With the Switch, technology finally caught up to Nintendo

The Nintendo Switch is on the cusp of becoming Nintendo’s bestselling hardware ever. In retrospect, it’s easy to see why: it’s a device that seamlessly transitions from a home console to a handheld, erasing the distinction between the two. It’s been so successful that Nintendo isn’t changing all that much with the Switch 2. But both consoles are well-executed versions of ideas Nintendo has been working on since the failed Wii U — and maybe even earlier. Purely by sales numbers, the Wii U was a flop. The Switch has sold more than 150 million units in its eight-year lifetime. The Wii U, by comparison, sold 13.56 million units — less than a 10th of what the Switch did — making it Nintendo’s worst-selling home console. As a result, it had a much shorter lifespan, launching in late 2012 before being superseded by the Switch about four and a half years later. But many of its ideas and its games were not only excellent, they were also well ahead of their time, and, in some ways, predicted s ... Read full article.