I think is too early to tell, but we can't ignore the fact that mobile gaming already effectively swallowed the dedicated handheld market. Nintendo was smart enough to design a new device that offered something that the previous handhelds (and phones at that time) couldn't, which was the ability to play desktop caliber games on the go, as well as the ability to play those games on the TV as well. So now that mobile gaming has caught up with Nintendo's offering (in those aspects) again, I guess Nintendo will have to rely on the power of their IPs for the time being (which appear to be as strong as ever, judging by their sales) but yes, it will be really interesting to see how the market reacts in the next two years.

On that same note, here is a video comparing the latency on Switch vs Xcloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyzP0UhFwrs

I think Nintendo is insulated for the immediate future, like talking the next 3 years, but after that I would be concerned.

The big problem I think is 5G ... 5G is not some hypothetical thing that's far off in the future ... it's basically here now being rolled out worldwide, all the flagship phones for 2020 and 2021 are basically 5G, it is the standard going forward. 5G is fast enough to allow for good streaming.

Data caps are also arbitrary, data bandwidth is not something that's inherently really valuable to cellular providers. Like the first thing every cell provider will try to offer you now to get you to switch is more data or even unlimited data, because it has no real value to them it's not some physical resource or something they produce.

Just as 3G popularized web browsing and 4G made it more possible to watch video on your phone away from phone, I think 5G will bring much higher data plans (there's no point to having a network that fast otherwise). 10 years ago many people only got maybe 500MB-1GB of data, today you can get 10-20GB without too much fuss. Probably inevitably on these services teams up with a big cell provider to provide a certain amount of unlimited usage in the game streaming app as way to gain an edge over other cell providers.

The other thing is Microsoft taking this sector so seriously and having the actual software prowess to back them up I think has accelerated where I thought Cloud gaming would go. If it was led by Google kind of bumbling around it probably would take a lot longer as they figure out what it means to be a game company, but Microsoft really seems to have their shit together and is ready to start building serious user base with the Game Pass angle.

No because Nintendo relies on it's exclusive software which won't be available elsewhere.

Plus currently an unlimited data 5g plan will set you back £30 a month in the UK.

it will not affect Switch's appeal and success... but switch sucessor? That's another story...

It's the same story since forever!

2000: "Are mobile phones with games killing Nintendo?"

2004: "Will the PSP kill Nintendo?"

2010: "Will mobile gaming kill Nintendo?"

2020: "Will cloud gaming kill Nintendo?"

Bonus (1985-2020): "Should Nintendo go third party?" 

What I find funny about this is that we hardly ever think these changes are going to affect the other guys in the business. Nintendo is the longest lasting console manufacturer ever and yet we act like they are this fragile flower that could be burst into pieces by every little change in the market. Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft are not only trapped in a resource-war but they are the ones dependent on the very games that are available on these streaming services. If anything, Nintendo is going to profit from this development as they are the only console manufacturer whose type of system-selling titles don't get commoditised right now. 

Microsoft is getting fierce competition for GamePass in the form of Amazon. Sony is facing fierce competition as well because some people will ask themselves why they should invest 500$ in a PS5 if they will soon be able to play the AAA third party games that sell Xbox and PS consoles for a cheap monthly fee... but here we are, talking about Nintendo being affected by this. 

That would be great but people are already talking about how this will affect the Switch's successor A lot of people in this thread wrote Nintendo is safe right now because technology isn't there yet for streaming. Which means we're already preparing the "Nintendo is doomed" story for next gen when 5G is available for the masses and streaming has improved.

In reality, Sony and Microsoft will be way more affected by this next gen. Because the games on their systems are the same types of games that get commoditised by streaming. Sony, Microsoft, Amazon, Google... they are all going to compete over the same crowd by lowering the price of admission to the western-AAA-type game. Meanwhile, Nintendo has realised their IPs are its biggest strength and gives them as "exclusive" a feel as possible.

Sorry to be so passionate about it, but I've been on this forum since 2007 and I've witnessed the origin of "Nintendo is doomed" stories a few times already (You've been here since 2009, so you probably know what I'm talking about haha)

Let's be fair to this one, it didn't kill it, but 3Ds selling half of DS shows it affected handheld market to a point they will never recover 

Cloud gaming is still in its infancy and not a real threat to consoles as of yet. I doubt it'll have much of an impact on Switch, but it could affect their next console. And somewhere down the road, if Cloud gaming does make it big, Nintendo might join in on it, or alternatively partner up with one of the existing services.

You should check out the Nintendo Switch. It's a really nice portable system!

No, game streaming will remain niche for along while yet imo.