Why the Switch Succeeded Where the Wii U Failed
I'm honestly surprised that Sony was able to salvage the PS3 near the end of it's life. I feel like I could do an analysis on why the Nintendo Switch was destined to outdo the Wii U the moment it was announced
one of the reasons the Wii U did as poorly as it did was because nobody knew what it was when it was announced, the naming convention and the screenshots they took made it seem like just an accessory, I'm pretty sure even a couple articles labeled it as an accessory to the Wii.
Plus even when it was clarified to be it's own console, it felt like there wasn't much of a point to a screen on the controller, there wouldn't be that many games that used it other than maybe menus, it felt like it was supposed to be for the hardcore gamers with it's more out there controller yet at the same time, it was also targeting casual gamers like the Wii, so it's place in the market and the audience it was supposed to be targeting felt confused
but I think the Switch succeeded because it was clear and simple what it was, it was a portable console that acts as a home console, simple, to the point and the announcement trailer perfectly shows how it works, take it on the go and continue at home on the TV, with no delay, just a dock, and in functionality, it has more practical applications than the Wii U, you could take it anywhere to play in short bursts on the go or go for a long play session in your home, and even though the joy cons are a lot more out there on how you could switch the grip from acting independently or 2 acting as one controller, it still has many possible ways to use it, mostly multiplayer.
I think that the Wii U was positioned and marketted a bit weirdly. I think partly since people liked the movement aspect of the games in Wii but at the same time that was fully lacking on the Wii U was part of the issue. As for the switch I think it's similarity to the Wii in that sense + the portability added a very unique differentiating factor. Plus moreover there's the fact that the switch had a great selection of games for the launch
But for the switch 2 i think the issue comes that now whilst they still have their unique games, their processing power would be lower than the likes of the steam deck or ROG Allys etc etc..
