Every time I read one of your posts, I always detect a heavy sarcasm. Posts like these, I tell ya.

Handhelds only compete against handhelds so there's little need in comparing it to home consoles. 

I don't think the Switch and the Vita are all that comparable since they're kinda 2 different systems. Vita's appeal was console-like games on the go, while Switch is a hybrid that allows you to play on the TV and on the go. They're not that much different, both playing impressive games on a small screen, but that extra option to play on a TV like a traditional console makes quite a difference.

I think Sony dropping support rather quickly into the system's life definitely didn't help it. Also, thinking on it, I think the name didn't really help it either, as I think it doesn't really convey anything about the system. Vita meaning life means... it's a console that's alive? I personally think they should have named it something else. The Switch definitely explains the console well.

*CoughSwitchCoughCough*

Good question! For me it goes like this: I don't play many games in front of the TV and I often only have time for short bursts of gaming. The Switch solves that problem by being portable. At the same time I can play multiplayer games on TV with my friends which has always been the primary reason for me to buy a console. So, somehow, it's *because* the Switch can play those console quality games on the go that I play it so much. I can just put it in standby mode and continue playing whenever I feel like it.

But maybe Nintendo's games are simply more fitting for a handheld console. I think there are enough handheld-like experiences. Maybe we shouldn't differentiate between console quality and portable quality but between arcade-like games and cinematic games. I have yet to play an actual cinematic experience on the Switch and I feel Nintendo's software has always been very arcade like.

Now that I think about it: What was the difference between A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening besides the technical limitations? I think the real allure of portables has always been that you can play console quality games (not "console-like graphics", just overall quality and production value) on the go but technology wasn't as advanced. Maybe the time was just right with the Switch: Other than absolute AAA games everything can be ported to the system without many sacrifices. That simply wasn't the case ten years ago.

It does have portable games look at Mario Kart, we are getting Fire Emblem next year.
BotW and Splatoon is also pretty easy to jump in and out of, Rabbids too.

The Switch has good games, and makes it easy to pause at any time, the market has evolved and Nintendo is firing every bullet.
Sony never really put all that much into the Vita.

The irony of it is that the piracy helped the PSP sell, the whole homebrew scene was a killer app for the platform.

It would be more correct to say that ummediate and accessible sell portable consoles. But the Switch isn't technically a portable console, it's an hybrid, it is a mix of home console and an handheld and the library reflects that. You have pick-up and play style games like MK8 Deluxe and ARMS as well as immersive games like Zelda

I bring you this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REaUzHef9h4





I loved my Vita for the amount of time it was supported. Uncharted, Gravity Rush, FFX/X-2, even bought Playstation All-Stars which was pretty decent. Sold it when Sony stopped supporting it with major releases.

Nintendo worked hard to bring indie games to the Switch because they knew that one or two games from Nintendo a month wasn't going to cut it. They also worked to make it easier to port games over (especially the small indie titles) by basing it on Nvidia. 'Nindies' help cushion the droughts between big releases. They released games at the start that brought in gamers. Such as BotW at release, along with Mario Kart and Splatoon shortly after and are focused to continue doing that through at least the end of 2017. They understood that major third party studios wouldn't be excited for something so ratically different than the norm in the gaming industry along with mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) sprouting as a competitor. As such Nintendo had to get as much indie studio support and create their own in-house major releases to be released quickly in the early days of the system in order to build hype for the system and in-turn hope that third parties would release games if sales were good enough.

Nintendo is really not that different than 3rd parties in their approach to Switch. They didn't want to put all their eggs in one basket.

Instead, they put out quality 1st party "home" console titles out for what they marketed as a home console. They also continued to support the 3DS as the portable console.

What I expect to happen is that Nintendo's 2018 (as well as 3rd parties) will be a move to show the strongest portable support will be on Switch with minimal on 3DS. Additionally, I do expect to see 3rd parties port far more of their games to Switch in 2018 as well. 2017 was just too soon and too uncertain for significant investment.