@videogameninja: Don't forget Nintendo's secret weapon that they've done with 3DS, DS, and hopefully if they're smart will do with Switch, and that's midlife hardware upgrades. IF they do, they can extend the life of it a few more years and hold off the next system, because 2021 is only 4 years after the launch of Switch, and Kimishima was saying he wants them longer than 5!
@jako998: It'll only stay on the market as long as the market wants portable versions of home console games, but the problem, and it's kind of a big one, it's going to compete with some extremely powerful systems by Sony and Microsoft in a couple years (PS5 and XBox-who-knows), so it's not likely to run the same games, it's going to need either a midlife upgrade like the 3DS saw, or it's going to have problems.
@Brettsky128: Next month begins its 8th year on the market! It'll have had 7 full years (March, 2011-March, 2018), and begin its 8th soon. The only problem is it's become a legacy system in the 8th year, Kimishima even said they are going to use old games to sell it, which is kind of stupid, because those games have been on the market for a while now, used copies are going to be more available than new ones.
I have one, and it's rather pathetic that in nearly a year I have played a whole 2 games- Odyssey, Splatoon 2. The rest are either ports from Wii U, or other systems, or games that don't really interest me. It's rather sad that a brand new system is sitting idle after completing Odyssey since I literally have nothing that I want- the Mario Tennis game should get a few more hours out of it, maybe I can have a whole 100 hours total playtime by the time this things life is over! Come on Nintendo, give me games like Mario Party Top 100 on it, something that I can play with others that I haven't already played before!!
@Ryusui: They not only need a price drop, but also a redesign, because at some point they'll reach market saturation (the point where the sales plummet for the current model)- something many 3DS models did with many models, proving the handheld market is having a tough time competing with mobile. This is why they redid the 3DS 6 times, more than any other system. If the original 3DS was selling like the Wii did, they never would have released the XL or the 2DS, or upgraded the power to "New" models. Expect multiple Switch variants if they really think a handheld can still compete.
@doctor_mg: he's also ignoring that the battery life is pretty comparable- 2 1/2 vs 3 hours minimum, and the fact that a Switch without the JoyCons is about the size of a folded 3DS XL (way slimmer though).
@waltdawg443: not only that, they literally want kids who have 3DS as their only system to then own a Switch- as if they weren't already in direct competition! It's like seriously, you want these massive sales for it, but still refuse to let the 3DS go so you can then start putting games like Mario Party Top 100 on it to make it that much more desirable! This is why Switch won't top DS's 155 million lifetime sales, Kimishima is sacrificing future sales by continuing to split development. Maybe once Pokemon hits, and a redesigned system like the 3DS has had 6 times, then they'll actually do it, but what they've got now, no, it'll hit market saturation around 50 million tops.
It's definitely getting an approximate 10 year lifespan, but that 5-6 year stuff is for when the successor comes out. He's saying they expect Switch's successor to come out later than 5 to 6 years after debut, so they're thinking this will have a lifespan similar to Wii where it runs 10 years, but have a successor out in 2024, then begin the phaseout of it like they're doing now with the 3DS- ie development of low selling games, mainly relying on old game to continue selling the system (basically a legacy system).
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