The only gimmick is convenience
In 2006, Nintendo spearheaded a very interesting time for the industry — motion gaming. The gimmick was popular and unique, so much so that the Wii became one of the best selling consoles ever, and Sony/Microsoft followed suit with the Move and Kinect. After the Wii, Nintendo followed up with the Wii U, a console that used the same motion control gimmicks with the added bonus of a touchscreen. But the Wii U didn’t bring back the same casual audience that bought the Wii, and it feels like Nintendo is done chasing that lightning strike with the Switch.
The basic idea of a home console that’s also completely portable is a pretty crazy one on the surface, but beyond that, all signs point to the Switch being a fairly standard experience. The most gimmicky thing the console has going for it is the notion of instant local multiplayer in the form of separated Joy-Con controllers — an idea that will mean a lot of design challenges when the number of buttons is sliced in half for each player.
This time around, instead of trying to change what is already great about the typical home console, Nintendo is putting their creative power towards blurring the line between a home and portable experience. They want you to play the larger games you already enjoy, but they want you to be able to play them anywhere. That’s their only real gimmick; convenience.
