Yes and no.
The system power is incredible. Really above any and all expectations. Looks to be at least as powerful as the PS4 Pro / XB1X upgrade systems, but with newer tech that probably makes even more powerful.
The features are awesome. The mouse gameplay could be useful in some genres, game chat is finally on Nintendo and looks really well done especially with the camera it's just a shame the camera isn't included with the system, the magnetic locks are a big improvement over the sliding rails, the Game Share is a fantastic feature. GC getting added on launch day to Expansion Pack is fantastic, and Wind Waker and FzeroGX being launch games on it is very very cool since those are probably the two GC games people desire the most.
MK World looks incredible. Really looks like its in a completely new class for Mario Kart. Mario Kart games are always fun, but normally a new Mario Kart releasing is just like cool the next Mario Kart, but MK World is really like woah Nintendo went all out for Mario Kart this time to bring something new and interesting beyond just the normal fun.
Thanks to the massive power of the system, major AAA third party support is finally back on Nintendo after decades. Even from launch day huge AAA games are hitting the system. For the first time in numerous generations Nintendo is no longer gonna be the system that third parties either ignore almost entirely or treat as a distance after thought for their big games, but instead will be getting a full complement of the big new third parties games coming out.
Then there's the 'yes, Switch 2 is in trouble' part...
This all pretty much comes down to "where tf is Mario?!" and pricing.
Not having 3D Mario on launch day is a blunder because you always want a stand out huge single player game to launch a system, and for Nintendo that is either 3D Mario or 3D Zelda, nothing else can take their place on launch day. MK World looks incredible, but it's a secondary launch title after 3D Mario / 3D Zelda. It would have made much more sense to have Mario day 1 and Mario Kart a month later. Instead they flipped it with Mario Kart launch day and the big platformer the following month, but to make matters even worse (far far worse), they Switch out Mario with DK!!
Like seriously wtf. Mario is always a guaranteed blockbuster mega selling critically acclaimed game. DK is entirely untested in that role. The only 3D DK game was in the 90s and was extremely mediocre, and DK hasn't been a major series since the 90s. Nintendo is pretty much putting all their hopes on turning DK Bananza into a Mario-level acclaimed mega selling and system selling game. That's a huge gamble when they could have instead just gotten Mario ready for the launch.
The DK/Mario switcheroo will either pay off or big a huge blunder. Either they succeed and DK is an incredible game and sells 20 million copies and is a game everyone is talking about this summer and is selling millions of systems, or its just a fun game that doesn't do any of that and Switch 2 has to be largely carried by Mario Kart alone (in terms of system sellers) for possibly 5-6 months. Which suggests a strong launch and then lackluster sales until perhaps 3D Mario hits for the holidays or maybe several huge titles hit later this year.
Then there is the pricing debacle. The HW price is sky high, but the system is insanely powerful. Given that the system is more powerful than expected, it makes sense that it costs $50 more. On the plus side this is undoubtedly what has ensured Nintendo is suddenly getting major AAA third party support - I'd bet Nintendo probably asked third parties what they need to do to finally get serious support and they were told put out a powerhouse system. They did that, but of course now that means there is literally no longer an affordable system in the industry. Nintendo is now the final company to leave behind the category of offering affordable game systems, you gotta get the last gen Switch for affordability. This may put Switch 2 in more direct competition with Sony - both expensive systems, both getting huge third party releases.
I think the sticker shock of the system would have been alleviated if they included the camera with the system. The camera is a great feature to combine with the new game chat and that should have been included with the system and then it would have felt more reasonable that Nintendo systems are no longer affordable when you get both top notch power plus a camera for video chat.
Of course the worst part of all is the game prices going up by an astounding $20. $80 physical games! No one could have possibly imagined we'd have Nintendo suddenly jumping over $70 after only a single game and going straight to $80 for next gen. Even if the digital games cost $70 (which there seems to be some confusion about as far as I can tell) that still makes digital games very expensive and physical games absurdly expensive. Just dumb dumb dumb dumb by Nintendo. The HW pricing made Nintendo leave the affordable category, but the game pricing puts Switch 2 firmly in the expensive territory.
We'll have to see how many games get priced at $80 vs $70 vs $60 or whatever, but if there was ever a sign that Nintendo was out to shoot itself in the foot in a PS3 / 3DS style pricing blunder, it is $80 games. Remember how PS3 and 3DS sold about half of their predecessors, with a $450 system and $70-$80 games Nintendo seems to be saying they want to make sure Switch 2 doesn't make it to 100 million after the >150m Switch.
So, yeah, there are definitely signs of trouble. The system itself and the overall combined first + third party announcements look incredible and suggest the Switch 2 will have a far more diverse library of big games than any Nintendo system in many many years, DK instead of Mario is likely going to be a major blunder for the launch period and makes the launch look weak after Day 1 and could lead to the exact opposite of a sales bananza after the initial Mario Kart launch day sales wear off. Nintendo needs MORE, not fewer, reasons for consumers to buy the system this year given how high they've priced everything.
This looks to be a classic case of hubris like we've seen with Sony and Nintendo before, where they come off a dominant generation and think they can just do anything and consumers will return. Nintendo is putting out the best system possible, that is true, the system is honestly astounding, and the third party support looks to be the best in 30 years, but the pricing strategy is extremely unfriendly to the idea of selling a lot of systems and games, and at least based on what they showed at the Direct there are huge question marks after Mario Kart what they are actually going to have ready for first party games to actually keep the system selling.
Literally they could entirely fix any trouble and have a totally dominant system if they just said
1) oops consumers don't like the price so we're including the camera and the Welcome tour tech demo / game with the system and the price unchanged
2) oops about game pricing and dropped it to $60 digital / $70 physical
3) actually we'll have Mario ready in July and moving DK to the holidays
But as is, god, yeah, they're putting out an incredible system with the potential for absurd hype and popularity that is simply marred badly by pricing and at least launch period game decisions.
It feels like instead of making revenue through the popularity of the system they feel the need to make the revenue through charging a premium, but of course this will almost certainly lead to tens of millions of fewer systems sold and hundreds of millions of fewer titles sold, which is gonna be a much larger financial hit than if they just kept the games at reasonable prices and make the consumer feel like they were getting a ton of stuff included for the price of the system.
If they had done those three things I mention there, I woulda said they are hard core trying to chase Switch's sales next gen, but with those mistakes I'd say they are firmly committed to changing their strategy to getting more money out of each of far fewer customers.
