@Buizel My entire problem with it is when (as it was here) the concept of people who aren't 'hardcore gamerz' buying a dedicated game system began and ended with the Wii/DS and any/all future attempts to appeal to that type of consumer are desired to end in failure because nothing will be the Wii/DS again. Like every single one of the 150 million people who bought a PS2 have continued buying games and going back even as far as the NES/SNES too. The vast majority of people who love the original Super Mario Bros or Sonic the Hedgehog are so not because of the fact that they were real games for real gamers but because they were simple, effective and open to virtually everyone. A certain subset of gamers really do look on the Wii/DS (and mobile has taken that ire now) as though they were damaging or attracted people to videogames who didn't belong.
I find it ridiculous when you consider that practically every successful product (not just in this industry) is so when it is appealing and doesn't come with barriers to entry. Thinking that the Switch at this point is anything like that is silly, and I'd hope that that is a priority for Nintendo unlike this guy who seems to be in this 'real games for real gamers' bubble.
As you say we were all 'casuals' at some point. The more people invested in this industry the better IMO, games were never as open as they were last gen with the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3 and DS all selling silly amounts and the fact that the Wii U, Xbox One, PS4 and 3DS will only get a fraction that is a shame.
And with 3rd parties moving further away from typically casual oriented games (with many just being cancelled and dumped) and Sony having very, very few non-M rated 1st party games that have the potential to appeal to a wider audience options are extremely limited. As he says we're all waiting to see how Microsoft handle their multi billion acquisition of Minecraft and aside from that there isn't much else. Taking all that and saying that Nintendo should just admit defeat and not try to reach out to this clearly neglected audience is extremely defeatist and unwise.
@Shinion the difference is that now games are more accessible than ever. Casuals have mobile to get their fix. They don't need a dedicated system to play games.
And this is where I say mobile should complement the Switch. Use mobile to get the casuals interested, and have the switch as an option for those that are willing to do more serious gaming. And it looks like it could be working - look at the success of Pokemon Sun and Moon after the release of Pokemon Go.
obe1 just posted new switchmas vid. Says switch is indeed getting a vr headset.
Switch seems to be obi a unique position to do this.
Slide the screen into a headset and detach the controllers and you've got quite a potent vr setup for almost no cost. Take that, ps4, with your 800 bucks.
I personally couldn't care less if the Switch had VR. To me the Switch represents gaming on the go, and in social settings with friends. VR...is the opposite of both of these things. Not to mention that it would be very limited power-wise. I'd much rather see what the other companies have to offer before Nintendo takes this route.
@Shinion
I have an issue with talking about categories of gamers in general. Particularly in regards to the Wii and DS. Because with the people I know who had a Wii/DS it wasn't that simple. There was no one movement from nothing to Wii to phones. There were whole groups of consumers who shifted to Nintendo during that console generation and then away again. It wasn't all to and from the same places.
What was amazing about the Wii (and DS) was that it appealed to a mass market. And that doesn't just mean casuals, that means everyone. Go back to some of the earlier talks Iwata gave about the Wii and you'll see him saying it back then. Nintendo basically divided their audience into three. They were core gamers, new gamers and lapsed gamers. Now this might get a bit ranty so I'll try and organise it a bit....
Core gamers:
The whole point of the Wii was to ignore what that audience said they wanted from new console hardware and give the market something else. What this audience says it wants alienates the rest of the market. It annoyed a lot of people in places like this but the thing about this audience is that it's a zero sum game. If Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony all target the same audience? One of them is going to lose. This is the most valuable audience but they're also the hardest to please. When forums cry about third parties, GFLOPS and software delays? This is the audience that's talking. Give us Zelda and we'll shut up for about a week.
Lapsed gamer
These are all the people who used to play games but stopped playing for some reason. Nintendo talked about them a lot during the Wii era. It was a large part of the reason why the Virtual Console was a thing. They're nostalgic but more than any other group they want a novelty. More than the new gamers. If you think that's wrong lets bring it back to the Switch. Right now a lapsed gamer would be a person who was into gaming with the PS3/360/Wii but hasn't got a PS4/XBOne/Wii U. Would a PS4 clone win them over if they're not really interested in the PS4? I think it's fair to say that if they PS4 hasn't won them over they're going to be won over by something different. Right now the Switch is potentially that different thing.
New gamers
This audience has no nostalgia and no expectations. They're not necessarily won over by something new because everything to them is new. The Wii did well with this group but not so much because it was different. They did well with this group because the Wii was easy to understand. Put the disk in the thing, the controller in someone's hand and say "tennis". None of the current consoles are particularly good at this. The Wii U in particular is pretty hard to explain. The Switch won't be another Wii in this category but it's on the right track. The core concept of the Switch can basically be explained in two pictures
A simple concept like that? This is how you capture a new audience
I think Skywake has got it spot on there. The Wii didn't do well because it was a gimmick - it did well because Nintendo marketed it well. They identified their audiences, provided a compelling story for each audience and communicated it clearly.
It was a marketing masterclass.
Likewise the Wii U didn't fail because the casual audience 'disappeared' or 'migrated' to phones. It failed because Nintendo didn't clearly target a single audience and failed to communicate the benefits in a cohesive way. Everyone was left wondering 'is this really a console for me?'.
I hope they'll take full advantage of the Switch's screen. I'd love if there were games that use it vertically like some DS games made you hold your DS like a book. Some games (for example Pinball games and possible DS VC) would benefit from the vertical screen. The screen would need some kind of additional stand to hold it in its place though while you have the Joy-Cons in your hands.
It's its, not it's.
Switch Friend Code: SW-8287-7444-2602 | Nintendo Network ID: LateXD
@Late Don't forget vertical shmups. It would be cool to see some WonderSwan-like games taking advantage of that, yeah. The joy-cons make it easily achievable.
Yikes, gta 5 would be quite an oldie to port. Better than nothing, though, right? I think overwatch would be a really good addition and would fit right into the Nintendo library
GTA V is one of the highest-budget games ever produced, so I'm not surprised Rockstar want to milk it for all it's worth. It's old, but still the most recent GTA, and the portability may count for something.
And, to be fair, it's only as old as Skyrim, which people are fairly hyped about for the Switch.
@Octane I'm not sure why that would be relevant. Would you expect people to be more excited about a game that was remastered the previous year than one that was remastered 3 years ago? I suppose mod support can make a difference, but I don't really know enough about either game to know how different they are today compared with when they were originally released.
@Buizel Because when the Switch was revealed, the Skyrim remaster was still an upcoming game, whereas GTA is a couple of years old. I guess that's the reason why people were excited, and because it could mean a lot more for the Switch. Not saying that GTA is any less important. Both will be ''old'' ports by the time the Switch releases, but at least Skyrim had the benefit of getting a remaster recently. I have no idea how big mod support will be on the Switch, if it will be a thing at all. Hopefully we'll learn more about that in January.
Forums
Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread
Posts 7,881 to 7,900 of 69,981
Please login or sign up to reply to this topic