The Nintendo Switch is an interesting device- it is primarily a handheld that also has video output, making it a console/handheld hybrid. And yet, it is priced and marketed as a console. Therefore, even though it actually has reasonably powerful capabilities, and extensive third party support in handheld terms, as a console, it comes up short on both of those fronts.
But according to Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock, it doesn’t need either of those to ultimately succeed in the market. Speaking to GamingBolt in an exclusive interview, Wardell said that Nintendo’s success is independent of whether or not third parties choose to support them.
“Nintendo doesn’t arguably need third party,” Wardell said. “You think about the Mario games, Zelda, I mean, there’s plenty there. I mean, if it was a $1000 game system, maybe I’d care. But as it stands now, there is plenty to play with on the Switch, that’s just fine.”
Ultimately, he did say that Stardock will not be supporting the Switch, however- it’s too weak, and he isn’t sure that there is a market for third party games on the system to begin with. “No, [we] probably [will] not [support the Switch]. It’s too different than any of the others, and there isn’t a lot of- I haven’t seen a lot of third party success stories on the more recent Nintendo hardware. Nintendo, is a great market for Nintendo, but I haven’t seen a lot of huge hits made by non Nintendo studios.”
So in the end, it sounds like Wardell expects the Switch to be successful- but on the back of Nintendo’s own games, and not third party support. Given that Nintendo has released critically acclaimed games like Zelda and Mario Kart on it, and that the Switch continues to break sales records, maybe he is on to something- maybe that is the strategy that Nintendo will be pursuing this time around. It should be interesting to see in any case.
