So, their plan is still to spread awareness of already world famous mascots in the mass market segment via mobile apps that can be had for basically nothing (which also seems to be the valuation of it by the average consumer) and believe that consumers will somehow go crazy and shell out 299$ for a tablet that has zero tablet functionality but plays video games that happens to have said mascots in them? Solid thinking, I think it will be a great long term success for them.

PS: Don't say "look at what Pokemon did!" and think this means instant global succes for Switch. It's an old and poor argument by now.

He was comparing Mario Run to the free-to-play model

You are right.They wont shell out 300 to buy a tablet.They will shell out 300 to buy a Switch.

It is harder to determine if Super Mario Run was successful in what it was supposed to do(which was spread brand awareness, which no one can deny that Nintendo has lost some), simply because there is no new Mario game, a big Mario game, to be used as a reference.And even if it did, it would be hard to say how much was the game doing in its own merit and what was due to the mobile strategy.And as far as we know, the Switch has been selling out everywhere, and the 3DS is still going well for a system on its 7th year.And not to mention that Nintendo stocks have been on the rise the past few months.So as far as we know, the strategy has been working.

And you cant come and say "But hey, ignore that one game that has worked way too well, because its Pokemon and its an exception and bla bla bla", because thats not how things work.If it was done once, it can be done more times.The problem with Super Mario Run was the pricing.10 dollars was too steep.It should have been 5 dollars máx.Hopefully Nintendo will get better over time and fix these decisions as they go.

Because you guys didn't understand mobile. Mario run isn't worth 10$. Mobile ventures are much different than console or handheld, you're dealing with a totally different mindset.

Probably expected the same hype as Pokemon GO.

Set their expectations too high, though it still did decently well

Wonder how Animal Crossing will be like..

Pokemon was already a huge franchise on handhelds, with or without Pokemon Go, and to mass market consumers the Switch is a tablet. it looks like a tablet, it has a touch screen like a tablet and is the same size as one. But it lacks almost all of the functionality. So, no, there's no reason to think that people will go and pay 300$ for a Switch because they paid a Mario game they refuse to pay full price for.

Rising stock and lasting strategy isn't always something that goes hand in hand, ask GM before their biggest crash, the market isn't that black and white. Nintendo still don't seem to have a clear cut plan for the future, they appear to be tossing a very wide net to see what sort of fish they catch and are still very much behaving like a company that has a hard time reading the different demographics and markets and responding correctly.

There is absolutely no reason to think that a game like Mario Run will help the Switch sell more, as it stands. The mobile gaming segment is vastly different and if a device doesn't deliver on convenience and content and pricing, mass market consumers will simply pass on it. Mario Run and Pokemon Go happens to have been released on devices almost everyone in the western world owns, that's a far, far cry from convincing someone to buy yet another tablet-like seeming smart device without actual smart functionality in addition to the one(s) they have to play video games that they're likely not hugely interested in to begin with.

The mobile Fire Emblem feels cheap, overloaded with pay crap and is not worth playing. But it might generate more money than Mario. Mario also was overpriced and and not a real full game. If they want people to pay, they need to deliver high quality software.

Your whole point become moot by the fact that the Switch is not a tablet and will not be perceived as that.Assuming Nintendo is doing its marketing right, as so far it has, the consumer will periceive it as a gaming system, and nothing else.People will buy it primarely to play games, and whatever comes extra is extra.I mean, as far as I know, people are not buying the Switch to play Angry Birds or Clash Royale.Now, if you think it is a tablet, well you are the very small minority here, and I cant do nothing about it.

As for the other points, I did say as far.So far, everything is good.And yes, while it may not indicate that it will keep on being successful, you cant also say it wont be successful and whatever Nintendo is doing right now is wrong.

Can't believe that after being proven wrong, people still don't get it. Pokemon worked not only because it's a huge IP, but also because of that type of game works incredibly well on a phone.

You can put GTA on a mobile and it still won't get the kind of numbers that Pokemon did. Endless runners aren't as exciting and don't make people who spends load of cash on freemium games empty their wallets on them.