Exactly this! If you think Apple and their profit margins there's a big parallel. And both Apple as well as Nintendo have gone for gimmicks that weren't obvious

Exactly this! If you think Apple and their profit margins there's a big parallel. And both Apple as well as Nintendo have gone for gimmicks that weren't obvious big hits (the Wii U, 3D touch). (On the subject of the Wii U, in a lot of ways it seems like the Switch might be the second iteration for being hip and also making a tablet, where the Wii U was the first one.) Not sure if it's still true that all other console makers are subsidizing theirs.