Flip the Switch and then what?

Sales of the Nintendo device start strong, but users speak up. Tweaks are planned.

Out of the gate, unit sales for the console/mobile hybrid the Nintendo Switch “exceeded any system launch Nintendo has had in the U.S., ever,” Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé says.

“For the first two days, Nintendo Switch outsold the Wii, it outsold Nintendo DS, it outsold Nintendo 3DS, it outsold Nintendo 64 — it outsold every system Nintendo of America has launched in the Americas, and I'm talking specifically for the U.S,” says Fils-Aimé, who declined to provide a sales total but noted the company intends to ship 2 million Switches globally by the end of March.

The Switch hopes to redefine the home video game console. In one sense, it works like a traditional video game device that is connected to a television.

But when it’s removed from its TV docking station it instantly becomes a hand-held machine with a tablet-like look and a touchscreen.

Some warned about reading too much into twoday sales.

Lewis Ward, a video game industry analyst at research firm IDC, is projecting the Switch to sell around 8 million units worldwide by the first quarter of 2018.

“From my perspective, it’s way too early to read into the tea leaves for the rest of 2017 based on two-day results,” Ward says.

Still, the Switch was met with largely positive reviews.

And Fils-Aimé says “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” is already the company’s top-selling standalone launch game.

No launch game, however, takes advantage of the device’s touchscreen, and one gripe among fans and critics has been the return of Nintendo’s so-called friend codes, a series of randomized digits required to play with friends online.

And Switch owners awaiting more tablet-friendly features, such as, say, a Web browser, may not find them anytime soon.

“It is not meant to replace my phone or my tablet,” Fils-Aimé says. “That is not the product vision we had. It was to create this killer, breakthrough gaming device that allows you to play your games wherever and whenever you want.”