Topic: So, two years ago we were digesting the Switch Launch presentation

How did you feel at the time?
Did things pan out how you expected?
Did you make any predictions and how close were they to being accurate?

I was a long way off. I had confidence in the hardware but thought the presentation was short of a couple of games. I worried the price was too high and would hinder sales (wrong). I preordered, then cancelled, then preordered again nearer the launch when the lineup was fleshed out a bit (Shovel Knight, Snipperclips, Fast RMX).

However I had severely underestimated the pacing of Nintendo’s messaging over the rest of 2017. I thought it needed more and it got more.

There was a Nindie broadcast a few days before launch that set out the stall for the avalanche of quality indies on the system.

Then a Direct in late April 2017 added a few minor games, dated ARMS and Splatoon 2 and plonked Minecraft, SF2 and Disgaea 5 in the middle all nicely spaced out. Not a jaw dropping line up but a consistent stream of games.

A week before E3 Pokken was announced.

At E3 Mario v Rabbids and Rocket League were announced (along with over big names further out).

Then the September Direct added L.A. Noire, Resident Evil Revelations and ‘hang on, did they just say Doom was coming out. And it’s this year?!’. It also silenced those like me who’d doubted Xenoblade 2 was 2018.

Overall, they handled the system superbly in its first few months. My disappointment in the Presentation was widely shared, by also widely misplaced. Because I wanted more I underestimated the value of Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon and Mario in the first 9 months on the market.

Personally, I was disappointed there wasn't gonna be a Mario launch title. #howbadcanibe

@subpopz same here all the Trolls and naysayers and also fanboys calling for the demise of the Switch got their own medicine in kind. And all their talk of not enough games to under power GPU tells you they had no interest in seeing true innovation when one sees it. Now everyone wants to get on the band wagon starting with indie makers showing they can make on Switch now the brand names wants a piece of the pie. That just goes to show how the others were putting down the Switch now wants part of action and sales. So there you go the successful history behind Nintendo thinking outside the box.

@subpopz same here all the Trolls and naysayers and also fanboys calling for the demise of the Switch got their own medicine in kind. And all their talk of not enough games to under power GPU tells you they had no interest in seeing true innovation when one sees it. Now everyone wants to get on the band wagon starting with indie makers showing they can make on Switch now the brand names wants a piece of the pie. That just goes to show how the others were putting down the Switch now wants part of action and sales. So there you go the successful history behind Nintendo thinking outside the box. I for one was ecstatic for Nintendo comeback kid as I loved the NES when it was released but was never able to get one. So for me it was a coming of full circle back to what made gaming fun even at my older age now.

That Switch launch presentation was underwhelming, made it seem like Nintendo hadn't learned their lesson about the Wii U era regarding game droughts but as time went on it became clear that the initial drought came from the assumption that people would be playing BotW for hundreds of hours (a similar assumption was made with XC2 at the end of 2017).

I felt it was rather low key, almost to the point of it feeling rushed lol. But it ended with quite possibly the greatest trailer for a single video game in the history of gaming. The Zelda trailer was epic.

Personally at first I thought Zelda and 1 2 Switch was the worst AAA launch titles, but now when I think about it, I couldn't think of a better launch lineup.

Well, I still didn’t care for Nintendo at the time, so I was oblivious until January 2018 when I saw my friend playing Odyssey on her Christmas present. Prior to that, I was under the impression they were still trying to sell Wii U. So there’s that perspective.

@JackEatsSparrows

Safe to say from your POV the initial Presentation was a flop then 😀

I was pretty hyped before the presentation, but the main things I remember during the presentation are:
1) Being disappointed about the emphasis on motion controls, 1,2-Switch, and the IR detector thing...this felt very much like going back to the Wii era at the time.
2) Being shocked at the pricing of the console and accessories.
3) Despite this, thinking that the game line-up looked great.
4) The Zelda trailer was phenomenal. To this day it's my all-time favourite video game trailer.

In hindsight, #2 and especially #1 didn't turn out to be problems, and #3 held true. Also probably worth mentioning that I went to the London pre-launch event later that week, and absolutely fell in love with the system, Arms, and MK8DX - pre-ordering the system before I even got home.

I remember being completely unimpressed with the Nintendo Switch itself. I saw Nintendo making a lot of the same mistakes they always have. Then when they announced that the online was going to become paid I was extremely ticked off at them thinking they could do that (and absolutely nothing about that has changed, they did not improve the online at all to make it paid, in fact they REGRESSED from the Wii U by going back to Friend Codes). I honestly thought that the Switch wasn't going to succeed, but I was proven wrong. Kind of wish Nintendo could succeed when they aren't making such mistakes, but what can I do? sigh

The only positive impression I was left from that presentation was Super Mario Odyssey. Otherwise the Switch didn't have much of anything to offer. Two years later I do say I have come to really like the handheld aspect at times (it is a much better handheld than any other, I have to admit - very comfortable to play anything on, unlike the 3DS), but the mediocre paid online service, lack of Virtual Console, and overabundance of Wii U ports has really held the system back for me. I can't see counting the Switch among my favorites. It's better than the Wii, I suppose... But... That's not saying much.

Before the presentation, I was a bit skeptical about the potential of actually playing console-like games on a handheld. And while I didn't completely have those fears swayed, Mario Odyssey captivated me and the Breath of the Wild trailer made me, a non-Zelda fan, really interested in the game. Though I did initially pick up the Wii U version and didn't get a Switch until Christmas 2017, BotW really impressed me and lived up to the hype of that amazing trailer.

Honestly just seeing Odyssey and how it looked like was like "ok, I need a Switch and that game NOW." Back then I didn't get into Xenoblade until fall 2017 so that didn't increase my excitement, but I was intrigued because I heard how Xenoblade 1 and X were fantastic. But yeah.

Although I've always been a supporter of the hybrid concept, the presentation left me unconvinced that Nintendo were doing enough to establish it as a platform. I was put off by the pricing of the device and the games. I wasn't planning on buying Day 1, but then the neon joy cons appeared, the Zelda hype intensified, and I found a 10% discount, so Switch did become my first ever Day 1 console.

What's turned out best for me has been the joy cons (love them and love the fact they still look new after so much play) and sleep mode, and there are some fairly decent discounts on indie games on a fairly regular basis.

A few months back I found myself making these lists:

"Ways the Wii U & 3DS were better than Switch

Backwards compatibility
Virtual console
Local backups for save data
No online subscription
Versatility - stylus, TV remote, camera
Dual screen functionality
Game prices cheaper
Miiverse
Activity Log
Web browser
Apps
User replaceable battery

Ways the Switch is better

Screen resolution
Power - runs newer games better & OS is snappier
Local split joy con co-op
HD Rumble
Sleep mode

Switch is more portable than Wii U, but less portable than 3DS"

So, it's disappointing that all the ways the Switch is inferior to its predecessors in my list above still apply, and I'm really disappointed that Nintendo hasn't hit us with much in the way of motion controlled sports games and the like a la Wii era yet.

But I don't regret my Day 1 buy at all. Zelda BotW was everything you can ever dream a Day 1 launch title will be and more, and I've got a much bigger Switch library at this stage than I would have expected.

My Switch highlight so far was probably taking it with me to the cinema for a Star Wars double bill. I had an hour to kill after Force Awakens finished before the opening night screening of Last Jedi started at midnight, and I just sat there in the middle of the room, huddled up all cosy playing Breath of the Wild. Shame Last Jedi kinda bummed me out, but that's another topic...

One of the most features i thought was pointless from day one was HD rumble. I honestly thought whats the point should have left it out and made the system a little cheaper. Looking at it now though i find it to be one of the most under rated features of the Switch and for the first time in years i actually play games with rumble enabled. Its not the most exciting of ideas and it obviously is not a system selling feature but it is one of those little ideas only Nintendo would implement that is just a really cool idea i enjoy having.

As for the initial launch?? i was hyped from day one. I knew there was something about the system but even i could not imagine what an impact the system would have on me. Id started to increasingly find myself playing the Xbox 360/One way more than my Wii/WiiU/3DS and i had drifted from Nintendo somewhat but the great software line up and a whole load of features (motion controls/different control options/portable play) that are there if you want them but also don't get in the way of what can be a great home console that plays really great games really brought me back to Nintendo and gave me everything i had wanted for a long time from them. My Xbox One has been gathering dust for the last year now even with titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 not being enough to pull me back for more than occasional play.

I joined the Switch party pretty late (December 2017), but had an eye on it since it was made public. I remember I thought it looked pretty cool when it was announced, but wasn't so sure I would get it as the price was pretty high. At the time, I was also extremely focused on my retro collection, with the occasional 3DS game here and there. But I closely followed the Switch news and when both Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 were announced, I knew I had to get it eventually.

And then it got to my 30th birthday in December 2017 and what did my wonderful girlfriend do? She knew I was considering buying a Switch at some point, as I had been talking about it a lot during the year, so she had got me one + a copy of SMO and a pro controller as a combined birthday present. Was I happy? You bet!
The same week I picked up BotW and a week later my brother gave me a late birthday present: XC2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Since then I've collected over 50 games and the Switch is probably my favorite console of all time (OK, if hard pressed I would probably say the original Game Boy, but...). The Switch has a rich and varied library of both old and new games, indies and AAA. Does it have its share of problems? Yeah, of course, mainly the online experience, but mostly I think this console is a positive experience and I think 2019 will be another great year for us Switch owners!

I was hyped for the Switch since before that presentation and watching it didn't change my mind in the least, it increased it.

I love gaming, but work and family has been taking more and more of my free time away. Things were so dire that I sold my PS3 with the couple of games I had to buy a PSP because I literally couldn't find the way to sit in front of the TV to play anything. I loved my PSP and later PS Vita, but the games felt like watered down versions more often than not.

The Switch gave me freedom. Now I don't need to care about if someone is using the TV or not and I can play on the train or wherever I am while retaining the full console-like quality of Switch's games.

I have no other option than to say that the Switch is my favorite system ever. I'm playing with it more than with any other system before.

There are still things that bother me about the system, and other things I wish were different, but overall it is a wonderful console. The best ever.

I was a little bit disappointed back in the day as I had silently hoped it will be a successor to the wii u which can run games back to the wii generation.

I like the system so far, but honestly haven't been using it that much, getting older takes its toll on your gaming habits, damn, I still have wii/wii u/ds/3ds games that I haven't either completed or even touched.

I don't care about it being underpowered as I am primarily interested in 1st party titles and 3rd party if they are great, Valkyria, Vesperia etc.

My litteral reactions immediately after the presentation:

also this

@maruse This pretty much sums up how it was for me. I haven't been big on console gaming since the Gamecube days, for a whole bunch of reasons. I never stopped playing games, but it was a combination of handheld, PC and boardgames for the last decade or so. I only bought a used Wii when the Wii U was well into its lifecycle and only because it was BC with the Gamecube which I still have a bunch of games for.

The hybrid concept for "NX" caught my attention early in the rumor cycle. A handheld device wih HD graphics that was also a console? Something my kids and I could share, play on or off TV, use while my wife was watching Criminal Minds and take on the road? That fit my lifestyle down to the ground.

When I heard about the games coming for it I pretty much knew I had to have it. Launching with a new Zelda, with the promise of Skyrim, Stardew Valley, Mario Kart 8 and a Splatoon sequel, was all I needed to hear. I've never cared if a console had every AAA game, with a dozen high-profile releases every month. I'm a grownup, I don't have the time or the money to buy and play a new game every week. Give me a system with a few really solid games that I can play for months, give me a variety of things including some for me and some for my kids, I'm happy.

The presentation was fun, and that song was KILLER. I still turn up the volume every time "Believers" comes on, and I'll probably go to my grave thinking of it as the Switch song.

I wasn't able to preorder, but I saved up enough money to buy a Switch on launch day and spent the night before launch trying to find out where I could get my Switch on day one. Spent the early hours of March 3 in a queue at Toys R Us, and have never looked back.