Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

It's on the front page of Nintedolife now.

As discussed earlier, they're launching in March. I'd wait for the holidays for bundles if you're not interested now

@TheLZdragon Yeah tbh unless you really need zelda and mario kart and don't have a wii u best to wait until then.

Ah, I see. But it seems like a charge will last 20 hours, so as long as you charge it between plays it shouldn't be a problem.

Everyone should always apply this logic on everything they buy, wait until you feel it is worth it.

The thing I find curious is they are only selling one type of grip tho, so does that mean they are either downgrading the one with the console or pricing up the one sold separately?

I particularly don't care for "it has to sell millions at launch or die" mindset. The PS3 and 3DS already broke this idea in half.

Let the crazy Nintendo fans (and scalpers) buy up the Switch at launch. Let them pay more for what you'll get this holiday season or next year for less

I gotta be honest, I never really liked the idea of Nintendo launching a new console so soon. I still see consoles as something that should be supported at least for 6 years regardless of overall sales, and the WiiU will be just 4 years and 4 months old when the Switch is going to be released. The new console that supposedly "won't be replacing neither the WiiU nor the 3DS" is going to do just that: totally replace the WiiU.

It seems that Nintendo first and foremost, of all companies, wants people to forget that WiiU ever existed. And to add insult to injury, it feels like all the Switch heavy hitters this year are either games meant for WiiU (Breath of the Wild), or simply games that could have been on WiiU but will be on Switch because Nintendo is desperate to make money off the new hardware (Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey). Of course Nintendo didn't care that Splatoon was one of the best selling games of 2015 all thanks to the small but very active WiiU community (the game sold 4.6 million copies, which means 50% of the WiiU user base has a copy - incredible). They also seem to underestimate how active the WiiU user base was when it comes to buying good games: Super Mario Maker sold nearly 4 million copies, Super Smash Bros sold 5 millions, and even Pokken Tournament on one dying platform sold nearly as much as Street Fighter V across multiple platforms...so, did they really need to kill off such a good community so soon?! That wouldn't be a problem if the WiiU was 6, or even 5 years old, but pulling the plug 4 years and 4 months into its lifespan is not a wise move, and I personally think it creates more scepticism than trust.

I understand they have been working on Breath of the Wild for half a decade now and they need it to sell hundreds of millions of copies, but is it going to happen, really?! One thing the Switch confirms is how little interest Nintendo has towards its core fanbase, and the dangerous thing is that nothing stops them from announcing yet another system in 2018 in case the Switch underperforms...and given the high price, the lack of pack-in game options, the emphasis on motion controls, the lack of backwards compatibility, the paid online services, the poor battery life, the overall unactractiveness of the launch lineup and the sparse release schedule for the months to come, I really don't see why this console should be flying off the shelves...

I don't believe Nintendo is going to put all their eggs in one basket and I'm convinced they'll announce a new portable to live side-by-side with the Switch if the Switch doesn't sell as expected within the first year and a half...

@TheLZdragon I hope it does sell well at launch, because real 3rd party support could be big for the switch. People who are willing to sacrifice a bit in graphics to take their games on the go may come out to purchase in droves IF 3rd party content is there, but it won't be if initial sales are lackluster (and it's obvious 3rd parties aren't willing to take the risk in creating ports for their newest games giving nintendo's record). More sales equal more money and staff to make awesome Nintendo games and develop more cool features (GameCube VC was strongly hinted for WiiU, but I think it didn't happen, because there wasn't enough install base to sell them to for it to be worth it).

Me too.

However I'm also convinced the "new portable" would almost certainly be a "portable Switch" compatible with all of the original software though. Permanently fuse the joycons in, remove the dock from the package and slightly adjust margin expectations and Nintendo could already drop the price under £200. That'll become even more dramatic as time goes by because it's based on mobile processing architecture that will get cheaper over time.

The really cool thing about Switch from Nintendo's perspective is that they can change direction with it relatively easily and, unlike the Wii U which was wedded to an expensive processor and an expensive controller, Switch can be taken in a few different form factors.

Some of these (the "permanent handheld" mentioned above or the "permanent home console" that I'm mentioning now) could be manufactured and sold much cheaper to build up an install base quickly if Nintendo feels it's necessary to do so.

I'm sure that's what they're counting on anyway. They can get decent sales in the Spring from diehards who HAVE to play Zelda and Summer for all the Japan diehards that HAVE to play Splatoon. By Holiday, they'll likely have a bundle or two and a really solid library headlined by Mario to draw plenty of new adopters in.

Honestly? The Switch may not have a blockbuster start but so far, it's positioned to be a pretty hot commodity this holiday season.

The Switch isn't even out yet and the way people are talking reminds me of how they talked about the Wii U and that when Mario 3D World, then Mario Kart, then Smash and so on would be out they would sell the system.

I've heard this old mind set before: "If I don't like this, then it's doomed". There are some information that we don't know about the Switch, and yet some people here are acting like they have came from the future, telling that it's going to fail, or it's doomed.

From what I have read, only a group of minority (like 5%) didn't like the Nintendo Switch when it's fully revealed, while the rest of the people, who actually tried it, have already placed an order for it. Talking doesn't work, you have to prove it by trying.

@spizzamarozzi As much as I love the WiiU, what else can Nintendo do? The WiiU's small install base isn't enough for them to turn a decent profit, they have lost the majority of 3rd party support and making new games costs money that they aren't recouping in system sales. Also with the move to a unified hardware/OS architecture the rather old 3ds is going to need a replacement soon. Why not go ahead and replace the failed system (I hate saying that) and the old system with a new product? I give the 3ds another year...maybe two if NS sells REALLY badly. Plus if you have a backlog of WiiU games you can focus on that. Let the people that didn't want the Wiiu (but wanted the games) buy the new system.

I am going to get the NS day one personally but that has more to do with the fact that I am excited by its feature set...and Zelda.

Or if you have a Wii U and like the idea of having those games run a bit better on a portable device. As someone who plays Wii U games mostly on the GamePad anyways? Going from 480p compressed to a clean video signal at 720p? It's quite an upgrade. Also Mario is coming this year so I know I'm getting one regardless. Even as a Wii U owner I think it's easier justifying getting the Switch early than pretty much every console since the Wii.

Definitely. I think people are making a mountain out of a molehill with the charging grip vs the one included. Your first set of Joycons is never going to run out of charge. They can charge overnight on the Switch itself and it's very unlikely you'll play for 20 hours straight.

Eh, it's more of a minor inconvenience. You can always charge them with the system.

I know I will be heavily criticized, but the more I find out about the Switch the more I wish they would just give up hardware and focus on their wonderful software for the PS4/XB1...

I get where you're coming from. I do. But here's where I'm coming from with this:

Wii U launch w/ NMBU- Holiday 2012
3D Mario- 2013
Mario Kart- 2014
Smash- 2014
Splatoon - 2015
Zelda - Spring 2017

It took over 4 years for a line up that could potentially change the trajectory of the console to manifest on the Wii U. By the time 3D World came, it was the Wii U's second holiday. Sony and Microsoft launched their shiny new consoles and that was all she wrote. Compare that to the 3DS that got 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 by it's first holiday. Compare that to The Switch which will have 4 of the above games by it's first holiday season, probably five if a Smash port gets announced down the line.

Everyone will have their own opinion about The Switch's future but personally, I think it's been dealt a much better hand to work with than the Wii U so far.

@Azooooz ok chill. i never said switch was doomed. all im saying was that i am holding off due to being unimpressed with the launch window and online atm. There's a good chance i will still buy it, probably when mario odyssey comes out.

@WebHead I didn't mean you, but some people I've met here. So don't worry.