The thing I think sets that Zelda or Mario game above the games he listed is because of this: Everyone can pick it up and play. It is not specific to one audience or certain group, which is very much the case with those games. Given that, there are games on Nintendo platforms to counter all of those in the sense that it fills the need for that genre and experience. However, tbh, that over the shoulder third person cinematic is getting boring. I am playing RDR2 right now, and it has no way near the sense of awe and exploration I had with BotW. This is of course my own opinion and experience, so take it how you may.

A PS4 Pro would certainly be a very solid secondary console, but the Switch is sufficient to me.
I used to have a gaming PC, but not anymore.

I agree. The biggest games are on all other platforms: ps4, xb1 and pc, while Nintendo is more about Nintendo exclusive, Japanese stuff and indies. Games like FE, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Luigi's, Yoshi, Kirby, those are not the games for the casual market. When you want to be sure you'll getting all the games everybody's playing you need to go to the other platforms.

Besides, everything from Nintendo is more expensive. They just don't care about cutting prices. I can get lots of great PS4 games with the price of a weird SMT x FE for Wii U. Nintendo is too expensive.

I've got lots of friends with Switch getting dust. They went for "look how cool that is" and they ended up with a Zelda only machine. They're all playing RDR, Call of Duty, Fifa, Spiderman, right now while Swicht will get pokemon and smash that they don't give a damm.

Your main console has to be the console where you can find everything, shooters, sports, big triple a, big world, 4k graphics, backwards compatibility (either like xbox or PS now), apps, blu-ray, etc. Your main console is a console filled with entertainment features, all types of games, good prices and all the games that you can find on all other platforms. Switch is just it's own thing. Nintendo is selling its own product for its own market.

Of course the op will say that everything we're saying here is just our own tastes and opinions and that they're talking about games and not things like blu-ray and that graphics doesn't matter, and that they can have all the nintendo goodness and have a ps4 for the rest and in the end i don't think this thread has much sense honestly.

But still, nsw is more like it's own thing. it's not a modern console. doesn't look like one, doesn't have all the features, doesn't have all the games, doesn't have all the good prices.

Well any console can be a primary. It is personal taste after all.

However only console? I'd argue those that think that way should explore beyond one system. Nintendo and Sony both have great franchises exclusive to them that are worth playing. Microsoft do to a degree to but the way they launched XBOX ONE makes it a hard buy a this stage of the gen.

This thread IS really poor because it's essentially baiting for replies that you knew would suck. Either that or you just didn't think this through at all. However considering how this thread is set up, it doesn't seem that way. I'm not saying you have bad intentions, but I think subconsciously you were looking for an outlet to defend Nintendo against a criticism that honestly is pretty rare. 

For example, your OP states: 

"Instead of just making a long list of points to counter what is most commonly argued for the contrary, lets play a game."

then in your first and only reply to another person: 

"Replies like this make it evident that you have no real counter to the various points that have been made."

What points? You said it yourself, you didn't make any points in the OP! You expected other people to do the work for you by either reading every reply in the thread or starting the discussion in the first place (because a referee shooting a gun in the air doesn't start a race until the people actually begin to run), so that they can argue against a position you hold that they can't reasonably argue against because you didn't explain the position at all. Your OP doesn't state any valuable arguments, so it's impossible for people to argue with it, because no points were made.

Not only that, but you had to know that the people who would counter this would be irrational, because you yourself state:

"Also note, that I am speaking of the Switch in general.  Everyone is different and will need different criteria to meet their gaming needs.  So arguments like, "I do not care about portability" are null and void, because this is about why the Switch is just as viable as any other console as a primary, not why it does not meet your personal needs."

If someone who is a rational person, is going to argue against a subjective claim ("the Switch is a viable primary console"), how would they do so without at least recognizing that their counter-claim would be subjective? They can't. So you're essentially closing discussion to only fit people who are irrational. Is that really that different from baiting someone by using their personal bias against them? Rational commentators do not go on to write in every Nintendo thread about how Switch is not a viable main platform. In fact, most irrational posters don't either. I've only seen this type of comment made like 9 times since joining this site, which is in the span of almost 2 years, and 3 of them are in this thread (and they're not even outright saying it, so it's debatable it's more like 6). 

Again, I don't think you're doing it on purpose, I just think you didn't think through the implications. 

Sigh so much wrong with this post.

Your main console is the one you buy and play most of your games on.  For me and many others, that is Switch.  I get more game time due to the portability of the device so I choose to game on it more.

I have a PS4 Pro as a side console  so I got my plat in God of War, beat Persona 5, RE7, Horizon, and got RDR2.  After I get the experiences the Switch does not have however, I go back to gaming on Switch because the versatility of it makes all the difference in the world.

Most of my gaming time this year goes to Ys VIII, Octopath Traveller, Dragonball FighterZ (double dipped this one), Wolfenstein 2, Valkeria Chronicles 4, Xenoblade Torna, etc.

Also what is a "big" game?  Marketed to a certain extent?  All of those games I listed above are just as good or better than most "big" games this year (Battlefield V and Fallout 4 anyone?).  Perhaps you are a bit narrow minded when it comes to what makes a quality game, but that is not my loss.  Heck in both quality and quantity, Switch has delivered more exclusive games in under 2 years than PS4 did in two entire years, and most of its games were on PS3 during that time as well.

If those things are important to you, that is fine.  Nothing is wrong with that.  But there is also nothing wrong with many people choosing portability and versatility over those things as well.  There are more than enough current gen games on Switch to support that, even without the overhyped "big" games out there.  Both consoles are equally viable pending on what the person in question needs.

What defines a primary console is none of what you describe, and the fact that you think otherwise is puzzling to say the least.  What defines a primary console is its ability to meet your gaming needs and what you game on most.  Nothing more and nothing less.

I don't think it matters much what kind of thread it is, the (i'm guessing) purpose is to get a conversation going, which it clearly accomplished to some degree. However, people are free to not engage in the conversation, so I don't see how the responsibility falls on him to be responsible for what users post, irrational or otherwise. A troll thread would have been way more obvious and dear God have we seen a lot of those on this here website.

Sorry to disapoint you but many Nintendo fans didn't bought WiiU because of how bad it was on the market and SW output, plus Switch received a lot of customers from handheld Nintendo.

But sure sure, almost as many people would choose PS4, X1 and Switch as main or only gaming device... we will certainly see Switch over PS4 at the end of the gen.

It doesn't matter what kind of thread it is? ... That's literally what the pretenses of the thread would be. Of course it matters. And like I said, I don't think that the OP's point was to bait people. But the affect is practically the same. The thread is pretty lame. 97% of it is just "I agree". The other 3% is the unreasonable part or the part that gets shut down with one reply. That's not really discussion. Which is the expected affect when your OP is of that quality. So noting is really being discussed. I mean, people are *talking* but the result isn't a real discussion. The only reasonable comments so far are "I agree". 

Ok quick reply to your two main points.  When I replied to the guy, he straight up called me annoying.  Ok cool, I am thick skinned, NP.  But what this implied was that maybe he was annoyed with my responses and failed to add anything contructive to the discussion.  Admittedly however, I was working when I made that reply and maybe I jumped the gun.  If so, my bad.

To the next point, I was simply trying to nip in the butt the bias arguments of only looking at their own point of view.  The point of the thread is to illustrate how the Switch is just as viable as a primary platform as any of the others based on the needs of the gamer.  What it is NOT about is trying to discredit any of the other platforms, but highlight that many gamers have different needs.  You have to admit, there is an abundance of people who would dismiss the viability of a platform to "real gamers" because of their own bias.  As you can tell by the replies however, it did not work (to be fair, it should have been obvious it wouldn't lol).