October 20th marked the reveal of the Nintendo Switch, formerly under the Moniker NX. Nintendo showed the world its new vision for gaming being both powerful and mobile. Through this new system, Nintendo hopes to make it so that you can take high-quality AAA level titles with you on the road and out into the world. It is also in the vision that you take this tablet gaming device into the world and play with other people around you using the new detachable “Joy-cons.” This will be an amazing device for the gaming market. There is one problem, Nintendo itself.
In a console market dominated by the PS4 and the XBOX One, this movable, tablet-style, dockable device doesn’t fit in.That same docking mechanic disqualifies it completely from the handheld devices. The best way to describe the Switch is a hybrid console/handheld device. This is something entirely unique, and I can’t wait to see how it fully works. Honestly, I want to see the Switch succeed in the console market but problem market for the Switch is its mobile aspect.
Mobile handheld gaming is a market Nintendo continues to dominate with the 3Ds line. Over the entire 5-year product cycle of the 3Ds 61.57 million units, compare that to Sony’s 13 million units with the Vita. Nintendo is dominating the mobile handheld market, and there hasn’t been a viable alternative, until now. The Switch could represent a merger between Nintendo’s mobile and console lines. Working on the power that the 3Ds has while correcting the disappointing sales figures of the Wii U. This merger is not likely.
Therein lies the potential problem. Nintendo has stated that the Switch would not replace the 3Ds, a five-year-old system. In an interview with Bloomberg Tatsuma Kimishima, Nintendo’s president, stated, “Thanks to our software, the 3DS hardware is still growing. So that business still has momentum. And certainly rather than being cannibalized by the Switch, we think the 3DS can continue in its own form.” If Nintendo’s handheld console continues in some form after the Switch is launched and the 3Ds product cycle ends, I could see it hurting sales of the Switch; especially, if the 3Ds follower is at a lower price point than the Switch.
Uniqueness if another factor in the sales of the console. The Switch is something that hasn’t been done by a mainstream gaming company before, unless you consider the NVIDIA shield a precursor to this device. The Switch could draw on the same uniqueness that the Wii was able to play on to sell over 100 million consoles. Uniqueness is not the only thing that Nintendo needs in order for this to be a success.
A great selection of titles at launch is the other way that Nintendo can drive sales of the Switch. If Nintendo can have a new Mario title and Skyrim at launch, I could see the console selling higher than what is expected. It would also help Nintendo to differentiate from the mobile 3Ds.
Nintendo is in a position to lose to itself. The company needs to manage the advertising and how they show the Swtich, something they failed to do with the Wii U. How they show the difference between a mobile Switch and docked Switch will be important as well. They need to avoid displaying the Switch as primarily a mobile device so that they can avoid competing with their 3Ds line.
