wrong in many ways. I am in agreement with electrolite77 Switch was the best thing to happen to Nintendo when they went to one Hybrid Console. And they haven't looked back.

Wii U was a fantastic system but I am glad it didn’t end up being Nintendo’s last.

Nintendo's situation would have been really bad if the Switch failed. I considered the idea of them falling back on their handhelds, but it seems like they were prepped to give the Switch their full support. The 3DS may not have been immediately erased after the Switch launch, but everyone seemed to vastly overestimate the support it got. The biggest games besides some notable remakes were a handful of new titles that hardly got much press. I'm sure that they had a backup plan, but it definitely would have looking like Nintendo losing ground in the market and trying to recover. It's hardly "failing forward" though, I have to disagree with Reggie on that. That implies that you fail and are rewarded for it. The Wii U years felt bleak for Nintendo, and they turned a lot of stuff around in no small part because they learned from their failings. That's a big difference to me.

As much as I appreciate experimentation, I don't want people risking their businesses for it. The Wii U had a lot of issues that the software covered for, and the Switch is a massive improvement. Keep most of the hardware experimentation in the R&D phase, and for software, at least mess around with new stuff and spin-offs, and I'll be happy.

@Giygas_95 yes. iPhone style would be great.

@ferryb001
68 million is as of September 30th, 2020. On Monday, Nintendo will release sales data through Dec 31, 2020.

I'm so glad Nintendo got back on its feet.

@Yanina that would the nail in the coffin. When I mention iPhone options it's the internal storage memory size from 32 to 256gb storage would reflect the price range along with standard 16 gb RAM.

@SwitchForce I meant in terms of keeping the core design and just update regularly. Not the technical specifics.

wii U was flawed on many levels. a unified platform is ideal for nintendo, now they need to up the ante and take the switch concept to the next gen.

Wii U was such a strange platform.
A Gamepad no one had any good ideas for and a beefed-up Gamecube CPU. I hope Nintendo sticks to the Switch-concept. It feels like the perfect spot for Nintendo to be in.

That 68 million number is outdated. The new numbers are coming out Monday. I suspect it's going to be around 90 million or more.

Capitalize on the success of the Switch and don't pull a "Nintendo" move and try something different for the sake of being different. Make a more powerful version of the console that might not be at the same level of the PS5/Xbox Series X but that is close enough that games keep coming to the console. Figure out how you can get series like Madden, Call of Duty and others on the console. Build on the success and keep it going.

@Yanina without upgraded specs that would be for null. If by that then PS4 should stay PS4 no technical specifics that's call shooting yourself in the foot. People are too fast to shame Switch for becoming more PowerUser but when XboxX/PsxX does this it's a technical jump. Tech moves on and Switch should get the latest Technical Specs as well and why shouldn't they do that-this baffles me when people say Switch shouldn't upgrade. This would be a example where everyone should drive a Ford Model T and never upgrade. I doubt people would want to do that in this day and age. I know people talk about how Hi-Tech Xbox/PsX is but mention Switch 4K and all the Trolls come out in full force. And one has to ask why...are they scared of Hybrid device.

It reminds me to the debacle of the Gamecube. This one was a bit of a failure as well, even though not as bad as the Wii U. Still, I'm glad that Nintendo is not just saying "Okay, that's it. Turn the lights out, people. We failed and should never do a console ever again!"

Nintendo actually has balls to make a mistake and try to learn from it and improve (which doesn't work always, but ey, nobody is perfect). That is why I like Nintendo over other companies which one shall not name!

@SwitchForce
Bigger is better of course!
My numbers were meant as a min for that price tag.
Unfortunately, I think your specs are impossible with your price point
And we cannot expect a larger price tag as Nintendo should and actually wishes to maintain a competitive/lower price than other consoles

@SwitchForce
Personally, 4K is not a must. I welcome it, but it is not necessary. I much rather the money go towards chip, RAM and/or storage.
Swappable battery is a great idea, specially if they don't want to spring for 5000 mAh and want to pass on that expense to customer.
In regards of cartridge size, I imagine something along the lines of DS vs 3DS, with a nudge so new games cannot fit/run on current Switch. I expect current digital games to also cross over to it.

@jamesthemagi I myself would gladly pay more to get Portable and 4K. Why must Switch upgraders or new Switch buyers be limited by not having this option. Did you look at the bundles prices they made - those were selling off the shelves regardless so that should tell something that Nintendo Switch has value and they buy it not just because of the price tag.

Sometimes I wonder how differently things would have been for the Wii U, if that system (sans the virtual Wii) had been released right after the Gamecube instead. As in reality, that's the kind of power the Wii U was dealing with, the kind that could have seen far more third party games that the PS3 and 360 were also seeing. If Nintendo released the Wii U, a system with motion control, a second touch screen and the power to go toe to toe with Sony and Microsoft, at the same time as the PS3 and 360, Nintendo would have made that system a beautiful success instead of the underperfomring failure it was.

Now obviously, Nintendo's system at that time still outsold the PS3 and 360, but this hypothetical would have changed the timeline significantly, Nintendo might have then had something very different from the Switch to compete directly with the PS4 and Xbone, and probably launch around the same time as them at that. Who is to say that timeline would have even resulted in a Switch?

What does make or break mean in this case? If the Switch weren't a success Nintendo would have given up on the game industry?

@GamerDad66 good post. I don’t think I would go as far as saying that I prefer the WiiU, but it certainly did have plenty of virtues. U are correct about it having more character and charm. And Nintendo Land is criminally underrated.

@aaronsullivan it really was out of date before it was even released. The average consumer looked at it like this- I can get a tablet for as much as a WiiU, not be tethered and do more things on it. And that’s if they even knew about it.

That said, it was a great device, if for no other reason, freeing up a screen. Then, it had some awesome titles. Nintendo Land, Smash and MK8 alone justified the purchase for me.

Love my Wii U but the thing was such as a disaster and its interesting to see how bad a position it left Nintendo in. Seems way worse then the other underperforming N64 or Gamecube era.

I like Reggie and hes rightfully proud of the switch but like he was a part of the Wii U disaster too.

After owning a Nintendo Switch after about a year it came out (probably around 2018), I have discovered that the seamless quality experience between console and handheld was an incredible achievement. I strongly feel Nintendo Switch almost reached a pinnacle moment. Surely this needs to be the “template” or model to continue to use. To follow the idea of how iPhones and smartphones have evolved. Where you continue to build and upgrade on the success, not take away or remove things that fans love.

Nintendo doesn’t need to innovate every generation. This generation, they need to consolidate with a switch pro. Next gen can be their innovation attempt. They just need to continue to put money away though because innovation is risky- even though they have an amazing track record

He probably meant that if the Switch would have fail, Nintendo will turn to only software company

Nintendo have way to much money in their bank account to be in a dangerous situation before like 2030

@AJDarkstar The two of us.
I believe they called it the next system at least twice before they played the trailer and they presented the controller as the new controller for Wii U after having revealed that being the name of the new system.

Nintendo's mistake was overestimating the amount of people capable of listening. They should have showed the console itself on stage and not just in the background of the trailer.

@Kulhy better question: would the Wii U be more popular had Breath of the Wild released back in 2015 as a Wii U exclusive, as originally planned?

For many Nintendo fans, a quality lineup of first-party games is enough, and the Wii U undoubtedly had that. But for more casual fans who previously owned a Wii, or for the PlayStation and Xbox crowds, it needs a clear, innovative selling point to make up for its lack of processing power. Wii U had one, and it had so much potential, but it's also something that Nintendo's advertising crucially failed to convey. That's probably the biggest reason that the Switch is successful whereas the Wii U wasn't.

Two mainline Mario games, a new Mario Kart, a Mario level creator, and a Smash Bros game failed to sell Wii Us. I doubt Zelda would have changed much.

Not to downplay the guy as I really like him, what did he exactly do to witch the switch or switch creation? Other than maybe give feedback or the marketing campaign?

The switch has easily found its place in my top 3 Nintendo consoles and top 5 consoles of all time. Excellent concept beautifully executed. Nintendo deserves all the success they get. Now I'm curious to see what's next 😉

Easy to forget the Wii was also a smash hit prior to the Wii U being a total flop. I think Nintendo was too hesitant to move on from the success of the Wii, they released the Wii U too late and right on the cusp of PS4 and Xbox One.

There are couple of thing here:

1) Regarding the Wii U, that was a system that was released during the insane era of when Mobile and smartphone gaming was becoming popular. Probably nobody wanted something bulky or “unnecessary” at the time. As you were tied to being stationary, lacking freedom and movement when playing. The Wii U hardware just didn’t seem attractive enough and felt confined.

2) Personally the Nintendo Switch is too valuable of a product to discontinue with. It is really becoming the ultimate gaming platform. If the developers at Nintendo want to create the next innovation (which I’m sure many are anxious to experiment and put out), then anything bizarre and weird they implement, should be positioned as a “Super Nintendo theme park attraction”. Meaning any VR or 3D immersion concept should be done there. That way there is zero risk in harming the Switch platform and users worldwide.

@SwitchForce
4K Docked on a huge TV I understand
4K Portable is ludicrous ppi wise with that size of screen, not to mention it would eat the battery in few minutes.
The future will continue tech advances, but I don't expect a Switch 2 capable of a 4K screen. Maybe Switch 3.
In any case, I hope for a toggle, when that eventually happens, to have option of lowering resolution to increase battery life.
Is not about how much "you" or even I are willing to pay. Selling less Switches for a higher price makes no business sense.

@NGNYS
This is how Nintendolife comment sections here are. Expecting reasonable discussions here is foolish at best

@YoshiFlutterJump BOTW would have shifted some consoles if it was Wii U exclusive but let's be honest. Nothing was saving a console that had a controller that looked and felt like a fisher price toy. Look at the GC. It had all the Nintendo first party games and it flopped. Wii U was dead on arrival!

@Crono1973 just means consumers may have given up alongside publishers etc etc. Would have been real tough to turn around

My worry is Nintendo’s ways of always wanting to innovate. I really hope with the next console they don’t sway from the switch concept and just give us a higher spec version rather than go off on a tangent just for the sake of being different.

Switch really feels like they’ve hit the nail on the head with the hardware formula.

@Giancarlothomaz

Well to be fair there was a TON of naysayers, pundits & just straight up Nintendo haters that were labeling the Switch as something that nobody wanted & failure in the making.

Xbox has well and truly put to bed the myth that the Wii U failed because of the name

The joycons were definitely a break product

@ferryb001 I was just thinking to myself , the switch is almost at 80 million but this is the 4th article I have read recently using the September numbers. Wonder why that is .

I consider the Switch to be the Wii U 2 anyway. The Wii U’s best feature was off-screen play so that you could carry on playing even if someone wanted to use the TV. It failed I think mainly due to its name and the controller having a short range from the console.

Even before the Wii U launched I was thinking Nintendo should have held off on the Wii U and used mobile hardware to keep the system self-contained in the controller so that it could be a handheld.

I think Nintendo saw how much the Wii U was used for off-screen play and decided to make a proper hybrid system that wasn’t tethered to a console under the TV. The Wii U was like the first draft while the Switch is more like the perfected final product (excluding joy-con drift).

@Inc obviously they should continue to innovate but they also need to keep the main aspect in tact, which is being able to play games with normal controllers.

This is not only more convenient for most gamers but it makes it easier to just pick up the controller/Switch and play.

This also is what helped bring so many 3rd party games and ports to Switch, because they didn't have to program for an entirely different type of way to control a game.

So the working formula + innovation is more than welcome.

How could a console with new Mario (2D and 3D), Zelda, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Mario Maker, Pokken and others possibly fail?

@gameboy1975 Well to be fair there was a TON of naysayers, pundits & just straight up Nintendo haters that were labeling the Switch as something that nobody wanted & failure in the making.

Called: NintenDoomed fandom......

@Yanina Imagine the next Switch with backward compatibility for all previous Nintendo consoles and hand-helds — of course they won't do that.
Sigh!

They'll simply port or remaster old stuff.

The Wii U should of been called Nintendo Wii 2.

If its a naming issue, why is it acceptable for Microsoft to call their new XBOX Series X?

What does that name even mean to the casual player who doesn't follow gaming news? Is it better or worse than a 360 or One?

@The-Chosen-one Nintendo usually sticks with their console names for 1 to 2 generations.

Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo 64
GameCube
Wii
Wii U
Switch

True, the GC and N64 were the odd ones here. But I could see the next Switch being the "Super Switch" (this will not be a "Pro" model, it will have only exclusive new games, and backward compatibility with the old games)

And just to speculate: I think the "Super Switch" will have a wireless dongle instead of a dock. Where you play with a wireless controller and one player on the Switch itself. Or the Switch in a cradle and playing with just a Pro controller. This could also reallow asynchronous play between handheld and TV in certain games (but only as an option).

@Emperor-Palpsy that won't happen because they are licences and you don't own them. Buy physical if you want ownership.

@John_Deacon most people here collect the cartridges you are in the minority.

Oh please, Nintendo had plenty of cash even during the Wii U days and even if the Switch flopped hard they had the means to release another console.

It took 3 bad consoles in a row (sega cd, sega 32x, sega saturn) and a heavy hitting rival (sony with playstation 1 & 2) to kill sega. I think nintendo would have been fine even with wii u 2 but I'm glad it didn't come to that.

I skipped the WiiU, mostly because it never had an original Zelda game until the end, and the price never dropped.

Well Reggie was the one in charge with the WiiU. He had almost nothing to do with the Wii or anything prior too it soooo who’s at fault here? Also the switch wasn’t a make it or break it for Nintendo, they would have just came out with something else. Nintendo has way more money than people realize. I believe Nintendo is in a better place without Reggie honestly, they needed someone that will conduct business and reggie failed at that. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo let him go and let him leave with dignity. Why else would he leave with nothing lined up?

The WU failed because people were over the gimmick era of the Wii, and the WU only added more gimmicks. They craved a conventional system, and wrote off the WU instantly once they saw the preview video. I still cringe when I see it.

@jamesthemagi I like this list. I'd only add internal storage should be much more. 64gb is only double the current 32gb. I'd expect at least 256gb. I'm not tech savvy with battery specs, so I'll just say it should be at least 5 hours on demanding games, and 8 on older and less demanding games. As for price, it should be the same as the current model. It was already expensive enough.

@RendellDraw

Yeah, while that would be great to have this is all kinds of unrealistic.They've changed mediums, architectures & more over the years. You can't even get sony to give people ps1-3 games that folks have been clamoring for without them being remasters, ports or them charging in some way etc. Despite there being way less change in their controller interface or storage mediums.

MS has done admirable work with BC, but even they are not 100% & could still do better. Also they don't have a real handheld device that they have to try & work in. So you're asking for something none of the 3 are doing. You want that kind of backwards compatibility, you got to go to PC my friend.

Funny how they never mention how DS and 3ds saved Nintendo during poor WiiU performance. The Switch is a great system that I have and love, but they are so quick to toss 3ds to the curb when it is responsible for getting them to this point. 3ds is still my favorite console of all time, it's a bizarre mistake to push it away so quickly. Nintendo is great but they really make strange decisions sometimes. They couldve squeezed so much money out of a hybrid 3ds switch console, which would've had 2 screens and could've also been easily worked to play digital copies of WiiU games and have much easier time porting WiiU games into little cartridges due to having the proper screen setup you need for it. That would've quadrupled the switches already massive game library. It's so frustrating

This is a bit dramatic I think. It's commonly known that Nintendo is quite a cash rich company and the Wii U underperforming wouldn't have depleted anywhere near that. With Nintendo putting all its eggs in one basket with the Switch, I think it was a pretty safe bet that it would sell better than the Wii U as well.

@ROBLOGNICK That's true, but if they had two failed consoles in a row, it would be really difficult to get developers and consumers to sink their money into what ever came next.

The thing is, nintendo always have ups and downs, this is a part of a inovative company wich takes risks nobody want to take. Its admirable anyhow as they always bring new ideas to the console market wich others implement in some way.

The wii-u was not a bad console the reason why it failed was because nintendo ignored the audio/video industry, and the fact they did not focused on 3th party. And thats what the did just great with the switch.

Don't think another switch will be again such a great succes, what they have to do is to look at specific features that will be important in the near future. They know its 3th party games, but do they know its 4k?
They cant come up with a new mario game in 1080p, also not with a console that does not suport hdmi 2.1.

The Wii U definitely was very underwhelming. It wasn't just poor marketing is why it failed, it failed cause Nintendo placed game releases too far apart and that didn't help the console. The main reason why I didn't like the console was it had an identity crisis. It didn't know if it wanted to be a handheld console, a home console, a Wii, a successor to the Wii, etc. The controller looked and felt like a Fisher Price toy and I hated how it had a duel reflection when you were trying to watch Netflix and it got to the point where I would "hide" the controller to avoid this. The battery life was abysmal because of how the controller was made. The console was lackluster and very basic.

You could do handheld gaming for games that allowed it, but you couldn't get far from the console at all or else you would lose connection to the device. It had some great games and thankfully Nintendo ported the majority over to Switch. But let's not pretend that the library of first party titles was flawless. Kirby And The Rainbow Curse and Star Fox:Zero were both a spit in the face to me and countless other Nintendo fans. Meanwhile, Switch is in my top 3 favorite consoles of all time and I own nearly the complete North American library.

@CowCatcher the name and the confusing marketing ruined the chances of the Wii U being a success, which is a shame.