7 ms·

I personally am excited for the Switch and will get one at launch. And for me personally, the Wii U is the best console of this generation. But I'm not nearly a

by city41 10y ago

I personally am excited for the Switch and will get one at launch. And for me personally, the Wii U is the best console of this generation. But I'm not nearly as enthusiastic about the Switch in general as you are from this presentation. So far it feels like "the Wii part 3". Yes the Wii sold well, but it didn't sell very many games. Most Wii owners were perfectly content with Wii Sports. The Wii U has pretty much been a flop. Nothing about this presentation suggests to me the Switch will finally do what Nintendo has tried three times now: make a gimmicky, low powered console that appeals in non traditional ways and is successful. So far (and sure, a 1 hour video 3 months before launch isn't much), this very much feels like the Wii and Wii U, and not in the good ways. I love Nintendo and am a huge fan. But part of me can't help but wish Nintendo would just straight up compete with Sony and Microsoft.

pbhjpbhj 10y ago
>But part of me can't help but wish Nintendo would just straight up compete with Sony and Microsoft. // Surely though if you want that experience you can buy a PS4/Xbone/PC. Personally I'm really happy that Nintendo continues to give a different twist to their consoles and provide some texture to the market.
- city41 10y ago
  But will you still be happy if Nintendo bows out of the market altogether? It's no coincidence they are exploring mobile games. They aren't exactly killing it these days. If the Switch doesn't do well, I wouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo go completely 3rd party.
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    That would be a big shame IMO. I think, the Wii and WiiU have both brought interesting developments and that the Switch looks like it will develop things to - bring tighter integration between mobile and home gaming. Surely the next step would be VR, though it's probably right to enter that arena partnered with an established player. If smart-watches/wearables push on then people may move away from using a smart-phone form factor and instead have a paired device trailer more towards gaming and media. I wonder if Switch can (in theory) run Android, whether it'll have Skype or other video calling (I didn't notice a camera?).
vessenes 10y ago
Nintendo has had the 'not many games' story for decades. Third party titles have rarely been a big part of the story for Nintendo. They still have in excess of $1mm in revenue per employee last time I checked. And, if you subtract minecraft on Xbox, my kids spend 95% of their non-mobile gaming time on Wii U. No third party title time. At any rate, I'm guessing it's when not if Switch will hit our house. Maybe I can hide it in my bag for a while before they find it. :)
- samplatt 10y ago
  >if you subtract minecraft on Xbox That's a toughie and ventures deep into anecdote-only-data territory. For about 3 years running, my PS2 was a Guitar Hero facilitating machine, and my PC was a Kerbal Space Program facilitating machine.
flukus 10y ago
Try looking at it the other way, this isn't the next wiiU trying to compete with sony and MS. This is the next 3DS which also supports big screen gaming. Nintendo is bringing their strengths (mobile and third party mobile support) into the arena they've been struggling with on and off since the SNES era.
threeseed 10y ago
Nintendo and arguably Microsoft simply can't compete with Sony right now. Sony is dominating the high end, exclusive game market. The Last of Us, Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid and coming up in 2017: Horizon Zero Dawn, Death Stranding etc. All of these push the console to the limits and show just how superior the PS4 hardware is over its competitors. Nintendo isn't really suited anyway. Their games are arguably better cel-shaded and cartoon-like. And so why not appeal to the less hardcore, graphics obsessed gamers. There's far more of them after all.
- fsloth 10y ago
  As years go by the less I'm convinced that the platform with the fastest hardware is the best. With consoles, on the technical front, I want constant fluid framerates and predictability. For instance, I fail to see how PS4 Witcher 3 could be better than Witcher 3 on XBox one by any standard I care about when gaming (and I'm a professional graphics programmer). That said, yes, it seems Sony is winning this generation in consoles. But I would claim it's due to other factors than PS4 as a piece of hardware and OS.
  - tarpherder 10y ago
    The PS4 has more powerful hardware than the XBox One. If they are running the same game (The Witcher 3), logic tells us that it will be easier to get fluid framerates with the more powerful console. And that is what you care about, no? Now I don't know about The Witcher per-se but there have been a good number of multi-platform releases where performance and fluidity were compromised on XBox One. And it doesn't just seem to be Sony, the numbers say it's Sony (especially in Europe). General consensus is that Microsoft severely botched the launch of the One and has been left to play catch-up since.
    - ldev 10y ago
      Witcher 3 on PS4 has slightly better graphics and insane texture pop in and some frame drops. I'd take "inferior" xOne version any time of the day.
blakeyrat 10y ago
> I love Nintendo and am a huge fan. But part of me can't help but wish Nintendo would just straight up compete with Sony and Microsoft. Well I don't love Nintendo, I think their consoles are pretty gimmicky and sales are fueled mostly by nostalgia and rehashing the same game titles over and over again (the Switch is getting a Zelda title and a Mario title? What a shocker!) I honestly don't believe Nintendo is capable of competing with Sony or Microsoft. Maybe they could create hardware on-par with a PS4, but they can't get the publisher relations down, nor have they been able to get their online service to feature-parity with Xbox Live circa 2007 after a decade of trying. They also have this awful customer-hostile attitude that simply will not go away. (Why should anybody have to buy a game title more than once, just because they bought a new game console? That's pure scam, Nintendo. On Xbox, you buy it once and you own it forever. On Nintendo, people re-buy Super Mario Bros 3 like clockwork every 3 years.) Which is fine. There's already lots of competition in the "high powered console gaming" arena, and Nintendo would run the risk of becoming another SteamBox. And if their strength is nostalgia, maybe embracing that is a good business decision, even if the constant rehashing of the same titles over and over personally makes me gag.
- eridius 10y ago
  > rehashing the same game titles over and over again (the Switch is getting a Zelda title and a Mario title? What a shocker!) You say that like this is a bad thing. Nintendo isn't just making the same games over and over again. Every new Mario game, and every new Zelda game, brings something new to the genre. For example, Super Mario Galaxy was a very innovative and award-winning game that had a very unique and well-thought-out core mechanic. And this new Super Mario Odyssey game they announced looks like it has a ton of stuff that hasn't been done in a Mario game before. And ultimately, the first-party games Nintendo puts out, your Marios and Zeldas and whatnot, are always very polished, excellently-designed, and downright fun games. Typically the best games on the whole platform. So it's no surprise that they keep coming back to the same franchises, since they've demonstrated that they can execute extremely well with this IP and that fans absolutely love it. It's not unreasonable to say that Mario and Zelda by themselves sell a large portion of Nintendo's consoles.
  - 10y ago
WillPostForFood 10y ago
I don't know why there is the perception that the Wii didn't sell many games. That's definitely not true, it had incredible first party game sales beyond Wii Sports, and it actually had good third party sales as well. Here is a list of 5 million+ sellers, including mega hits like Mario Kart which sold 36.8 million and New Super Mario Brothers which sold 29.9 million copies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games#Wii https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_gam... Some third party sales data which shows it was ahead of the 360 and PS3, launch aligned: http://kotaku.com/5034951/heres-that-wii-third-party-sales-proof-you-requested http://kotaku.com/5034951/heres-that-wii-third-party-sales-p...

by city41 10y ago

pbhjpbhj 10y ago

>But part of me can't help but wish Nintendo would just straight up compete with Sony and Microsoft. // Surely though if you want that experience you can buy a PS4/Xbone/PC. Personally I'm really happy that Nintendo continues to give a different twist to their consoles and provide some texture to the market.

city41 10y ago
But will you still be happy if Nintendo bows out of the market altogether? It's no coincidence they are exploring mobile games. They aren't exactly killing it these days. If the Switch doesn't do well, I wouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo go completely 3rd party.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  That would be a big shame IMO. I think, the Wii and WiiU have both brought interesting developments and that the Switch looks like it will develop things to - bring tighter integration between mobile and home gaming. Surely the next step would be VR, though it's probably right to enter that arena partnered with an established player. If smart-watches/wearables push on then people may move away from using a smart-phone form factor and instead have a paired device trailer more towards gaming and media. I wonder if Switch can (in theory) run Android, whether it'll have Skype or other video calling (I didn't notice a camera?).

vessenes 10y ago

Nintendo has had the 'not many games' story for decades. Third party titles have rarely been a big part of the story for Nintendo. They still have in excess of $1mm in revenue per employee last time I checked. And, if you subtract minecraft on Xbox, my kids spend 95% of their non-mobile gaming time on Wii U. No third party title time. At any rate, I'm guessing it's when not if Switch will hit our house. Maybe I can hide it in my bag for a while before they find it. :)

samplatt 10y ago
>if you subtract minecraft on Xbox That's a toughie and ventures deep into anecdote-only-data territory. For about 3 years running, my PS2 was a Guitar Hero facilitating machine, and my PC was a Kerbal Space Program facilitating machine.

flukus 10y ago

Try looking at it the other way, this isn't the next wiiU trying to compete with sony and MS. This is the next 3DS which also supports big screen gaming. Nintendo is bringing their strengths (mobile and third party mobile support) into the arena they've been struggling with on and off since the SNES era.

threeseed 10y ago

Nintendo and arguably Microsoft simply can't compete with Sony right now. Sony is dominating the high end, exclusive game market. The Last of Us, Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid and coming up in 2017: Horizon Zero Dawn, Death Stranding etc. All of these push the console to the limits and show just how superior the PS4 hardware is over its competitors. Nintendo isn't really suited anyway. Their games are arguably better cel-shaded and cartoon-like. And so why not appeal to the less hardcore, graphics obsessed gamers. There's far more of them after all.

fsloth 10y ago
As years go by the less I'm convinced that the platform with the fastest hardware is the best. With consoles, on the technical front, I want constant fluid framerates and predictability. For instance, I fail to see how PS4 Witcher 3 could be better than Witcher 3 on XBox one by any standard I care about when gaming (and I'm a professional graphics programmer). That said, yes, it seems Sony is winning this generation in consoles. But I would claim it's due to other factors than PS4 as a piece of hardware and OS.
- tarpherder 10y ago
  The PS4 has more powerful hardware than the XBox One. If they are running the same game (The Witcher 3), logic tells us that it will be easier to get fluid framerates with the more powerful console. And that is what you care about, no? Now I don't know about The Witcher per-se but there have been a good number of multi-platform releases where performance and fluidity were compromised on XBox One. And it doesn't just seem to be Sony, the numbers say it's Sony (especially in Europe). General consensus is that Microsoft severely botched the launch of the One and has been left to play catch-up since.
  - ldev 10y ago
    Witcher 3 on PS4 has slightly better graphics and insane texture pop in and some frame drops. I'd take "inferior" xOne version any time of the day.

blakeyrat 10y ago

> I love Nintendo and am a huge fan. But part of me can't help but wish Nintendo would just straight up compete with Sony and Microsoft. Well I don't love Nintendo, I think their consoles are pretty gimmicky and sales are fueled mostly by nostalgia and rehashing the same game titles over and over again (the Switch is getting a Zelda title and a Mario title? What a shocker!) I honestly don't believe Nintendo is capable of competing with Sony or Microsoft. Maybe they could create hardware on-par with a PS4, but they can't get the publisher relations down, nor have they been able to get their online service to feature-parity with Xbox Live circa 2007 after a decade of trying. They also have this awful customer-hostile attitude that simply will not go away. (Why should anybody have to buy a game title more than once, just because they bought a new game console? That's pure scam, Nintendo. On Xbox, you buy it once and you own it forever. On Nintendo, people re-buy Super Mario Bros 3 like clockwork every 3 years.) Which is fine. There's already lots of competition in the "high powered console gaming" arena, and Nintendo would run the risk of becoming another SteamBox. And if their strength is nostalgia, maybe embracing that is a good business decision, even if the constant rehashing of the same titles over and over personally makes me gag.

eridius 10y ago
> rehashing the same game titles over and over again (the Switch is getting a Zelda title and a Mario title? What a shocker!) You say that like this is a bad thing. Nintendo isn't just making the same games over and over again. Every new Mario game, and every new Zelda game, brings something new to the genre. For example, Super Mario Galaxy was a very innovative and award-winning game that had a very unique and well-thought-out core mechanic. And this new Super Mario Odyssey game they announced looks like it has a ton of stuff that hasn't been done in a Mario game before. And ultimately, the first-party games Nintendo puts out, your Marios and Zeldas and whatnot, are always very polished, excellently-designed, and downright fun games. Typically the best games on the whole platform. So it's no surprise that they keep coming back to the same franchises, since they've demonstrated that they can execute extremely well with this IP and that fans absolutely love it. It's not unreasonable to say that Mario and Zelda by themselves sell a large portion of Nintendo's consoles.
- 10y ago

WillPostForFood 10y ago

I don't know why there is the perception that the Wii didn't sell many games. That's definitely not true, it had incredible first party game sales beyond Wii Sports, and it actually had good third party sales as well. Here is a list of 5 million+ sellers, including mega hits like Mario Kart which sold 36.8 million and New Super Mario Brothers which sold 29.9 million copies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games#Wii https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_gam... Some third party sales data which shows it was ahead of the 360 and PS3, launch aligned: http://kotaku.com/5034951/heres-that-wii-third-party-sales-proof-you-requested http://kotaku.com/5034951/heres-that-wii-third-party-sales-p...