Again, Nikon made their bed by waiting too long to seriously enter the mirrorless space and they are still paying for it.
I agree with everything else you've mentioned ealier, but I think
when Nikon entered mirrorless is/was not the issue. I see this mentioned all the time. Although perhaps not as "serious", Nikon has been making mirrorless cameras (Coolpix) since the late 90's, before the D1 existed.
I think Nikon's problem was that they were
vastly over-confident in their mirrorless focusing system that worked plenty fine for consumer bodies with smaller (often integrated) lenses on small sensors. Scaling up their mirrorless focusing to a bigger sensor, even with significantly larger lenses (more light) and better processing power, did not scale to the level Nikon user's expected for the prices of Nikon's bodies. Keep in mind, the Z7 initially released for $3499 US.
Not trying to dig on Nikon, because if anyone remembers the Canon R and RP, they will also remember they weren't exactly the best cameras on release either (and unlike Nikon, Canon seems to have forsaken those in the dust). Those early Canon cameras or at least the EOS R, on the other hand, were quickly redesigned or replaced with significantly better performing models. Nikon has yet to replace their core tech they had at launch, that's still in the Z7ii and Z6ii.
I think they have closed the gap in a lot of areas over the last 5 years since the release of the Z6/Z7 but as you've noted, they still have work to do.
Like the rest of what you said, completely agreed. Nikon has been on a hot-streak with their superb glass and Z9 / Z8. They just have to keep it up.
