Topic: Is Nintendo resting on its laurels?

Hi,

First of all let me start by saying that I don't want to offend anybody, I have a Nintendo switch and I think it's probably the best console I ever had (it's far from perfect but what it does it usually does right), but lately although I love the console (It's the firs nintendo console I bought since the NES) I can't shake the idea that it's not living up to it's potential and that it could easily be so much better if Nintendo was more proactive with the software of the console...

Online : First of all I find a bit odd that information is so scarce regarding it upcoming online service. I mean the whole thing should be live within two months and people have so many questions it just seems like bad marketing. I get that they don't want to get ahead of themselves but 2 months is hardly that long given that Sony and Microsoft are already starting to refer to their next console which are 2 years away...

Virtual Console : Also people have been pretty vocal about them wanting the virtual console back, yet only thing we know so far is that some form of VC will be in the online service, but what if the games I want are not part of it? I don't mind paying for them but I'm not even given the option. I mean what if I want Snes, N64 or gamecube games, people are asking for it, why not offer it to them or tell them that's it's coming sometime in the future... Since the switch is a hybrid console, it could even mean the gameboy and DS series virtual console... I know there's the SNES Classic and whatever the classic console they have in mind but again I don't choose the games, and it's not portable, it seem ridiculous to buy the 3ds after the switch to have some classics on the go...

Apps : Also I don't get why I can't get Netflix on my console? I was able to get it on the Wii... The US can get Hulu, it doesn't have to get billions of apps (we have smartphone for that) but some wouldn't hurt...

Eshop : From the shop perspective things could also be much better, yeah there's plenty of Indies, so much that the shop sometimes look like a bunch of shovel ware (there's some gems but that have to be found among all the mobile game ports and other Indies of doubtful quality), every games as the right to be on the platform it would just be nice if it would be easier to find good (or better) games among everything (like a rating system or search by genre).

First party games : They don't give us access to their older games (virtual console) but on the new game side of thing, they also seems pretty scarce... We have a lot of ports from the Wii U (I don't mind, didn't have the Wii U so they are new to me) and we could get even more (Nintendo land, Mario and other first party) but if we look at the 1st party originals for the switch we have, Mario Odyssey (the only essential in my opinion), 1-2 Switch, Arms, Labo, Mario Tennis, pretty much all other are kind of ports (BotW, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, Splatoon 2 (some call its platoon 2.0 minus split screen), Captain Toad and even upcoming like Pokemon Let's Go... (is more like Pokemon Yellow 3.0, Smash is sometime referred as Smash 4.5. And finally some third party published by Nintendo like the Bayonneta Ports, Kirby (Orignal), Hyrule Warrior (port), Fire Emblem (Original but not a real Fire Emblem from what I've heard). It just seems to me like they are shy about the games too... In my mind I recall them being more aggressive with the Wii U, a console that people were not buying, so why not keep the same pace with a console people are actually buying... Third party are coming slowly with some nice quality exclusive like Mario Rabbids and Octopath, they're just coming few and far between.

It might just be me, but I feel the good switch could be even better if only nintendo were listening to what people are asking. Not sure what's there strategy here... Am I the only one who has that feeling?

Are you assuming Nintendo's gender?

Sorry English is not my primary language so I googled the English translation for the expression and missed this one...

@RunGMhx

It's my feeling ! Sadly !

I think Nintendo hit the ground running with the Switch and they've probably found it hard to keep the momentum going with as many 1st party releases as the development cyle is fairly long for the major releases like Smash, Metroid etc. I think we just have to be a bit more patient as it's likely 2019 and 2020 will deliver some surprises as well as return favourites like Animal Crossing. Wii U was a bit of a marketing disaster and they've learnt their lessons, but I agree, they're a little slow out of the gate with the whole online services approach.

They also had Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which was a gigantic, extremely ambitious game and got lots of support including DLC and an upcoming "standalone expansion". That's Nintendo's version of AAA.

They introduced a whole new IP with ARMS and gave it significant support.

They took a chance with BOTW by changing the foundations of Zelda, to the point where a lot of people around here say it's not a Zelda game. Read the "Best Zelda Games" comments if you haven't.

They pushed Pokemon, probably their single biggest IP aside from Mario, into a new direction which, again, has a lot of fans saying nothing but negative things about it.

They came up with Labo, am entirely new thing that may or may not have bombed, but definitely departed from traditional gaming so hard most Nintendo fans had nothing but contempt for it. They pushed it hard, too, and are probably going to keep pushing it with new packs next year, but gamers don't even want to hear about it.

They are building another new IP with Daemon x Machina, and for a change it seems like the fans are cautiously optimistic about it.

None of that really equates to resting on one's laurels. On the contrary, it seems like Nintendo are willing to take more chances than many gaming companies. The question is, do the fans really want that, or do they, in fact, want Nintendo to rest on their laurels?

People were naysaying the entirety of 2017 too. "Oh Nintendo has no games, oh Nintendo is only doing Wii U ports", all sorts of nonsense like that. It's ******* annoying and it says nothing of value.

With that said, if you're purely Nintendo, depending on your tastes you might not have had what you wanted, which could be meaty single-player experiences (except for Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion, which is beautifully crafted). The only ones coming out recently were either ports (Ys VIII from PS4 and PC) or indies (Celeste).

That said, Octopath is most likely that turning point for a better 2018. Third-parties are for the most part here to stay, and while it won't be PS4/Xbox levels it'll still be good enough to tide us over until the exclusives.

I personally don't care though. I still have a better reason why I should get a Switch over a PS4/Xbox (EVEN when they're 5 years into their lifecycle), especially since I have a great PC that can play pretty much every third-party game at 60-144fps so PS4/Xbox versions are just completely useless compared to Switch/PC versions.

And the games are coming, they're just games you don't really care about (I'm betting). That's not exactly the same thing as "there are no games I want to play".

2017 was amazing for the Switch. Over a dozen exclusive games, with two being GotY contenders. That was made possible because Nintendo consolidated their handheld division and their hardware division together back in 2015. Nobody should've expected that volume of releases to continue in 2018, it's not a realistic expectation.

But now Nintendo is loading up 2019 with more exclusives. Daemon X Machina, Yoshi, Fire Emblem, Pokémon, all have confirmed release windows next year. While other games (Metroid Prime 4, Travis Strikes Again, and Bayonetta 3) are expected to release in 2019, but don't have a confirmed release window. 2019 will be a better lineup than 2018's has been.

Third party? I wouldn't expect much from EA, Activision, or Take Two. If they cared about the Switch, we would've seen Madden, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto long before now. However, indie publishers and AA publishers are clearly embracing the Switch. We're seeing between ten and twenty games released each week on the eShop.

In my opinion, early 2018 was a disappointment. But Nintendo is going to finish 2018 strong, and continue that momentum to 50+ million Switches sold by March 2020. The real question is, how long are Sony and MS going to wait to release their next consoles? Everyone assumes that by November 2020 PS5 and Xbox Scarlet will be on store shelves.

I mostly disagree but the lineup for the 2nd half of this year and the fact we know very little about the paid online despite it only being just over a month away bothers me.

@JasmineDragon Yeah I forgot about Xenoblade, well actually didn't realize Nintendo was the parent company of the developper so it seemed like a 3rd party to me. To be honest I like that they're taking chance with with things like Labo or new IP like Arms. BotW is a nice example of risk paying off in my opinion, it just feels like it was a Wii U game they decided to add to the switch since the Wii U was pretty much not getting enough attention. Pokemon is more of a remake but again it's nice to introduce people to Pokemon and convert people coming from Pokemon go with something familiar. My point is more, take chance but also deliver things people are asking for especially when it's rather simple like virtual console... Or easy ports of game people didn't have the chance to experience on the Wii U. I think it's more a question of keeping us in the loop instead of in the dark. New IPs are super nice when you know what they are...

@EvilLucario Again not trying to be annoying, just wondering why not embrace the potential of the console they have more clearly. I don't care about less third party or less powerful system, I just like when you feel when a company seems to be hearing what people are asking for... There's plenty of games, it's just like a lot of them make the switch feel more like an expensive iPad with a controller with the same game selling for much more. I do want some of the upcoming games it's just that I was wondering why not give things that require less development in the meantime to make the wait easier especially since no release window has been given on most of 2019 games (Metroid, Yoshi, Pokemon, Fire Emblem etc...)

@Magician About third party I think the problem is that a lot of the IPs that you mention are iterative and since the switch is not on par with the other consoles it's take much more ressource to port. I don't think it's a real problem I wouldn't want of Fifa 15 or and old Call of Duty, but some of the last gen port would have a nice second life on switch, aside from LA Noire take two could publish the first Red Dead or GTA 5 (the PS3 or Xbox 360 version were pretty good) and I bet they would sell like Hot Cakes because not everybody played these of people would like to have them portable and the switch is the only place were that make sense. EA could give a second life to Kingdom of Amaleur or even bring the Mass effect trilogy, all those would be nice in portable form and would run pretty well on switch... They're old but they're either classic or great games few people experienced because sometime too much is coming out at once in the holidays on other console.

While I agree that the Nintendo Switch is a really good console.
It is also the console that made me stop buying Nintendo products for now.
I do not like the drop the Virtual Console.
I do not like the shift to a "streaming service"
And I do not like that online store is divided.

The Nintendo Switch is a brave new start to the Nintendo console line.
And its done well.
The cost is that we lost any connection to the old console line that was even remotely possible.
And now it look like Nintendo is playing it safe and is doing what the other consoles are doing.

Yet we are seeing more and more companies doing consoles exclusives to PC ports.
Game like Final Fantasy series, Mega Man, Crash and the like are now on PC.
If this continues then the things that are gonna keep the Switch going strong are Nintendo exclusive games.

A good thing for Nintendo they have a lot of those, but will it be enough for the future?

One has to give NIN credit for making the NSW and taking awhole lot of risk in making such a Leap of faith. They are the one to take risk and do things differently along the lines of Innovations like make a hybrid. And for those saying not enough games you have to ask like other what games genre are they referring to rather then making across the board unproven claims. As for the online here are my takes:

1. Online isn't that overnight and your done it requires experienced people to maintain it for it's lifespan
2. No online service is 100% out of the gate if that was true we be having them everywhere but we don't
3. At least they don't ask for a Arm/Leg for it but I would've like if they made software specific for PC to download your saved data and reupload back when you replace the NSW. This to me would be more of a guarantee that your saved data is really protected and private.
4. Online Storage aka Cloud is always prone to hacks and stolen data.

As to content exclusive try lugging around a PC laptop and playing at the same time not fun. That's where table bound Consoles are losing out to the on the go gamers and the NSW does that quiet nicely and yet can still Docked when needed. Now if that isn't innovative enough I don't know what is. Also certain NSW games make you go physical and that for the sedentary Console life might be a good heart/health factor as well. So this is how I feel and and going back to NIN after all these missed long years but I still have my New 3DS XL so still not giving up on those either as there are some old games that made the 3DS line what it is and still worth playing. As to NSW popularity it's still growing and the gamers' of the world will still hunger for NSW as I've seen the B/R units still outsell the Gray units.

@Yorumi

You're totally right ! I talked about that on another thread and I came to the same conclusion as you.
The N64, the console considered as a "NO GAMES SYSTEM" had a better line up than the Switch.
I mean if we are talking exclusives. The Switch can send a huge thank you to the WiiU... ^^

I don't think Nintendo's resting on their laurels specifically. I think they're very very conservative in everything they do. But they really always have been, and the times when they weren't is when they generally did poorly. They're not artists, in their view, they're commercial toy makers...even Miyamoto seems himself that way, and always has.

In some ways I think older gamers got used to the 80's and 90s with rapid changes, tons of experimentation, constant new wow factor and unexpected new things from when the medium was new and figuring out what it was. Now that it's matured, mainstream, and commercially stable (with a sizable bankroll) it's going to act a lot like all other media....sameness, duplicates, stick with what works, don't change horses in mid-stream..... It's not really a Nintendo thing as much as a state of the industry thing. Nintendo's still probably less risk averse than the Western AAAs who really stick with the same every time (except perhaps Ubi.)

@SwitchForce I'm as gamer as they come, I have my black PS4, my black PS4 Pro, my black/gray X1X....I have both the gray and the b&r joycons....I'm kind of partial to b&r, honestly. More fun. I replaced my gray with ARMS yellow on my other one

(Ok, I admit my old PC cases were blingy....it's all Thermaltake made back then....CCFL lights and all.... )

@Yorumi @Cobalt The flip side of your N64 argument is, well, just cast your minds back and imagine walking into a video game store. Remember walking past 3 walls of PlayStation games? Remember at the back a few shelves of N64 games. Ok, you can spin it that the N64 had more exclusives (and man don't get me wrong, N64 games were amazing!) but the cold stark reality is...there weren't too many other folk making games for it outside of Nintendo. So I appreciate your take, but I find it loaded.

This year has felt like the year before new hardware. Coincidentally, they have another console line that is really starting to show it's age.

@Therad You mean the 3DS? Ok but the new one shouldn't be a switch replacement but more of a entry tier portable no? Seems to me like to lines of hardware and therefore two different lineup... Also I'm not so sure about the new portable not being the switch, because previous portable exclusive are now scheduled for the Switch (Pokemon and Fire Emblem main series are what I have in mind...)

@GrailUK @Yorumi

Maths, because they're not nostalgic.
Famicom/NES lifecycle releases, per month, world wide = 7.98
Super Famicom/SNES = 14.64
Genesis = 9.34
N64 = 4.014
PS1 = 21.53
Xbox = 12.46
Gamecube = 9.14
PS2 = 16.33

Not even doing last or current, because the trend is visible. Save for the SNES, Nintendo has had fewer total titles for systems. This isn't some new thing. I think that's the whole quality vs quantity argument

People love second-guessing Nintendo. But you know what I've learned over the years? Don't second-guess Nintendo. They've been in this business for a very long time, and they actually know what they're doing.