Yeah, no, the pandemic is just one  contributing factor of many, not at all solely responsible.

I keep thinking something alone the lines of "oh, but the the Wii was still getting games like Mario Galaxy 2 and Skyward Sword at this point!" ... then I remember that the Switch is actually approaching it's fifth year (March 2021 - March 2022) not it's fourth. Gosh, it makes me feel both old and it also makes the Switch feel weirdly young given how immature it's software lineup still feels. It just highlights all the more how weird it must have been as a Wii owner having the Wii for only about 4 years, only to stop receiving a plethora of games for it. 

Yea ... it actually is kind of weird how, for better or worse, Switch's library doesn't even feel half done yet.  

Yeah Switch definitely feels younger than is it, I think because there are still so many major games still ahead of it.

And yes, as a Wii owner, it really sucked how support dried up in its fifth year. Thank fuck there were still a few final gems like Xenoblade and The Last Story to keep me going. All the same, it left a bitter taste, and I'm glad Switch doesn't look to be headed for the same fate.

Wii also only had one thing going for it. A novelty. Novelties wear off. The switch has a practical use for its selling point. It's convenient having the ability to be both docked and handheld. As HDTVs became more common and Smartphones the less sense Wii made. Switch released just before the cloud gaming boom and it's more practical than cloud gaming IMO. I'm not saying this is the sole factor. Just an additional one to what has already been mentioned.

It's especially sad because, just looking at 2010 as someone who was too young at the time to play a shit ton of games (and was pretty much just using the Wii as a party machine), it seems surprisingly packed. Kirby, the revival of Donkey Kong Country with Returns, No More Heroes 2, Mario Galaxy 2, the Monster Hunter Tri localization in the west, as well as Red Steel 2 and Sonic Colors. It is the year where you kind of see the sheen wear off perhaps (Metroid Other M, Epic Mickey, Wii Party from what I remember being received as one of the worst Wii-entry games while still selling well), and maybe it showed the Wii wasn't sustainable I don't know. But it seems like a pretty good year for output honestly. 

Oh yeah 2010 was fantastic, I bought like 12 Wii games from that year alone. It was 2011 when things dried up overnight.

01. The concept of the console is something never seen before (not like THIS), because of that it took some years for the hybrid concept to explode.
02. Nintendo is focusing on one system instead of 2 this time
03. COVID

Why would Switch act as a past Nintendo consoles when its concept and the conditions it was released are unique compared the past?
It was proved time and time again that solely basing your analysis on past trends doesn't work well for the Switch.

People are overlooking how Switch is the first truly successful everywhere Nintendo console predisposed for digital gaming in the age of social media.
This helps the word of mouth and to maximize the sales potential of software and hardware because it doesn't have past limitations (games don't need to fight for shelf space and could always be purchased at a distance of a click even years after launch, temporary discounts and media activity could prolong the visibility of a game).
Not only that but the influx of a huge quantity of games, many of which from smaller studios, released through eshop increased the chance of new hits on the platform even at a later stage meanwhile in the past it was less likely that to happen (think to the critic darling Hades and the hugely popular Among Us for a couple of recent examples).

Covid boosted gaming in general, including Switch, through out 2020 but Switch was going to be up year over year regardless because the whole ecosystem is healthy (is getting stronger instead of declining) and Animal Crossing New Horizon would have been a killer app, even if it would have sold a bit less (we are talking about a game that in its first 12 months and few days is going to sell around 35 million units on a single platform).
Animal Crossing was a 10M+ franchise before New Horizon but its sales outside Japan were always under its real potential shown looking at the sales in Japan.
Switch strong momentum and unique conditions (almost every Nintendo franchise got its best selling game on Switch) meant that Animal Crossing was ready to have its break out moment in the west regardless of Covid (which obviously amplified its reach).

This basically. I want to add, that many of these big games introduce new audiences. For instance Animal Crossing had many players, that hadn't a Switch before. So I agree, that Pokemon on the 3DS didn't bring in much *new* players after the first one.

I think there is a strong possibility that even 2020 wasn't the peak though. The year starts strong, MonHun Rise shapes up to become a giant and we have still some stuff open like a new Wii Sports like title. 2022 Nintendo taps into an established userbase with Splatoon 3, but 2021 still looks like it could go very well.

For me the console design is just brilliant. We have two units in the house (one for the kids), with a dock on two different TVs. I love the flexibility of being able to move to another room, depending on what the wife/kids want to do. As a result I am playing and buying far more Switch games compared to ps4. Brilliant design.  It just gets used a lot.  

Edit

I think Nintendo is also doing an excellent job of couch coop, something Sony/MS have been doing a poor job of.  Mario Odyssey, Mario 3D World, Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin 3, Animal Crossing, Smash, Kart, Party, etc.  Multiplayer is also driving up my use of the Switch.  Playing family games on the weekend via couch coop is something I can't really get elsewhere.  Not with the variety of offerings the Switch has.