Just hear me out. Reading that Polygon article that praised the Switch made me realize something. Nintendo will support 3DS for a while and then there will be no turning back. What's the point of releasing a 'portable like' game when they're no longer bound by technologic shortcomings? Would you buy Hey Pikmin! or Pikmin 4? An traditional Pokémon game or a full fledged MMO experience? I know there's some franchises that have thrived in the handheld environment like Zelda or Metroid and there will always be an audience for that, but I feel like some games only existed because they were portable versions of 'full games'. You could take them on the go and that was the beauty of it but it wasn't the full experience.

Switch gives you the best of both worlds and kinda proves that people wanted the home console experience on the go, just done right (sorry Vita). There's no need to make a game thinking about short gaming sessions like Super Mario 3D Land, and viceversa, Pokémon games on home console was never great because the connectivity and interaction with other players was missing. All these games also needed to be different since there would always be another version.

Nintendo did that, they blurred the line. No need for 'handheld gamig' anymore. Just gaming, period.

It's difficult to prove the thesis that Nintendo killed handheld gaming when one of the Switch's selling points is exactly that: handheld gaming. It's literally a handheld gaming device, in addition to a home console.

I get your point that developers might stop offering shorter, "bite-sized" games now that titles like Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are available on the go, but there's no data to back that up. Heck, look at some of the games available on Switch since launch: Snipperclips, Bomberman, Shovel Knight, Blaster Master Zero. A lot of these games can be beaten in an afternoon or over a weekend.

Just because Switch can support software like Breath of the Wild doesn't mean developers will have to use that game as a jumping off point. There will be plenty of smaller games better suited to short play sessions on the bus or train, from Nintendo and from third parties.

Wait and see approach. Can't wait for Advance Wars or Picross 3D to show up in the Switch.

Is Blaster Master Zero good for short bursts?

Yeah! I think I spent something like 9 hours total with the game. There are a bunch of save points scattered around so you can clear an area or a dungeon, then save and call it quits.