Topic: Switch Library Quality or Quantity?

I was looking through Reddit where I noticed an interesting chart displaying the review scores of switch games 2 months in, compared to the scores of the Wii/Wii U. The result was a large 8 point increase in average score from 64 found on the Wii/Wii U to 72 found on the Switch. The switch has 14 games with a score of 80 or more, while the U has 10 and Wii has 4. It also has 3 games of 90 or more while the U has 0 and the Wii has 1. Nintendo's selectiveness this time around, combined with 3 strong games in BOTW, MK8D, and Shovel Knight seems to be panning out for them. Do you think this selectiveness should continue, or come to an end in favor for more game to choose from?

Chart: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/691d5y/2_mon...

The explanation is simple: RCMADIAX was allowed to release tons of games (if you dare call them so) on the Wii U eshop, significantly reducing the average score single handedly.

Yes, Nintendo should continue this selectiveness on the Switch eshop. There's nothing gained by releasing more games if the extra selection is all crap. You wouldn't pick all the apples off the tree either would you? Leave the rotten ones be.

It has nothing to do with Nintendo being selective. Not when Vroom in the Night Sky is a thing, and there are more mediocre titles IMO. Zelda just got very high scores, and Mario Kart 8 already had a very high metascore, so that was a given too. If the Switch didn't launch with those games, the situation would've been the same. Meanwhile, had they launched the Wii U with a some good titles, the average for Wii U would've been higher. The only major difference is that the Switch didn't launch with those awful party games.

The Switch has 1 game under 50 which is vroom. The Wii U and Wii have 8 each, I believe that's where some of the selectiveness comes through.

@Nintendoforlife I think you're looking for a correlation that doesn't exist. It looks pretty average to me, I don't see any increase in quality per se. Maybe those awful party games still come this holiday season, who knows? They also picked the right time to compare the scores, right after the launch of MK8DX. And even more importantly, I find it difficult to judge quality by comparing metascores. Is World of Goo really that much better than I Am Setsuna for example? I think there are too many variables.

Like I said, the biggest difference is the lack of shovelware party games.

@Octane Not really much point in saying if the Switch launched without BotW and MK8D things would be different because it did launch with those games. You could argue that if the big day one game for the Switch was something absolutely terrible then they wouldn't have shifted as many units. The point is it launched with one of the best games of the year and sold loads of units. It was planned by Nintendo and it worked.

@Octane You're sort of playing into my point. Is the reason for shovelware party games not existing on the switch not because of selectiveness? It's certainly not due to lack of devs willing to make such a game.

@BigBadJohn No, I'm saying it's mainly Nintendo's own titles that make the big difference; Zelda and Mario Kart. Not necessarily their strictness towards third party support.

@Nintendoforlife It works both ways though. Axiom Verge could've been on the eShop already if Nintendo approved it. Who knows, maybe there would've been more quality games had they allowed more games on the Switch day one. Like I said, I think there are too many variables to compare them one to one.

@Octane Fair enough, Fair enough

Slow and steady wins the race? I think the tight control on the eshop works in the Switch's favour. It's frustrating (I want the VC now!), but I probably couldn't keep pace, financially or in terms of available playing time, with a faster release schedule. As it is, even though I've basically ignored the Neo Geo ports (though Metal Slug might tempt me down the line), I still have enough bought and on the watchlist already. Wonderboy, Shovel Knight, I Am Setsuna, Blaster Master Zero - there's enough there even beyond the time sinks of Zelda and MK8D.

I'd rather have a small selction of great games than a wide range of shovelware, and so far I'm VERY happy with the Switch library, but if we're being honest here I'm 100% sure that the shovelware will hit the Switch any day now. Nintendo may have been extra selective about curating the e-shop at first because they knew the company's reputation was on the line after the WiiU (fairly or not, it was), but now that it looks like they have a big hit those floodgates are going to open wide. Every Nintendo platform has had its share of disposable dreck, and Switch will, too.

I'd rather have quality than some weekly quota that many here are obsessed with.

Eh, we don't really know the full story. Maybe there was some misunderstanding or miscommunication. Sometimes people react abrasively before all facts are known (I'm quite guilty of this).

I agree Nintendo will have its shovelware at some point. But I believe it will happen later than sooner. Nintendo has a steady stream of quality games that are to be released one after another. So I don't think they really need shovelware to fill gaps yet. Maybe next year when they don't have as many new games available.

Same here, but people do find it easy to get wrapped up in the "Switch has no games complaint club"

@TheLZdragon And I tried to be careful when using the words ''could'', and ''who knows?''

@Octane Referring to what?

@TheLZdragon The reason why Axiom Verge isn't on the eShop.

Too early to tell.

While I agree, Nintendo Life was more fun when shovelware flooded the eshops. "Switch has no games" has gotten really boring week after week whereas the comments about stuff like Meme Run and RCMADIAX games made for a more enjoyable experience.