Nintendo Switch Thread

[Cerveza mas fina]

Legit point about devs not being used to more power etc.  Nintendo as well.

[TakingBackSunday]

I will die on this hill dammit

[Positive Touch]

i wouldn't  wouldn't call the Nintendo fanbase small when any random Mario kart will still sell like 10 million copies. still, interesting as i think the switch looks, i don't see any reason why it'll break nintendos losing steam with third parties.

[Tasty]

Maybe I'm just getting older but I'm past the point of giving much of a shit about anything gaming related, much less discussion. This was a Nintendo console so I was always going to get it, and what they've shown isn't totally compelling nor utterly horrendous (Wii U's E3 2012 reveal is on the "horrendous" side, while the Wii's E3 2006 and 3DS's E3 2010 reveals were on the opposite side.)

People getting worked up either way is... beyond me now. I just. Don't. Care. *shakes fist at cloud*

[Human Snorenado]

I will die on this hill dammit

[Human Snorenado]

Maybe I'm just getting older but I'm past the point of giving much of a shit about anything gaming related, much less discussion. This was a Nintendo console so I was always going to get it, and what they've shown isn't totally compelling nor utterly horrendous (Wii U's E3 2012 reveal is on the "horrendous" side, while the Wii's E3 2006 and 3DS's E3 2010 reveals were on the opposite side.)

People getting worked up either way is... beyond me now. I just. Don't. Care. *shakes fist at cloud*

"Not giving much of a shit about anything gaming related, much less discussion" doesn't equate to arguing about specs, release date strategies, etc. That's the exact OPPOSITE of that. If you really didn't give a shit, you'd just say, "cool, I'm gonna get this," but you're a fanboy and always will be.

[Tasty]

The two aren't mutually exclusive. Am I still a fan? Sure. I can certainly discuss things but as far as getting worked up about it, nah.

And I clearly care a lot less than you do.

Nintendo: Looks like no one likes our shitty tablet console, what to do for the next one?

*crickets*

Nintendo: YES! SHITTY TABLET CONSOLE 2: ELECTRIC BUGALOO!

They're done.

Well fortunately for us, this thing will probably have 5 games you can't get anywhere else that are marginally worth playing, so.

https://twitter.com/mochi_wsj/status/789289178684981248

 

(Image removed from quote.)

Fucking Nintendo, man. Never change.

Dubious...

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Seriously... how many of you play for more than 3 hours on the go? If I do any "mobile gaming" I do it lying in my bed, like God intended.

I just though of something that would be So Nintendo: what if this stupid fucking thing can only charge in the cradle? Like, you would have to bring the cradle on trips to play it as a mobile device.

(Probably not, but you have to admit- So Nintendo. Please Understand.)

Because most consoles have 1 game confirmed for launch 5 months out, and haven't released any specs or details other than a 2 minute video.

Ok, I mean I guess it's just me that finds ONE GAME concretely confirmed at launch 5 months out dubious. Sure. Nintendo has done SO MUCH to earn y'all's goodwill...

I'm talking launch. The only game I'm confident the system will launch with is Zelda at this point. Maybe some ports, but nothing else new.

I think using a somewhat thick looking 7 inch tablet as a "handheld" is an experience that isn't going to equate to what you people think of as "handheld" gaming. Especially with suspect battery life and then adding on the controls on the side. Yeah...

Plus, is this thing running it's own OS? Is it gonna be easy to port shit to? Are the devs that are used to working for the less advanced 3DS gonna be able to shit out titles with the same regularity for this thing? These are questions that should be self-evident, but this is Nintendo we're talking about here.

Basically: Fandrex, Brandnew, and QoI are all crazy for it, which is a shocker that two nintendrones and a handheld fan are excited. I, of course, think it's going to be an underpowered dumpster fire that tries to do a bunch of different things and sucks at all of them, because that's Nintendo's track record in the past decade. Gimmick it up.

We'll see. I'm confident I'm right.

I will die on this hill dammit

(Image removed from quote.)

Add up the words we've both posted ITT and see who cares more. Talk about alzheimer's.

[Himu]

goddamn. savage.

even giant bomb is more positive about the switch. I think the people over here are overly critical towards nintendo just to be overly critical. Then again, a lot of them were suckers who bought a wii u so not surprising. We all know the most ardent critics of nintendo in this thread have bought almost every piece of nintendo hardware. In the case of Mary Tyler Whore, sometimes multiple times (he bought a wii u TWICE), so in the end we all know they'll buy a switch and still bitch about it but it's whatever.

[Tasty]

I certainly think there's stuff worth discussing and I'm not trying to shut down criticism, but at a certain point it's just like... we've been through this over and over. Sometimes it works out for Nintendo and sometimes it doesn't.

I'd rather critique the console than speculate about Nintendo board members on the verge of seppuku because they know they're for sure making a pile of fail.

[mormapope]

Nintendo has squandered all goodwill possible with the Wii-U and Wii, in what universe is being incredibly skeptical and flippant not a normal or expected response at this point?

goddamn. savage.

even giant bomb is more positive about the switch. I think the people over here are overly critical towards nintendo just to be overly critical. Then again, a lot of them were suckers who bought a wii u so not surprising. We all know the most ardent critics of nintendo in this thread have bought almost every piece of nintendo hardware. In the case of Mary Tyler Whore, sometimes multiple times (he bought a wii u TWICE), so in the end we all know they'll buy a switch and still bitch about it but it's whatever.

We all know that we all don't know.

[Himu]

So ds and 3ds don't exist? Squandered all good will? Lol!

[Positive Touch]

how did nintendo squander good will with the wii  wat

[bork]

The two aren't mutually exclusive. Am I still a fan? Sure. I can certainly discuss things but as far as getting worked up about it, nah.

And I clearly care a lot less than you do.

And yet you care enough to go back and make a huge post full of his quotes. 

Maybe I'm just getting older but I'm past the point of giving much of a shit about anything gaming related, much less discussion.

Uh-huh.

[archie4208]

Buy a PC.

[bork]

Buy a PC.

Yeah, like there's a handheld PC that you can easily take with y--



...Oh.

[Beezy]

Buy a PC.

Yeah, like there's a handheld PC that you can easily take with y--

(Image removed from quote.)

...Oh.

...which emulators can this thing run?

[Take My Breh Away]

Nintendo finding that large untapped market of People who really want to play Skyrim on the toilet

[Human Snorenado]

So ds and 3ds don't exist? Squandered all good will? Lol!

Not everyone likes handheld gaming. And I think this thing is going to end up resembling the wii and wii u way more software wise than either of those two, anyway.

how did nintendo squander good will with the wii  wat

Uh, the fact that it was a graveyard for software? That it was just a gimmick?

I don't need to respond to Tasty. His response proves me right. If you play, you're a fanthing, Andrex. Never forget that.

[Himu]

Not everyone likes handheld gaming and that's fair, but if Nintnedo are merging their two ecosystems why in the world would you doubt their ability to not at least turn up a handheld quality Nintnedo system? It would be fair to think that there would be a precedent for this given GameCube, Wii, and Wii u but this is not a successor to any of those systems and is a hybrid. If it's a hybrid, and Nintendo has to want to continue their bottom line (Nintendo handhelds being their most succesful hardware products on a reliable system to system basis) why in the world would you automatically think this is going to bomb or be a dud beyond being overly cynical?

Ds sold 150 units sold. 3ds has sold some 60 million units worldwide. They are killing off the ds brand. But you think they won't go all out when merging their handheld and console divisions. The big question to that: are you being dumb?? Whether or not you like handheld games does not change the fact Nintnedo handhelds make the company bank and they will not try to damage their bottom line if this truly is their next handheld and they aren't going to make a 4ds. You'd have to be a special kind of stupid to think that. That, or overly cynical to the point of irrationality.

[AdmiralViscen]

I want to buy this but i don't view it as a handheld at all. I am never gonna take this giant thing outside.

This is the death of the dedicated portable console. I don't think Nintendo can depend on the traditional DS audience to come along (as you just said, less than half of them did for the 3DS, which had the benefit of being the same category), and the game budgets are going to be completely different so I don't think you can assume the software output is going to be exactly the same either.

[Himu]

We'll see. I see kids with tablets all the time. The one thing I think will really help this thing out is if it has android os. It probably won't, but if it does and you can download the latest mobile games on it, on top of being able to play the latest nintendo games, i think it would do VERY well especially with kids if this thing is appropriately priced (200-250). It'd make sense as to why Nintendo is now putting their games on mobile too. Because they'd have a machine that allows you to get nintendo mobile titles on it.

It's definitely the end of the traditional handheld, but that concept is kinda in trouble in the era of mobile and tablets. Not the concept of portable games though. I think making it a tablet but allowing it merge into the console market is the smartest thing nintendo could have done. it merges all of their strengths into one system.

Now my only real worry is whether or not this is the end of small scale handheld games like their picross games and pushmo. Probably not. The real problem is that this pushes a higher budget on what was originally lower budget titles. Maybe Switch can have two pricing models depending on what type of game it is?

[mormapope]

how did nintendo squander good will with the wii  wat

Skyword Sword and Xenoblade Chronicles being two good games in the span of two years made the console die like a bitch.

[Human Snorenado]

I want to buy this but i don't view it as a handheld at all. I am never gonna take this giant thing outside.

This is the death of the dedicated portable console. I don't think Nintendo can depend on the traditional DS audience to come along (as you just said, less than half of them did for the 3DS, which had the benefit of being the same category), and the game budgets are going to be completely different so I don't think you can assume the software output is going to be exactly the same either.

Basically this. I agree with everything said here. The Switch is SUCH a departure from previous Nintendo handheld systems that I don't think it will have much carry over, either from publishers or gamers. I don't think it will be used as a portable device by many people, more as a Nintendo home console that has the ability to be taken out of the house without too much hassle.

This thing certainly isn't fitting in any pockets, unless you're cargo shorts dude.

[nachobro]

The DSXL didn't fit into pockets either but it still sold well

[Human Snorenado]

The DSXL didn't fit into pockets either but it still sold well

It was also basically just a larger version of an existing piece of hardware. This is a radical departure.

[Himu]

You can use backpacks. At work practically everyone, from kids to adults have a backpack or a purse for a tablet. It's not that hard of a solution. Friend brings their tablet to work all the time and we watch Netflix on it while chattering away on our phones. How does he transport this object? A backpack.

As for radical departure, everyone thought Nintendo was crazy when they made a touch screen dual screen handheld and it ended up being the best selling system of all time, second only to the playstation 2 and off by that system by a mere 1 million units. Not saying Switch will do ds numbers, but ds was considered a radical departure pre-launch as well, while everyone else banked on the safer psp. We all saw what happened there. Nintendo announced a sub-hd console in an hd era that pioneered motion controls and it went on to sell 100 million units.

Basically, Nintendo does extremely well with "radical departures". In almost every case, they were said to be doomed, usually due to the failure or lagging sales in the previous system (wii as a successor to gamecube and the comparably low sales of the gba compared to the gb/gbc). In each case of a radical departure, Nintendo does really, really well.

None of what you're arguing sticks.

[AdmiralViscen]

In each* case of a radical departure, Nintendo does really, really well.

*excluding the two most recent cases

[AdmiralViscen]

DPed like Himuro

[Himu]

Wii U and 3ds are not radical departures. 3ds is an iteration on the ds with a 3d gimmick thrown on top. Wii U is an iteration of the Wii with some ds-like features. None of it was especially new. Wii U game pad works like a regular game pad but with a touch screen. It's like saying the playstation 4 is a radical departure from past playstation's because the dual shock 4 has a touchpad that can be used as a mouse in adventure games and mmo's. Wii U is a pretty traditional system, considering.

Meanwhile, there is nothing traditional about the switch.

[Himu]

DPed like Himuro

[AdmiralViscen]

The Wii U was presented as a paradigm shift. The switch is the same controller but not tied to a base station

Glasses free 3D was also supposed to be a major deal when it launched after Avatar and shit

[Himu]

Glasses free 3d was treated as a big deal because it was the initial selling point of the system to differentiate it from the ds in ways beyond mere horse power. This doesn't change the fact it was still ultimately an iteration on the ds and doesn't fit the words radical departure. It's just a more powerful ds with 3d thrown on top. While it added a lot to certain games, it's like saying the game boy advance is a radical departure from the game boy for having bumpers and full color palette.

Wii U was definitely a departure, because it didn't emphasize motion controls like the Wii, but I wouldn't call it a radical one. It just seemed like a regular game system with a tablet that functions as a controller. Wii U was definitely advertised as a departure, but we all know the truth: that it was a half step - not truly a traditional game controller, not a full operational tablet. If it were a fully functional tablet, I'd consider it a radical departure, but it just a controller gimmick thrown on top of a regular controller. It's gotten to the point where many late Wii U games don't use the second screen at all and most Wii U games can still be played with the regular gamepad, signaling the controller as a gimmick and not a game changer.

While the switch is the same controller, in terms of features, Switch has far more going for it to be considered a radical departure.

Where you disagree Wii U was a radical departure or not, Nintendo still holds a pretty good record on departures from their previous systems and this should in no way impact anyone's thoughts on the system's marketability.

[AdmiralViscen]

I bet six months after this comes out everyone's use case is exactly the same as any other console and it isn't considered a radical departure except you can take it with you in your back pack (??)

I'm gonna buy it because I actually liked Wii U and want more Nintendo games but I'm not fooling myself into thinking this is a paradigm shift that's taking the market by storm

[Huff]

This thing is going to sell similar to the wii u because no one gives a shit about Nintendo anyone. It will still have its whimsy magic that you losers can enjoy though

[Huff]

Like it doesn't matter if blackberry comes out with an amazing phone. Sorry boys your time is ova

[Trent Dole]

I think it'll outpace the Wii U but do less than 3DS numbers.

[Himu]

I bet six months after this comes out everyone's use case is exactly the same as any other console and it isn't considered a radical departure except you can take it with you in your back pack (??)

I'm gonna buy it because I actually liked Wii U and want more Nintendo games but I'm not fooling myself into thinking this is a paradigm shift that's taking the market by storm

that's fair, but the original argument that it was a radical shift was made by Creepy, despite the fact that Nintendo has traditionally done pretty well with radical shifts.

Regarding your first point, Nintendo is supposedly planning a portable only model in the future. Another thing is that even if it turns into a regular console used in the west doesn't mean it's not what you call a paradigm shift, especially since a part of the reason it's probably both handheld and a console is to appeal to the world market. Japan has a preference for handhelds. That isn't going away. I can see Japan using it mostly as a tablet/handheld. As a console, in Japan, it's probably just there to throw some leftovers at their console base. Abroad, I can see it going either way: either as mostly a console you can take with you on the go (which is still pretty radical if you ask me) or primarily as a tablet you can easily hook up to your tv (the way  I see it going in Japan). Having one console that can appeal internationally in different ways is a pretty big deal, because it single handedly solves most of Nintendo's problems.

My argument has been completely against the idea that the system will be a failure because of Wii U. That's all.

Sales wise I have no estimate guess but I can see it doing well.

[nachobro]

Nintendo News: Nintendo Reveals Plans for Nintendo Switch Presentation

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In a presentation to financial analysts today in Tokyo, Nintendo Co., Ltd. president Tatsumi Kimishima announced that major details regarding the company’s new Nintendo Switch home gaming system will be shared at the Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017. This will be an event for invited media, financial analysts and trade partners in Tokyo that will be globally livestreamed on Jan. 12, U.S. time. The presentation will include the launch date and pricing for Nintendo Switch, as well as a look at the lineup of games currently in development.

Kimishima also announced that Nintendo Switch sampling events for invited media, partners, and consumers will take place in the U.S. and Europe after the presentation at later dates. There will be opportunities for the public to participate in other hands-on events around the same time, details of which will be announced later.

The exact time of the Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 will be announced through Nintendo’s social media channels in the coming weeks. Last week, Nintendo Switch was first revealed in a video, available at http://www.nintendo.com/switch.

Gotta wait til January to find out more 

[TakingBackSunday]

That's cool.  Gotta catch up on other vidya anyway

[a slime appears]

The switch is the direct result of Nintendo realizing the following:

• They can't rely on third parties so they'll have to manufacture most of the games themselves.
• Their development efforts were cut in half to support a struggling console and a slow-starter handheld.
• Combing the two lets them focus on one platform minimizing development costs.

This is probably the most insightful decision Nintendo has made in the last 20 years.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Real insight would beto go third party

[CatsCatsCats]

That's cool.  Gotta catch up on other vidya anyway

Well... you might want to leave some unplayed just in case

[TakingBackSunday]

Skyrim isn't one of them, and lol at thinking I'm not a special fellow who has beaten all of Nintendo's Wii U games already 

[VomKriege]

Real insight would beto go third party

Real talk : I wouldn't be so convinced Nintendo would strive in an highly competitive environment, at least as far as dedicated gaming solutions (not to the point of financial brink though). It's one thing for their games to be less technically proficient on their own platform, it would be quite another to go head to head on the same system with their competition.

[TakingBackSunday]

Hm, I don't know.  I think for at least the first year or two of them being third party, hypothetically, consumers would be energized by Nintendo's presence on their PS4 or Xbox One or whatever the system would be.  But after that?  I'm not entirely sure regular gamers will care, just like they don't really care now.

[Human Snorenado]

I get why Nintendo doesn't go third party. They're probably going to sell the same amount of games on any system- their fans are their fans. So, if you're Nintendo, why not pump out underpowered hardware you sell at break even instead of for a loss like your competitors do, and avoid licensing fees for being a 3rd party dev on top of that. They make out better in the end.

I just don't understand the reliance on gimmicks for their hardware. I think if the Wii had failed as it should have, they probably would have abandoned the gimmick route, but they keep trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice. That's time, energy, and resources that could be better spent on literally anything else.

[Madrun Badrun]

The switch is the direct result of Nintendo realizing the following:

• They can't rely on third parties so they'll have to manufacture most of the games themselves.
• Their development efforts were cut in half to support a struggling console and a slow-starter handheld.
• Combing the two lets them focus on one platform minimizing development costs.

This is probably the most insightful decision Nintendo has made in the last 20 years.

I like how optimistic this is. 

[bork]

Buy a PC.

Yeah, like there's a handheld PC that you can easily take with y--

(Image removed from quote.)

...Oh.

...which emulators can this thing run?

Lots of them are being tested right now.  People are only recently getting units.  Mine was shipped but I have no idea when it will arrive since it's from a Chinese seller who gave me (and others) weird tracking numbers that aren't showing up yet.

if it's Windows 10, basically all of them

but probably not the ones that require a powerful CPU like PS2 emulators and stuff

  He has also messed with Game Cube emulation too.

[AdmiralViscen]

I get why Nintendo doesn't go third party. They're probably going to sell the same amount of games on any system- their fans are their fans. So, if you're Nintendo, why not pump out underpowered hardware you sell at break even instead of for a loss like your competitors do, and avoid licensing fees for being a 3rd party dev on top of that. They make out better in the end.

I just don't understand the reliance on gimmicks for their hardware. I think if the Wii had failed as it should have, they probably would have abandoned the gimmick route, but they keep trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice. That's time, energy, and resources that could be better spent on literally anything else.

Yea. Aside from Wii U, Nintendo makes as much on hardware as they do on software. So they're cutting their revenue in half just to start, then abandoning software licensing fees, paying software licensing fees, and adopting the increased budget structure of PS4/XBO level software development. It would not be the same company.

That could conceivable work alongside a dedicated handheld, but phones went and squashed that. So here we are.

[TakingBackSunday]

I get why Nintendo doesn't go third party. They're probably going to sell the same amount of games on any system- their fans are their fans. So, if you're Nintendo, why not pump out underpowered hardware you sell at break even instead of for a loss like your competitors do, and avoid licensing fees for being a 3rd party dev on top of that. They make out better in the end.

I just don't understand the reliance on gimmicks for their hardware. I think if the Wii had failed as it should have, they probably would have abandoned the gimmick route, but they keep trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice. That's time, energy, and resources that could be better spent on literally anything else.

Remind me not to take your rumination about Nintendo seriously then.  What does this even mean?  Just because you don't like Thing, doesn't mean the mass public won't like Thing.

[SantaC]

I cant belive that nintendo stays in the ps3/360 hardware generation again which means that 3rd parties wont bother . Only the fanboys on neogaf seems to bother, but then again you can sell them a turd in a box as long as it came from reggies ass.

Seriously, from the early speccs we got it wont be a big leap from the wii u. If a leap at all.

I am just ranting because i used to be a nintendo fan, but wii u really soured on me because of the poor support the last 2 years. Only one game came out this year and it was disappointing (paper mario)

With the nintendo switch i just feel it is going to be wii u all over again.

[TakingBackSunday]

I cant belive that nintendo stays in the ps3/360 hardware generation again which means that 3rd parties wont bother . Only the fanboys on neogaf seems to bother, but then again you can sell them a turd in a box as long as it came from reggies ass.

Seriously, from the early speccs we got it wont be a big leap from the wii u. If a leap at all.

I am just ranting because i used to be a nintendo fan, but wii u really soured on me because of the poor support the last 2 years. Only one game came out this year and it was disappointing (paper mario)

With the nintendo switch i just feel it is going to be wii u all over again.

This isn't even close to being true. 

[TakingBackSunday]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-10-27-nintendo-switch-has-a-6-2-multi-touch-screen

Let's start with the Nintendo Switch's screen. It is 6.2" in size, 720p and - for the first time in any Nintendo device - boasts a capacitive multi-touch screen.

(Both 3DS and Wii U featured resistive touchscreens, reliant on pressure and less precise. They were also single-touch only.)

As is standard for capacitive devices such as most modern smartphones, Switch's screen is a 10-point multitouch display, meaning multi-finger gestures are supported

So, how will the touchscreen work when the Switch is docked? While connected to your TV the Switch itself is out of reach - you play either with both JoyCon controllers attached to the system's grip or with a Pro Controller. The Switch's touchscreen is almost entirely obscured within the console's dock.

The answer may lie hidden in the right-hand JoyCon, which houses a short-range IR sensor in its base. This could be used to point at the TV to replicate basic touchscreen functionality, picked up by a corresponding IR sensor in the docked Switch.

[SantaC]

I cant belive that nintendo stays in the ps3/360 hardware generation again which means that 3rd parties wont bother . Only the fanboys on neogaf seems to bother, but then again you can sell them a turd in a box as long as it came from reggies ass.

Seriously, from the early speccs we got it wont be a big leap from the wii u. If a leap at all.

I am just ranting because i used to be a nintendo fan, but wii u really soured on me because of the poor support the last 2 years. Only one game came out this year and it was disappointing (paper mario)

With the nintendo switch i just feel it is going to be wii u all over again.

This isn't even close to being true. 

it is true if we talk about it being a homeconsole. As a portable it is ok, but as a stationary console the speccs isnt much better then Wii U. Arm as a CPU? eh.

[CatsCatsCats]

Multitouch is good, bout time they caught up with that one

[TakingBackSunday]

I cant belive that nintendo stays in the ps3/360 hardware generation again which means that 3rd parties wont bother . Only the fanboys on neogaf seems to bother, but then again you can sell them a turd in a box as long as it came from reggies ass.

Seriously, from the early speccs we got it wont be a big leap from the wii u. If a leap at all.

I am just ranting because i used to be a nintendo fan, but wii u really soured on me because of the poor support the last 2 years. Only one game came out this year and it was disappointing (paper mario)

With the nintendo switch i just feel it is going to be wii u all over again.

This isn't even close to being true. 

it is true if we talk about it being a homeconsole. As a portable it is ok, but as a stationary console the speccs isnt much better then Wii U. Arm as a CPU? eh.

It's much closer (and in some regards more efficient in some areas) to the Xbox One than the Wii U, if we're to believe what accurate insiders are reporting.

[Huff]

Hard to imagine that its not closer in power to the newer consoles (not that it matters for nintendo games)

but lets not go full nintard brandnew and bring up twitter stars that know about a much as my asshole

[Human Snorenado]

I get why Nintendo doesn't go third party. They're probably going to sell the same amount of games on any system- their fans are their fans. So, if you're Nintendo, why not pump out underpowered hardware you sell at break even instead of for a loss like your competitors do, and avoid licensing fees for being a 3rd party dev on top of that. They make out better in the end.

I just don't understand the reliance on gimmicks for their hardware. I think if the Wii had failed as it should have, they probably would have abandoned the gimmick route, but they keep trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice. That's time, energy, and resources that could be better spent on literally anything else.

Remind me not to take your rumination about Nintendo seriously then.  What does this even mean?  Just because you don't like Thing, doesn't mean the mass public won't like Thing.

It means that it failed at being a video game console. Which it did. It was an awesome money making device and gimmick. The gimmick didn't have staying power. Please don't act like this isn't true.

[CatsCatsCats]

I mean, I bet there's people out there still trotting out Wii sports

[TakingBackSunday]

That gimmick sold well from 2006 - 2010 

It's pretty lame to say it wasn't a video game console what it clearly was a) a console and b) played video games.

Call it what it was: a flash in the pan, well-marketed gaming hook that could have only worked at the time.  It "failed" as a console only if you go in thinking Nintendo wanted it to make hardcore gamers sell their PS3s or 360s in favor of the Wii.