Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@rallydefault
That's cause the change just went into effect like 24-48 hrs ago

@DarthNocturnal
I know you can't order from BestBuy and have sent to Canada (not without a forwarding service anyways), but Amazon US ships globally. Would signing up for Prime on the US site be worthwhile or no?

Got Sonic Mania which is kinda weird when you think about it. The Switch is a Nintendo console and Nintendo are, if anything, known for their various platformers. Mario, Kirby, Yoshi, Wario, Donkey Kong etc. Most of which I will generally buy without giving it a second thought because I love platformers. But then the Switch comes along and months after it being out I buy the first platformer for it and it's Sonic.

Pretty sure Wonder Boy was the first platformer on Switch...

One of the biggest 3rd party tests comes out in 10 days. If a direct collaboration with Nintendo won't work then nothing will on the 3rd party front.

I guess there was a difference in online gaming! Not just for Nintendo and their view on the different markets but also for their vocal fanbase in Europe and Japan that complained at the time when the largest portions of a game were accessible online only, while in the US people were already so accustomed to online-only gaming that Nintendo could get away with full price.

However, it might not be the reason and we might never really know. But checking the facts, Splatoon and Super Mario Maker were Nintendo's first online-focusing games and they both came at 39,99€. Other games were priced at 49,99€ or 59,99€ (except a couple of smaller titles like Game & Wario, Captain Toad, and Kirby).

@SKTTR Since when though? How was North America more used to online gaming in 2015 than Europe (or Japan)?

Pretty sure Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove / Specter of Torment was the first true platformer.
Launch games Snipperclips and Metal Slug 3: a puzzle-platformer and action-platformer/run&gun.

Then came Blaster Master Zero, Snake Pass, Metal Slug 1, and LEGO City Undercover that all have a good chunk of platforming elements.

And then Wonder Boy came along. So I wouldn't exactly call it the first platformer. Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is designed like a metroidvania.

And since then we got:

• Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
• Mighty Gunvolt Burst
• GoNNER
• Metal Slug 2
• Death Squared
• Cave Story+
• Slime-san
• Phantom Trigger
• Sonic Mania
• Magician Lord

I just don't think it's a coincidence that they put a much lower price on their very first online-focused games in two of their biggest regions. I don't know the answer, I'm just guessing by looking at the facts. I would ask Nintendo, but I don't think Nintendo would like to elaborate on old marketing matters. The 3 regions all have their own presidents and decision makers.

The eShop price for Splatoon in Norway was about $27, while Splatoon 2 was at about $63. I'm really glad the first game was cheaper, because I wouldn't have bought it for more I think. I had no problem with the sequel being the normal retail price for games, though. I have no idea why the eShop price for Splatoon was so cheap, because most stores sold it for about $63.

@SKTTR @Reginald
I didn't say that Sonic was the first platformer on the Switch. I said I think that it's a bit weird that we have a Nintendo platform where one of the first reasonably large mascot platformers on it is Sonic. Especially given that it's the first platformer I've personally brought on the system.

Yes there are other platformers on the Switch. I'm just saying that as a person who's brought a lot of Nintendo stuff over the years? It's kinda weird to me Nintendo have a platform where Sonic is the go-to platformer at this point. Not bad, not the only platformer. Just weird that we're talking about Sonic and Wonder Boy and not Mario and Yoshi.

Not new for me. On Gamecube we had Sonic Adventure 2 Battle at launch.
Next to Luigi's Mansion, sure, but that wasn't a platformer. It took a year until Mario Sunshine.

No, this time we returned to the Wii formula, launching with Zelda and multiplayer and party games.

@SKTTR You realise that in Europe, Nintendo don't set the prices of their games, hardware or accessories as they do in North America right? Can't say that's the same with Japan but it's definitely how it is over here in Europe. Obviously the eShop is different, but physical products are not determined by Nintendo.

Disagree. Looks like a great game, but it's hardly a genre that defines the state of the market.

Personally I think the Switch is mismarketed as a home-console when it's really just a handheld with TV connectivity. It tends to run better in handheld, you can throw the dock away, and it functions just fine. I know why they marketed it as such, to get away with the prices they're asking for the machine and it's games, but in form-factor it's a handheld, the majority of people perceive it as such, and yet here we're paying home-console prices.

It also compares poorly to the other home-consoles that really do fit that tag, both in terms of how much a developer can put on a Blu-ray, and the specs of the PS4/Xbox line-ups.

Seems they haven't been pushing Mario Kingdom Battle as hard as they should. I hope it does well... I think it will though. A lot of people seem impressed, even non-Switch owners have asked me about it. Leading Ubisoft's e3 conference with it was a great move.

So, Friday is when Monster Hunter XX releases, and the Tuesday after is when Mario x Rabbids Kingdom Battle releases. I may have to set Splatoon 2 aside for a while. Cause both these games are top priorities and releasing back to back, and with Metroid Samus Returns and MH Stories due a few weeks after....

@UmniKnight Of course it's a handheld. If it wasn't, you wouldn't be able to take it on the go.

@Octane But then why are we paying Home-console prices for games, accessories and the machine itself? Also why is Nintendo getting away with what is then basically false marketing.....

@Octane Anything is portable is you try. Im sure if I carry a portable generator and strap my 12kg PC to my back with a screen in front of me I can play PC games anywhere.

Same with my PS4. It technically is a home console you can take with you.

The difference is while you can, doing so is incredibly impractical @UmniKnight so a concession had to be made to acheive that vision. And you wont fit a PS4 level device in something Switch sized yet.

Give it a few years though.

@BLP_Software But, again, as I've said above, it compares unfavourably with the other consoles that do have the home-console tag, and it has home-console prices. I daresay people that now buy a Switch with all the whistles and bells are being conned out of their money! Personally, I use my Switch as it was advertised, and am getting an inferior experience to handheld, with FPS drops and the likes. So people who say "hybrid" are probably smoking something not quite legal.

As for concession, more like sacrifices when looking from home-console perspective (weak specs, limited space due cartridges) and it being fantastic from a handheld perspective. I was led to believe I bought the Wii-U's successor, not the distant true form of the 3DS.

@UmniKnight I'm sure there are no such things as ''home console prices for accessories'' Yeah, the dock is a tad (read: a ton) expensive, but that isn't because you can play the Switch on your TV.

And it's a pretty powerful handheld, relatively speaking the most powerful Nintendo handheld. So that comes with a price. As someone who isn't interested in the portability factor of the Switch, it's a steep price, but it is what it is.

The games though? Not every game is €60, and the games that are full price, are on the same scale of what you would expect from a regular home console game. I don't see how that is an issue. Yeah, the system got some overpriced games like 1-2-Switch, Street Fighter and Bomberman, but those were launch titles and they're always using those to cash in on the day-one buyers.