Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

@johncalmc As if most of the best PS4 games released in early 2017 like Gravity Rush 2, Nioh, Persona 5, and Nier: Automata weren't niche? Not everything needs to be a superhit like Mario, CoD, Uncharted, Pokemon (speaking of which, I totally forgot about Pokken Tournament, which is also releasing this year!), etc. The console is steadily gaining a hugely quality library early on, which will likely lead to increasingly snowballing demand for it by the end of the year. I can't think of any other console that has had so many good exclusives in its first year.

Also, as TLOU Remastered and the Nathan Drake Collection have shown, software doesn't have to be entirely new to be relevant to the current market. As someone who never owned a PS3, TLOU and Uncharted remasters might as well have been new games (for me). The same will be true for people who never owned the Wii U.

@Feena Mario+Rabbids looks awesome. Pretty sure it's going to be one of 2017's sleeper hits.

@KratosMD Not quite sure I understand your point. Yes, the Switch is getting third party games that have released elsewhere, because it's new on the market, and, to my knowledge, time is broadly understood to move from past to present. As you guys have pointed out with regard to the PS4 and its early glut of ports and remasters, the point isn't that any individual game is hugely driving sales, but that they're building on and diversifying the system's library. Anyhow, Bethesda support for a Nintendo console is huge, considering the last console they released a game on was... what, the NES? It's a very good show of early support for Nintendo, especially after the Wii U crashed and burned as spectacularly as it did.

@Ralizah Yup. They are niche. But my entire point was that Sony and Microsoft balance their heavy hitters and niche titles alongside third party, multi platform games to keep a steady stream going. Nintendo don't have that luxury because third party support is weak.

Example: look at the PS4 launch titles. It's quite an impressive list. Sure, I wouldn't play most of them because I couldn't give a fig about games like Need For Speed or Madden or COD. But they're massive games. If you remove all of the third party, multi platform games from PS4, the list is limp and unimpressive. That's the problem I find with Switch.

For gamers who want big games, Switch is a non-starter unless they buy another console to complement it. This E3 didn't change that much at all, because their line-up is looking pretty sparse. That's all I'm saying. If you love Fire Emblem and Xenoblade then you're in heaven, but the man on the street needs a little more. That's why they namedropped Pokemon despite having nothing to show - to distract from the relative lack upcoming games that will make an impact.

I don't think switch is designed to be your number one home console. They've pretty much handed that award over. It's a console to fit around your life.

Personally what Nintendo has managed to achieve is a minor miracle. They were on their knees with wii u. Switch is great, you only need 6/7 games to see you through.

@KratosMD Rocket League on the move? That is huge news for the 180,000 people playing two nights ago on ps4 alone. It's current and fresh regardless when it was released originally.

I've actually just deleted it as I couldn't play anything else.

@johncalmc I don't disagree, but does the man in the street even watch E3? Nintendo's not going to get the masses on board for a couple of years, even in a best case scenario. What it needs to do, and what it succeeded in doing (if E3 opinion polls after Nintendo's event are anything to go by), is convince gamers that it's becoming a worthwhile device to invest money in.

I don't think anyone has pretended that it'll meet the same needs as a PS or Xbox console, which are, to the masses, third party machines. It never will, and it doesn't need to to be successful.

Agreed. People act like the Switch is a competitor to the PS4. It's not, and it doesn't need to be to achieve mass adoption, imo.

To be perfectly blunt, I think Nintendo would still be up a river if they hadn't made the Switch all about versatility and instead released a box to try and compete with Sony's box.

I totally agree - they have managed to find a place in the market. I am going to get it at some point (probably with Mario Odyssey or a cool limited edition) but it's kind of a splurge, I don't feel like I NEED it. Though probably I would have caved in for Zelda had I not have a WiiU. Virtual Console alone would totally change my stance on it. I'd buy one now If I could play the SNES library on TV/on the go.

@johncalmc You don't need all the big AAA multiplat titles right now. It's a good system with software popping up everywhere.

Originally prior to buying one I thought I wanted Nintendo to release a comparable system to Sony. That's not the case anymore as it's great for family gaming and fun games.

For you John I wouldn't buy one to play on your own, what's the point when you have more immerse games on ps4? But for a family, immersion is a luxury one can't afford.

@KratosMD I agree, but Rocket League on the move is new.

Im defending the switch as I never owned a wii u and so far so good. If you had a wii u I would be dissatisfied too, but hey that's life.

@themcnoisy Another good point. Even if a game is "old" (as if that matters when games like GTA V and Minecraft literally sell consoles to people), the Switch is the only platform on which you can play it portably.

I get that a lot of people here don't see the value in portability, but I do think there is market demand for a system that can big, home console-level games on the go. The Switch's early success seems to be backing that opinion up. Let's see how things progress.

The Switch wasn't really built for me. Its biggest unique selling point, portability, is of no interest what so ever. 1st party games would need to be 'numerous', appealing and something special for me to drop that much money on the console and games. My kids have grown up, left home etc so not likely to play 'co-op' 'kids' games - no matter how much 'fun' than be. I liked Tom and Jerry as a kid but I don't watch them now.

I can't get excited by just the Metroid name either. It 's not as if every Metroid game has smashed it out of the park either. As far as I am concerned, I am never going to play on the go, so I am not going to buy downgraded or content cut versions of the games I can buy on PS or XB. It really doesn't make sense. Like I said though, the console isn't built for me...

Skyrim could well be a test bed though to see how popular old games are on the Switch. You might not see Red Dead Redemption 2 come to Switch but you could see the first. If these are successful, Nintendo could bring a lot of PS3/XB360 era games to its users with the unique selling point of 'Mobility'. CoD WW2 might not make it but W@W could (or one of the others) to give Nintendo the FPS MP to play on the go. Last gen had a lot of great games and really was the era that took online gaming to the masses. It also had a number of co-op games as well as RPG's, action adventures etc that could come to the Switch so it doesn't all have to be shovel ware or 'indie/arcade' type games - but games that could take advantage of the online/co-op components on the go. It might not be the most current 3rd party games but if you are trying to appeal to the CoD, Fifa etc masses, how better than to offer these ad the opportunity to play them wherever?

@Ralizah the switch is great right now as in general peoples lives are more out of the house than 5-10-20 years ago. Whenever Im on holiday from work there's a good chance I'm also on holiday away from Merseyside, I used to take my Vita (which is a nightmare with kids) but this year we will take the switch and actually join in together.

If snes, n64 and gc games make it over - it's now a mobile retro player! Yes there are tablet versions of emulators but the switch would then become the official best way to play.

I think portability will make a difference. I was planning on Skyrim for Switch (may change with the VR announcement!) because picking up and playing that type of game on the go is just awesome. I spent last night on the sofa with a poorly child on me as I played Switch and the wife watched telly (#parenting).

If you gave me some classic AAA gaming experiences on the go, like Skyrim, I would be up for them as well as first party exclusives. Sure I would like brand new AAA experiences on the Switch but also, the idea of playing something like Red Dead Redepmption 1 on the go is incredibly appealing.

@Rudy_Manchego And that's where I see the Switch succeeding with 3rd Party software. It may not be 'exciting' for some looking for the latest games and only seeing a line up of 'old' or stripped down modern titles but as a 'companion' to a PS, XB or PC, the chances are that IF you want to sit down specifically for those, you wouldn't buy them on Switch anyway. Its the fact you can go anywhere and play these. Ok so you can just 'dock' it and carry on if you want but the Switch could still play some/all of the last gen games better than the last gen consoles could. Handheld, the visuals won't necessarily be 'improved' - although could get better lighting, shadows etc but docked could actually be the 'best' place to play these games again too...

@BAMozzy I completely agree, it could even include some earlier this gen games. The Switch allows players to play favourite games on the move in a way that has never happened before. I'd play Bioshock, Dead Space, Red Dead, Far Cry etc. on the Switch again because I have never played those games fully in the move.

If a reissue gives you the opportunity to experience a good game in a different way then why not? For the publishers as well, the effort is far less in porting then building from ground up (depending on engines etc).

Plus nostalgia is big business these days.

VR and portable Skyrim are both pretty awesome in their own ways. Immersion vs. comfort and portability. Either way, they make the vanilla PS4/Xbone/PC versions look incredibly inferior, since VR is the only thing that really makes losing portability worth it, imo.

This may seem bizarre but for me one of the biggest selling points for the Wii and the Wii U was the Virtual Console. There, excluding basically only Game Boy and Game Gear that are 3ds exclusives, almost all the classic games anyone could possibly want.

Yes some are stupid expensive and there is no Wii - Wii U - 3DS crossbuy but it is a convinient way to have all the non Playstation vigeogame history.

Ninty somehow made the Wii U VC worse by not making all consoles available and by having to pay to play your old games while also the emulation is very bad on some consoles.

Bottom line is VC is nowhere to be found on Switch and, apart from some NES games as a part of a subscription that nobody cares about.

If I could transfer my VC games for Wii - Wii U - 3DS to the Switch I would already have bought one. Seriously there is nothing that is not available on other systems. The portability aspect is good but not enough to justify the 340 euros that it costs here.

If you could just walk into a store and buy a Switch I would own one already. That said it would just be for their exclusives. I'm looking forward to playing Zelda and Mario Kart will be new to me since I skipped the Wii U.

I'm not sure what to think about Mario Odyssey. I enjoy Mario games but the trailers haven't done much for me. Maybe you have to play it to really get it.

I love me some Skyrim but I'll take playing it in 4K on my Pro over playing it on the go.

@Splat If you liked Mario 64 or Mario Sunshine, I think you'll enjoy Odyssey. Galaxy had a few open levels, but most of that game was ultimately very linear. Gameplay-wise I think they're all going to be comparable.

@KratosMD Eh. I'll look into it. Hopefully NMH is better than the mediocre Let It Die, which is the only Suda51 game I've been exposed to so far.

More excited for Mario + Rabbids, personally, which I just got in the mail today. Also looking forward to tasty indies like Stardew Valley, Kentucky Route Zero, SteamWorld Dig 2, Hollow Knight, and Yono and the Celestial Elephants!