Shadow1980 said:
There's been plenty of multiplayer-heavy titles released later in a system's life that were supported into the next generation. They weren't indicators that the generation they belonged to was going to be extended. Splatoon 3 coming out early next year doesn't necessarily rule out a Switch successor in 2023/early 2024. I really don't see the Switch lasting longer than 7 years (for reference, the DS lasted about 6-½ years), which may not be enough time to catch up with the DS & PS2. As I said, Nintendo is going to have to throw everything they have at it for it to be the new #1. But given their track record I don't think they'll do that, and they probably don't consider the bragging rights that would come with dethroning the PS2 to be as big of a deal as people on the internet do. Neither they nor their shareholders certainly won't lose any sleep if they "only" end up as the new #3. Also, I'd consider the Switch Lite to be a fairly significant refresh. It's a form-factor change that's more significant than the changes between the original DS and DS Lite. Proportionally, they had about the same size reduction. The Switch Lite is more portable than the undocked base model: it's only two inches longer side-to-side than a New 3DS XL, and about the same height as one. It's also considerably less expensive than the hybrid, though it's arguably a case of "you get what you pay for." While it isn't as popular as the hybrid model, it did boost sales quite a lot in Japan, though it had a more modest impact on sales in the U.S. |
I feel like your arguments are more wishful thinking than facts. Nintendo confirmed last year (in it's 4th year) the Switch was entering it's mid life cycle. This means it will def last 7-9 years. Splatoon is the kind of game that Nintendo likes to release and support over time. They did that with Splatoon and Splatoon 2. The fact they are releasing it in 2022 literally points out Switch will get support until 2024. Also, let's not forget Switch has a revision on the way, they won't just release a high end model to drop it 1-2 years later. They are also waiting for a price cut to push the sales on a longer trend.
And imo, the biggest exclusives (not necessarily the biggest in terms of sales, but in terms of ambition) are yet to release on Switch. Pokemon Legends, Splatoon 3, Zelda Botw 2, Bayo 3, MP4, the next mainline Mario game, Monolith's project... i truly feel like the support for the Switch will be insane in the next years and that with the Pro model will help sustain the sales on the long term.
