Thanks to a blockbuster year, Nintendo is upping its estimate for annual Switch console sales to 15 million units. No, that's not enough to surpass the rate at which Sony sells the PlayStation 4. But it's close, and this success came out of nowhere.

More to the point, Nintendo's hybrid approach to video gaming---the Switch works as both a standalone, traditional game console and a portable gaming device---proves that this firm still has a unique and innovative role to play in this market. And its Switch success has upended our understanding of what the video game hardware market can be.