Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

I don't get the talk of delaying Zelda because there's a Mario game. Why now have both so that the Switch will have two big system sellers at launch, making it much more desirable.

It's better to space out your big hitters. Releasing both at launch would make the release schedule top heavy, which will backfire later. Gotta keep up momentum. Also, if both were released at launch then it would suffocate every other release, both 1st and 3rd party (with the exception of a possible MHXX port in Japan, which doesn't have to worry about Zelda). Great way to kill off your 3rd party support. It needs to be one or the other.

Yeah that's the general idea of it. As cool as it would be for both to release at the same time, is it smarter to have two huge games at launch then none till winter or one at launch, then another at winter

@BiasedSonyFan Publishers don't release their games willy-nilly. There's a reason why Sony didn't release The Last Guardian or Gravity Rush 2 in November for example. It's not that the devs not confident in their games, but releasing your games against two blockbusters, two guaranteed million sellers, means that you'll be missing out on sales. A safer strategy is to wait with the release when there's not much else coming out.

This isn't true for all games though, but third parties have never had a big presence on Nintendo consoles and they know that. This is especially true for the games that are already niche to begin with.

So, how long will it take for the average concern to be about hardware and manufacturing shortages?

I know everyone is going to get there at some point?

@BiasedSonyFan In the end, yes, but I also think that it's in Nintendo's interest to keep the third parties satisfied. Even if we combine the software output of the 3DS and Wii U, it pales in comparison to the dozens of games that release on other consoles and PC each week. That being said, Zelda and Mario at launch means that the games will also cannibalise each other's sales. What if one launches with the Switch and the other launches in May? Enough time to give both games the room they need, but not too separated that it really matters. I definitely expect one of the Wii U ports to launch with the system as well. Presumably Mario Kart, considering the consistent high sales of the franchise. What about Pikmin 4? Something smaller like that would make sense to launch alongside the Switch with either Zelda or Mario Kart. Regardless of what they do, the fact that either Zelda or Mario is a likely launch game, along with Mario Kart and/or Splatoon, makes the Switch launch library one of the better launch libraries.

@Whitewatermoose #6903 I don't think another E3 focused on BotW would be wise which is what that would create.

The guys who ported Twilight Princess to the Wii U are working on a Switch game. They also ported Mass Effect 3 and Deus Ex to the Wii U. Sounds like they've been working with the Switch for a while.

http://www.maxi-geek.com/2016/11/switch-reactions-tantalus-st...

@Whitewatermoose Skylanders will definitely be on the Switch just like LEGO Dimensions but Spiderman is a definite no with the next game being developed exclusively for the PS4. Beyond Good & Evil 2 may come to the Switch but it all depends on how true the rumours are.

I don't like where this is going with those rumours. It may somehow effect the momentum of the Nintendo Switch more negatively than they do positively. Like the console's RAM or GPU performance, or worse, game line-up. Let's hope that Nintendo clarifies more things in January 12th.

I get the feeling Nintendo is being cautious with announcing its launch lineup because 90% of 3rd party games get delayed these days.

I think if Nintendo can secure Zelda, a couple of updated Wii U ports, another new Nintendo game, something exclusive (and exciting) from 3rd party, and a half dozen relatively new 3rd party multiplats, then they've got a reasonable lineup.

@MrGawain yeah i'm expecting the first party launch day games to be MK8 port, zelda, and a new concept game of some sort.

I think Nintendo need to be flexible with the release schedule, I would like to see a steady stream of games. But if any of the third party games get delayed will they have anything ready to plug the gap and avoid Wii U style draughts?

To be honest I doubt Nintendo has learnt that much from the Wii U droughts. Especially if they are relying on third party support to fill the gaps between first party releases.

@FragRed
I think we should save the talk about what Nintendo has and hasn't "learnt" from the Wii U for a bit. Especially in regards to software lineup which is the one thing we still basically know nothing about. There's only a small handful of retail releases that are confirmed for the Switch. A bit more if you include indie games and games that are simply said to be in the works. But even then it's not a lot.

But the early signs are good IMO. In the first full year the big Nintendo published games were Wind Waker HD, Lego City, New SMB U, The Wonderful 101, Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3 and 3D World. So far for the Switch we know Breath of the Wild and A 3D Mario are in the works and we've seen new versions of Splatoon and Mario Kart running. I'd argue that just those four already make it more interesting than the Wii U was in the first year. The question then is, what are Retro doing? What are Tantulus doing? This has the potential to become a pretty compelling library very quickly.

Let's not forget Bandai Namco, who is said to be working on at least 5 games for Switch, one of which is a Smash port. The other 4 could be any of the following really: Tales of Berseria, Tekken 7, a Pokken port, a Digimon game, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. Hell, there may even be a Project X Zone 3 in the works for all we know.

@FragRed The system hasn't been released yet, and you say Nintendo didn't learn from Wii U's mistake? Boy, you are way ahead of yourself, aren't you? You may say that again after 6 months of the console release if it's failing.

Reasonable? To me that sounds like the best launch lineup any console has had for a couple of generations.

I'm feeling quite optimistic about the launch (or near-launch) lineup. We've not really had anything big for the Wii U in months, and 3DS releases have fizzled out a bit. Add to that the fact that Nintendo haven't really announced much this year. It's therefore pretty reasonable to assume that there's been a lot of behind-the-scenes work on unannounced Switch titles.

The thing is that if you have strong third party support, droughts won't happen, even if some first and third party games are delayed. Even if they combine their handheld and home console departments, I don't see the output double that easily. A game for the Switch requires a lot more work than a game for the 3DS. So they need third party support to fill in the gaps anyway; I don't think Nintendo themselves have an awful lot to play around with. At this point, I can imagine that they have some games practically ready to be released, since they pulled a lot of resources from both the Wii U and 3DS, but what happens if those games are all released? They still can't support a console on its own, that requires a company much much larger than Nintendo.

all the games that should have been on wiiu