Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

@Ralizah The data doesn't prove anything, though. All it says is that, of the people who have bought it so far, the vast majority of which will be hardcore gamers, and hardcore Nintendo gamers at that, they're using it in roughly an equal ratio as a handheld or a home console. It tells us nothing because the system hasn't been on the market long enough for the casual market to speak.

Once the hardcore Nintendo crowd get their consoles, then we'll see what sort of life the console will have. Until then, all we can do is guess. The hardcore Nintendo crowd are probably the least relevant demographic in gaming. They'd buy anything. And they'll defend any decisions made by Nintendo, regardless of how silly or counterproductive or backward thinking they might be. It's like asking for an impartial view of a sports game - you don't ask a fan of the teams involved, you ask a neutral.

To you it's not a superfluous gimmick, and to a lot of people it might not be. To literally everyone aside from me it could not be. That's why I said it's all hypothetical and guess work. We don't know how anything is going to pan out yet. But in my opinion, I don't think the handheld thing is why the system is selling. I think it's selling because it's new, and people have a hankering for a Nintendo system that isn't the Wii U. I don't think it's selling because people are like, "Oh wow I can play Zelda sat on the bus."

Once the initial sales rush is over and we're down to brass tacks and we see what sort of life the system is going to have, then we'll know more. But certainly, I think it's ambitious to say that the hybrid nature of the console is directly responsible for the sales of it. I, personally, think it's incidental to it.

@johncalmc It's pretty clear it's not just Nintendo hardcores buying it, considering it's continuing to sell like hotcakes month after month. We already know what a system that is only purchased by hardcore Nintendo fans looks like: it's called the Wii U. That demographic has shrunk enough over the years that a console can't be successful just by appealing to those people anymore.

All we have to go by is sales and user data. Anything else is baseless speculation. And, based on the user data so far, people primarily play it as a hybrid. That's the system's big, unique feature.

Either way, time will tell. It's not going to keep selling well for years if the concept isn't resonating with people.

@Ralizah As spectacular a failure as the Wii U was (in terms of market-share - it was still profitable), it is an extremely useful measuring stick to use since we know with high certainty that the vast majority of the people who bought one were the hardcore Nintendo crowd since we know that the product confused the casual market. Using that as a rough guideline - it'll never be exact or even close - we can gauge how popular the console is with the casual market. So if the Wii U sold 13 million, and the Switch sells 100 million, we know that it was a massive hit with the casual market. If it sells 15 million then it obviously wasn't.

Once it hits Wii U numbers then it becomes easier to extrapolate estimates of how it's faring, but until then we can pretty much just guess based on what we've got. I certainly don't see, anecdotally of course, much casual interest in the Switch. I mentioned I'd bought one at work and nobody even knew what one was. I'm the only person I know in real life that owns one, and while I'm not exactly the man about town, I do know quite a few people. Literally the only people I've spoken to that own a Switch are on this site and a Nintendo site I occasionally write for.

There's a bunch of variables in play that could help the Switch, too, even if the hybrid nature of the console doesn't directly appeal to people. The concept is certainly easier to grasp than for the Wii U, and the marketing has been much stronger. And once they kill off the 3DS they can amalgamate their handheld and home console games, meaning people who only traditionally buy Nintendo handhelds would be buying the home console too regardless, which would feasibly conflate sales numbers.

@johncalmc Given your current opinion and being upset how it performs graphically (1080p 60 maximum when docked, like that thing called the PS4 as it happens), I have to wonder what you expected.

You knew this going in. You were told all the features of the system. You knew what it was and the fact something not even an 8th of the size cant match the PS4 is somehow alien to you?

Look man. I said you were being a bit of an idiot buying this thing: This is exactly why. Because its not actually what you want.

@BLP_Software

"Given your current opinion and being upset how it performs graphically (1080p 60 maximum when docked, like that thing called the PS4 as it happens), I have to wonder what you expected."

"You knew this going in."

"Look man. I said you were being a bit of an idiot buying this thing: This is exactly why. Because its not actually what you want."

"You knew what it was and the fact something not even an 8th of the size cant match the PS4 is somehow alien to you?"

Good that people seem satisfied overall. If I bought one, I would see it as a replacement for my Vita, not to compete with the PS4 under the telly. You never know till you get one though, I guess. Strangely enough I wish it had more casual games so my lady-friend would split the cost. I showed her 1-2 Switch but she was not impressed. So I think I'll get a Switch or an iPad. I wish there was some carry over between Nintendo products. I've got loads of digital games for The Wii and 3DS yet none of them will work on Switch, whereas games I bought 10 years ago on an iPhone will work work on a new iPad, and a lot more besides as long as they've been updated. I know none of this matters because it's Mario and Zelda!!! But those games won't last forever.

@Wesker Nobody was impressed with 1-2-Switch.

It kinda depends on what you want from it really. Like I chucked £400 at it for what I knew would amount to probably a dozen games at best, but I was fine with that. I bought a Vita for one game and I never regretted that decision. If you're okay spending a few hundred quid on a machine that you'll play a few games on then you're golden. But if you don't have the coin/you're more frugal with your money it might pay to wait.

I'm okay with what I spent because I get to play Mario.

I'm seeing it as more of a replacement for my Vita than anything else. I'm hoping it'll stop me hogging the TV all the time because it's a bit unfair. Mine got delivered anyway, looking forward to having a go this eve!

@kyleforrester87 I'm lucky in that my girlfriend is massively into games too, and she's got her own telly in the living room with a PS4 under it so I never get my ear bent about sitting and playing video games for twelve hours straight. So my Switch is sat right under my TV. Did you get the grey ones? The red and blue are a proper eye-sore in my almost entirely black entertainment centre so you might have made the wise choice there.

I hope you got Super Mario Odyssey with it. It's rad. If you're not smiling within like four minutes you might have no soul.

@johncalmc A friend of mine kind of got me hooked on anime, which I watch a lot on my Vita. I would like a bigger screen though, hence my iPad desires.. It's going to be a tough choice. I thought I was over Nintendo, but just when you think you're out, it pulls you back in.

@Wesker I'd probably just get one of those knock-off iPads. They're a fraction of the cost and basically do the same thing. Then the money you saved by not buying an iPad could buy you a Switch. You'd be living like a king, and technically you'd be saving money. I think. I'm not good with finances.

@johncalmc I did propose we do that but she wasn't keen on the idea of 2 TV's in the living room and frankly I'm not sure I am either haha. I paid an extra tenner for the privilege of grey joycons, and yes that was my thinking - it'll look a lot tidier next to my other gear!!

@kyleforrester87 Honestly, it's a beauty. We've got two flatscreens in opposite corners of the living room, and we sit on the couch and both play games at the same time. I've got a PS4 and now a Switch under my TV, and she's got a PS4, a PS3, and an Xbox 360 under hers. Also there's a Vita on the side. And there's a Wii somewhere but God knows where that ended up. So since we're both gamers I never get any chew for wasting my life by playing Final Fantasy IX all day going for the platinum. I just get mocked for not doing it properly.

So tonight will be all about Super Mario Odyssey for me, while she's on The Witcher III.

Oh, also right, if you didn't get a Pro Controller but you find the Joy-Cons weird, get one. I tried using the Joy-Cons first but they're tiny and pretty rubbish. I tried using them one in each hand which was good because it meant I could laze around on the couch with my hands behind my head, but then I still found it tough to use them because of the size. The Pro Controller is tip top though. I'll probably never go back now.

Got my Switch all set up! I've only had 15 minutes on Mario, its been stolen by the misses now so I probably won't get another look in tonight. I did play Octopath Traveler demo for 20 minutes too - really excited to play some more of that, it's right up my street.

Graphics look great in handheld, docked seem fine too - as expected really.

Im using the joycons in the little unit that comes with it for docked play and it feels fine. Might invest in a Pro controller yet, we'll see how I get on.

A happy boy so far, then!

@kyleforrester87 Mario looks significantly better on an HDTV, in my opinion. I mean, it looks great on the handheld, too, the but the shadows, draw distance, and texture quality all take noticeable hits. Which is, of course, a perfectly fair compromise for being able to play it anywhere I want. And that stuff is way less noticeable considering the size of the screen anyway.

And yeah, Octopath Traveler looks great: like an HD take on Final Fantasy VI.

@kyleforrester87 @Ralizah
Being able to play SMO anywhere is great but I'd have to echo what many others have said that's it's definitely best enjoyed as a 'home console' game. Maybe I'm using the wrong term (and overstating things) here but field of depth in this seems incredible, better than even Breath of the Wild, imo. Felt like in certain levels you could see for miles.

@Gamer83 Yeah on further playing I guess it does look a lot better on TV. Still, I'm pretty impressed with the handheld quality too. I reckon I'll end up using this pretty evenly between TV and handheld, while it has games to play at least.

A local retailer by mine had a brand new Switch out in the shop window for £250.

If it's still there by tomorrow I'll pick it up...
Can't even believe I'm considering it, but Mario does look good... (+Zelda).

@kyleforrester87
It's still pretty impressive in handheld mode, I'd agree. That's the best part about this system, can play my games however I want. There's some where I actually can't even see much of a difference. Odyssey was definitely made to be played on tv, however, I'd say something like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe I don't really notice much change.

@Gamer83 That's why I played the bulk of the campaign and the big story moments on the TV. Also, played on the TV anytime I went to a new world for the first time.

Now that the campaign is done and I'm hunting for moons, though? The ability to play it anywhere is a life saver.

Did the same with Zelda: big story moments and whatnot on the TV, korok seed and shrine hunting on the tablet.

The PS4's increased horsepower is nice, but I'd trade that power for the ability to play my PS4 games anywhere in an instant.

The end result of the Switch being versatile and the PS4 being tethered to a TV (I've tried remote play, but it just doesn't work out well for me) is that I have tons of PS4 games I've yet to play, whereas I've played everything on my Switch.