Nothing like a bit of optimism eh?

Ffs, at least give it a chance to be on sale first, we haven't even had the proper announcement yet. I for one am looking forward to the 12th and I'll probably be buying the Switch.

One because I like Mario/Zelda/Metroid/Mario Kart and so on. And two because I'm one of the (apparently few) people who loved the gamepad. I like the off-screen play for when the wife is watching her crap on my beloved OLED :D

Sure I can play my PS4 Pro on my Vita or Mac and I can play my Xbox One on my Windows PC and tablet, but there's just something nice and straightforward about using the Wii U Gamepad.

Dead on Arrival to me but I am prepared to eat crow if it succeeds

Yea i agree with the author. Nintendo will go more into the mobile market, when/if switch fails. I hope/guess they will also make a conventional console. Not the most powerfull one but with more couch gaming, hell maybe even try vr again.

Imo the switch is death on arrival and the wii u allready showed this. Do they really think that a hybrid would flourish in a market that is dominated by there own handhelds and by android/ios. Well they can always try i guess.

It will fail 100%.
Gimped ports, only bought as a second console for the 1 a year nintendo classics (poor attach rate) 3rd parties already saying no, not to mention pretty average mario and zelda games on the wii u.
No one is buying this as a main console to play fifa, madden, cod, battlfield etc, so all the biggest sellers (and all the money) will only be going ps/xbox/pc.

It won't happen has way to many fans and many looking forward to that travel gaming handheld portion of switch.

Personally I think it will outsell Wii U's LTD sales in one year. Breath of the Wild can practically guarantee that.

I just don't see the Switch failing. There are enough handheld, and console Nin fans that are planning to get the Switch, day 1. I expect the Switch to do well for Nintendo.

If the Switch bombs the way the WiiU did, then I honestly think Nintendo is done making hardware. They'd convert to mobile gaming and just making software and we might even start to see their games release on PS, and X1/Windows10.

They go full handheld/mobile. Drop the hardware after 3 years, pretend to still support it while coming out with something new and 0 new games for the old system.

"Nintendo isn’t going to go bankrupt or become a third-party software "

...
except this entire article is speculation so I'm not entirely sure how anyone could say something won't happen when they're stupid article is based on speculation of "what if" in the first place.

I don't believe Nintendo is going to go bankrupt but in regards of becoming a third-party software developer technically speaking they already are when they created games for mobile , because they are acting as a third party to Apple and Android because to my understanding unless something has changed Nintendo does not own Apple or Android yet they're producing a game for mobile platforms which actually means indeed that is the role of a third party.

I believe if the switch fails by default Nintendo likely already has a contingency plan just simply become a software company because I don't see where this company goes if they have another failure in Hardware simply because it means that it may not be them creating the wrong Hardware, it simply might be that the market no longer exists to purchase their products and regards to hardware. ( Or the market to purchase Nintendo Hardware is too small and actually hurts their software sales in the long run)

There are two reasons behind why something might fail one might be because it was created incorrectly in the market was not responding because of its inferiority

The other might Simply Be because it was created perfectly fine but simply that the market does not exist any longer at the compacity that would allow them to create a respectable profit. (Or both)

People need to look at it like this , a company could release literally the best MP3 player ever created and it would not get huge sales simply because consumers could just use their telephones for the function of an MP3 player regardless of the amazing quality of a standalone MP3 player it doesn't actually mean the company created an inferior product it simply means that the users do not feel that a standalone product is necessary if they could just use their telephones to supplement.

No different than GPS.

Marketshare is an absolutely dangerous thing to lose simply because it's something that's extremely difficult if not almost near impossible to gain back, it's not saying you have consumers that will purchase your product if the quality is there , it's saying that the people who would even purchase your product are not even interested in purchasing anything remotely like this device regardless of quality.

In a open market concept who ever makes the better product wins, but if you do not have the market share you're not even in the race.

I just believe that a large number of people who used to be Nintendo gamers likely are playing Facebook games and mobile games and maybe they were using Nintendo handhelds or consoles to play casual games based on the lack of an alternative. They might have permanently lost a large portion of that older install base to casual more convenient Concepts.

My 2 cents

Whatever happens change needs to come within. It seems most of the nintendo corp higher ups are ran by people well into their 50s and 60. How old is miyamoto? They need fresh blood that have new tastes and experiences for nintendo moving forward. Even the most hardened nintendo fan can see the switch is nothing more than a portable wiiu. But even i feel if the switch fails, its biggest problem will be that their fanbase arent used to buying third partys that have found homes on other consoles for many years. If third partys cannot thrive and be a commercial success that will be the fall of yet another nintendo platform. A system cannot succeed on first partys alone without some award winning gimmick like the wii had. It must have the backing of third partys to appeal to all gamers instead of your marios, zeldas, donkey kongs, and ssb. I also think porting many wiiu games from the wiiu to the switch is a mistake without offering variety of new experiences and third partys as well.

May not be a failure but is not going to be a hit. It is going to be the same Nintendo we have seen for many years: underpowered hardware, no third party support, no competitive good network service and few exclusives.

I belive it will do much d

I was excited for a new Nintendo release thinking it would be legitimate console and controller setup. I'll never touch this hybrid crap. Hope it succeeds I guess though for their sake.

I think they're being smart.. it'll be a slow burner like the DS' were.. initially seeming a bit dumb but picking up steam as it outright replaces both 3DS and WiiU in the long run.. The right combination of Pokemon, PC and android ports and it becomes quite a compelling piece of kit.. it's just not going to do it immediately., there's going to be a weird transition period for devs, for sure.. but it could end up taking the vitas weird Japanese market share a sense well as other random niches.

It would be a big blow to Nintendo, they aren't as untouchable these days as they once were.

If this system gets the rumored Pokemon Stars in its first year, I can see it performing quite well, as Pokémon is a system seller and poke-mania has caught on again.

Idk, who knows.

But I don't think it will fail. Might not do Wii numbers but I sincerely doubt it's going to fail. The 3DS
launched at same price as Switch and it's sold 60 million units and counting. And Switch is infinitely more awesome than 3DS.

You look at Zelda Link Between Worlds on 3DS, then Zelda Breath of the Wild on Switch, and it's easy to see how how much more you're getting for your money. Not to mention it's a hybrid too? Ya, it's too cool of a system to fail. Nintendo gambles on new ideas a lot, some cooler than others, but this time it's just a really appealing console all around.

what if is not the ? but when

Lol, Nintendo people will buy anything with the Nintendo brand. If they drooled over the many different versions of 3DS, I can imagine them buying multiple Switch systems when it comes out.

Then it fails.

If this is indeed cheaper than the competition it just makes me think "Why didn't they go the unorthodox route in design but keep the power in line with the competition" Then they'd be getting the games in the same quality as Sony and MS with the added selling point of their unique hardware and portability. Could have used the dock a lot more. If it were a hundred dollars more (Assume a $300 price point now) to add this extra oomph then I would have been happy with that.

Personally I wouldn't have gotten it myself but more because of my large game library on PS stretching back almost a decade and only being able to afford one major console a generation. But if I could afford it or were looking to get into gaming I'm going to go the route that gives me the most support/games and if Nintendo had that AND something that MS and Sony didn't then I'm more likely to go to them.

Sony has PSVR to set them apart, MS has Rift support (eventually I guess), Ninty has their screen/portability but the others ALSO have the power.