By going into the realism of it when that is irrelevant to the point. I don't have to explain that since I'm not arguing that they should've launched it in late 2016 with the circumstances they had, just that it would've been better if they had different circumstances back then making it feasible for Nintendo to launch it then.

If it is delayed to early 2025 then overtaking the PS2 would become likely. A 3-4 month delay to presumably get software ready wouldn't be that big a deal but would still be a blunder from Nintendo cause holiday 2024 is the perfect time to make that quarter be big instead of weak so ideally launch software would be ready by then. Also from a personal perspective I want to see the new hardware as soon as possible by this point but at least it's only at most a year away.

I didn't say Nintendo should wait, I've been saying the opposite in fact. I think it releasing late this year would be better than them waiting a few extra months and releasing early next year so they can take advantage of the holiday season and have a strong quarter then instead of a weak one. I think you've misunderstood me somehow.

By going into the realism of it when that is irrelevant to the point. I don't have to explain that since I'm not arguing that they should've launched it in late 2016 with the circumstances they had, just that it would've been better if they had different circumstances back then making it feasible for Nintendo to launch it then.

It really feels like you're using the word "hypothetical" as a scapegoat to hide that you have nothing to back up your claims other than what-if scenarios.

Sounds like a statement of supposed conviction and belief to me, not hypothetical pondering

OK, so I'll spot you the claim that you're just talking about  a "What if in hindsight?" scenario for the Switch 1's launch. Now explain why this applies to the Switch 2. I will repeat what I and others have said ad infinitum in this thread: if it sales out regardless of when it launches, then it makes absolutely no difference when it launches. The result is the same, demand outpaces supply and there is no holiday season to take advantage of. It's actually the opposite: the holiday season is wasted because these is no sales boost from it. The only thing causing a "weak" quarter is being so woefully stripped of resources to output more units that it  hurts sales figures and/or forces Nintendo to lower projections. When is the last time Nintendo had a weak quarter?

So again I ask, answer that last question, then explain to me how launching sooner would help prevent stock shortages for the Switch 2. Then explain to me how launching outside of the holidays makes for a weak quarter sans stock issues.

I understand that. You most likely know that situation Nintendo was in during the WiiU era. They had little-to-no 3rd party backing, and every game that was released was selling around 5M units. The best selling is Mario Kart 8 at 8.46M. Nintendo already had the specs and prototype for the Switch set up and knew they needed to get it out fast, and early (They knew that they wouldn't be able to "survive" another 3 years, hence why the Switch launch "mid-cycle"). They didn't have enough Switch stock in the first couple of months, and that is probably the decent point that can be addressed. They had made the Nvidia chip deal back in Jul 27, 2016. Personally, I dont know how long it takes to manufacture a Switch or a couple million so I can make assumptions (Nintendo thinks they can ship 1.76 million units from Jan 1 to Mar 31). Now Nintendo Switch is in the latter years so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say they can manufacture about 2-3x that amount in 3 mounts. So if they were to launch it in Nov 2016, they would have ~3 months to manufacture, ship, and ensure quality, and quantity of their games (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild). I can assume they would have ~5M units for the holidays available for launch. 

The other point that is the more likely reason, for Mar launch, were the games. Was Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ready to be released in Nov 2016? My only assumption is no, because they went for a Mar release when a significant portion of consoles from Nintendo has released near the holiday season in the past (there have been many Spring releases, and Summer releases as well).

If their circumstances were more in favor of Nintendo having a Nov 2016 release, I think Nintendo could have been able to sell more, around 6M more units. But if it would've launched in Nov 2016, would they Switch have caught on so fast, and be as beloved as it is, the pandemic boosted it so much, would it have not been relevant in 2020? idk. It is something to consider, what circumstances are you considering?

If BOTW wasn't ready by late 2016 then waiting till March for the Switch was the right move in the end since it let them have a fantastic first year which after the failure of the Wii U and disappointing performance of the 3DS in part due it having a rough start they needed to make absolutely certain the Switch had a really strong start.

No, how do you take hypotheticals too seriously?
burninmylight has a point. So how are you gonna explain "why having an earlier launch would have increased the availability of stock."

We can be reasonable people and have conversations even interesting conversations like this, and why can't we see how far the iceberg goes? (rhetorical) If it gets personal, we should ere on the side of caution.

I'm curious about that question regarding earlier launch.

1: Yes there is truly nothing to back up the claims that an appealing and hyped product will sell faster launching near Christmas instead of in Spring and that Nintendo would have a much stronger holiday season this year with the Switch 2 selling then instead of just the declining Switch. Are you kidding me?

2: Yeah I wasn't talking about a hypothetical there but did with the Switch in response to someone saying spring was a better launch window. It's pretty funny you're acting like there's a contradiction here when there obviously isn't.

3: This is just blatantly wrong, of course it makes a difference when it launches since it would have a few month head start to build up an install base. The weak quarter part is obvious, the Switch will heavily decline this year so it'll be their worst holiday season since 2016. Now if the reason for the rumoured delay is something entirely out of their control then it isn't a blunder but if it's due to mismanagement for example not having software ready in time then it is.

If BOTW wasn't ready by late 2016 then waiting till March for the Switch was the right move in the end since it let them have a fantastic first year which after the failure of the Wii U and disappointing performance of the 3DS in part due it having a rough start they needed to make absolutely certain the Switch had a really strong start.

See post right above mine.

And no, burninmylight doesn't have a point. Nintendo made the decision to delay the launch of Switch (back then still known as NX) to March 2017 in early 2016 already, hence why their shipment forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2017 was set at 2m when said forecast was made in April 2016. The only reason mentioned for the delay was that not enough software would have been ready for a holiday 2016 launch and the first half of 2017 to maintain sales momentum. There was no word on any problems concerning components for production, unlike for the 3DS which missed its planned holiday 2010 launch window solely due to not enough hardware units being ready by that time.

So what this means is that Switch entered mass production at a later date, because the launch date was pushed back for software reasons only and this was known inside Nintendo well in advance. In other words, if Switch had been launched in late 2016, then production would have started earlier and at a higher rate due to a holiday launch. In reality Nintendo could ship 2.74m units by the end of March 2017, but in the hypothetical of a late 2016 launch they would have had produced at least 5.0m by the end of March 2017.

This very same scenario will apply for Switch's successor, IF it is confirmed by Nintendo that holiday 2024 is not feasible due to not enough software being ready. This will be a basic question by investors, IF Switch's successor doesn't launch in 2024, because they sure will want to know why Nintendo is missing the holiday window. I am using ifs here because everything is still rumors at this time.

I could see you possibly having a point if you were saying that if the Switch released a few months earlier, then the insane demand for it would have been apparent sooner and Nintendo would have kicked production into overdrive much earlier or something, but I don't get the impression that's the point you're making.

I think the richest company in Japan will be all right and I trust that it knows what it's doing.

See post right above mine.

And no, burninmylight doesn't have a point. Nintendo made the decision to delay the launch of Switch (back then still known as NX) to March 2017 in early 2016 already, hence why their shipment forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2017 was set at 2m when said forecast was made in April 2016. The only reason mentioned for the delay was that not enough software would have been ready for a holiday 2016 launch and the first half of 2017 to maintain sales momentum. There was no word on any problems concerning components for production, unlike for the 3DS which missed its planned holiday 2010 launch window solely due to not enough hardware units being ready by that time.

So what this means is that Switch entered mass production at a later date, because the launch date was pushed back for software reasons only and this was known inside Nintendo well in advance. In other words, if Switch had been launched in late 2016, then production would have started earlier and at a higher rate due to a holiday launch. In reality Nintendo could ship 2.74m units by the end of March 2017, but in the hypothetical of a late 2016 launch they would have had produced at least 5.0m by the end of March 2017.

This very same scenario will apply for Switch's successor, IF it is confirmed by Nintendo that holiday 2024 is not feasible due to not enough software being ready. This will be a basic question by investors, IF Switch's successor doesn't launch in 2024, because they sure will want to know why Nintendo is missing the holiday window. I am using ifs here because everything is still rumors at this time.

I could see you possibly having a point if you were saying that if the Switch released a few months earlier, then the insane demand for it would have been apparent sooner and Nintendo would have kicked production into overdrive much earlier or something, but I don't get the impression that's the point you're making.

I think the richest company in Japan will be all right and I trust that it knows what it's doing.

Read the entire post before commenting, just like your mother and I taught you.