LogFAQs > #900800215

Dude. The 3DS is like 6 years old at this point and it wasn't even that powerful at launch. It's tech is simply not up to snuff. Nintendo realized that they not only had to replace the aging console but also try and do something about the failure of the Wii U. Hence the Switch. Something that could be a viable heir to the 3DS capable of boasting basically 360/PS3 levels of tech while being portable and playable on big screens. The fact is that we don't need improved graphics at this point and even if they could magic a genie in that could make the Switch equal to the PS6 the console is limited by the small screen for its portable functions which is what Nintendo clearly wants to focus on over competing with the PS4/X1. It's a portable console with the advantage of being able to also play on the large screen, not the other way around.

The fact is that the home console market is at its limit right now. The PS4 and X1 are choking each other and PC gaming has become huge since Steam came around and distribution became viable. Coming in late nothing Nintendo could produce would be able to eek out a viable market at this point. However the portable market is uncontested since mobile games simply can't do what a dedicated system can (and touchscreens just don't work well for anything beyond basic games). So replace your aging hardware, charge into an uncontested market, then showcase your power and define a new marker in the hybrid console area to keep mobile games from overcoming you and make it so Sony and Microsoft simply can't muscle in without being at a massive disadvantage and having to potentially scrap their home consoles.