the_dengle said:
Why would they compete with the PS4? Over 50 million people have already bought one. It would be simpler for them to market directly to PS4 owners by offering them games they can't play on PS4. I mean if they assume anyone who has already bought a PS4 or an XBO is lost, they're giving up on half the console market. Trying to sell a new system to those who still haven't bought one more than three years after both launched is just scavenging for scraps. The big spenders buy platforms at or soon after launch, and Nintendo needs the big spenders because the Switch is designed to suck more profit out of each consumer than any other Nintendo console for the past two decades. Regarding the price, they have priced the Switch to make them a lot of profit, and as such there is a lot of wiggle room for price drops. I don't doubt we'll see competitively priced bundles this Holiday. |
Ultimately, I think the primary audience and the majority of the Switch userbase will be 3DS owners. 3DS owners are Wii U gamers, they are PS4 gamers, they are PC gamers, and they buy shit tons of games. They are just gamers.
The 3DS managed to be an excellent primary gaming machine in Japan, and a great secondary gaming machine in the West. I think the Switch will struggle outside of Japan, sales-wise, until that audience is targeted with a price cut or two. If I am right, it's not all bad news, because there is no serious competitor fighting for the 3DS userbase, so they'll just wait for the 2018 Switch.
If I am wrong, and the Switch becomes a runaway success in 2017... well, that's a chance Nintendo apparently couldn't pass on, hence, the 300 dollars price tag. Somehow, Nintendo earned the right to experiment with the price since no one is filling their shoes in the handheld gaming space 
(not even smartphones).
PS4 gamers are part of the audience that bought a 3DS and should be targeted with the Switch, I agree. I just don't think they'll buy it for 300 dollars and pay for yet, another online gaming services. In that sense, with those prices, Nintendo is competing for PS4 gamers' money instead of fitting naturally in their households like the 3DS did.
