RolStoppable said:
Yes, you are correct. Switch will leverage its monopoly in the handheld market to maintain good sales regardless of how many multiplatform games it's going to miss out on. All previous Nintendo handhelds were in the same position of missing out and all of them sold high numbers regardless. Your argument about consumer perception doesn't survive scrutiny. The sales in 2017 already demonstrated that the lack of multiplatform games is not an obstacle, because Switch missed out on the vast majority of multiplatform games released in 2017 and sold above everyone's expectations regardless. Exclusives drove hardware sales in 2017, so the concern one should have is not about multiplatform games, but rather about Nintendo's ability to maintain a healthy flow of first and third party exclusives. As of now, there are no glaring holes in the release schedule. Of the multiplatform games that released in 2017 on Switch, none of them have been big sellers despite the installed base being big enough to have big sellers. What this data shows is that you are greatly overstating the importance of multiplatform games because those aren't the games that the general consumer buys a Switch for. |
I think you are giving Nintendo's Switch success too much credit.
If it's true that Switch was a big hit without the major 3rd party titles, it's also true that it had, what's being called, the best line-up ever for a console in year 1. Not to mention that it did something big: home console on the go.
Big first year in terms of 1st party titles (Mario, Zelda, MK, Splatoon) + HW selling factor (portability). Don't you think that, in theory, that mix could have been more than enough to cover for 3rd parties' absence?
If you ask me, that won't last forever.
As such, it would be best for Nintendo to gain as much support as it can, because all we know is that 2017 was a success, but that alone doesn't garantee things will keep going that way. Specially if Nintendo relies too much on it's own games (history shows us that it's not enough).
And that is why i said that Switch might suffer down the road if it can't broaden it's offer with 3rd party titles,
