In the historic scheme of things, yes, it matters. Nintendo had been a home console manufacturer since the mid 80s, and they remained so even after struggles with the N64 and GC all the while their portable bussiness kept booming.

After the Wii U, and Sony's domiantion in this gen on the home console front, Nintendo made a smart decision to consolidate both of their efforts into one portable system, that happens to have the option to be played on a full TV screen. 

The Switch Lite is proof that this is indeed a portable first. If it was the other way we would have had a Switch Home Console only version with powered up specs instead of the Lite. They are still competing directly against Sony and MS, after all the Switch is a 300 hundred dollar device with added costs in carrying case and game easily a near 400 dollar investment at the start (for the regular model) it is just they went to the bussiness side of things that they have always excelled at (portables), the nature of the Switch makes also a perfect companion console, so Ninty is also getting sales from current PS4 and X1 owners.

Some people say, that it matters if you marry a black or a white person. But I say it doesn't matter, as long as you're in love. EDIT: After consideration I think that comparison is insensitive. Marriage is an important life choice and racism a heavy problem, while gaming platforms on the other hand is a trivial issue in comparison. I apologize for that comparison.

I don't understand the arbitrary categorization put on this stuff. You play games and need some sort of technical way to do this. If it needs to be plugged into the wall why you're playing or not seems not important to me, only that you have fun.

See, I played back there on DOS (even before Windows gaming started off). I started playing on console with the Wii. Now I play with Switch. And I never really considered that the platform is of much importance, as long as it provides me with great games. All these young kids talk about the platforms and their differences as it was in any way important. Sure, there are differences in how you play it. But I still compare DOS and Wii and Switch as similar, as all three were platforms allowing me to play great games. I don't even understand why I should separate them and somehow value them differently. The only thing that counts is the amount of joy and fun it provides.

I agree Switch has succeeded because it has some great content  but I don't agree in discounting the fact that Nintendo literally had to go in another direction to its main competitors in order to find success after the Wii U debacle. 

Sega had a lot issues in the 90s with different failed platforms and they no longer exist today (as a hardware company) so the bussiness and market stuff matters. 

Had the Switch forgone portability for another Home Console iteration it would have met failure. Nintendo left that market for good and I am glad for it because I can finally get great AAA experiences on the go on a consistent basis.

Nintendo has always gone in different directions with their platforms their whole success is because of that even the NES was different from all other consoles upon release. Nintendo also didn't leave any market they did what they did back with the NES where they've redefined what the definition of a home console is with an unorthodox form factor only now they can hit two markets at once where as all prior platforms came in pairs.

Like I said earlier, the same applies in the opposite direction.

DS+PSP sold ~235 million while 3DS+Vita sold like ~90 million, the dedicated portable market saw a huge decline and that likely would have continued with increased development times and cost.

Most reports seem to be that while Switch Lite is doing well and selling at a steady pace, it's not doing anything mind blowing in terms of sales and the original model is still the more popular option.

It is just as much a true Wii successor as it is a handheld with the fact that it uses motion controllers and has an emphasis on couch multiplayer and on top of that Nintendo has made a handful of games that dont work with the handheld only model like 1 2 Switch, Labo, Super Mario Party & Ring Fit Adventure while not having any handheld only games.

If Switch was a home only console than it would be selling significantly worse.

If Switch was a portable only console than it would be selling significantly worse.

This. There is still a demand for handheld gaming, and the fact that it doubles as a home console can satisfy the demands of both groups. I really wish we eventually get the total numbers of Switch lites sold, to see how many people are fine with handheld-only.

It doesnt bother me. Switch will never be my first choice for games but more like a secondary console which is perfect for it. After being disappointed with xbox this gen and seeing how expensive next gen consoles are going to be, ps5 and switch will be my way to go for next gen.

Nintendo's successes are always both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because their successes usually mean cool new stuff to play. A curse, because they always seem to screw up the next generation.

Nintendo only seems to be able to learn from failure. They rest on successes.

Switch will start to decline once the new systems are out. However, it not getting as many AAA 3rd party games isn't the only factor to why. It'll mainly be because it is getting older and because Nintendo has already released their big guns. A price cut might slow the decline quite a bit, but it won't stop it.

Naturally, by 2021 the Switch will be 5 years old, every major series will have been out for the system for at least a year already. We can hope it wont be a steep decline.