Topic: System Sellers

For me Metroid (and F Zero) is a Nintendo fans want, people who buy the systems anyway, so not even close to a system seller.

I think Prime 4 can be a system seller if it's a big ambitious (and good looking) project. Provided it gets plenty of advertisement, I think it could convince a good amount of people to buy a Switch. In that case it would also be one of the best selling games on the system... Could happen, but Metroid was never a system seller in that past, that's for sure.

They could also pull another Federation Force, Prime 4 with chibi Samus, if that's the case, ignore this comment

System sellers for Nintendo is most of their IP's.

Donkey Kong Country
Mario
Mario Kart
Zelda
Metroid
Star Fox (if done correctly)
Pikmin

It depends on what we mean.

If we're talking about "a single game that will encourage a significant number of people (i.e. millions) to buy a Switch primarily to play that game" then I think the answer is that Nintendo has Mario Odyssey and Pokemon that they can odd to the pile of Zelda and Mario Kart (and Splatoon - especially in Japan).

There are a few other games that will on their own sell the console to smaller dedicated audiences (like Fire Emblem, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Metroid Prime 4) but nothing else other than Zelda, Mario Kart, Pokemon, Splatoon and Mario that's going to sell the game to millions of users on its own.

Most games still to come are games that will sell the console through a sort of cumulative effect. Like "I wanted a Switch to play Mario Odyssey but I couldn't justify the cost but now that Pikmin and Smash Bros are out too that's just pushed me over the edge". Or a reinforcing effect like "I wanted a Switch for BoTW but I couldn't justify it in case Nintendo dropped support after a year but seeing that Metroid Prime 4 is on the way I feel more confident buying one now because I know Nintendo wants to support this console".

@StuTwo Think you nailed it. Must admit, I had no idea Splatoon was so big until recently - in my ignorance, I'd have put it with Smash in the tier below.

I keep harping on about it, but I'd argue Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter are in that top tier too - especially in Japan. Players will absolutely migrate to the platforms hosting those titles. DQIX sold 4m-plus in Japan on DS only, which is pretty respectable.

Star Fox is a funny one. It's absolutely not a system seller today - but it perhaps was for the SNES. Street Fighter II was another system seller back in the day, before it ended up on everything else. I'm not counting the awful home computer versions. Sweet lord, that Amiga port was atrocious...

The unique nature of the Switch could potentially change what games have a impact on sales figures. Animal Crossing has traditionally been a massive seller on portable games consoles but have not really had any impact on a home console sales. With Switch you can have the best of both worlds without any compromises. Fifa has the potential to be massive (barring them completely messing up the Switch port) as people who are into football would love a fully fledged home console FIFA that you can also take with you on the road. The first 12 months of this thing will be very interesting.

I expect to see many on the tube when "mainstream" games arrive.

@mav-i-am You can get wi-fi on the tube too. I wouldn't get it out after 10pm though. That's when the undesirables come out to play.

I am only ever on the tube during commuter hours, it helps maintain my utter disgust for humanity.

I think rather than subjective measures you could probably quantify "system seller" somehow. Like if a game sold to a big enough proportion of users. Or if you had some data on which games people buy alongside their system. I'm sure retailers and publishers take advantage of that data and use it to work out what bundles they should make.

These games sold to >20% of the install base for Wii U/3DS/PS4/XBOne:
Mario Kart, New SMB/Mario Maker, Smash Bros, Splatoon, GTA, CoD, Pokemon

The other thing to think about is how much publishers and platform holders push particular franchises. Nintendo probably won't release a special version of the Switch Pro Controller for Xenoblade. But they did do one for Splatoon. With the 3DS I remember them making a point of the Zelda, Animal Crossing and so many Pokemon themed consoles.

I don't think there have been many Metroid, Pikmin or StarFox themed consoles....

@skywake Ahhh, now you're getting into adoption rates - that's another thing entirely! It's true that the system seller tag is going to be subjective though, even though the games you listed are most likely among them.

Oh, and the Avalanches? Nice.

@Krillin_
But are adoption rates really that different? When we talk about "system sellers" we talk about games that are so compelling that people buy into the platform for them. Adoption rates are a measure of how many people who own the system brought a game. Surely if a game is so compelling that a people who owned the platform brought it it's also compelling enough to draw people in. Maybe there are exceptions (like bundled games) but for the most part I think the two terms are one and the same.

Top 10 non-bundled franchises based on adoption rate across Wii/Wii U/DS/3DS:
1. Mario Kart
2. New SMB/Mario Maker
3. Smash Bros
4. Super Mario
5. Splatoon
6. Wii ____
7. Pokemon
8. Nintendogs
9. Animal Crossing
10. Zelda

The games that have typically sold systems for me have been Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing. A Zelda game would be a system seller as well, but they've been releasing at the end of each console's life for a long time.

This is why I'm having a hard time wanting a Switch. Super Mario Odyssey looks really good but it just isn't a system seller for me, especially not with the Switch which I'm just not sold on as a console. It doesn't really do anything exciting that my Wii U can't. Couple that with the fact that Mario Kart is currently only seeing a port release, and people are clamoring for a port release of Super Smash Bros (sigh) and the Switch is going to be a hard sale for a long time for me.

Of course, now there's Pokemon, a franchise that has never had a serious release on a home console before. That might sell the system for me... Unless it's just another Sun/Moon rehash.

@Harmonie
If you're the sort of gamer that had a Wii U and played it on your TV with the Pro Controller? The Switch is a pretty tough sell. You're right, it doesn't do anything much at this point the Wii U couldn't in that config. Especially if you're not into the idea of Arms, Super Mario Odyssey, Fire Emblem Warriors or Splatoon 2. It needs more content to push people like you into buying it.

But if you were like me and played your Wii U on the GamePad most of the time? If you're also the sort of gamer who got Smash Bros on 3DS even though they had it on Wii U just so they could have a truly portable Smash? Hell, if you're a gamer who skipped the Wii U? Then the Switch is a pretty easy sell.

Smash Wii U just did nothing for me. It had (imo) a worse selection of unique stages and modes and, while it was good looking on an HDTV, I usually just opted to play it on my 3DS where I could access it anywhere. VERY fun for quick spurts of gameplay while out and about.

Wii U version undeniably has better control options and is the overall better choice if you play it with other people locally as a party game, but that just wasn't the case for me, and being able to use a Gamecube controller wasn't worth being tethered to the TV.

On a side note, I REALLY hope Nintendo has its stock issues figured out by the time a mainline Pokemon game releases on the Switch.

@Harmonie Interesting. When I looked into buying a Switch, I checked out the slate of releases, including those to come. For me, the titles that sold me on the system were Zelda (I don't have a Wii U), and the next Fire Emblem (not Warriors). The next Xenoblade, Dragon Quest and Shin Megami Tensei plus Odyssey were just extra sauce, games I knew I'd definitely get and reassured me in my purchase. And now, with Odyssey looking so good, I'm really excited by it. And Metroid is now also to come!

I don't think you'll have to look very hard to find people singing the praises of Switch now, but it's not for me or anyone else to persuade you to shell out hundreds of groats on a system you're not convinced by. I'd suggest playing a friend's or something at some point, but that doesn't really bring home the joy of its convenience. Just stick around and see what happens to the software library. The system seller - for you personally - is probably still to come.

One of the difficulties when assessing system sellers just based on game sales figures alone is the cross over effect. The people who went mental on the internet by the Metroid reveal obviously are interested in the game and save for terrible reviews will certainly buy in healthy numbers. However are these the same people who already own the system for Zelda or are planning to buy for Mario. The only true measure is system sales spikes when a new title is released but that could also be an inaccurate measure. There was a modest spike when ARMS released in Japan but is that down to excitement over the game or that Nintendo made more units available to take advantage of a perceived excitement over the game. There is then the games library benefit. Someone might not buy a system because as they see it it only has zelda (even though they concede it's a great game) but if it has Zelda Splatoon Mario and Metriod then it becomes a much more desirable package. One single game may not be enough to sell a system but combined with previous titles it might be enough to tip the balance.

And that's the appeal of the Switch in a nutshell. With the 3DS and Wii U you had to pick whether you'd buy the lower spec portable version or the higher spec TV version. Sometimes you weren't even given the option for one or the other. Maybe I would have liked a portable version of a game like Bayonetta or an Animal Crossing I can play on my TV. The appeal of the Switch is that you don't have to choose.

So as I said, if you're fine with what's already out there on Wii U and 3DS? I get why you're not into the Switch. It has to build a library of games that grabs your interest before it makes sense. I get that. But as someone who was always felt like the portable/home console split was always a compromise? The Switch sold itself on the concept alone.

I think we're mostly in agreement that nailing down system sellers is going to be a partly subjective judgment. I agree that looking at hardware sales spikes is instructive, though the spike for ARMS isn't instructive as it came at a time when the Switch is still mostly in high demand. I'd look at the 152% spike in DS sales, a mature system, when DQIX was released as a better example.

Anyway, I'm inspired to put out a follow-up question now. Which game was the system seller on Switch for YOU?

I've gone on record above as saying it was Zelda (as it probably was for a large chunk of people) and the future Fire Emblem that primarily did it for me, while Xenoblade, Odyssey and Shin Megami Tensei really just helped to tip the balance - oh, and SteamWorld Dig 2.

Also, as a newbie to the Nintendo circuit, I was really looking forward to the virtual console (sigh).

It's interesting if you compare that list with N64/GCN. Super Mario is suddenly number one and Zelda number two or something like that. Granted, Splatoon and the Wii games didn't exist back then. Even Pokemon scores pretty high on N64/GCN, number 4 or 5 from what I can tell.