They're definitely on the right track but I think it's early to say they're back on top. We'll see how good Odyssey and the new Metroids are first.
There's no question that Nintendo is back when it comes to making quality games and a solid, easy to grasp, unique console. Their marketing for the Switch is also on track to rivaling the marketing they had for the Wii.
There's no doubt in my mind that the Switch will surpass the Wii U in terms of sales, but it still has some roadblocks ahead of it if it wants to be as successful as say the Xbone or PS4. Two of them that come up for me are the online experience and if Nintendo can keep up the same momentum they have for the Switch's games now in later years (which also includes potential 3rd party support).
Online is already looking a bit shaky with the whole smartphone app voice chat thing, but if they can deliver an experience that mirrors a lot of the same features as the competition while remaining simple to use, then they could very well have this one especially with it only being $20/year. If the online experience is a mess and it still requires friend codes when the subscription costs hit, most people won't want to deal with it even if it is extremely affordable compared to the competition.
As for support via games, I'm confident in Nintendo, but also a tiny bit wary. They've frontloaded most of their notable IPs within the launch year, with maybe a couple slated for 2018/2019. It makes me wonder if Nintendo can continue to deliver the same momentum they have now in later years. As for 3rd parties, their commitment to the system is still largely unknown. We've gotten some high profile indies declaring their support, but AAAs are still barely dipping their toes in the water.
I'm definitely excited for the future of the Switch though. The Wii U's days of almost feeling left out in the cold feel mostly over, and we seem to be returning to a Nintendo that is focusing more on core experiences than casual ones. A Nintendo that more or less reminds me of its N64 and Gamecube days. Not exactly their most profitable days yes, but definitely the most memorable ones for me personally.
Nintendo is definitely doing a far much, much better job with the Switch than the Wii U, but there's still a long way for them to get there and the biggest obstacle is the Nintendo Online service. It's already not looking hot thanks to the Smartphone app that is needed to do matchmaking and voice chat. Now while we did get a bit more information on how exactly the games you get monthly works now, we still don't know what exactly is their plan with the Virtual Console.
The NES Classic and SNES Classic are proof that they're working on emulators to properly run the games, and I won't be surprised if we see a N64 Classic and a GBA Classic, but it's still unusual that they're not yet trying it on the Switch. That's one key seller that they're missing, especially that there's a lot of people that would love to have their favorite classics portable with the Switch. Of course, they're already wasting potential with the NES and SNES Classic, since they're only Limited Edition runs to say, and if it wasn't, it would have been making them lots of money (even if it's going to be impossible to keep them in stick due to the high demand).
Still, everybody, including myself, is extremely happy with how the Switch is. It can only get better from here on out. I just hope third-party developers join the party (I'm not too worried on indie developers, they'll do fine with the Switch).
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