I am just repeating what Nintendo has said. Don't argue with the messenger. Argue with Nintendo as they said it. You really don't keep up with what Nintendo says.
I am sure Nintendo will make it as easy as possible given the different architectures of the consoles.
The problem with doing that is that Nintendo has skin in this game. As I'm not their target audience and I have no intention of buying their new hardware, it makes not the slightest difference to me if it fails or succeeds. Nintendo
has to convince their prospective customers that the Switch has a future, and it will do so by hook or by crook, including promising third-party support that it cannot command given the form factor and reasonable estimation of the power of its console and its brand equity in relation to the manner of that desired support.
So no, I don't believe a word out of their mouth regarding their third-party support or the general ease about porting from the x86 CISC architecture with two well-trodden input types to their ARM-based CISC architecture. I took that chance with the Wii U and was not rewarded for my investment, so I'll believe it when there are four to six consecutive months of 1 - 2 first-party titles and 3 - 4 third-party ports/releases, and not until then.
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The DS, 3DS and WiiU prove this wrong.
On the contrary, they prove my point, especially with the DS, which was released whilst the GBA and its offspring were still strongly supported and in demand. During its first few years, it had modest growth, 1 - 2 million units per year in each of its target regions. It was not until the GBA began to be phased out in 2006 - 2008 (depending on the region) that you began seeing sales of 3 - 4 million or more YoY. The reason for that is obvious: the Gameboy line was a name that was loved, a design that was trusted and reliable, had a strong library and already, being mature, already had compelling discounts versus the original release price.
You have it wrong. The DS didn't go places in it's first year and still the Gameboy Advance was dead. Newer hardware made the old obselete. The only things keeping the 3DS in the game when compared to the Switch, is the existing 3DS library and the compact size of the 3DS. Everything else, even the portability aspect the Switch can do. If the Switch has a bumper first year, I see the 3DS slowiy dying. Nintendo can prolong this 3DS death however with more 3DS only releases.
Improved hardware is one consideration for purchasing new hardware, but by far the strongest reason driving new adoption is lack of competitve titles on a forward basis. What stoked initial resentment and materially lower sales in the SNES, resulting in SEGA eroding market share of Nintendo with the Mega Drive? The continuation of strong software releases for NES, the singularly enormous library of content in the NES and no backwards compatibility with that library. What separates the 3DS from the Switch? It will continue to have compelling releases (including first-party and confirmed third-party support), has an enormous library, is functionally half the price of the Switch whilst being a dedicated portable experience, and has backward compatibility for DS and a well-populated virtual console.
You think wrong.
The Switch is for 3DS fans who want to play more powerful console games on the go. The sales of things like Ocarina 3D and Majora's Mask 3D and also SM64 on the DS prove this. The 3DS fans want bigger and better games to play on the run. The 3DS hardware is the limiting factor here. The Switch for the most part removes this limit.
The WiiU fans will probably get a Switch too because they like Nintendo. The WiiU fans are not the main target market for the Switch though.
Nintendo does not have the brand cachet or history to attract gamers seeking a 'powerful console', nor will the Switch be able to reasonably claim that descriptor when you look at what it's competition will be during its first months, and especially around holiday 2017 with the release of the Scorpio.
As for your assertion that OoT and Majora's Mask show that gamers want bigger experience on handhelds, you're quite wrong. OoT, one of the most lauded and beloved titles that Nintendo has ever produced, sold 4.5 million units, which is a strong figure in isolation, until you realise that it was roughly
half of NSMB2, a watered-down sequel that's devoted to collecting coins, and that it represented an attachment rate of 7.5%, versus 23% for the original. Majora did slightly better by percentage, by that's more a function of the tiny original audience that the N64 title had and it's status as a cult classic within the series.
What was popular on 3DS were level-stratified platformers, Mario Kart which has virtually no plot, and grind games like Pokemon. Games that can be consumed in 5 - 10 minute chunks, not involved story-driven games. Did those have an audience on the console? Yes, certainly, but not with a strong attachment rate and not as system sellers. That's why games like BotW will not sell the Switch to portable-inclined customers.
