How the heck is Switch so successful?

[Legend]

I've been playing my switch and loving it... but it doesn't really feel like an upgrade from the Wii U. How the heck did Wii U sell so poorly while Switch is breaking records?

Pros vs Wii U
Better name. Way less confusion since no one thinks Switch is a wii addon.
"Premium" feel. Switch feels like a modern device while Wii U felt more like a toy.
Portability. Switch is a hand held and a home console.
Zelda BotW as a launch title.

...and that's about it. Is this an example of how just one or two factors can change a console's sales by an order of magnitude? Or did external factors also give Switch a huge boost compared to Wii U?


I think it boils down to two things. #1 is that Switch had better marketing and threw Wii U under the bus. Nintendo treated Switch as a comeback/game changer. Also marketed as having modern online play even though that didn't really materialize. #2 is that Switch isn't treated as a home console by most people. I play the device only around my house and it's pretty much just a more awkward Wii U, but as a portable it can bring in the entire 3DS crowed. This brings me to the conclusion that if Switch didn't have a dock and was only sold as a portable, it would have probably still been really successful.

What do you think?

[Xevross]

Switch is selling as well as you'd expect for it to be a replacement for both the 3ds and the wiiU. And that's just it, it's their handheld and console in one machine, if it wasn't selling well it would be a disaster. Also BOTW and Odyssey in first year helped a lot, plus Smash this year carried December, on top of Pokémon on November.

WiiU was a disaster all around, for many reasons. It's name was a horrible decision.

[Cute Pikachu]

1. Actually Useful Gimmick. Switch being portable makes it accessible for adults while having the home console perks on the TV.
2. Sleek Design.
It's not a Fischer price toy and looks like something adults and kids would want.
3. Game Library.
Breath of the Wild
Mario Odyssey
Splatoon 2
Mario and Rabbids
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Octopath Travellor
Pokémon  Let's Go
ARMS
Kirby Star Allies
Super Mario Party
Super Smash Bros Ultimate

That's all within 2 years and doesn't include Wii U ports.

[the-pi-guy]

I think it's just largely up to marketing and good games.  

[Legend]

Switch is selling as well as you'd expect for it to be a replacement for both the 3ds and the wiiU. And that's just it, it's their handheld and console in one machine, if it wasn't selling well it would be a disaster. Also BOTW and Odyssey in first year helped a lot, plus Smash this year carried December, on top of Pokémon on November.

WiiU was a disaster all around, for many reasons. It's name was a horrible decision.

Yeah exactly. It shows that handhelds still have a huge market.

1. Actually Useful Gimmick. Switch being portable makes it accessible for adults while having the home console perks on the TV.
2. Sleek Design.
It's not a Fischer price toy and looks like something adults and kids would want.
3. Game Library.
Breath of the Wild
Mario Odyssey
Splatoon 2
Mario and Rabbids
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Octopath Travellor
Pokémon  Let's Go
ARMS
Kirby Star Allies
Super Mario Party
Super Smash Bros Ultimate

That's all within 2 years and doesn't include Wii U ports.

1. That doesn't seem to be a major selling point, or rather it's the entire selling point and acting as a home console is the bonus.
2. Yup
3. Outside of Zelda, Wii U had just as good of a library in its first 2 years.

[the-pi-guy]

Yeah exactly. It shows that handhelds still have a huge market.

Tell that to the Vita!  

3. Outside of Zelda, Wii U had just as good of a library in its first 2 years.

It might just be a marketing thing but I feel like Nintendo is leveraging the library better.  

It just feels like there's been more games, even when there really hasn't been that much of a difference.


Zelda was out on the first day.  
Mario Kart was released less than two months later.  Those are two of Nintendo's biggest franchises in just two months.  

Mario Kart took a year and a half to reach the Wii U, and by that time it already wasn't doing so well.  

[kitler53]

because switch is not a successor to the wiiU.  it is a successor to the 3DS.  

switch's sales are good but they aren't really that great compared to 3DS especially considering that sony left the market and nintendo has a handheld monopoly now.  to me switch really shows that dedicated handhelds are still in decline.  

besides, nintendo seems to only be successful every other generation these days.  i expect their next system do significantly worse then switch and the one after that to do better when they starve their next gen hardware of games to feed their next next gen hardware like they always do.

[DerNebel]

I'm actually pretty sure, that if you asked Nintendo and they were being completely honest, then they wouldn't be able to tell you either.