Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Has Zelda Williams ever even had any insider information? Her names Zelda, doesn't mean she gets the lowdown on Nintendos secrets. The fact that people think that at all is just laughable.

While I agree that the market can be unpredictable...I'm just a little curious about these three claims. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head.

I agree with the general consensus that Nintendo needs to create the demand rather than follow it. In terms of hardware, Nintendo have always given us something that we didn't necessarily ask for, for better or for worse. Nintendo didn't give us the Gameboy, DS, or Wii by simply copying their competitors.

It's more embarrassing to watch than it is laughable. These fans are truly stupid.

It be nice to have a 4K or UHD handheld
I was thinking of a 1200p or higher screen

@TomJ That is a terrible video

@andrew20 Seems excessive. For reference a "retina display" 13-inch Macbook is only 2560 x 1600 (density 232 ppi). I'd be surprised if a handheld would be even 1/4 of that size, so I reckon 720p would be plenty, 1080p at a stretch.

Actually that has brought my attention to something... Say the NX is at least part handheld, would we expect dual-screen and DS/3DS backwards compatibility? Has that become a Nintendo staple?

@Buizel I think it should be, but most people think it won't.

Has the PS4 had compelling exclusives? I can't think of any this generation, the attention is more on third party games than first party games. Meanwhile, the Wii U is agreed to have the best first party lineup and it failed miserably. So that one does go out the window. The other two, I'm not as sure about.

True...actually that's an especially difficult one to assess as exclusives may differ in quantity and overall quality. For example, last generation I always assumed that Wii had more exclusives than XB360. It seems XB360 had more, however Wii may have had more notable ones (although subjective...)

Maybe the language I used was a bit too black and white. What I meant was that those factors have been argued by some as the most important thing. But then there are a whole pile of exceptions. So the PS4 might not be the most expensive console on the market but it's by no means the cheapest. It's doing more than fine. And the Wii/DS were marketed pretty heavily but it was hardly a conventional campaign. Most of the legwork seemed to be done via word of mouth.

My point is, it's not as simple as following a formula. Partly because there are other players and when you're planning the hardware you don't know what they're doing. But mostly because what works can change rather dramatically from generation to generation. People want something new while also wanting something familiar. Those two things are kinda contradictory

One thing (living in the UK) I am currently worrying about is whether Nintendo will be forced to delay launch here, owing to the MASSIVE devaluation of the pound. Even a $299 price tag will now be around £65 dearer here. Either Nintendo is going to have to discount the UK price by 25-30%, just to remain on par, come out drastically more expensive (and be annihilated by Sony and Microsoft), or delay till a later date.

I you want to forget about Bloodborne, Uncharted 4 and the The Last of Us Remastered (and many more). The PS4 seems to get many more console exclusives over the Xbox One too. And of course, COD, GTA and FIFA are the best selling games on the system, but that seems to be the case for any system where those games appear on; the Xbox One, the 360, PS2 and PS3. Anyway, I do think that a lack of third party games hurt a system more than the lack of first party games. Most people want to play the CODs, GTAs and FIFAs, so if your console doesn't have them, you're out of the race. If you do, then it comes down to marketing, exclusives, price, additional features and so on. Launch window is important too, the more sales a console gets, the more word of mouth it generates.

It's really easy to miss out on game releases for a console if you don't own one. I didn't own a 360, and I probably can't even name you ten exclusives.

@jamesRainbowBoy Wouldn't Sony and Microsoft be as affected by the devalued pound as Nintendo?

In the UK we usually have significantly more expensive consoles than the US, even when accounting for tax: e.g. we paid the equivalent of $300 for the Wii whereas it was $250 in the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_launch ((edit: changed from $350 to $300)) It'd be interesting to know why this is in the first place!

@jamesRainbowBoy You raise an interesting point, though at least we have the relatively straight-forward option of importing from mainland Europe.

I imported my N3DS from France about a month after launch and the price I paid was still less than you can get it for in the UK now, and I'm pretty sure it came in a standardised European box, so no difference in the product at all. So sure, it might be more expensive relatively for us in the UK, but unless they mess Brexit up completely, we can still access the goods.

Are there comparable examples of other products that have delayed launching in a territory due to exchange rates though? I imagine it will launch at the same time with an invisible notice on the UK price tags saying "Suck it."

@Buizel Don't no where you'd have paid $350 equivalent in the UK for a Wii, but you got done. Launch price was more like £180, which didn't convert to $350. Think I got mine new for £130, not at launch but within a year I think.

@gcunit The exchange rate back in November 2006 between the GBP and the USD was around 1.9. £180 in November 2006 was indeed around $350. In the Eurozone, the Wii launched at €249, which was also around $330, while the MSRP in the US was $250. If shipping was free, you would've saved $80-$100 if you imported the Wii from the US.

My mistake - the Wii was indeed £180 at launch here, and the exchange rate was almost $2 to the pound: http://www.x-rates.com/average/?from=GBP&to=USD&amoun... meaning that with tax we would've paid about $350. Without tax, however, it was $300 (for fairer comparison to the tax-free US price of $250).

Sony and Microsoft aren't immune from this issue, but launching pre-Brexit prices have already come down on these systems, whereas Nintendo will come in full-priced. It's not as if they will be operating from a position of strength here in the UK.

Ignore me if this is a silly question (I don't have the best understanding of business and economics!) - but seeing as Nintendo are Japan-based, would yen to GBP be more relevant? GBP is also down to the yen, but only approximately to the level it was in 2012: http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=GBP&to=JPY&vie...

@jamesRainbowBoy I see your point. Also Nintendo are usually less willing to sell their consoles at a loss.

Conversions don't really mean much with prices unless you buy internationally.