Soapbox: DOOM is the Most Important Switch Game Yet

No it's not, but that's OK.

Really looking forward to it tonight.

And most reviews are saying "Was it worth it? What's the point? The tech still isn't there yet"

And these are sentiments coming from other avenues too.

Man. You cant win XD

Seeing how I only have Nintendo machines I can't wait to play this for the first time. I really hope it sells well so we continue to get more of these major 3rd party games on the Switch.

@BLP_Software It doesn't make much sense either as far as porting history goes. Games have been ported to less technically impressive systems going back decades.

Doom is now available on an additional platform, and can be played portably on a dedicated gaming system. That's more choice for consumers and more potential revenue streams for developers and publishers. Can't naysayers see that.

My girlfriend has it on Xbone but being on Switch makes me 100% more interested in playing it. DOOM and LA Noire. They're the two games I want, and hope do well at the moment. Oh I also want those Resident Evil games, and wouldn't mind Skyrim too.

@Folkloner No they cant see that. Ive seen even PC elitists arguing amongst themselves over it. Its mad.

I preordered... I hyped.

Yeah, I think it could have a large impact on how the big publishers look at the system in terns of supporting it with AAA titles going forward.

Despite some niggles/concerns I have with the price of Doom on Switch compared to how much it costs on other platforms, and indeed what you get for your money, I hope a lot of people buy the game just so the other major publishers decide it's worth taking the plunge and supporting the system.

Switch could really do with a lot more AAA third party support in my opinion--I hope it gets it.

@Moon same. I played it to death on PS4 and Noire for 360 sat on my shelf untouched for years. The prospect of being able to play on the go though just makes them more appealing to me because I commute everyday. Exciting times!

Am getting this at some point this month because the idea of playing Doom on the go blows my tiny little mind. I could get it on Ps4 for cheaper but this is offering something new. To heck with the naysayers I say, to heck.

can't wait for wolfenstein 2! bring it on!

It's a fun game....but I played it a year ago. There are too many new games to play than to revisit an inferior version. I hope it sells well, but if it doesn't it's not because nobody wants a mature shooter on the Switch.

What a fantastically scalable engine id Tech 6 seems to be! Unbelievable!

Yup. This is what 3rd party support looks like on Switch.

If you want it, come get some.

I personally probably won't get it on Switch because I have already fully completed the game on Xbox One but if my bro decides he wants the game, which he has shown interest in both Doom and LA Noire then that is how I will likely play them again, I will just borrow them. Sure it may not send the right message to the developers but I don't see the point in paying full price for games I already have enjoyed the heck out of, first timers are going to have a blast though!

At the beginning of this month I got rid of my ps4 pro for a pokemon 2ds xl. I've had my switch for awhile now. Honestly I barely have enough time to play an over-hyped bad ps4 game. I'm tired of the wasted money. When I do have the time to game, I'd much rather watch someone on twitch or youtube and relax with my switch. Well to hurry to the point I'm super hyped for DOOM, SKYRIM, RE, and all the other amazing switch games coming also I'm excited for the backlog of 3DS games I need to play.

In my opinion, Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are the most important games yet: flying out of the start blocks and keeping the momentum flying. DOOM may be the most important third party game, though.

Bodes well for Metroid Prime 4 looking special.

@Sinton - Doom will definitely be riding that tailwind Zelda and Mario created coming out the cannon so early.

@GrailUK with the hype Nintendo created with the e3 teaser, Metroid Prime 4 better be BOTW level innovation. Reinvent what a 3D Metroid game can be.

Doom is important but I don't think it's THE most important. FIFA 18 was probably the most important 3rd party game(but it failed both commercially and critically) because it's a general audience title whereas Doom is a mature title, so limited market. As a mature game, yes, it's probably the most important so far. Let's see how it sells. SMO or BOTW may show what games to Switch ownership ratio is possible. If a game is great, i.e. not gimped, runs well both docked and in handheld mode, has the right marketing behind it, then good sales are definitely possible.

Preordered and preloaded this and LA Noire. Never got Doom on the PC so this worked out and had LA Noire but got buried among other games so again works out.
Hope the both do well and we get more support from both companies.

It's not, BotW and Mario are. GOTY-level exclusives will always be more important than ports of great games that came out a year ago. But it is important. It's an opportunity to show 3rd parties there's a market. But exclusives are what make or break a console and even with DOOM's success, there will be many games the Switch can't run. But that's ok. It's pumping out incredible exclusives, it's the best platform for indies, and it may become the best platform for AA 3rd party titles that don't push the hardware too much.

The good thing is that it's been reduced to £39 on launch so it's not such an outlay for those on the fence.

I'll agree w/ the "most important Switch game" idea. Sure Super Mario Odyssey and Zelda sold the Switch, and will sell a lot more copies, than Doom will, but Doom isn't just about selling the Switch, it's about selling 3rd party support to other devs as well.

And here's all that Doom has going for it:
it's this gen, not a last gen game like Skyrim and LA Noire; we all know Switch can play PS3/Xbox360 games, but a PS4/X1 game of this graphical calibur - ie not retro indie or Just DAnce - is a nice addition
Bethesda is a big 3rd party dev
It's Doom, a well known game for decades
FPS - not too many of those on Switch yet
M - nice to see for some of us
online multiplayer - home and portable

If Doom sells well it opens a lot of other devs eyes and minds to Switch. 3rd party devs aren't impressed by how many copies of Mario or Zelda sell on a Ntinedo console, they always do. Even Skyrim selling well they could have said - well that's just like Zelda - but Doom is an M rated 1st person shooter. That attracts a different type of gamer and dev to the system.

So yes, Spaltoon 2, Mario, Zelda, maybe even ARMS will all sell more copies and more Switch, but Doom brings a lot of attention to the Switch from non-Nintendo gamers and developers that those other games don't. It's not just big, it's huge.

To many third parties the ability of the Switch to run the game is not as important as the Switch owner's desire to spend money on microtransactions.

I doubt Nintendo fans will buy these games or spend their money on loot boxes. Certain quality games will do well (and I hope Doom is among them) but the idea of getting Battlefront or a Call of Duty for the Switch is fantastical.

@BravelyDavid oh I so hope so too.

I love the Metroid Prime series, (although the 3rd I wasn’t keen on the motion controls).
I liked how they did the controls on the GameCube, and hope they have alternative options this time.

@BLP_Software If they could accomplish this in Switch's first year, imagine what they'll be able to do in its fourth and fifth. Compare first-year Xbox 360 and PS3 games to what came out in their sunsets.

Rockstar seems to agree. EA and Activision not so much yet...

@BravelyDavid Last year they won E3 with a single game. This year, they won with a single logo. Next year they are going to just stay in bed and shout Smash Bros out of the window hahaha.

@rjejr I thought the same.

These games really need to succeed if we want more 3rd parties. Also let’s hope people stop seeing Nintendo as a Nintendo games only console.

I dismissed the idea of investing a PS4/XB1 over the Switch, and I intend on it being my only platform. I also intend on buying a variety of games, that aren’t just Nintendo games.

By the way, the term "third party" is being used a lot here. I think we all all talking about Western, non-indie third parties.

Doom won't sell in Japan. Monster Hunter XX is a more important title.

I think we will actually see the bigger, wealthier studios bring their content to Switch. GTA, Red Dead, Assassins Creed, COD. Games like the new Metro(which looks gorgeous by the way) won't be coming. The porting process isn't something that all studios can viably afford to outsource. I would love to see Battlefront 2 on Switch but, EA will be to busy smelling their own farts. Lol

I unfortunately can't this or Skyrim on day one, which I think is pretty important to say "We want these games!" I do plan on getting them by the end of the holidays though. It is pretty exciting.

I think I should get DOOM first since it is going to have a shorting story than Skyrim. That way I can give them my money sooner than later.

Beyond the fact that it wasn't my favorite game of last year, even though I already own it, I'll definitely double dip. I hope theguys who were contracted to port this port other games as well.

@Ziggy93 I bought my Switch 2 weeks ago, the Mario bundle, got these in the mail yesterday, I can't give up my PS.

If Switch keeps getting games like Skyrim, Doom, Wolfenstien, Skyrim and FIFA it will become much easier for people to at least pick 1 up as a 2nd system though. Or just a handheld. EA and 2K are really pushing their Switch versions of games as handheld games so as not to hurt their home console game sales, and maybe get people to double dip.

@rjejr oh fair enough. I wasn’t suggesting people give up their other consoles. Besides I only have a PS3. I bought Kingdom hearts 1.5 as I heard it’s really good, but haven’t had time for it to be honest.
But I was just stating that Nintendo Switch has become my primary platform. And don’t intend on just buying Nintendo games either.

If its not exclusive im not interested. My switch is pretty much a nintendo only console.

@JaxonH watered down, year and a half late ports? Yeah I think I'm good.

And yes, I am aware I can play it independent of my TV. Pretty much the last thing I want to do is play a lengthy AAA game on a 6 inch screen with cramped controls.

I'm looking forward to when devs of multiplatform games specifically target the Switch for their games and just upscale everything graphically for other platforms.

A sign of good times ahead, indeed! The first Doom started the FPS genre on many platforms. Now its reboot is doing the same thing on Switch. Talk about history repeating itself!

@gatorboi352
Then why were you always complaining about Switch needing 3rd party support?

Now that it's here you wanna trash it. How convenient.

I do plan on picking up L.A. Noire in a couple months. Can't right now though, as I have to reel in my wallet for a while. Excited to do some portable sleuthing nonetheless.

@rjejr Couldn't have said it any better. It's not so much the game itself, it's about what it potentially means for the entire third party way of thinking about a Nintendo platform.

People who don't see that or who are naming other titles, are sorely missing the point you so elaborately described.

Cheers.

No doubt it's important. It's a mature, FPS, two things that been nearly nonexistent on Nintendo platforms for years. But I agree, it does really show that the Switch is a capable machine, with some modifications of course. I keep trying to tell people it's an important game, but you know how some people are, if there's literally one compromise they don't like, they say no, and act like Bethesda has betrayed them in the worst possible way.

You all can do what you wish with your money, of course, but if you don't get it, then don't complain if a new Doom comes along and they skip the Switch cause of a lack of sales. If you want more games from Bethesda or similar publishers, get the game, simple as that.

@rjejr

That really sums it up nicely.

Thing is, at least on PS4, Bethesda games drop in price fairly fast so I wonder how this one will sell.

@AlexOlney Solid video and some pretty valid points. It will be hard to dispute most of them. I think that the people that don't agree haven't watched the video, or haven't watched it entirely, or haven't understood the message that your conveying.

It is indeed simply undeniable that third parties have no more excuses left, or at least: not any valid ones...

I know this is obvious, but nobody is buying a Switch to play DOOM. Or almost nobody. The most important releases were Zelda and Mario, and Nintendo knocked them out of the park. BUT for long-term Nintendo aficionados, DOOM is a big deal. Big western third-party support is not something Nintendo-only gamers have not been able to rely upon for years. I hope it goes gangbusters.

@ThanosReXXX Thanks. I never did watch the vid, I'm guessing we're on the same page though.

@MoonKnight7 Thanks. I read your post, you actually did a better job of summing it up then I did, brevity is not my strong point, but I do like my bullet points.

Here’s my deal, I’d love to get some of these games on switch. My son and I both play a lot of video games. We both have ps4/xboxone/Switch we call our own. On the ps4/Xbox I can buy one copy of a game digitally and we can both enjoy it on our consoles thanks to the way those companies have their home system setup and sharing. There is nothing like that on Nintendo. So for us to both play this on our switch I’m either paying for the game twice or we are taking turns, and of course we could t ever play together over the network. Work on that Nintendo.

@rjejr Better bask in that glory, ye ol' blue-eyed dragon. It's not often we completely agree...

I hope I get this as a xmas gift, but if I don't, I will pick it up afterwards. Being able to play such a graphically impressive game on the go is simply a dream come true.

And yes, it IS the most important as its success, or lack thereof, is going to be a big guidepost going forward as to what else gets released on the Switch. If this does well, you'd hope the spigots from COD Modern Warfare and other huge shooters may also get the Switch treatment.

So count me in. I will take the ability to play this game on the go, even at a premium price, over the better graphics but being stuck on the couch.

@rjejr Oh, and give that video a go, even if only to give Alex some credit for his work. He's spot on with more than a couple of points. I'm willing to bet that 7 minutes of your time isn't all that much of an effort...

Let's not jump the gun here. Most important is a superlative i woulnd't use.
But yes, it is an incredibly important title for one specific reason:

It is a port of a game no one expected to be ported onto an underpowered system. Without that much of a sacrifice too.

Doom was, for all intents and purposes, a giant middle finger to people like me who thought the Switches biggest weakness and inevitable neck-breaker would be the fact that current-gen software couldn't be ported over.
And then Bethesda came and did it...twice (thrice if you count Skyrim as current gen due to the Enhanced label).

It does show that the Switches relatively weak hardware is trumped by its other features, mainly being a hybrid system, which is a huge selling point for a surprisingly large amount of people.

I would agree that this is probably the most important game for the Switch so far. We knew BOTW and Odyssey would sell big for the system, the big question was always how much third party support Nintendo would get. I never expected so many in less than a year, bravo!

But its up to us to keep them coming and we do that by buying these games! Doom is an automatic buy for me. I'm also buying Skyrim and have already bought Mario & Rabbids. I'm on the fence on L.A. Noire, so I'll probably buy it to help keep these games coming.

@rjejr

Haha, nothing wrong with bullet points.

I really like the idea with DOOM coming to Switch. I think it will perform rather well in sales. It seems to got the hype going for it. Not getting it myself. I simple don't like DOOM 2016, no matter the plattform. I would have preferred a ID tech 6-remaster of DOOM 64. Anyways, Ive already bought LA Noire and pre-loaded it (took half of my SD-card), and Im getting Skyrim as well. So Im confortable with my support for third parties on Switch. WIll also buy Wolfenstein II on day one when it comes next year.

I think DOOM is a very important game on SWITCH - It has questions being asked about it that no other game has raised. And it does set a precedent for other games to follow

Interesting to note that this game apparently is not releasing on Switch in Japan. At least not any time soon. Unless I am missing something I can't find it on the Japanese eshop.

@tsdenizen Not only GOTY level, but two of the best video games of all time. But I’d say Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe were also incredibly important.

I hope it succeeds for the fact that there is a lot of pressure on the Switch by third party devs, and it feels like one failure would be enough to shake their trust.

Personally though, im giving this a pass. I originally had it on Xbox One and have it on Steam. The game was okay, but I didnt love it enough to want to replay on Switch. But I honestly hope Ultimate Doom and Doom II (though not the BFG version) are released however. Those are games I’d love portable versions of.

@Heavyarms55 It is not until next year. Same with Skyrim. And the long wait is killing me. I only own Nintendo systems so I’m beyond excited for all these releases even if they’re just ports.
I don’t know how well they’ll sell in Japan, but I’ll be getting all of them!

@maruse If you really want it, I just ordered on imported from the American Amazon. Shipping was only 5 bucks and I live in rural Shiga. lol

I'm not optimistic about third parties due to them often cutting corners and skimping on content from the cartridge. Even excluding alternate voice tracks from the provided physical media is a cost-cutting measure (albeit a somewhat more understandable one) that Nintendo have taken with both Fire Emblem Warriors and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that is unlikely to have happened on Wii U, and even if it had, it would have posed less of an issue as I had a 2TB HD connected to it, which isn't even close to being filled. While making the multiplayer portion of Doom an optional download is slightly more understandable (as this portion of the game wouldn't be playable once the servers are terminated anyway), the fact is that the entirety of the game could have, and should have, been provided on a cartridge. It's frankly ridiculous that I should use up 15% of my micro SD card's capacity (especially this early into the lifespan of the console) to store what should have been included on the physical media to begin in. Nintendo are also to blame for allowing this to happen at all as such practices were previously unthinkable on a Nintendo device, and I hate to think that this is a sign of things to come.

On a portable device, every gig counts, and not going to support any physical release where the publisher decides to cheap out and impose a mandatory download on the consumer. It's not unreasonable to expect the entirety of the game on cartridge, and if developers can't optimise their game to fit onto the cartridge size of their choosing, then it shouldn't be on the system, which is really disheartening, because Revelations 2 and L.A. Noire were among my most anticipated games for the system so far and now I won't be buying either.

@Heavyarms55 I’ve been pondering about importing for a long time... The only thing that’s preventing me from doing it is because I don’t know if I’ll be required to make a US account to be able to download patches or the multiplayer... If I were sure that a US account isn’t required just for the updates, then I’d be importing today!
Same with Skyrim and L.A. Noire.

@Einherjar probably all the adult portable gamers like me that sneak in gaming on break at work and at home while the wife is asleep. Can't game on the big TV as the surround sound would wake her up. Lol.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I think if Nintendo wants to attract football fans to the Switch, they need the BOTW of football games, not an inferior port. For that, I think Nintendo cannot rely on EA.

@sillygostly To be fair, RER 2 is a 20$ release. At that price for such a full fledged game, i think digital-only is ok.

Well portable does have it benefit i completed more game on switch than i ever did on my playstation. ( i’m always travelling due to work, by the time i got home after a mth there too many spoiler online and new game that i stop playing the uncompleted game) lol

@roboshort I'd love to see Konami have a proper go at making a PES for Switch. They don't seem bothered though. It's a pity EA have the rights to the FIFA franchise.

@Alikan Exactly !
And i have to admit, having Doom(4) on a handheld, the complete game, not a watered down port, is just too bizarre
But yeah, from the people ive talked to, having "full" games on a handheld like this is a huge deciding factor.

Remove DOOM from the catalog... No biggie.

Remove BOTW from the catalog... BIG biggie.

No ones buying a switch for Doom.

It's great that it's on the system, but "most important"; not by a long shot fella.

Thanks for all your entertaining content though!

I think calling Doom "real third party support" is incredibly dumb. I own a Playstation 4, meaning I have access to pretty much any third party title I want. Wanna know my favorites from the last few years? Stardew Valley, Axiom Verge and Shovel Knight.

Yes, Doom is very important and a landmark when it comes to triple-A third party games on Switch. Just don't offend our intelligence by implying other amazing games with lower budget aren't 'real' games.

I played Doom on PC when it came out with all the bells and whistles...meh! It isnt a great game its flashy game...had nowhere near the impact on me as Doom64. We dont buy nintendo systems for this kind of thing. I never want to play a big multiplayer wargame like COD (ever TBH ) or BF on my switch. We're in it for the gamers games, not the flashy, teen fads. Most of my switch time so far has actually been stardew valley...a game i bought on my superpowered PC that is sooo cool it isnt even on earth but orbits one of jupiters moons. I didnt stick with it because there were many more bigger, flashier games to play. On my switch I played stardew valley at times when i wouldnt usually game. I love it. I literally cant stop picking up me likkle switch to plant a few seeds and one button press brings me back to where i was 20 mins, 3 hours ago...yesterday. Thats the beauty of this console. We dont have to go through all that rigmarole that you do everytime u switch on your ps4 or xbox1 or PC. Its click...boom in game.

@ricklongo
I don't think anyone would assert that smaller games are not real games. But let's be honest here- nobody buys a console for just smaller games. But they do buy them for the full retail games. You could have a console with full retail games and no indies and people would still buy it, but flip that around and very few people would take a second look.

And it's not that smaller games can't be just as entertaining because they absolutely can be, however, it is much harder for them to achieve the same level of entertainment value. And they definitely don't have the same level of appeal. Indies are definitely important, but games like this are more important. Just as full retail Nintendo games are more important than Nintendo's digital only $20 offerings like SnipperClips and what have you. It's a truly excellent game, but it's just not as important.

And I think we can all agree that when people say they want more third-party support the big retail games are a huge part of that. You could have all the indy support in the world but people would still be complaining about needing more third-party support. And that's why this is such a big deal and why this game is (along with Skyrim) the most important 3rd party game on Switch. Not overall game, but most important 3rd party game. Not only are DOOM and Skyrim fantastic games- classics that can sit alongside Nintendo greats- they are very symbolic. They symbolize a console that offers more than just Nintendo. They symbolize a console that offers popular Western third party games. They symbolize a console that has the best of both worlds. And that is absolutely crucial for the Switch going forward. One of the key reasons Wii U did not achieve success was its image... its image of being a 1st party title only console. Now this may just be one game, and Skyrim may be just one game, but together those two titles project an image of desirable content- beyond the desirable content provided by Nintendo themselves.

Let's not sell this game short. This is quite possibly the most important third-party game that has released on a Nintendo system in the last decade. I can't think of a single third-party game that had a larger impact on the success of the console than DOOM and Skyrim. Even games like Monster Hunter which sold several million copies didn't really push hardware. I believe DOOM and Skyrim will be hugely instrumental in pushing hardware. And perhaps the fact one of the people I know who bought a Switch did so specifically for Skyrim, perhaps that has helped shape my perspective to a degree. But even so, I think these games will help project the image Nintendo Switch needs to succeed. People might not even buy the system for these games specifically, but having these games will help project the right image needed to draw those people in, and help ensure people don't write the system off for not having any 3rd party games.

@subpopz Yes i have a pc for multis and soon i will have a ps 4. Maybe i will buy the xbox one too. If i can have a cheaper version with better graphics and framerate + achievements i take that one.

This march i paid 17 euro for this game.

The more I think about it, the more I think this shouldn't be seen as the most important 3rd party game yet. It's not an original game, it's a year old port that's overpriced now given that it's available for as little as £10 on other platforms. Maybe Mario + Rabbids although that's a collaboration so not really a fair game for consideration and the title does say YET. Maybe Wolfenstein 2, that's new and coming out at the same time as everyw..... scratch that. There's always something with these games. There is Sonic Forces, just came out, though Sega didn't break a sweat with the Switch version, they didn't cover themselves in glory on any platform with that game.

@JaxonH I understand what you're saying, and I do know that what I want myself from video games is almost never what the market at large wants. My only pet peeve is the use of "real third party" to describe this, instead of a less loaded term like "triple-A third party" or "high-budget third party". It may seem like an innocuous thing, but it's stuff like this that encourage people to have an incredibly limiting view of video games, which benefits no one who wants the most amount of high-quality products from the industry.

I actually do not think it will do all that much. But it is great as a showcase for the Switch and the Tech 6 Engine. All these games are just testing the waters - The next round will be great.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE yup, I️ agree with this. Was FIFA really that much of a flop on Switch though? Might pick up over Xmas and be a seller over time...I’m not that excited by it although if it was cheaper I’d consider it .

Doom, Skyrim, LA Noire, Mario, Resident Evil... I want them all. This month is gonna make me go bankrupt.

I dunno, we'll see. Wii U had enhanced versions of Batman Arkham City and Mass Effect 3, and we know how that turned out. The Bethesda games might be cool technical achievements, but they'll need to sell for other third parties to take notice.

I wish Bethesda would support iOS better, personally.

@JaxonH I've always said Switch needed relevant 3rd party support. Meaning day 1 3rd party support. Parity.

This is nothing better than the support Wii U had.

Make no mistake, Switch wouldn't be nearly as successful as it is today without breath of the Wild on day one. Sure, it would still be more appealing than wii u ever was, but nowhere close to the success that it is.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE iMo Doom is by far the most important 3rd party title. If successful it shows what is possible. If people are willing to buy the downgraded version for portability, that says a lot. That means there should be no excuse to port current gen games to the Switch.

l thought l was looking at halo when I️ saw the picture.

@maruse You wont. I have a mix of Japan and American games and they all update just fine. You only need to watch where you buy DLC. Some Japanese games don't support English so you need to use the Japanese store.

Personally, it's more of a statement that there was such a short turnaround from announcement to release. This surely highlights how much more user friendly the Switch is to develop for or port to. Of course, the mandatory download stuff is frustrating, but as this is an attempt in such a short period of time and a sign of things to come, both from a technical and developer standpoint, it's pretty cool. Shrugging off these ports of AAA games (including skyrim and LA Noire) is detracting from the fact that it not only is showing how powerful the Switch is, but that it is also the first time to have games of this caliber (not to mention BOTW and Odyssey) on a handheld. I play my Switch 85% of the time on the go- seeing these games on this thing and transferring so easily to the TV is some kind of witchcraft. I'd still like to see a few smaller games like device 6, volume and repulique appear, but if games like bayonetta 2 get a second chance and current gen games like wolfenstein 2 are possible and not gimped, a lot more is possible than I first thought.

Gosh almost makes me wish I was back in high school age. We'd used to play Ecks vs Sever on gba before class when weren't playing Mario Kart Super Circuit or Advance Wars 2. Although I'm not sure if teens play handhelds anymore... Besides Pokemon maybe.

@Heavyarms55 That is great news! So if I import Doom (Skyrim, L.A.Noire too) from the US I won't need a US account to update or download the multiplayer, right?

I knew that you can't download DLC because I know someone who bought Mario+Rabbids form the US but couldn't get the pixel weapons set using his Japanese account. That's why I was unsure about updates and required downloads...

Thank you! I think I can import now with peace of mind.

I would say wait for the sales numbers to roll in at the end of the month and next month before making that call... For all we know, the potential audience could end up being really niche, resulting in that lofty praise evaporating. Let's see how many people want a portable (but gimped) version of a 1.5+ year old game first. Same goes for Skyrim when that releases (again). Most of what makes Skyrim great is in modding, which is the specialty of PC gaming. Most people who would have wanted Skyrim probably already have it by now, so again, potentially niche audience there for a portable (but gimped) port.

Well, FPS aren't really my thing, but I'll buy it, if only to support big 3rd party games on Switch... And of course, I'll send a few demons back to Hell they belong to

The Doom announcement is what pushed me to buy a Switch.

This Doom is closer to the source version than the last Doom's that appeared on Nintendo hardware with the GBA versions.

@AlexOlney "Go to hell with that subscribe button."

You'll NEVER top that one, Alex.

Yeah...no...

No 3rd party game will ever be the most "important" game on any Nintendo platform.

Pokemon for Switch is probably going to be the most important Switch game as it signifies that Nintendo and all their first party development partners are ready to support a single platform rather than two.

@rjejr
For me it sound completely counter-intuitive. Let me explain:

"graphical calibur - ie not retro indie or Just DAnce - is a nice addition" - It looks worser on switch, so that's a bad selling point.

"It's Doom, a well known game for decades" - Known, but for pushing PC gaming and graphics further, all previous attempts of Doom on nintendo platforms were failures.

"FPS - not too many of those on Switch yet" - There is a reason for that. Basically, fast shooters do not work as well on any console, especially a portable one.

"M - nice to see for some of us" - True, but once again, we are in minority here.

"online multiplayer - home and portable" - multiplayer is the weakest part of the new Doom.

So from my point of view it's not "many breaking features, it's such a interesting game for this system", it's "many features, that seem out of place on this system, seems weird to put it here, might not sell".

@PlywoodStick
Keep in mind some people just like to play on handhelds and portable systems. And any game that comes to a handheld that originated else where is going to be "lesser than". There is a segment of the population that likes playing video games wherever they go. Remember Grand Theft Auto on the Nintendo DS? People will buy games that are lesser than if it means having them anywhere. The thing is we're getting to the point where the differences are pretty freaking negligible. We're getting to the point that even home console gamers can be enticed to play games anywhere because it's close enough they can still enjoy the game they like. Sure it might not have mods but that's what they've got their PC for. Can do that when they get home, etc. etc.

The point I'm getting at is that trying to label every single game on a handheld system as gimped doesn't do the developers justice and it doesn't do the games justice. Everyone is aware that handheld games aren't going to bring the same level of parity that home console games will bring. And that's OK.

I think it'll do well, but even if it doesn't that's OK too. If that janky old run down Borderlands 2 Vita port with pop in and 15fps and touchpad for buttons can sell well, I think these games can do alright. But regardless of whether they do or don't at least the option is being provided for people. At least going forward, if they don't do well people won't keep crying about wanting these games because hey, nobody wanted them.

@gatorboi352
No handheld has ever offered parity with a home console and it's never stopped them from succeeding in the past. The fact that gap is so small now that actual home console games are running and look almost just as good is only going to help. Might not help for the people who just want to play as a home console, but I don't think there was any scenario in which people who just want to play on console were going to suddenly stop buying those games on their other systems or buy them a second time.

@ricklongo
I gotchya. Must have missed that "real"

@maruse Yeah updates are a separate thing, they are specific to the game, not the account. Think about it, if they were specific to the account you would have to update several times if you had several accounts. Games just connect to the correct sever on their own.

@JaxonH That's a fair point, portable consoles have a long history of receiving a variety of different types of ports- some watered down to bare bones, some with pitiful recreations of superior home console entries, and some with completely redesigned entries. The latter usually being by far the best of those three, but requiring much more effort. The NS is the first portable console where one can say, "well, with enough effort, the first issue can now be avoided entirely and the second issue can be mitigated to an acceptable level."

Not to mention the Vita being buried even deeper to add insult to injury. It's kind of funny to look back on articles about some people thinking Sony was going to eventually obsolete Nintendo, back when the PSP was new, and here we are today with Nintendo having the superior portable tech simply because they outlasted and outsmarted the competition. There's nowhere to go now except for NVIDIA mobile SoC or AMD's upcoming Vega mobile chips at the moment, but AMD's having a hard time getting Vega chips made at all and will focus on laptops, and Nintendo has a lock on NVIDIA's tech. That's a pretty amazing coup d'etat made by Nintendo, when I think about it.

I wouldn't be surprised if a future NS SKU with Pascal tech closes the gap we see with the Maxwell tech even further. In the desktop space, monolithic dies have reached the end of their rope, and will have to be changed out with multi chip modules on future products. However, NVIDIA and AMD aren't really going to have much in the way of consumer level products for those until 2019, and games probably won't really start being optimized for MCM hardware until 2020. That's a lot of time for Pascal and even Maxwell to remain relevant, and they'll probably stick around for a couple of years afterwards. In other words, a minimum of five years for the NS hardware to remain viable without any major overhauls. One significant mid-gen upgrade will appear by 2020, and by around 2023, Nintendo will have a MCM successor nearing completion and close the parity gap again. Nintendo's pretty much on a course to catch up whenever it matters most. Quite an achievement, coming from their "Lateral Thinking of Withered Technology" roots.

@PlywoodStick

Yes, I'd love to see the gap closed even more. Cause alot of games moving forward on console will stagnate graphics wise and simply bump resolution and framerate. 4K 30fps, then 4K 60fps. Which gives the next Switch an opportunity to gain even more ground.

I was just playing DOOM a minute ago on Switch, and it's legit. Best FPS on a handheld I've ever played. You can definitely tell it takes a hit in handheld and console mode- console is 720p but upscaled to 4K looks pretty good on the TV, handheld though uses a weird technique where anything close is sharp but starts losing resolution the further away it is. It's still WAY beyond anything we've ever seen on handheld, or Vita, but there is definitely an opportunity to close the gap further next generation.

@Heavyarms55 of course. I just wanted to be sure before expending any money. But thank you again! You’ve convinced me to order Doom and Skyrim from Amazon US. I hope they’re here by early December!

@maruse Cool. Have fun! Gotta love that region free status!

@MsgBoardGamer Well, I do have a reason for making that assessment...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNY5e5CFlbc

In case you haven't heard, Intel and AMD are teaming up to merge their CPU's and GPU's respectively in the mobile space, particularly focusing on laptops at first. (Which is an earth-shaking development.) And those first ones will have Kaby Lake level CPU performance with between GTX 1050 Ti and GTX 1060 level performance or better for the GPU, combined with HBM memory being connected to the GPU. (In other words, even at it's worst, a combo much more powerful than the Switch.) All for around $400, without counting retail markups and other parts.

I would agree with Jim's predictions here: This signals the beginning of the end for NVIDIA in the discrete gaming-focused GPU market, followed up with NVIDIA's market transition to deep learning+artificial intelligence research and car GPU's. It doesn't seem like it now, since NVIDIA has so much mind share and will have their products be sold in millions of Switches, but it's only a matter of time until a large portion of consumers go for integrated products with increasingly high performance.

Unless NVIDIA and Nintendo come up with a deal to make a successor to the current Tegra architectures 6+ years from now, I wouldn't be surprised if the successor to the Switch ends up using an Intel+AMD combo. For all we know, we're only a console generation away from Nintendo systems likely being the last vestige of NVIDIA's involvement in the gaming market.

Was a day one purchase and it plays great. The action is so fast and furious, I really don't notice many of these concessions everyone keeps harping about.

@Hrimfaksi " it's "many features, that seem out of place on this system, seems weird to put it here, might not sell"."

It is out of place on Switch. VERY out of place, and that's the whole point. If it doesn't sell, well it doesn't sell, but if it does sell, that opens the door for other 3rd party devs to port games to Switch.

It's a big gamble, but with potentially big rewards.

I think its a very important game. If it sells well it will help convince other 3rd party companies to bring games over. I am getting it before Christmas for sure.