Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

That is very interesting to hear, because I've seen zero advertisements for Color Splash. I don't have Netflix or Hulu, but I watch a fair amount of Youtube every day, and we always have our television on in the background. (I'm in U.S.)

The main video advert I've seen on places like Youtube and Twitch recently is Gears 4.

@BiasedSonyFan I am not sure how much Nintendo software output will increase. The Wii U had very slow software release schedule, full of droughts. The 3DS has had a pretty good software release schedule but the NX is rumored to be more powerful than the Wii U. So even if software releases are twice as often on NX compared to the Wii U, is that enough?

One reason I don't like the hybrid idea is because all of Nintendo's eggs are in this basket. If the NX doesn't work out, they don't have anything to fall back on. With the NX replacing both types of systems, what are the sales expectations? Could it possibly do well enough? Is that possible? I don't know.

I am fine with a handheld that can be played on the TV. I don't like the idea of the TV mode having more power. I also don't like the idea of detachable controllers. It is another thing that can be broken. I would rather have a separate controller to play games on the TV. I really hope there is a lot more than what we have heard about with the NX.

@DefHalan
It's not as simple as saying their output would "double", I actually think it'd be somewhat more than that. Just to make a simple point here's a breakdown of the games published by Nintendo in 2014. The peak of the Wii U and 3DS. Note that this includes games developed by third parties but published by Nintendo. Though the point is relatively the same.

Total games: 37
Wii U: 15
3DS: 22
Retail: 25
eShop: 12

And the point being tried to make here is that NX output = 3DS output + Wii U output. Or less because the 3DS is a non-HD system and we're moving to HD now. But there's a third factor you're not considering.

Duplicate releases in 2014:

• Mario Kart 8 (was already on 3DS)
• Smash Bros for 3DS (was on both)
• Ultimate NES Remix (already existed on Wii U)
• Pushmo World (basically already exited on 3DS)

So the formula isn't Wii U + 3DS. It might be Wii U + 3DS * HD burden or something. But if that's the case then it's Wii U + 3DS * HD Burden - Duplicate effort. So if in 2014 there were 37 games published by Nintendo and the split was 15 Wii U, 22 3DS? Lets say a HD game takes twice the effort on average.

Home Console = 15 Games
Portable = 22 Games
Hybrid Approach = 15 + 22 * 0.5 + 4 = 30 Games (20 retail, 10 eShop)

That isn't bad. At all.

@DefHalan
But Nintendo does have something to "fall back on" if the NX doesn't fully pan out: mobile. They've been making it more and more obvious that they are throwing their hat fully into the smartphone arena, and I don't see that going away anytime soon. They have a pretty consistent mobile release schedule ahead of them for at least the next couple years, and this new Mario iPhone game shows that they may have some more surprise games up their sleeves to pad things out even more.

And I don't really think the NX is going to completely bomb. If it fails, it will "fail" by doing around Wii U-level sales, maybe even a bit more. I just think the 2-in-1, take-it-anywhere concept is going to attract more families and more 3DS owners, which is exactly what Nintendo needs. If they can rollover the majority of the 3DS crowd to the NX early in its life, they'll have an excellent base to attract 3rd parties and get media attention.

I predicted earlier that the NX would be revealed this past week. I was wrong, just to get it on record and all.
Nintendo, what is wrong with you?

Color Splash came today and an eshop leaflet came with it. One promoting stuff you can download on the eshop but also a big section on My Nintendo. Hadn't seen it appear with any other games like Mario & Sonic 2016 and Tokyo Mirage Sessions so figured it may be of interest to this thread especially due to this being the last Wii U exclusive as far as we know.

They just wanted to prove you wrong

@Grumblevolcano At first I thought they included an actual manual...

@TheLZdragon
Yeah, I suspected as much. This was Reggie's doing, for sure.

Reggie appeared in a dream (nightmare) last night and announced that all will be revealed next week.It was so realistic I had to check NL when I woke up.So next week it is then.

Guys get out of here if you value your sanity. You'll just end up driving yourself stir crazy otherwise.

I'm perfectly sane thank you very much. I don't come here with randoms dreams and unsupported expectations

@BiasedSonyFan
I think it's really great that the NX seems to be shaping up as a pretty smooth sale to 3DS owners. As you say, they could really market it as the "successor," and with such a large install base, it would be great to get those people on board right away.

But we did see the Wii, with an install base that was insanely large, didn't exactly transfer over to the Wii U. So Nintendo still needs to be VERY careful with its marketing message while being very aggressive and persistent in getting that message out there.

@rallydefault I don't think based on what leaks are going around, especially Eurogamer based ones, that Nintendo will market the NX as a true successor to the 3DS. It sounds like they'll try to please everyone at once. So while it'll likely please at least some of the 3DS crowd, I'm not sure as to how well the message will be put across that it's a true handheld console. And as for Nintendo being aggressive with the message - that's a big ask for a company that routinely struggles with the simplest of messages. But you said they need to be VERY careful with how they message this thing. Perhaps that's the reason they're not saying anything, because they are worried about messing it up.

As a company that tried to make the wii u an "everyone machine" by adding in a second screen in the hopes it'll match the success of their handheld line while roping in the wii's casual audience, they haven't done a good job, historically, of trying to capture both audiences at once. I hope this attempt fares better.

@FragRed @Operative
Yea ... about trying to "please everyone," as you say, @FragRed, I hope they don't try to. Please, Nintendo: Do NOT try to please everyone with the NX. Please focus on a segment of the market that you think this device can absolutely dominate in. Whether that's families or gamers or kids or whatever - it didn't work with the Wii U; it's not going to work this time.

Trying to please everyone usually equals winning no one. You have the previous generation's sales data to support that statement.

Start with a laser focus on the segment you think you can "win." Get those people first. Get a substantial base on this machine within the first half-year. And then, if things are going great and you have 3rd parties on board and lots of great games, then start reaching out to other populations. You know people like us, your fans, will buy it no matter what - it's the tens of millions of other people out there you need to convince. Don't start too broadly, or you risk diluting your message too much yet again.

The Wii U was, in my opinion, easily the best console of this gen: But that doesn't matter if you spread yourself too thin in marketing right out the gate. A bad first impression (or none) is hard to surmount.

@skywake You are looking at the year where Nintendo had the most amount of releases. If every year was 2014 for Wii U then there wouldn't have be droughts. Also, the rumored NX is going to be higher powered than the Wii U, which means more people working on fewer projects. Maybe if we look at every year each system (Wii U and 3DS) was on the market and come up with an average of the number of games Nintendo produced, we will see a different number, a more realistic number. I do wonder how many games Nintendo will be able to publish from 3rd parties when their main source of income is only the NX.

@rallydefault I think it has been pretty clear that Nintendo isn't fully counting on Mobile for income. They are using Mobile to try to bring people towards their own systems. Nintendo currently has 3 games announced for mobile and have only had 1 mobile release so far. I don't see that as Nintendo considering mobile to be a main source of income. Also, if they really are going to "throw their hat in" then that will affect NX software output negatively.

Hi, I'm back for a bit.

There's been some talk about Augmented Reality being something that's a part of the NX.
While I don't think that this exactly is something that will be incorporated into the NX, there's a very interesting AR related technology being developed by Google that would certainly provide "new ways to play". It's called the project Tango.

I'll link a couple of interesting videos about it. For those who can't watch the videos, it's a tech that utilizes motion tracking and depth perception sensors that allow the device to learn the spatial dimensions of the area you are using it in. It essentially knows the shape of your room. It can scan the area and create a 3D model of it.
This can greatly enhance Augmented Reality applications and games.

Somehow this tech feels very Nintendo-like! It couldn't be in the NX though, because it's being implemented into a lot of devices by various vendors (like Lenovo).

@BiasedSonyFan I agree the number of games a console has does not equal quality. I really like my Wii U, but software droughts do hurt a system's sales, which hurts how much software it receives. Nintendo has other things they need to get right too, but I think you miss the point of what I am saying by trying to change the subject. I was specifically talking about software release schedule, not what Nintendo needs to do to have a successful launch.

I don't think we can look at a previous generation and say they will support this generation. Just look at the Wii to the Wii U. I am a 3DS owner, and I probably won't upgrade to the NX (until a new Pokemon game is released for it, but that could be a while) So I don't think all 3DS owners are going to just run out and support the NX. I do agree that Nintendo is probably looking for better sales numbers than the 3DS, at least better software sale numbers since more teams will be working on 1 platform.

I have had two 3DSs break on me, their home console quality may be pretty high but their portables can't take much of a beating. I also am less worried about it breaking and more about losing a piece of a controller. How much will those be to replace? The GamePad was never sold separately, will these things? Lots of questions Nintendo will need to answer if these rumors turn out to be true.