Amazon Switch Game Placeholders Add More Weight To January Nintendo Direct Rumours

We all know there's a Direct coming this month, it's just a case of when it happens, not if. The 11th seems perfectly plausible. Also heard another rumour that Konami are bringing their Wii Rebirth Trilogy to Switch along with a new fourth game. The Rebirth Trilogy is made up of Contra, Castlevania and Gradius. The Wii shop is closing soon and Konami love easy money. Well it's actually closing in January of next year but you can only add Wii points up until March of this year.

They need to get on with it. Switch is completely absent from any ‘2018 most anticipated’ lists due to Nintendo’s secrecy. After being such a big part of the conversation last year they are losing crucial momentum going into 2018. I mean, they’ll be fine still. It’s just a shame is all. Lots of new Switch owners will currently be pondering what there is to look forward to.

@QwertyQwerty Nintendo has a separate Nindies Direct for them plus they wouldn't be something Amazon would be having placeholders for unless they are physical releases.

As always, going to keep my expectations in check! But looking forward to this regardless, whenever it happens

@Roarsome To be fair, as long as Nintendo keeps up the marketing push they did last year, it shouldn't be a problem for them. There are loads of games that will be coming this year that we likely don't know about from all kinds of developers/publishers. And some games on the lists aren't even announced/expected this year like Last of Us 2.

"Metroid Prime 4 available after the Direct." Welcome to 2018.

@Roarsome We also had this same thing until Jan 12th 2017, regarding 2017.

All we knew at that time was "March" and Zelda is on it.

Here we know Octopath, No More Heroes, Fire Emblem, Kirby Star Allies, Yoshi, Bayonetta 1 and 2, Payday 2, Wolfenstein 2, Pac-Man are all this year, some with dates.

Spawn wave guy said he used to work in stores and they would be told of games coming so they could get posters printed and stuff for when ready, obviously sworn to secrecy
So he thinks amazon knows these games and someone hus jumped the gun by putting the placeholders up, heard they were quickly pulled doon
He said there was 26 a think put up

18 games from $59.99 to $99.99

So 6 versions each of SSB4 Deluxe, Super Mario Maker 2 and Pikmin 4?
Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond 😆

Also, the 11th sounds as good as the 9th or 10th, anytime next week.

18 games announced on 1-11-18. Coincidence? 😊

I wager a lot of what is shown will be titles for 2019 or the end of 2018. But that's just me being a little pessimistic. And that's providing there even is a direct at some point.

@QwertyQwerty Not at $60

It's really clever on Nintendo's part. The direct makes up for the lack of releases in January, plus it stops detracting from a game when it gets released a few days after a direct.

Of course as long as they have a good lineup to announce. Which you would think they do.

That'd be great. Let's hope it happens...

Bring the rain Nintendo

@QwertyQwerty Nope, since they range in price

@QwertyQwerty That's true, but as I said Nintendo have Directs solely focused on indie games. This Direct is about their big hitting titles coming to the Switch - the things that will be hopefully get 20 million to buy Switches for 2018/19 fiscal year.

@YummyHappyPills while those games you list will no doubt be great, none of them are big hitters like Zelda, Mario, Splatoon, etc.

Last year there was new console to properly unveil first, but why announce a year of software last year, then nothing for 2018 until now? Ideally you’d want a rolling schedule of imminent releases, medium term previews and longer term things. We have the long term stuff, but not much else.

I don’t doubt there is loads of exciting stuff that will hopefully be announced next week. But it’s just odd that we don’t know what the big tent pole releases are going to be over the next few months by now still.

@QwertyQwerty It implies that at least a couple of those are special editions and controllers. Means Amazon knows what everything is

@QwertyQwerty This is all true, but Amazon obviously know what these games are - they just can't outright say until after the Direct, hence why they are using placeholders with Title 17. Someone has a sheet with what games corresponds with what Title XX so when the time comes, they just update the title, image and description. So the prices may well be placeholders but Amazon still knows whether they are full fledged games or collectors editions etc. All retailers will know what is being announced next week.

@Roarsome I imagine most new Switch owners are actually pondering how they'll have time to play all the amazing titles from 2017

@QwertyQwerty And yet there were $60, $70, $90 an $100 placeholders. Way too specific, if you ask me. Works the other way around too: if these were physical editions of indie games, it would mean these games are already out in digital form, which means they already have a price range that you can narrow down from $60.

Tropical freeze or new Donkey Kong game please

@sandman89 As long as that isn't what Retro has been working on for the past 5 years then yeah that would be cool. A lot of decent developers could take on the reigns of that franchise.

I hope for Fire Emblem early 2018. Can’t wait to see some trailers and get my hands on a game

I sure as heck hope there are some more announcements soon. Aside from Kirby, Yoshi and an unseen Fire Emblem, Nintendo has absolutely nothing else confirmed for the entirety of 2018. If they want to sell 20 million Switches this year it’s time to start pumping out some more killer games.

There will be a direct this month, actually probably very soon. Nintendo barely announced anything for 2018, so there's going to be a lot to cover. We know Kirby, Yoshi and Fire Emblem are coming, but if Nintendo wants to sell 20 million Switches this year, they're gonna have a full stack of games, or a huge system seller like Pokemon or Animal Crossing.

NHL 18, Battlefront II, Madden 18 and Battelfield 4 from EA would do for me .

Has anyone been searching Amazon Canada? There's a bunch of games listed ... such as "Square Enix Monster Energy Supercross" and several others

@YummyHappyPills this will Be to say what is coming from Jan to Summer. They don’t tend to do huge announcements of games that are miles off. They are leaning towards unveiling the imminent schedule to keep interest streaming month to month.

I expect it will be some games finally dated and priced along with a few big third party surprises in line with Doom and LA Noire like at the end of last year.

@QwertyQwerty I would like to know why you so want these to be physical indie releases? Nothing wrong with indie games getting physical releases but I think most people would want big titles to be revealed during the January Direct and not indie games.

@FragRed idk what retro has done with games has been special. I think retro can handle 2 games.

@MoonKnight7 I don’t think animal crossing is anywhere close to a big enough system seller to carry that load

I'm excited by the potential, but, to be honest, Nintendo can take its time, as far as I'm concerned.

Even though we had a Switch on launch day, we have a backlog of indies (and a couple Wii U games), and just started playing Mario Odyssey and Mario + Rabbids and haven't done the Zelda expansion or bought online games like Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart for our second switch, yet (yes, @rjejr I gave in at the last minute... picked one up on the 23rd, I think, lol. Thanks, Nintendo for all the stock!)

@QwertyQwerty If they are placeholder prices why not make them all $59.99?

I was only kidding about the 6 versions of each game, I was tempted by the easy math, but at this point I'd be surprised if there wasn't more than 1 version of at least one game. Maybe SSB4, w/ and w/o all DLC. Pikmin 3 had a bunch of DLC, Pikmin 4 could be sold w/ or w/o a season pass. There aren't too many games that go for $99.99 on their own.

@Brutchie-bear Animal Crossing New Leaf was a massive success. It sold over 11 million. That's a system seller.

@QwertyQwerty Can you think of any upcoming (as in, not for sale on any platform yet) indie title from a studio with enough cash to announce a physical release before it's out digitally?

The Direct is supposedly coming on the 11th, so if that's true I'd look for confirmation on Nintendo's website by about the 8th.

funny how nobody mentions smash...

ye hear that nintendo! people already forget about smash on switch, that will be a lesson for you.

@QwertyQwerty That's a no, then.

Alternatively: can you name any indie devs that announced a digital and physical Switch version of their game simultaneously, instead of some time after it became available on the eShop?

@Brutchie-bear I think it is. Maybe not Mario, Pokemon or Zelda level. But New Leaf was huge.

As for this rumored Direct, I hope its true and if so, I would love for Nintendo to drop a bombshell of a surprise for later this winter/early spring. A game no one expected and is coming much sooner, rather than later. For those that still aren't convinced Nintendo is serious, it would send a strong message that can't be ignored.

But I will keep my expectations in check.

@FragRed
On the same note, although this is a big year to push online play, maybe more important to Nintendo is that this is the year it pushes hard for the Nintendo Switch to replace the 3DS as the portable system.

I'd like to see Nintendo pull off a more portable hardware option for Switch by Holiday 2018, as implausible as it might be. It would be just like Nintendo to make that the way it drops the price. Keep the big one at $299 and offer the more portable (no portable JoyCon, no dock, dPad on left, maybe smaller screen) at $225 - $250.

Pokemon and Animal Crossing in the same year as that option (2018 or 2019) would be an unstoppable sales force.

@QwertyQwerty If these are indies, they either are already out, upcoming or unannounced.

If they are already out on any platform, they already have a price tag on them. Since indies don't come near close to the $60 price tag, putting a $60 tag on the placeholder is overkill. Amazon already knows what these are, they can slap a "mid-tier game" placeholder price instead of the "full-priced release" placeholder, just like they slapped a $90 placeholder on the three SKUs that are either joy-con sets or special editions. You mentioned Sonic Forces in another post, but I'm pretty sure that was a case of Sega slashing the price because of the bad press. They fully intended to sell that game at $60.

If these are unannounced indie games and they don't have a RRP yet, it doesn't make much sense to announce a physical edition before it's out digitally. Even when indies get picked up by bigger publishers, this doesn't happen.

The only case in which what you say might work is if the game is announced for Switch but not out on any platform, and if whoever's publishing it has enough cash and confidence in the game for a physical edition. How many examples can you think of?

@aaronsullivan no portable Joy-Con would neuter a lot of games or make some features unusable, as well as severly kill the purpose of the system.

A lot of smoke ... that's for sure. I mean, it doesn't really matter whether this Direct is going to be airing in two weeks or in, say, four weeks, does it? It's pretty much a given that there will be a Direct of some sorts in the next couple of weeks, seeing as the release schedule for Nintendo's system has been pretty much cleared out over the last months and weeks. As far as the games go, I'd really LOVE to hear something about Switch Fire Emblem. I'm really excited for that as Path of Radiance remains my favourite FE to this day. Honestly, I would go bonkers just for some kind of re-release of PoR on the Switch. I still have it here, right next to my GC, but having on the Switch would be super neat. Any further bells and whistles, like HD rendering (seeing as it was a non-sprite 3D game) would be icing on an already gorgeous cake.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Rumors to back rumors? Seriously though, easy money or not, we are still talking about Konami here. Just as with Capcom these days, I'd take anything that appears to be a reasonable rumor or 'good news' with a grain of salt. Anyways, speaking of WiiWare games, I want the Art Style games, esp. ORBIENT to be re-released on the Switch. That would be one of those things, I'd love to see coming out of this Direct. I know, it's unlikely at best, but one can dream, right? ^^ Besides that, it is high time we hear something about VC, MyNintendo Rewards for the Switch, and generally where the system is headed in 2018.

@YummyHappyPills @aaronsullivan Just what I was going to say. Plus talk about pulling a Wii U by confusing the market with what it you are trying to advertise. And only a year and a half into it's lifespan.

I do hope for more joycon colors. Either way if there is a direct...my body is ready but my bank account is not. lol.

@FragRed you really think animal crossing can push switch to 20 mil? I think they will need Pokémon to make that number

@Brutchie-bear I never said Animal Crossing alone would reach 20 million but at same time, Pokemon only reaches between 7 and 15 million so sales figures aren't that different. At the end of the day no one game will hit that target. You need three or four.

Maybe Nintendo UK have listened to the illustrious NintendoLife editors and moderators, and finally finally decided to publish ROM hacks/homebrew for Nintendo Switch?

I am prepared to be amazed...... give us a date NOW!!

@aaronsullivan I always knew you'd cave. Still, it is a better deal than $80 Joy-con, $90 dock, $15 grip and $5 or so for an HDMI cable, making it 1 very good $100 tablet.

I was being all nostalgic the other day due to TW's departure - guess he's gone now - and came across some comments you posted back in 2009, FF maybe, you were complaining about the reviewer complaining about having strategy in a RPG game, saying w/o strategy it's just a button masher. Hadn't realized you'd been here that long. You signed up exactly 6 months to the day after I did, Dec 23 2008 to my June 23rd 2008. So we get to have a 10 year anniversary this year, maybe NL can give us little stars next to our avatars. (Funny thing, I'm not sure I signed up for NL until after 2009, I think my 2008 registration may be from VC-reviews.com which got subsumed in 2009.)

Hope all is going well for you all this holiday. Also hope Nintendo tested the Switch for use in the bitter cold. brrr. Brrr I say.

@QwertyQwerty True about the lack of parity, but I can't think of any example that goes over the $50 mark, let alone $60. Rime and Yooka-Laylee are some of the most expensive indie titles, and they're $30 and $40 respectively. So, hypothetically, if Amazon did that they wouldn't have a problem, and those are extreme cases.

You know when that logic applies? When we're talking about bigger games like Doom or even stuff like L.A. Noire.

@QwertyQwerty They have been told what they are, that's why these placeholders are numbered and priced differently. I also just remembered, a couple of those placeholders didn't even have a placeholder price tag, so it's not like Amazon is treating all releases equally.

Dunno man, I get where you're coming from, but I don't think it applies in this scenario.

@Brutchie-bear

Animal Crossing is a quiet beast. It's one of the best selling games on the 3DS with over 11 million sold. You will see a big uptick in Switch sales, especially in Japan. New leaf has consistently been on the sales chart there almost every week. Sure it's not Pokemon, Mario or Zelda, but I would call it a system seller at this point.

I would love a few gems announced for the 3DS/2DS too... Nintendo is going to abandon or replace their entry pricing line products.

@Roarsome You are worrying too much too fast. Hold on.

a January Direct was almost all but guaranteed once we escaped December without 1. I'm sure Amazon knows games and announcements are on the way and pre entered some info to make it easier to get the preorders set as the announcements come.

Anyway, I think Nintendo is now on a schedule of sorts. Big reveal Direct in January, couple smaller PR or Directs pre E3, E3 fun and then a late September Direct to round off the holiday season. This is what we are going to get for the foreseeable future.

2 were priced as Joycons.

2 were priced as pro controllers.

5 were priced as collector editions.

That still leaves 9 new games. And I don't expect small titles announced at a big Direct laying down the blueprint for 2018. They've got the goods in transit. Believe that.

One will surely be Fire Emblem. One will surely be Smash Bros. Hopefully one is Pikmin 4. At least 2 be more casual games like 1-2 Switch, as per Nintendo's "Games coming with new ways to play". Still leaves room for a few surprises.

@QwertyQwerty "So let's say, hypothetically, Amazon decides that a title is mid tier and slaps a $40 price tag on it. The RRP comes out and it's $50. But due to the Amazon preorder guarantee, they are obligated to sell it at $40 to those who pre-order.

So what's the solution, and one we've seen employed since the launch of the platform? If in doubt, it's a full price release - like a tag of $60."

If that is the case, they can just set the prices of all titles to $1,000. There is no need to set different prices.

Mark my words.
Nintendo will anounce system sellers with a bang.
we will see something from metroid maybe a small teaser first. They will anounce what is in the work. I think smashbros too but no images or footage just an announcement i have a feeling that another company will work on it coughing Bandai-Namco. I believe that is why Sakurai brought them in for the latest smashbros.

@rjejr
We've had a decent Holiday break. My daughter squeed when she opened the Switch saying we could play Splatoon 2 together now! We don't have a second copy of that, yet, though! And figuring out how to manage multiple Switches and accounts is weird.

We also built an extra computer (parts were Xmas gifts, too) because these kids do so much on there now and are playing with friends online and I actually need to use my computer (When opening the family gift, my son concludes "it's for me!" — we call it the "shared computer" now, though).

But, my wife and I have been extremely busy with our jobs. I'm halfway through my graduate work and her school district closed the (newer) building (with a great culture) she was in to consolidate and, frankly, it has been a disaster. So, we are very taken with work lately. The graduate work pushes into my grading the most so I just had this incredible build up to do last week. It was insane.

So, gaming time is limited to say the least. We did get to do some family game time though. Mario, and PC stuff. Heard of Roblox, btw? It's sort of the new Minecraft, as in a popular online game that kids play together.

Anyway, I have some time off now (never from graduate work though, which I should be doing right now, actually). I'll be doing some gaming and spending time on here, I'm sure.

Hoping you've had some good times!

Also, I second the motion for 10-year stars next to our avatars.

Now, I have to look back at the post...

I'd be happy with madden 18, Mario Golf, Mario Party

@rjejr It was about Final Fantasy on Virtual Console. Haha. Here it is:
"quote: Considering the hundreds of battles you get in, having to think of a strategy each time would be tedious.

WAH? I guess I don't understand RPGs anymore. So, what is combat for if you don't even have to make decisions then? Artificial game length boosting? Seriously, if you aren't making decisions how is it a "game" and not just a cinematic?"

How did you even find that?

The eshop is booming with fill-in-the-gap games. We know we're getting Bayonetta, Kirby, Wolfenstein 2. It seems likely we might see Smash, Fire Emblem, Pikmin, and maybe Pokemon at some point this year. If they drop a couple surprises in a direct, Switch is shaping up for a big year 2.

Remember the Wii-U drought? Or go back a bit further, remember the Wii drought? Nintendo has always had a problem sustaining momentum and staggering their releases, but things feel different on Switch. It's more like the never ending hits of Gameboy, DS, 3DS. We might finally be starting to see the fruits of Nintendo combining handheld and console divisions, and it's some real sustained momentum for Nintendo.

Hard to read a whole lot from this, other than a Direct is probably coming.

I'm not expecting a lot....maybe dates for Kirby and Yoshi. Some surprise games, for sure. Hopefully online questions get answered. Best news would be surprise third party support.

@NoxAeturnus I feel stronger about Smash, maybe Pikmin than Pokemon happening this year. But I do hope you're right.

@YummyHappyPills @fragred
Buy a JoyCon set or Pro Controller or Dockable Nintendo Switch if you want local multiplayer on the go. Are there any single player games that don't work with JoyCon attached? This is not a replacement for the Switch I'm talking about, it's a replacement for the 3DS. They can easily live side by side.

How is it more confusing than the current situation with 3DS? It's less confusing: Switch versatile or Switch portable. Plays all the same games. If you want local multiplayer bring another controller.

Right now, it's several models of 3DS and 2DS (XL not XL, face plates) and Nintendo Switch which has partially overlapping features (portable) but an entirely different library of games.

The real problem is technical feasibility. Not sure it can be smaller. Maybe chunky flip top would work.

@aaronsullivan If joycon arent removable aspects of BOTW and Odyssey become harder.

ARMS loses its main draw.

1-2 Switch stops all together

Heck, some games lose all multiplayer outside of tabletop mode and online play.

Plus, you lose all but one aspect of the name "Switch". You can still switch between tabletop and hand-held mode. But controller removal? Gone.

Ease of portable multiplayer, one of the big draws? Gone. Carrying two controllers to do multiplayer in tabletop mode is less portable than Switch with two Joy-Con as is. Since they are none removable, one player cant use the attached controls if doing local multiplayer. So they have to carry two additional joycon minimum. Thats an £80 added onto the cost that will likely inflate the total cost to get these features close to the Switch as it currentlyis, making the system less logical as a purchase for only a minor savibg in the long run.

just gimme

new Golden Sun, Chrono Break, Valkyrie Profile III, The World Ends With You 2, new Advanced Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics 2, remake Final Fantasy VI in the Octopus Traveller art-style, Romancing Saga 3 remake, a new Ogre game, a new Baten Kaitos game

@aaronsullivan "How did you even find that?"

I think I was looking for my earliest post. Trying to find anything about VC-reviews.com is almost impossible. It's like NL banished it from existence, even Google can't find it. But I'm almost certain www.vc-reviews.com was a real website. Though I may be off w/ the capitalization and the hyphen. Corbie Dillard and Darren Calvert would know, I think that site was mostly them.

I know all about grad school, 8 years, 4 to get my MA, 4 to not get my PhD after 2 dissertation proposals were scrapped by 2 different committees who scrapped themselves. The whole state of Kentucky was out to get me. I've no doubt you'll fair better than I did.

Sorry about your wife's job, sounds rough. My wife has been through 3 jobs the past 4 years but it seems like 4 b/c the earliest one went from 600 people to 300 to 150 plus a relocation under new ownership, it was a corporate shellgame of itself when she finally left, probably only 50 people there now. She really likes the newest job though, knocking on wood, though the 2 hour commute each way is wearing her out more than she'll admit.

My 12 year old had a big Roblox spurt for awhile, he bailed b/c I wouldn't let him spend real money on it - you know I'm cheap - but he still hits it up occasionally. We bought a new PC for my son for his bar mitzvah 2 years ago, probably do the same for this son, his bar mitzvah is in 3 weeks. Neither PC games though outside of Minecraft and RPG Maker so I don't worry about specs anymore, this one is running a GT 740 which is years old, my son has whatever came on the motherboard, he's more of a writer than a gamer. And they both consume way too much Youtube which will run on anything. I bought my wife a new 8" Amazon Fire, and Fire TV, we don't produce anything either, just consume. Our family motto is "Too much work", we're pathetic. I need to change that after the bar mitzvah, and this stupid polar vortex goes away, I really don't do well w/ the cold.

I can imagine managing 2 Switch for a family would be a bit like juggling chainsaws. I've given up running 4 MyNintnedo accounts for my family - Club Nintedo had an easy "Family account', all of our Switch game purchases have their gold coins going to my account. My wife isnt' even getting a Switch account. So far it's been easy, we've hardly touched our Switch since we all finished Mario O. 2 Pokemon games w/ 2 kids will be the real test. Which is why I still think they need a $200 Switch, I'm not buying a 2nd $300 system just so my kids can play a different version of the same Pokemon game at the same time. Yes, Switch is portable, but at $300 w/ a dock it's no replacement for a $79 2DS. Or even $129 or $169. $300 is too much for 1 kid for 1 or 2 games. It won't be in this ND though, or the next, maybe September when Pokemon gets a hard release date. Not sure $300 is good for any soccer moms wanting to only play NintenDogs (that's not a Nintendo typo, my wife got a 3DS for NintenDogs) or Animal Crossing or whatever portable game stereotypical moms might want a 2nd system for. At least you wont have to worry about that for awhile, 2 should get you through until your kids are older and New Switch launches.

I see you're arguing w/ the kids. Good luck w/ that. More often than not I delete my posts after typing them these days. I'm mostly on here for the dozen or people I'm friends w/, I don't have the energy any more for long discussions w/ strangers.

@YummyHappyPills
All of those game examples are suggesting the ability to play them is diminished but for someone who values portability like 3DS fans do, those are easy tradeoffs and all ARE playable without making new version of the game except 1-2 Switch, and maybe those Tomorrowland Corporation games that require pointing, I think. Plenty of people have this "problem" already when playing on the go and they never remove the JoyCon.

In the cases that local multiplayer become a desirable option, one can buy (or borrow) a pair of JoyCon or convince your buddies to get one so you can each have your own screen. It's not a new phenomenon in the 3DS world and that's part of the decision about which Switch to get. This is for people who value the portability more highly and might save $50 to $75 to boot.

It won't ever be for me, but I know there are plenty of 3DS and 2DS owners who would be tempted to upgrade to a Switch if it landed closer to the $200 and they could still tote it around easily.

I mean, you could go the detachable route. Maybe make it a flip top and have a mount for them in one half. Maybe that would even save money as the JoyCon wouldn't have to redesigned... but I think they'd be too chunky as is.

As awesome as the Switch is, a size that can fit into a pocket, purse, or side pocket in a backpack could be a great alternative to many and an easier step away from a 3DS or 2DS.

@QwertyQwerty love hotline Miami 1 and 2 , would buy again on switch

Makes me curious if it was pulled fast it was a mistake but if it was a mistake why was the titles not mistakenly posted also?

@invictus4000 That would be the Beyoncé Lemonade moment of the video game world!

@rjejr I was checking the virtual console review site before it was called Nintendo Life, but I have no idea what it was called and I don't think I got an account then... but I really can't remember. I do remember being pleasantly surprised when this site became Nintendo Life. Was pretty organic.

The account management is just weird because... well, we all have an account on one Switch and we don't care which Switch we use for what, but the Switch does. I've got to say that I really hope Nintendo has some changes and surprises when they unveil their online strategy after all this time. I'm probably hoping for too much, though.

As for schooling and working — I'm taking a short break from homework right now — I hope your wife's new job works out. My work right now is pretty great, with good people, and would be manageable if I didn't need to earn this Master's degree.

Kids are growing up too fast! Awesome your son is writing. My daughter is drawing like crazy right now, my son is super creative but I worry about him playing games too much. He doesn't have a constructive skill yet. When I can engage directly with him we make game mechanics for table top games and spend some time learning to program or construct things, but he hasn't latched on to do it on his own yet.

Anyhow, for low-cost Switch, I don't know what Nintendo will do. It's not like them to lower the price when they are doing well, and apparently, when they are doing really badly. lol. So, maybe the numbers will slump just enough to get them to act.

As for "arguing with the kids" it sorta keeps me sharp and I teach beginning game programming, development, and design, so I've got to keep up on the trends and stay current. I do spend an inordinate amount of time on Nintendo, so it's great that they are getting popular again.

Also, it's too fun to speculate with Nintendo who can be so unpredictable.

Looking forward to Nintendo Direct. I'll probably do some serious speculation/guessing in the next couple weeks as I'll have time. Right now, back to work.

There's bound to be a Direct this month. We're long overdue for a new Nintendo briefing.

@aaronsullivan You're starting to use more emoji's than I do.

I'd assume the hardest part about multiple Switch is save files since unlike the 3DS they are all on the Switch, so you can't continue a game between systems. And deciding which system to download digital games too. One of the nice things about having a PS3 in my basement and bedroom was downloading games to both and save files online. It's not as smooth as I'd like, but it can be made to work. Nintendo should at least have online saves w/ the paid online subscription if they aren't willing to give it to everyone. I dont' suppose you can download 1 digital purchase to both Switch can you? I'd be impressed w/ Nintendo if they let you do that.

A cheaper Switch has to happen. Why bother putting a $90 dock in the box unless you were planning on taking it out at some point? It' a ctually better for them to sell a cheaper Switch tablet as is w/o the dock in hopes that people buy the down down the road, that's a win-win for Ntinedo. I'm currently torn on the GBA version w/ non-removable Joycon, it does take away the multiplayer out of the box aspect, but they'd also be too small on a SwitchBoy. That may come but years down the road, 10 or 11 months until they remove the dock, Grip and HDMI cable from the box, Switch Portabel Ed. on the shelf next to the $300 version. Heck they could sell a $149 "replacement" tablet and make money on the Joycon if they wanted to.

ND next week, then we get to talk about games again. There will be games. Good luck w/ the MA.

I'm hoping for SNES Remix

$99 eh?

Probably that toys-to-life space ship thing Ubisoft has been cooking up.

@FragRed So you actually expect 18 Switch exclusives to be revealed ? please...

@Vergilxx3 No I don't, there will be third party ports in there too. And they may not all be games, but different Joy Cons colours. Also some maybe special editions of games too. So I don't think it is 17 Nintendo games, nor 17 games.

@rjejr Digital purchases are tied to the Nintendo ID, not the device, BUT the Nintendo ID can only have one "active" Switch. So... you'd have to deactivate the first Switch and then activate the other and then you can play those games on the second but NOT the first.

One upside is that all the accounts can play those games on the active Switch, but the obvious downside is you can't just play them by logging in on the device you happen to have with you.

I really don't know the solution that can work, but I'm happy for Amazon Prime preorder discounts "forcing" me to buy most games physical right now. You don't get the save games, but you can swap the games easily.

Of course, those save game files need to be in the cloud and accessible + backup...able as soon as possible.

@rjejr As far as Switch portable goes... I don't know if removing the dock is enough, but it might be. If they could bring it down to $200 without dock, $250 with... well, that's interesting but weird on the shelf.

I think Advance SP is the way to go for more portable: flip top. If at all possible... which I guess is the 3DS way. Now, maybe... make a NEW set of JoyCon to go with it that don't have as much bump out on the bottom and slider analog sticks so the screen can lay flat on it, but keep them compatible and removable.

It's interesting, the Switch body (tablet) is not much wider than a 3DS XL, but if you layer the switch body and JoyCon they are roughly twice the thickness of the Switch body which is about 1.5x as thick as 3DS. So... probably you want to tighten that down some. and maybe the screen can be thinner and the internals (part of them?) can go inside the bottom portion the JoyCon are on the sides of... bah, I made a mockup.

That screen is smaller than the Switch. The JoyCon analog sticks are meant to look like they are inset sliders. I ended up making the JoyCon a little shorter on the bottom to fit better with smaller screen, but that might not be possible to keep compatibility.

Still, this way, maybe the bottom could flip back and support the screen even after you detach the JoyCon. Maybe could dock it upside down? Or just plug in a dongle for HDMI, or maybe no TV. Not sure.

Benefit is that it could almost be the same size as a 3DS XL. Problem is that all the engineering and making things smaller and custom doesn't bode well for cost savings.

Also, did you see the name I gave it? I like the name. Did we brainstorm these names ever?

@aaronsullivan "BUT the Nintendo ID can only have one "active" Switch."

Reminds me of the PSP and why I returned it, despite it being a handheld PS3 I coudlnt share the system at all w/ my kids, only 1 account, games only had 1 save point.

Then I bought a PSTV - yeah I know - b/c I wanted to stream my 1 PS4 to other rooms in the house. Problem is, despite streaming from PS4 working really well, the device locks onto 1 account, so again, I couldn't share it with my kids. I finally gave ti to my son to play Horizon Zero Dawn on his 20" monitor in his bedroom while my other son plays Zelda BotW on the Wii U in the basement. Though usually he just plays on the Gamepad and my other son on the TV, not in his room.

So I give Nintnedo credit for making the Switch work like a Wii U regarding multiple accounts, and not like a 3DS. I woudln't have purchased 1 if it was locked to 1 account. But it needs portable saves. And they need to limit "Active" to 3 or 4, like Sony used to do w/ the PS3, for when families like ours have 3 or 4. Maybe when the paid online starts working.

@aaronsullivan mock-up

Just call it New Switch, like New 2DS XL. I Swear the 2DS line is the weirdest thing in existence, even more so than Virtual Boy. They took out 3D, dropped the price in half, made it a tablet; then made it a clamshell again and doubled the price. If New 2DS XL can be $149 and New 3DS XL $199 I dont' see why Nitneod wouldn't have a dockless $249 Switch Portable next to a $299 Switch. Doesn't make any sense, but that's Nitnedo's strong suit. But I think $229 makes sense w/o the dock, Grip or HDMI cable. Maybe even drop the pair of $7.99 Joycon covers. I know they're used for switchign the Switch to 2 player table-top but doesn't anybody really use them? We don't. People can always buy them separtly if need be, I see the $229 Switch as a single player experience that can be swtiched if people feel like buying all of the optional over priced accessories. But I think $229 vs $299 can work.

As for your mock-up, I've thought about it - Flip Switch name is new, nice - and it could happen I suppose, but I really dont' like the thumbsticks on the screen. New 2DS XL works b/c of the extra space on top. But that's too much wasted space on the bottom, and you dont' need it w/ only 1 screen, so I'm sticking w/ GBA.

Not in 2018 though, I think that's still all about $299 or maybe dropping the dock if sales slow. 2019 for new designs.

All I want for 2018 is Xenoblade Chronicles HD.

@rjejr
On pricing and the bare bones Switch. I hadn't thought of all the other little accessories stored in there. I'm not sure they can ditch the little L/R covers with the straps. Liability and all. It's the weakest part of the whole package though and I wish they had invented something more clever for that.

But the grip, dock, HDMI don't need to be there. Hmm... it makes the one offering now seem like a deluxe set... remember deluxe? but we are way past the launch, so maybe it's okay.

On the wasted space on the bottom of the Switch Flip: That's why limiting it to be compatible with the JoyCon is a problem. You could spread the controls out more comfortably across that space and spread the guts of the Switch underneath if they didn't have to be detachable. Plus, it wouldn't look like wasted space.

Still, the idea is that it is the weightier part of the device in there. It could have stickers or faceplates lol. But the screen on top could be lighter/thinner. my mockup makes me imagine the whole weight of the switch up on top, but it's meant to be just a screen and maybe speakers on the sides.

Plus, this thing can go in pockets. The "wasted space" actually makes it pocketable.

Also, agreed that the controls touching the screen when closed would need to be addressed somehow.

@aaronsullivan I can only imagine the collective "ugh' heard round the internet if Switch launched w/ a "Basic" white that was portable only and "Deluxe" black w/ the other stuff.

Switch is a tablet built to be an accessory magnet. The Switch doesn't fall far from the Wii. They'll never use Basic or Deluxe but that Grip has to go, that thing is useless. At least add in the charging Grip to put it to good use.