Is the Switch's 3rd Party Support a Major reason why the Switch is selling well?

[Slownenberg]

People buy Switch for the hybrid play-modern-games-anywhere concept and the first party games. The mega seller AAA third party games simply aren't made for Switch because they only target the most powerful systems as that is the target game Sony and Mircrosoft have built their audience to buy - hyper realistic graphics action games, and FIFA games. Once in a blue moon a third party will decide to port downgraded several years late versions of current gen AAA games to the Switch at full price, which obviously have a much lower sales roof since most people who wanted that specific game already bought it in the past few years. So nobody is buying a Switch for the once or twice a year downgraded, years late, full price AAA third party game, but when those games do hit Switch they sell well given the context.

Of course, if Switch wasn't full of great indies, A and AA third party content, and the rare downgraded AAA third party game it would not be the huge success that it is. Those games fill out any Switch owners library. Sure they get the must-have first party games, which is why those are mega sellers because those are the games people buy the system for, but then you have lots of great non-AAA third party / indie games to choose from that rack up solid sales (and they don't need multi-million sales to be very successful because they don't have $50 million budgets like PS4/Xbox AAA games).

I would bet if we had accurate global figures you'd have a ton of indies and third party Switch games in the 1-2 million range and a few in the 3-5 million range - so those aren't system sellers, but they are popular games that sell well and fill out a library that would be looking pretty empty people only bought first party games.

I have 21 third party games and 12 first party games (and I counted Bayonetta 2 and Mario+Rabbids as first party though opinions seem to differ on what they are and I don't really think of them as first party, but basically one-third of my games are first party). I mostly bought the system for the first party games but I mostly buy third party games and I have more indies than I do first party games. And while there are a few third party games currently out that I might eventually get there are only two more first party games currently out that I would think about getting once they go on sale. First party (and hybrid design) sells the system, third party is what makes a good library and keeps the system healthy.