"Does Nintendo know what to do with the device/the controller?"
I've said this before, sometimes its like Nintendo trys to re-invent the wheel for no reason.
Why are the controllers new / differnt? well we had this fun idea... and then reality hits, its only used spareingly and not to much effect.
With the Wii, the IR sensors and the motion controlls where well used.
With the Wii-U the touch pad, wasnt really well used at all, and often times just made things more complicated.
With the Switch, the new "haptic feedback" is used to some degree, but not that much either.
With the switch, nintendo stuck closer to "normal" than it did with the Wii U, where the controller was just odd, because it was this huge tablet.
Consumers like the "normal" standard design of controllers and how they are currently.
After X generations, all 3 have moved towards the logical redesigns and "how the controller is" is basically at a optimal point.
Most drastic changes will only make for a worse controller.
So basically... dont f*** with the formula.
(the lack of a proper D-pad on the Switch is still a mistake imo, they should have just had a small bit of text in the manual that indicates that the d-pad funktions the same way the buttons do, once de-tachted)
"How much perceived value does the device offer for the customer?"
This again was a issue with the Wii U, it was expensive, interms of what the "hardware" inside actually was (dedicated for gameing) because of the tablet controller. The Switch, isnt fantastic in terms of hardware vs price of device, but its a handheld, and a decently powerfull one too. This makes its percieved value raise somewhat. The Wii was just good cheap fun, it wasnt much in terms of hardware, but it was cheap so it evened out.
"games, games, games"
We all noticed the months on months of software droughts the Wii U had. Ontop of alot of nintendo IP had games that where amoung the worst in their series. While the Switch right out the gate had big bangers (critically well recieved), and actually kept at it with releases.
Its a no brainer, games matter when your selling console hardware.
"So what do you think? Were these points important for the success of these systems? Are other things more important?"
These are spot on (imo), and are important if you want a successfull console.
TL:DR version:
Small iterative improvments, lots of bang for buck, tons of great quality games = success.
