Topic: Are Touchscreen ONLY games OK?

The problem with a touchscreen-only game is that it won't work on the TV in docked mode.

Now I'm not talking about games that have optional touch input but games that require touch or even multi-touch to play. I'm curious about what the Switch community thinks about this. Console games have always been D-pad/Analog stick oriented.

One thing I can say is the touch screen on Switch is GREAT! We have a game that requires multitouch (up to 10 fingers at the same time) and it feels better than any other platform we tried.

It's a delicate situation because I imagine that many people will not be using the Switch solely as a handheld, and the packaging of retail software will need to make it absolutely clear that the game only supports handheld mode. I imagine that most touch-only games will be digital only. When Voez was eventually issued a retail release, it had included conventional controls as well, so I am not aware of any retail games that only support handheld mode. On the other hand, there are a number of games that only support docked/tabletop mode (such as 1-2 Switch, Super Mario Party, and Just Dance).

Taiko no Tatsujin also hit that balance really well with a variety of control options (buttons, touch, motion, and the drum controller).

In most situations, there is no reason why touch-based games couldn't be supplemented with motion/pointer controls, but in instances where a game may require multi-touch input, then absolutely, that would be the only circumstance in which only supporting touch controls would be justifiable.

I'm not particularly fussed about it myself, however, I hate touch controls for the sake of touch controls, especially games like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. They are fine games, but there is absolutely no reason why button-based input couldn't supplement the touch controls.

Been playing Lightseekers lately and while its a cool game, not being able to play on the tv is a bummer. Im not a programmer, but surely it wouldnt have been difficult to implement a traditional control scheme...especially for something as simple as a card game.
So yeah, not a dealbreaker for me, but options would be nice.
Ill always opt for traditional controls over touch controls.

Here's the game we are considering porting to Switch. It was hard to find a video without any RED, if you know what I mean. You can see there's just no way to play this game with Joycons.

@edannunziata I personally don’t mind a game having a specific control scheme, but many others do. Just look at the Super Mario Party and Pokémon Let’s Go debacle.

Yes, as long as it isn't a Wii U port.