Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

I still think the only people who be disappointed are the ones who had specific ideas about what the NX would be. Whether it was a specific piece of hardware, a specific strategy or a specific set of software. Because whatever Nintendo does it's not going to be exactly what people think. It's just impossible for that to happen.

And this is why I never assume a console or a handheld. I just go with the flow

After the past year, I don't have much confidence in Nintendo as far as actually doing something that the majority of people asked for and will enjoy. But there's always a tiny chance they'll surprise me

I should mention some more rumour tidbits I heard earlier yesterday and posted elsewhere. The NX is more powerful than the PS4 but less powerful than the Scorpio and Neo, not significantly weaker. Again, cartridges are as good as confirmed. All Japanese 3rd parties are on board. It's very easy for developers to work on and port to, they're very happy with it. The NX will be VR and AR compatible. The NX was supposed to launch in November with 30 games but got delayed for a spec upgrade. Ubisoft have games in development, 2 exclusive and coming out around the launch window. The first is Beyond Good & Evil 2. The NX is primarily a home console with portable aspects.

Yea, this is exactly how I feel. I do keep getting this nagging feeling that we MAY be witnessing the end of Nintendo on the hardware front within the next couple years, but I keep hoping to god that it isn't true.

And really these feelings are baseless, not only until the NX is revealed, but until it goes on sale and we see just how well it sells. They can reveal it and we still think it doesn't look "good," but it could go on to sell like crazy. I wasn't a Wii guy, and if I watched the reveal of the Wii and had to predict how well it would do, I would've said it would tank. But the total opposite happened.

So you never know.

Cube2 (Cube squared). A sequel to the Gamecube that's placed relative to the PS3 and Xbox as the original Gamecube was to their predecessors...or, a self-contained augmented reality headset (or at least I hope it's that).

I'm not sure about that for myself, I have a fairly decent track record for Nintendo stuff. I had little to no interest in the GameCube and I was pretty hyped about the idea of the DS and Wii. With the 3DS I thought it looked like decent hardware but I wasn't that sold on it until software started to come out. And the Wii U? I always liked the hardware, I was immediately sold on the GamePad concept. But before launch I was incredibly sceptical about the amount of software for it.

Of course as a Nintendo fan I'll buy into the hardware regardless. Put Zelda on it and I'll get it whether it's popular or not. Promise me higher end visuals for my favourite Nintendo IP and I'm there. But even so, the more hyped I've been about a platform? Generally the better it has gone for Nintendo. Very small sample size but. So far I'm curious about the NX concept....

Tbh, all the other said was meh. But if they really are starting with 30 games, I'd be blooming happy

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Was this that Metal Dave or what ever his name is, on YouTube by any chance? I saw that video and I kinda laughed at some of what he said. Like the 30 games were supposed to launch the NX in November. That seems really too high a number. Also I doubt Ubisoft has 2 games in development exclusively for the NX, not after the Wii U.

I'm sceptical of rumours for things that are just a list of things that people want. Even when there's nothing else to go on. But at this point in the NX rumour cycle? We have a pretty solid rumour via Eurogamer. One that's backed up by multiple sites and just generally makes a lot of sense. Especially in the context of what Nintendo has said and done in the past. So the SMD list of random specs is even less credible.

To be honest, I think this would sound rather credible. I never really bought the "need more time for software to be ready". Firstly, is that you'd think even if there were a few games that were not quite ready, it wouldn't be detrimental to have them release 3-6 months after launch. You could still talk about them when you reveal the NX and still have BotW and a couple of other decent titles that would make a reasonable line-up, then get everyone excited for what is 'still to come'. Second, is that if games aren't ready for November, I'm not sure 3/4 months would make much difference.

Also a November launch would fit with the Pokemon Sun/Moon rumours being playable on the NX. What better way to demonstrate what the NX is than by having dual releases of Sun/Moon and BotW on the 3DS/WiiU respectively and having NX versions of them too. "Now you can play your favourite games on just one system, anywhere you go". And let's be honest- if the NX was to launch with Zelda and Pokemon- then it would be a great launch line-up regardless of what else was available.

My thinking is that Nintendo in late 2015 were full-steam ahead with the current specs (the ones rumoured) for a E3 2016 reveal and November launch date. We know that they likely still anticipated a 2016 launch given in December they said Zelda was a 2016 title . Overall, they were satisfied that the power was only going to sit a little behind the current gen. Then they started to get wind of new significant upgrades to the Xbox/PS4 which they knew would spell some trouble for their new system as it would be coming to the market effectively at a time when Xbox/Ps4 were signalling the end (a slow end, yes, but nonetheless an end) of this gen. Nintendo have since been working on tweaking the NX to have increased power, but nonetheless all dev kits include old specs. I mean, if the concept and architecture is going to remain the same, there's no need to hand out dev kits that are essentially upgraded in power at this late in the day. So the rumours we've been hearing have been about the dev kits which was the former specs of the NX.

The only thing that I don't buy with that rumour is released with "30 games". This is Nintendo right? I mean I guess it's possible, but I think that number is just massaging the reality and probably includes a bunch of e-shop titles etc. rather than actual reasonably large-budget releases.

@dtjive I think it is the software situation as they haven't been great with launches for over 2 decades now. Even the Wii and DS which were huge successes had very poor launch window game lineups but one game with those sparked massive popularity. Given their follow up to Wii Sports in terms of gimmicky launch games (Nintendo Land) flopped, I think they may have learned that a strong launch window lineup is necessary for them to stand a chance of success.

I still expect there'll be droughts but at least slightly less lengthy and common as Wii U.

Still not buying the "they delayed it to compete with Neo and Scorpio". Nintendo is looking for a blue ocean not to get knee-deep in a red one. Besides, the industry as a whole isn't as reactionary as some people think anymore.

Four months is four months. Try taking 4 months away from the development of every game that's ever been released and see where it gets you

I agree, the real question is if they will find a blue ocean or a dead sea?

I also think we will have many launch games this time around. That was one of the main things that went wrong with both the launch of 3ds and Wii U.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Sources for your rumours, if you don't mind?

@Therad I hope so. They've slowed down their first party output since mid-2015, they have to have something by now. Also, I'd rather see them have a decent number of launch titles and no droughts than see them blow all their load day one.

Fair enough but I still find it hard to believe. Unless all the games Nintendo have planned (or the main titles) are all behind development then it doesn't make much sense to delay it. I mean in December 2015, they seemed pretty confident of BotW being a 2016 title. At e3 the game looked pretty close to being finished and Anouma said they were on 'localising the game' (e.g. the final steps). Seems to me that BotW would have been ready for November. And whilst I'll admit you could achieve stronger launch lineups than having one major title at release, a launch lineup that includes Zelda is still gonna do pretty well.

After this, we can only speculate what games are planned for the NX but according to one rumour- Pokemon Sun/Moon is planned. We know that is coming out still for the 3DS in November. The other rumours focus on various Wii U ports. Is it really likely that Nintendo couldn't get their act together to fumble together a bunch of ports for existing games?

We've said on here dozens of times how a November launch for the holiday period would be best for early sales and that potentially March is a risky strategy. You have to ask yourself, do you really think that Nintendo would sacrifice a November launch to ensure all games were ready? I mean, I'd have to think here we are talking of an unprecedented multitude of games that are behind on development meaning the NX would have a disastrous launch line-up to make that scenario seem attractive (which wouldn't bode well for steady flow of games on the NX, but that's a side issue). But the general sense of what we know is that isn't the case- they had BotW, they will likely have a few Wii U ports, a Pokemon game and a few other minor titles. Even if it meant that (and I'm just naming two random big titles here) that Pikmin 4 and a brand new Metroid were not quite ready for November, but are to be released in March, does that justify delaying the whole system? Not in my eyes. You'd just have a pretty good launch lineup with two strong games coming out early 2017.

It just doesn't make sense to delay the system for a few months unless we are talking about a systemic development issue that went across a multitude of games and that seems unlikely imo.

@dtjive You have to ask yourself, do you really think that Nintendo would sacrifice a November launch to ensure all games were ready?
Yes, and you're forgetting third party titles.

You guys are forgetting that there's more that needs to line up than just the software. There could be hardware production schedules that didn't line up for an earlier launch. Maybe they could have had a launch that early but they weren't confident about having enough units. It could be, and probably is, as simple as that.