Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Grumblevolcano I don't think Nintendo realise that the software lineup for 2018 is the reason for the lack of momentum in hardware sales somehow. I mean, they still seem to think they can achieve 20 million sales.

@Grumblevolcano Half truth. If you haven't been expecting a cheaper ruggedized, maybe smaller handheld-only SKU for Switch before Pokemon Holiday 2019, you've lost the narrative. Of course there's a new SKU for holiday 2019. There was always going to be a new SKU for holiday 2019. It's not going to be an "upgrade" (it probably will actually upgrade some things, like WiFI battery, etc, but will almost certainly be a more budget model, not a more premium model.) It's the same reason 2DS was a thing.

Since when were hardware sales slowing

Mega Man 11 is growing on me. Normal is still insane unless you're a dedicated MM player. I backed it to casual and it was decent with a few more lives and one new checkpoint. Still frustrating though. What really got me was the boss though. Brick Man or whatever his name....how do you actually not get hit by him? He backs you into a corner and I can't figure out how to dodge his fist, and you can't go through his legs. I cheesed the invincibility frames and slid under his legs to get to the other side a few times, was so happy that I'd got him....and then he just went into mini-form and kept throwing rocks and me and I could barely hit him. What is the strategy for that?! Finally I just put it on noob mode and it gives you infinite retries, checkpoints in every room, flies you out of holes and seems to make shots do double damage. Yay, a winner is me! But that's not really fun either.....way better for blood pressure though

@FragRed but they had such a compelling lineup of must-have games nobody bought a WiiU to play! No doubt some of them did shift hardware this time though since the system itself is compelling. But Pokemon and Smash are coming, and Nintendo always sells the most during holidays.

@Knuckles-Fajita That's a good question. Sales charts show momentum as slightly higher than it was last year.

@NEStalgia That is true, but are is Pokemon (not even a core series game) and Smash Bros enough to shift 15 million units? Highly unlikely. They put so much effort into year 1 they thought ports of Wii U games would easily glide them through the majority of year 2. Because, you know, no one owned a Wii U, whatever that is

@NEStalgia Blick Man's power gear form has 3 attacks. Even when cornered he moves backwards to oerform two of them, and to dodge you simply need to read his motion which is VERY heavily telegraphed and position yourself on the x axis accordingly.

For his final phase, did you kbow you can charge your Mega Buster? It breaks his attacks and then hits him. Ideally fire so it hits him as he jumps.

The charge shot will break all objects until it hits something beefy enough and dissipates, and Mega Man can jump over all of Block Man's attacks in that phase.

And if you are really having issues, use Speed gear to slow him down

@FragRed Quite possibly. Keep in mind, They sold 20 million in the first 15 months, and sales are tracking slightly higher this year than last year. If the Pokemon+Smash effect is high enough this holiday season, we could possibly hit 20 million. Last year's holiday season sold ~7 million Switches so... if they do better this year, we could still see it happen. Probably not, but I don't see it being that far off from 20 million. I'm thinking 17-18 as opposed to last years 15. That'd only require shifting 9-10 million, not 15, because it will continue to sell into the new year. Even 20 would only be 12 million, not 15. Plus, unlike last year, there are major releases during the first half of the year.

Gotta remember "This year" is up to March 31st.

@FragRed I thought Nintendo's logic would've been that Smash and Pokemon Let's Go were easily enough to succeed the 20 million goal so they'd expect Q1 and Q2 sales to be on the smaller side with Q3 and Q4 being on the larger side. The rumour suggests that isn't the case.

@FragRed The 20M units in one year number was hot air from day 1, just as their sales estimates always are, but definitely don't underestimate a Christmas with Pokemon and shiny handheld Nintendo hardware. Smash is "big" but I think most of the people that love Smash enough to buy hardware for it are the people that already have Switchs. But "it's not mainline Pokemon" means nothing to the mass market at all. It's a new Pokemon game. They don't know it's "not mainline" they don't need to know it's "not mainline"....that's not how the consumer mind works, that's how the hardcore gaming nerd mind works. They'll buy Pokemon this year then find out there's a NEW new Pokemon next year.

20 mil projection aside, they hit almost 20mil lifetime back in June/July, which almost ties the first 16 months of PS4, while PS4 featured a lot of people switching from XBox to Playstation as a result of The Mattrick Incident. And that includes only one Christmas for Nintendo, but featured two for PS4 in that same 16 month window. And Nintendo always benefits disproportionately from Holiday sales due to their family image. I don't know if they'll hit "20 mil in one year" but will they top even PS4's lifetime by time on market sales (even if we wait for 24 months to meaasure?) Very possibly.

Either way, a budget PokeSKU is almost a necessity for Nintendo and TPC. Unleashing Pokemon on a $300 system will hinder Pokemon sales, and a price cut is unnecessary while the system is selling well, so a budget SKU makes the most sense. "mid gen bump" can happen later when sales really start slowing. Not the the budget SKU might not have desirable features the "standard" model lacks. The lack of a budget SKU is likely a big issue for TPC's sales strategies (LGP is ok because it focuses heavily on "couch friendly" play.)

@Knuckles-Fajita Hmm, I can't figure out WHERE to position myself to not get hit by his punches though (and can't identify fast enough if he's punching or throwing blocks.) This is why we had Nintendo Power back in the day!!

Oh I use speed gear non-stop in this game, I spend more time waiting for cool-downs than playing. I've been trying power gear a lot too but....it's not always ideal. But my big issue with block man is not getting hit more than actually hitting him.

@Grumblevolcano I am pretty sure Nintendo has no real logic at this point in time unless it requires them rolling some dice to determine the next move

@NEStalgia Yeah, I have been assuming from the moment they announced the 20 million sales that it was nothing but pure Nintendo unrealism, they have a good history of doing this kind of thing. I am sure Pokemon will sell well, I mean I have it pre-ordered with that shiny ball and I don't do Pokemon. However don't think Nintendo are going to reduce the price of the Switch, even if they do have that revision next year, I could see them keeping the same price point and just earning more profits off cheaper production costs.

But I do agree that Smash Bros is really for the hardcore Nintendo fan who bought the system either day one, or year one. I have been saying that from day one. Sure it will push some systems but nothing great. I also don't know how much a port of Super Mario U Deluxe or whatever it's called will help in the sales department.

@NEStalgia @FragRed I wouldn't be so sure about Smash Bros. I know 7 people who aren't hardcore gamers (none of them have any current gen consoles, just 3DSes or in one case a DS) that are buying Switches at this point in time solely because Smash is coming. If the system didn't have BotW and Mario Odyssey and Pokemon and Mario Tennis Aces (that's actually a big one for three of them, almost more so than Smash) and Super Mario Party, they might not, but Smash is the tipping point for a lot of people.

Obviously that's just my own personal experience, but still. Smash has a huge casual fanbase (mostly from Brawl or for 3DS)... when it's combined with other casual attractive and big news games.

@NEStalgia I've already beaten the game with no Speed Gear use and using just the Mega Buster. So I kinda know everything the game expects.

@FragRed There's a reason they release board games all the time. That's how they run their planning meetings.

Oh no they'll never reduce the price of the core Switch. But they do need a budget priced (reduced feature) SKU for the Pokemon crowd (next year) like the 2DS. That's why I'm thinking it's not an upgrade model coming, it's a budget SKU. $199 for a cut down handheld only, Joy(con)-less smaller screen console with no dock for the tykes. $299 for the whole shebang we already have until the NEW Switch replaces it a year or two after. They really need a reduced price SKU when they phase out 3DS. That's probably this. (And there's been enough signs to predict it all along.)

@link3710 Yeah Smash has a big casual fanbase, but I'm unconvinced it's a system seller for that casual fan base. Then again your anecdote defies my thinking on that, so who knows.

@Knuckles-Fajita Hmm I was under the impression the game was designed expecting use of the gears and thus was balanced with that in mind. In some ways not using them might make it easier. Especially handheld, fumbling for the bumpers while platforming isn't the easiest of tricks (at least the "D-Pad" on the joycons are fine with the ancient 4-way directions )

Those bosses though....I still can't figure out what position doesn't actually get you hit. I mean I can see the wind-up of the punches (not so much the scoop/block throw) but I don't know where to be to avoid it.

@NEStalgia Ironically there are moments I recommend using Speed Gear. The first of the final stages, and Torch Man's stage, are MUCH easier with Speed Gear.

Speed Gear and Power Gear aren't really something the game is built around, rather it's something to make the game more manageable for people. Same as the special weapons.

@NEStalgia Rumour has it if you want to get your ideas put into practise, you must first beat Miyamoto at Super Mario: Level Up board game. That's the only reason the Switch became a thing and not a slightly redesigned Wii U 2.00

I am unsure Nintendo will go the full route of having a version of the Switch without detachable Joy Cons, not now Super Mario Party is a thing as that requires Joy Cons and is the exact type of game they would want children to be playing. Plus the idea of putting 2 Switches together would be problematic for the mini games. I think a thinner Switch, maybe slightly smaller design, is happening but the Joy Cons will still detach in order to allow games to function. That seems to be what the Wall Street Journal is saying Nintendo want - all games to function on the new hardware redesign. That can't happen if Joy Cons are attached at all times.

@NEStalgia @FragRed @link3710 I'd say the Smash Ultimate info so far has been directed at the hardcore crowd but that the final product will appeal to more than just them. We know a lot and very little about Smash Ultimate at the same time:

• March Direct: Inkling reveal
• E3: Every veteran is here, Ridley and Daisy reveal; a load of returning stages; a few new stages; a lot of focus on competitive mechanics
• August Smash Direct: Simon Belmont, Richter Belmont, Dark Samus, Chrom and King K Rool reveal; a lot more returning stages; a few new stages; a bit of info on modes outside the main Smash mode
• September Direct: Isabelle reveal

A future Smash Direct will probably the cover the stuff which is less focused on the hardcore audience like single player.

@FragRed A thinner, smaller Switch also means smaller battery, and a smaller form factor usually means more expensive in tech. I also assume they wouldn't want to change the Joy-Con, after all, a smaller Switch means smaller Joy-Con that fit the smaller Switch. Even more controllers, yay! I'm not sure that's the way to go!

@Grumblevolcano To be fair, I don't think casual players care about single player. The only people wanting a single player in Smash can probably all be found on this very site.