Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

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Watch this new Sonic Racing game isn't announced for Switch.

I'd be livid.

The irrationality of certain developers aggravates me sometimes. Because the platform is so entertaining and versatile, I prefer to do all my gaming on Switch now (a seismic shift from the Wii U era where 3DS and PS4 were my preferred platforms). So naturally, when I see a game that I want to play and it's not coming to Switch, I can't help but feel disappointed because chances are I'm just not going to play it. The other consoles no longer fit into my lifestyle. I have to actively force myself to play a game on them now, which means I only make exceptions if it's like, one of my fave games ever (MH fits that bill, but that's about the only one, and now that that game has been played to death I haven't returned to my other consoles since). There are other games I'm interested in (Ni No Kuni 2, Ori & the Will of the Wisps and Shadow of the Tomb Raider) but I don't know if I'm interested in them enough to stop playing Switch and force myself to get involved in a game I can only play certain times during the week.

Of course, I know full well Nintendo has never been and will never be a full 3rd party platform. I know full well that even with incredible success, Switch will always be missing most of the higher profile 3rd party games (thankfully, most higher profile 3rd party games are meh anyways- only a select few I actually care about- it's the mid-tier 3rd party games that matter- that's where the goldmine of gems is). So I don't get too upset when I see a game I would have played on Switch releasing on other platforms. But I do find myself asking the question more and more, "why isn't that coming to Switch?".

Because right now, games are selling, and very well at that. Switch is finally bucking the trend of "Nintendo gamers don't buy 3rd party games". It's still true to an extent, but it's becoming less true by the day. I think that a lot of Nintendo fans have kind of shut themselves in from everything else that's out there, but Switch is slowly and steadily opening fans up to other games. Skyrim has surely already passed a million sold (it's kept pace with Xenoblade 2 in every ranked sales chart there is, and that game passed a mil months ago). And DOOM hasn't ranked that far behind Skyrim. So things are indeed improving. And that's great. We're not there yet- I question how many will buy games like Victor Vran or Titan Quest, but sales are at least improving all around. Even FIFA has sold what, 80k just in France and another 70k in Japan? That's 150k in 2 tiny countries. Add in the other 30 countries buying the game, the juggernaut of the US and factor in digital, and I wouldn't be surprised if even FIFA 18 is closing in on a million sold. Still not comparable to other platforms but clearly, there's a quickly emerging market and it should not be ignored.

And if even we can see this, surely publishers can. Why was Burnout Paradise and Assassins Creed Rougue port not brought to Switch? On the one hand it could come later this year- announcing Switch ports after the fact seems to be a tried and true tactic to coax people into double dipping, knowing that if they were given the option up front, a majority of people would just choose Switch. Because it gives you the exact same game the other versions give you but a free handheld version included as well. But I know that's not always the case. With AC, it's not like I was dying to play that particular game- in fact I hear it's pretty average for an AC game. But still, AC on Switch would have been awesome! I enjoyed Revelations on Vita, and this would've been far better than that.

Why are Ubisoft and these other companies so backwards, that they bring these franchises to the failing system nobody wanted where software sales tanked across the board, but they don't bring them to Switch? A system which gamers around the world love and embrace and where games are selling beyond anything we've seen on a Nintendo console for decades... I don't get it. I know they did that survey around launch where they asked Nintendo fans if they were interested in their mature titles like AC. And I think it's pretty evident that very few indicated they were. But a lot has changed in the last year. As I mentioned earlier, I believe fans' interests are evolving this generation. We are seeing Nintendo fans buy games they were never interested in before. So their interests a year ago isn't necessarily going to represent their interests today. Furthermore, that's only accounting for the core Nintendo fanbase. A lot of the Switch install base consists of PC gamers and PS4/X1 gamers, and those people are certainly interested in these other games. So why would you base decisions on the potentially out of date interests of only the core Nintendo fanbase? We have a lot of people interested in seeing pretty much every game that exists come to Switch, be it Switch-owning PC/PS4/X1 gamers looking for a portable version of their fave series, or Nintendo gamers who are expanding their interests on a platform which excites them like never before (and excitement is known to be a catalyst for spending more).

Since Switch is now my primary gaming platform, I can only hope as many developers as possible cash in on the platform's wild success. Because if they don't, they likely won't be seeing any money from me.

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@shadow-wolf
It's not the portability.

It's the combination of portability and home console and portable home console via tabletop. It's the instant on, instant off via sleep mode. It's the single player, multiplayer anytime, anywhere with anyone. It's the sheer versatility of the console to meet any need and any desire at any time.

It's kind of like how attached you get to your cell phone. You have it with you everywhere and you rely on it for everything. That's how Switch is.

Before Switch, I had a 3DS, and I enjoyed the games on it very much. But I didn't get much actual use as a portable device. That is to say, I wasn't really a handheld gamer, I just happened to play a handheld system because I liked the games on it.

That's changed.

Now, I am both... I am everything. All I do is go to work and come home every day. You would think I wouldn't have many opportunities to play. But I do. I bring it to work with me every day and I'll play on my break. I'll play at shift change, my coworkers will watch me and they're always excited to see the new game I am playing. And we play together sometimes because everyone I know at my work has bought a Switch as a result of seeing mine. I've got people dying for MHXX to be localized so we can hunt together during shift change- these people had never even heard of that series before they saw me playing it. Thanks to the versatility of the console I can prop it up in table top mode, slide the controllers off and pass a controller to my friend and a few moments later we're playing Kirby together, or Ultra Street Fighter II, or Mario Kart 8 battle mode, or whatever. Having 2 controllers available at all times means whenever the situation arises, you can play video games with someone else.

And it's not just about that- it's the quality of portable gaming that you're getting. Handheld mode is great- don't get me wrong. Easily the best handheld gaming experience ever. Especially with the HD screen and full button set and motion controls and HD rumble- luxuries we have never had in a handheld. But the tabletop... it's like having a home console everywhere you go. Not just a handheld, but a literal mini home console. You prop it up on the kickstand and you slide off the controllers and you lean back in a chair, and you are enjoying a video game exactly like you would be at home. The screen might be a little smaller but, aside from that you are playing a home consold leaned back in the chair in the office at work. It's so freaking rad. Tabletop is my favorite feature of the system, by far.

And when I come home I don't have to load up save transfer tools to get my game back onto a home console like you would have to do with MH3U on 3DS/Wii U or certain Vita/PS4 games (and that's just the few games that actually had such tools- the vast majority of games either didn't have a handheld version or console version or if they had both, there was no way to cross save, and even if they did you had to spend $100 for the 2 versions). With Switch, uou literally just set the system in the dock and it automatically turns your TV on and switches the input for you. By the time you turn around and sit down in your recliner and grab a pro controller, your included console version of the game is right on the television where you left off. It's the slickest thing I've ever experienced since I started playing video games.

And that is the secret sauce. Having fully fledged home console games playable on a handheld system is indeed incredible, by all means. But it's being able to simply grab the system out of the dock and have the game instantly on that handheld- that is where the real magic happens. Then when you're downstairs, simply propping it on it's kickstand and sliding off the controllers, and it's instantly available as a little miniature home console, then when you're done you simply drop it in the dock and you're right back where you started. It's all just so instantaneous.

It has made me into not only a handheld gamer, but what I can only describe as a tribrid gamer... the "play anywhere, anytime, with anyone" lifestyle. It's one of those things where until you experience it for yourself it's hard to understand the appeal. Even if I never took my system out of the house I would still be addicted to the system. Because sometimes I want to watch Netflix, and I can just pop it out of the dock and keep playing in my recliner while I've got a show on. Or when I go downstairs to make coffee and I'm waiting on it to brew I can keep playing a game, or if I want to show someone something I can take the system into other rooms of the house, or even dock it on another TV with a spare dock. When I go visit my brother I can take my system with me and we can do local multiplayer together- he used to visit every weekend and we'd play local wireless Salmon Run.

Once you get a taste of that versatility to be anything you need it to be, and do anything you need it to do... it's hard to go back.