No, but I think it was one of thr most well thought out pivots in a long while. Even before its official unveiling I believed it just had to be a hybridization if Nintendo was going to have a future after Wii U and 3DS, not necessarily because I believed the rumors for their credibility. Between Wii and DS, or the Wii U and 3DS, I felt one of Nintendo's problems was lack of equal support for both, especially if you loved some of Nintendo's less popular signature IPs, you might not necessarily see them on the system you want. Or perhaps, long stretches of support for one device but not the other. Well, having one target system was smart. One game for either the handheld or console audience, and a larger userbase which to make games for as it doesn't split users the way having a dedicated console or handheld would.
I overestimated just how long it would take for Japanese third parties to flock to it. Slowly but surely they got there. It was rather shocking just how much staying power the PS Vita had over there long after its death. Probably didn't help Nintendo was rather slow to drop the 3DS too.
But I am rather surprised just how much western third party multiplatform support it has. I would have figured people get these strictly for Nintendo's signature first party games, play everything else on either PS or XB or PC. I always thought of Nintendo stuff myself as an essential supplemental device. Regardless, well done for them to see that advantage shift their way.
Perhaps a large part of that success was their partnership with Nvidia, but given Nvidia's track record with MS and Sony, curious if Nintendo has hard choices to make ahead. I fully suspect Nvidia will try to leverage their position in Nintendo's success, and threaten to undo it if they don't meet their demands to bilk Nintendo for more and more money. And who knows how that'll go down because Nintendo is fiscally prudent. But, you know, when you make a deal with the devil, you'll get something out of it, a chance to live deliciously, but inevitably, a day of reckoning will arrive, and that price will be paid...
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