Referring to their whole portfolio in comparison to other offers which makes it niche.

Playstation: 105 million
N64: 33 million

Playstation 2: 158 million
Gamecube: 22 million

Playstation 3: 87 million
Wii: 101 million

Playstation 4: 50 million
Wii U: 14 million

Just an example of sales history since Sony and Nintendo have been in direct competition. Overall the market has undoubtedly spoken to its desire for more than just Nintendo games being offered to a system. Sure things like a 3D Mario, Smash, and Mario Kart push a lot of units, but a lot of franchises are over-hyped due to nostalgia and name recognition. Zelda is one such example. The best sellin Zelda is Twilight Princess that sold 8.6 million copies being on two systems the gamecube and Wii in its lifetime 11 years ago. Uncharted 4 sold 8.8 million in 7 months. Uncharted 3 came out around the same time as Skyward sword. Skyward sword on a console with 100m install base sold 3.67 million all-time. Uncharted 3 sold more than that on DAY 1. In a single day on a console that had just over half that install base and its sold 6.8 million all-time. Most Zelda games have only sold 3-4 million copies. Which is respectable, but thats nothing compared to many franchises. Call of Duty does in one day or in one weekend what the cast majority of Nintendo titles do in their lifetime. Thats the part Nintendo as a company and its fans fall to grasp. Most people don't care about most of their franchises more than a lot of franchises that are new today.

The same argument can be made for the ps4 and X1. E.g. The ps4 is a:

1) home console
2) DVD player
3) BR player
4) a Cable box (for those who use Vue)

The reality is that neither the X1, PS4 or the Switch do everything fully, there are compromises. The Switch makes compromises by having last gen specs for being a home console and not coming with a Pro controller for those who prefer traditional controllers (lack of a proper D button on joy cons).

The PS4 makes compromises by not having a BR / DVD remote and having to use a DS4 instead. The issue of not being able to play as many formats of video as many DVD and BR players.

When it comes to consoles, many gamers value the console on its specs. E.g. I won't pay £300 for a Sega Mega Drive anything it has some awesome games. The specs of that console aren't worth £300 nor is the hardware.

Different people will see different reasons to see value or less value for each console. I made a mistake buying the Vita as I realised I don't really game on the go and I prefer home consoles miles above handheld. I would have much rather had the option of getting a switch bundle without the joycons but with a Pro controller. I'm not interested in the waggle games so it would be at no loss. For the sake of the duality, Ninty has had to make compromises even Nintendo fans must come to terms that you will no longer get handheld priced games. Just because it's both, you will no longer 2 variations of games that could hugely differ as one was built from ground up to be played on the go.

I'm not saying these are negative points. I'm a huge fan of the docking concept as I'm always moving my ps4 from room to room, but I understand different gamers will have different genuine reasons to value each one of the consoles and just because a machine does more than one thing, that don't necessarily justify a high price.

there you go.

Fact of the matter is:

* It's underpowered compared to todays consoles, significantly so.
* It's expensive, especially given the fact it's underpowered.
* Portability takes a hit in the fact that the battery life sucks compared to similar priced tablets on the market, despite the unit being twice to three times as thick as said other tablets.
* Launch lineup is absolutely shocking.
* You now have to pay for online play, with very little incentive beyond free nes games that you only get to keep for one month, and for many services you need to link a cellphone running the switch app to even use them.
* On the much lauded portability front, it's too big and too thick to fit anywhere but the slackest of large pocketed jeans and someones bag/backpack, gone are the days of a little true-portable slipping into your pocket, I don't consider tablets to be true portables, cell phones, DS, non-XL 3ds and to a stretch the original psp and at a very big stretch, the vita, are, but tablets.. have the same portability factor as a laptop.

It's a rough launch, everyone knows it, it's just the diehards trying to smooth over it with excuses.

people buy nintendo consoles for games? so why do they buy microsoft and sony consoles? as paper weights?

dn't mind the fact that the games libraries for ps4 and xbox at launch will be significantly larger than the library for the switch and it will stay that way

You need create room for discussion first. You DON'T do that by having one side say: "I only buy Nintendo games, so PS4 has 0 value" and the other side saying: "I only buy Sony games, so Switch has 0 value".

Of course value is a purely subjective matter but at least TRY to compare them.
Price, games (ALL of them), technical capabilities, additional features (achievements, motion controls), online service, multiplayer userbase, continuous support, etc.

The only REAL advantage for Switch that I see is that Switch is portable.
That it has Nintendo games is a) obvious and b) not really a strong point, because if it hadn't, there wouldn't be many games left. Meaning other consoles also have very strong games that aren't on Switch. So it's basically a tie.

I've realized more and more over my decade plus of (on and off) forum dwelling and most of us forum dwellers hold a very minority view of gaming that is often out of touch and nowhere near represents the view of the gaming community at large, and even smaller in comparison to the masses in gneral, so I wouldn't put much stock in what we say..

I remember in my years here and back at Gamepro (ugh), Wii was litterally the devil in the eyes of many. It was horrible, it was doomed, it was killing gaming, it was only made for "casuals" and simpletons, etc etc.. Meanwhile it went on to sell 100 million units, had a robust library, brought massive profits for Nintendo, and provided some of the most fun and memorable gaming experiences to date. 

An established library and power add value to a console just like the hybrid concept adds value to the Switch. How much value depends on your own preference. To me the PS4 (pro) offers more value than the Switch. 

The goalposts for a console are just how good the games are. Nothing else matters imo.

I love how you include gen 3 and 4 and combine Homeconsoles and Handheld like they are the same thing. You should also look at Software since the PS4 software sales already outsold the 3DS and Wii U sales combined.

Your right. Having a mainline pokemon in your system is what going to get people to buy your console.  Eurogamer's Pokemom Stars better be true and how its coming this year!