@wynnduffy: To your points, it all comes down to value for money combined with the timeframe and context in which the Switch is launching. Regardless of what Nintendo may want to think, and no matter how much they might shout otherwise from the rooftops, the fact is they are in competition with Sony and Microsoft for my time and money and attention. They need to convince me that the Switch is more worthy of my time and money than another console. They can do that either by being better than (or at least at parity with) those consoles or by doing something those other consoles don't. The Switch, in my opinion, has pretty much failed to do that.
For example, I currently own a PS4. Let's say that I am looking to buy another console as a backup. I'm not, but let's say I am. My choices are between the XBONE or a Switch.
1. If I buy a Switch, it's $300 for the system, plus I need to buy a game, so that's another $60. I probably want a Pro Controller too, since the buzz is that seems to be an essential peripheral. One of those is $70. Eventually I'll need a memory stick. A 128GB card runs around $50. So by the time I'm done, I'm looking at a minimum of $360 if I get just the system and something to play on it. It's probably closer to $450-$500 if I get everything I'll eventually need.
And yes, you are correct that both the XBONE and PS4 originally launched with no pack-in. And yes, that was shitty. But that (a) doesn't excuse Nintendo from doing the same thing and (b) isn't what Nintendo is competing with right now. At this point, both Sony and Microsoft have come out with updated versions of their consoles that act as bundles. Looking at Microsoft's website, I can get a 1TB XBONE, with a game, for $350. If I just get a 500GB XBONE, I can get one with a game for $300.
2. So if we just look at the cost of the system and a game, then the XBONE and Switch are both around $350. But with the XBONE I don't need to go out an buy a memory stick. Additionally:
- I can back up my saves on the XBONE to the cloud or an external device, I can't on the Switch
- The XBONE has an established catalog of games, the Switch doesn't. All I've got with the Switch is the promise of games in the future. Everything is "Coming Soon (TM)."
- XBONE has an established and easy to use online service. The Switch's isn't really up and running and the Friend Code thing is hard to use.
- The XBONE is more powerful than the Switch. So the XBONE will be able to run more games because some things just won't be possible on the Switch. If a game does end up existing on both, chances are the XBONE version will be the "better" one.
- I know the XBONE has got 3rd party support. The Switch merely has a promise of 3rd party support. But Nintendo made that promise with the WiiU as well, and look how that turned out.
3. So I'm in the store or on Amazon and I'm making my choice, the Switch looks like a less powerful, less convenient, less connected system with fewer games. The only thing it has the XBONE doesn't is portability and I don't personally think that's cool enough on its own to change my opinion. On top of that you've got to layer the rumored issues the Switch has with controller functionality, bad screens, etc. I am willing to concede that those probably look worse than they are, and that every console launch has problems like that. But given the distance the Switch needs to make up, they can't afford any issues.
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