@00Wyvern I hope so I was never a fan of the Wii U as a concept, but the Switch is something I find very appealing. I don't care it's not as powerful as a PS4 or Xbox One. Personally all I want from Nintendo is gimmick-free, traditional gaming. I wouldn't like to judge how it's going to pan out before E3 though.
@00Wyvern Splatoon and 3D World exist on the Wii U too and didn't really help. I mean sales went up with Splatoon, but not in any meaningful way. It was still selling worse month by month than other 'flopped' consoles like the Gamecube and Dreamcast were. They have to be holding stuff back for E3, and a couple of games between Splatoon 2 and Mario Odyssey would make the line-up seem much fuller than it does now.
I know people don't like to talk about other consoles, but this year this PS4 is going to have Gravity Rush 2, Kingdom Hearts 2.8, Resident Evil 7, Yakuza 0, Tales of Berseria, Nioh, Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Nier: Automata, Mass Effect: Andromeda, South Park The Fractured But Whole, Tekken 7, Persona 5, Yooka-Laylee, Injustice 2, Detroit: Become Human, Gran Turismo Sport, Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, Red Dead Redemption 2, Destiny II, Star Wars Battlefront II, Shenmue III (Maybe) and so many more. There's so much choice, it's easy to pick up a new game every month even when you don't like every title. With Nintendo's line up, it's still kind of... even if you like everything they release, you're still only getting about 4 big games all year.
Again, it could all change with E3. Nintendo studio's output seems very low for a good few years now, and they could easily have a whole pile of games saved up for E3 that are coming out in 2017.
I think the success of the Switch is much harder to predict than any other previous hardware. It all depends on wether the market see it as a home console or a portable. It doesn't really matter what Nintendo want it to be. If they market it as a portable but consumers feel it's too big, then it won't be see as a portable.
As a home console, I could see it just repeating the Wii U numbers again as the machine and the library just seem like a seamless continuation of the Wii U. Maybe even worse than the Wii U when you consider how Nintendo's core fan base seems to have been shrinking with every machine since the 80s. However, if the market see it as a portable, it's going to pick up more of that 3DS user base and will easily outsell the Wii U.
Right now, I think the launch will be a sell out as always, then 7 months of struggle, before it picks up with the holiday boost and Mario. Nintendo are lucky though because they have time to completely turn around the perception of the machine. If they come out at E3 and show us Pikmin 4, releasing this year, a new game from Retro releasing this year, and a few other surprises, the whole picture looks COMPLETELY different
Not sure how anyone could really argument against this point. All these companies exist to make money, even Nintendo. Nintendo can justify a loss on something like Bayonetta or Xenoblade Chronicles X, and say that making those titles available makes the Wii U a more attractive purchase.
It's insane to expect companies like Ubisoft to go ahead with a project they know will lose money (like Rayman Legends) in order to help Nintendo out. These companies have decided to be publishers so they can work under a model of each project being judged for itself. They could all put together consoles quite easily themselves, they know these machines inside out, but they don't because they don't want that hassle.
Nintendo still carries the reputation of how horrible they were to publishers AND retailers back in the 80s and early 90s, but none of these companies want Nintendo to fail, as another successful console is another market for them, but they're not going to lose money to help them out.
If anything, some publishers gave Nintendo more of a chance than the others. Ubisoft was there with TWO exclusives on launch day, and even if you completely discount Rabbids Land, ZombiU was a proper game, built for the Wii U. Did they give Xbone or PS4 any exclusives for launch? Nope, all they gave them was upscaled PS3/360 ports, but those sold and ensured Ubisoft pushed ahead with putting games on the machines.
All the big sports games got their chance on Wii U at launch. Madden, FIFA, NBA 2k were all there. They weren't gimped, they were equal to the 360/PS3 versions (PS4 or Xbone didn't exist back then remember). They all sold poorly so the obvious decision gets made to not invest in making new engines run on the Wii U, and the console gets legacy versions from there on.
Personally I never saw the appeal. Admittedly I have zero interest in fan art which seems a big part of it, but it was impossible to actually discuss things on there.
@MitchVogel I wouldn't say it's dying, but constantly selling more software each year is a pretty standard claim for any piece of hardware that's not yet been replaced? In 2016 there were more 3DS owners than 2015 so you'd guess they would obviously sell more software? It's only once those machines are put away that the software sales start to go down.
Ultimately Nintendo will decide when the 3DS is done. I wonder would something like the next game in the Mario and Luigi series automatically get made for Switch now? They could have easily just put FE: Echoes on Switch so I wonder if they do intend to keep prompting the 3DS. E3 will give us a better idea if the 3DS will continue beyond this year.
It's sad that we have to worry about Wii U multiplayer severs going down. Xbox 360 and PS3 have them up and running still. Nintendo do like to shut things off pretty early though.
Price is a big factor for people. A PS4 with 2 games can be had for 40% less than the Switch launches for without a game. People will say it's a new console, you can't expect it to be cheap, but people are looking at how you can get a more powerful console with a bigger library for a lot less money. £80 is 2 brand new games you could be getting with that PS4 instead.
I also don't see how anyone can defend that launch line up. Zelda looks amazing but will be on Wii U, and that's the only thing on day 1 that's not shovelware. If you're happy paying £330 to play the game instead of just spending £40 to get it on the console you already own then good for you, it's your money, but don't expect many to agree it's worth it.
These two points alone are HUGE downers for many people. People will hold off, wait for a price drop, wait for a bigger library, and suddenly the Switch is in the same situation as Wii U.
I doubt anyone is still reading, but here is the US Top 10 for 2016. Pretty much identical to the UK chart but 3 sports games instead of 1
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (Activision Blizzard) Battlefield 1 (EA) Tom Clancy’s The Division (Ubisoft) NBA 2K17 (Take-Two) Madden NFL 17 (EA) Grand Theft Auto V (Take-Two) Overwatch (Activision Blizzard) Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Activision Blizzard) FIFA 17 (EA) Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix)
I thought the gameplay looked great, but why is it so poor graphically? Even an iPhone 5 can outpace a 3DS in terms of specs, so there's no excuse for the bland, 2D visuals.
Great way to get another game out there by reusing an engine and maps, characters and plot. Very smart decision!
With how much they're pushing the series, surely the Radiant games HAVE to be in line for some kind of re-release? It's a huge shame new fans pretty much have no way to play these.
Now there's a reason to buy a Switch! Will probably pick up the console the day this comes out, along with Splatoon 2 and Mario Odyssey (maybe Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will even be out!)
I know it's a long shot, but I'd love to see them do something like a Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn HD Remaster Collection. I (like many others) only got into Fire Emblem with the release of Awakening. By that point every other release in the West was rare and fairly expensive. I lucked out with the GBA games on VC, and for Radiant Dawn, had to pay the price of a new release for a used copy, that was fine. Path of Radiance costs more used than a Gamecube did on day of launch however, and I can't ever pay that much for a game. Let us play it, Nintendo!
Awakenings and Fates did better than ever, but they're still quite a way off a 'big name' IP at this point. If Nintendo really wanted to push it, you'd think making past games easier to play would be high on the agenda.
I think it's becoming quite clear that Sun and Moon aren't going to match X and Y in sales despite there being nearly double the 3DS units out there compared to 2013. Something to chew over for those that think Nintendo on mobile is purely in order to promote their dedicated games.
That's a very clear downgrade to my eyes, but is that down to a bad port rather than hardware? Look at what happens to the window arches on Switch. Pretty sure it can handle curved lines. These images don't even look as good as the PS3 version of the original.
And sadly it shows why so much of the industry is going mobile. Nintendo's AAA games probably cost more than ten times as much to make, and would be lucky to get 10% of this revenue.
I love Fates but would struggle to see the point. It's not a big name system sells despite it being bigger than ever, and any FE fan will already have it on 3DS.
Luckily I have unlimited data with my phone, so combining it with a hotspot and I should be able to be online anytime I need with a Switch anyway (it's brilliant for remote play on the Vita too, been scavenging for supplies in The Division on my lunches for the last week).
People here make fun of stock traders for not understanding the gaming market, but it's clear most gamers don't understand the stock market.
These traders will have shares in hundreds of companies. All they care about is whether the value of their shares will go up and down. The idea they should all hold onto their shares until Christmas is ridiculous. They can invest that money over a hundred times between now and then and earn substantial amounts.
@clevbrowns94 Why is it an unfair comparison? In the US, Microsoft and Sony outsell Nintendo by a huge margin, just like the UK. In the US, Call of Duty and sports games outsell Nintendo's big games, just like in the UK. The two markets have pretty much the exact same taste in gaming.
Zelda looks amazing, but considering we can all play it on Wii U, I don't see any reason at all to even be considering a Switch for launch. I was sure they'd have a fantastic line up this time, as it feels like so many of Nintendo's studios have barely done anything since around 2010. I figured perhaps they'd been working on Wii U games, but by early 2014, they were already moving stuff to Switch. Now that we can see it's even more bare than the 3DS and Wii U launch, it really makes you wonder what the hell is going on.
I GET that they probably want to hold things back for E3 (or maybe they don't, as lately they seem to treat E3 like the console race, as in we can't compete here, let's do our own thing, at our time), but do they really think this is enough? We keep getting told Retro has more than one team, but the only games they've produced in a decade are two side-scrolling Donkey Kong games?
I will definitely get a Switch at some point, as I get every Nintendo console, but they've made it pretty easy to hold off. I'm not mad or anything, I have plenty to play, but it's just this feeling of... what the heck you been doing, Nintendo?
You can't take anything Reggie says seriously. These days, he hardly has any decisions to make as that part of the role has all been handed back to people in Japan. His job is to put positive spin on whatever situation Nintendo are in. Just look at that nonsense about not expecting demand for the NES Mini. If you don't think anyone wants to buy a product, you don't release it. Fact is, he had no control over how many units they got, but now he has to try and explain it all.
It was pretty much what I expected, in that it's not some bold new era, it's just a continuation of the Wii U. The console is what they wanted the Wii U to be and it's the same kind of games we've been getting.
My biggest worries were confirmed when the first two games they choose to show were ultra casual faire. Nintendo still wants those people back so badly and put so much effort and resources into what might very well be a lost cause.
The highlight by far was Mario. It looked utterly fantastic. No more linear paths and not just the same tired level themes we've been getting for years. Gives me hope that not all is lost.
Won't be picking one up anytime soon though, especially at the UK price point. I understand exchange rate plays a part but it's too much to pay at launch when the one game I really want is not out til the end of the year.
I don't think it will affect sales, but it's definitely going to be frustrating. I just don't know how they think 32GB is good enough. The Xbox 360 launched with 20GB and that was 12 years ago.
Absolutely ridiculous price! No doubt when it flops at launch people will just say the UK hates Nintendo. 40% more than a PS4 with a game costs. Their focus still seems to be on the casual market, but the casuals won't pay this.
So many ignorant people belittling the UK market's tastes in gaming. NPD figures come out tonight and I guarantee it will be just as bad for North America. In fact, it's worse, because you usually get at least 3 sports titles in the top 10 EVERY year (Madden, FIFA, NBA2K)
@XCWarrior I very much doubt Nintendo's share in the US is much better than 8% Just check out NPD every month. PS4 and Xbone each outsell the Wii U by over 10 to 1 every single month. 3DS isn't faring much better. I think you're probably doing the exact thing you're accusing others of doing. You're in the US and your opinion is that Nintendo is doing okay, then you come online and see articles about how Nintendo is struggling in the UK. The same news comes out every month with NPD about how it's just as bad in North America but Nintendo Life won't post the numbers because NPD is meant to be for members only.
The biggest surprise in the whole thing for me is Rocket League's physical version being in the top 25 selling games. For a game that surely had a much bigger digital presence, that's a phenomenal success!
No surprise. Nintendo's unfounded arrogance in this period was greater than even the 18 months that took in the launch of the 3DS and Wii U. Yamauchi wanted porting between other machines to be near impossible. He figured Nintendo was the market leader, so every publisher would make the N64 the lead platform and then their rivals (Sega) would have no chance to see ports. Backfired spectacularly when it turned out it was Nintendo needing the ports as so many flocked to the PlayStation!
Not QUITE as excited for this one as I was VII, as that game NEVER came out in Europe on any format before, but will still pick this up when I see it for under £25. Came close to pre-ordering with Amazon as it's £26.99 for Prime members.
The drop in the pound exchange rate has really screwed things. £200 wouldn't be that cheap, as you've been able to quite easily get a PS4 + 2 games for that, but £200 would also be a LOT less than Nintendo are used to getting when it's converted to dollars or yen. Because of this, I'm expecting over £200, and therefore more expensive than a PS4. In the UK at least, it's going to be expensive enough to make consumers unhappy, and not be expensive enough for Nintendo to really be happy either when the profits get sent home.
I'm not too excited for it. I know I'll get one at some point like every other console/handheld, but I don't see a drastic change of direction here. I see a console that is probably what they wanted the Wii U to be, but couldn't pull off back in 2012, and I can just see the same sort of good, but unambitious games we've got through the Wii U's life carrying on with the Switch. It doesn't feel like anything is REALLY changing, or that it's a new generation or anything like that.
I am looking forward with interest to see just how many of the Wii U's problems they rectify, mainly with regards to the account side of things and the digital store, along with how easy it will be for the rest of the industry to bring their games over to it, but I wouldn't really call it excitement.
I also cringe slightly as I can already see this whole thing play out on this community. No matter is shown on the 12th, posters here will declare it the greatest event ever, a console that perfectly suits what they want. The Switch will sell out for launch (like all other Nintendo hardware), and it will be called an outstanding success when Nintendo put out that press release saying they've sold all 2 million consoles on the first weekend, utterly ignoring the fact there's nothing outstanding about such a feat.
Perhaps the closest thing to genuine excitement is finally seeing what Retro has been up to all this time. Maybe a proper look at the new Mario, but that already looks very close to 3D World, which goes back to what I said about the type of game we got on Wii U. They were not bad, but a lot of them were just retreads, and/or quite shallow experiences compared to previous games in the series.
Japan is a dead market, as sad as it is to see as someone that was gaming in the era that Japanese games seemed to blow away the Western ones. No hardware sells enough for Japanese devs to make games just for Japan, and when they try and incorporate Western ideas, it usually falls flat. Only 2 games selling over a million all year! 17 million PS4s sold in 2016, and less than 2 million of them in Japan. Barely 10% They've all gone mobile and I don't see them coming back.
Nintendo gonna Nintendo. No other major publisher seems to need all this extra time for localisation. It's not as simple as 'just import'. The currency exchange rate is weak and import tax is high. I bought a $60 item in December and it cost me £72 by the time I got my hands on it (20 import tax + an unavoidable handling fee and that was with FREE shipping. That's DOUBLE what a game costs to buy in the U.K. It's not a viable solution!
I hate most video game clothing, wouldn't be caught dead in any of the Nintendo vans, but apart from the tongue label I love these.
Hate how there's no subtlety in video game clothing. I like the idea of something that only a few people would even realise is related to a game rather that huge logos and characters plastered across stuff.
The Switch version is pretty much confirmed, so don't see why people are whining about coverage. They're just not allowed to say until the Nintendo. The fact they've said they'll reveal more about allowing Kickstarters to upgrade to Switch in January tells you that.
My slider has been firmly set to off since the day I bought it. Can't stand 3D movies, and dislike 3D gaming even more. Happy to see it and the double screens go away.
I don't think it was 'a given' as so many people seem to be saying. Persona has only been on Playstation systems by default. Don't think there's any contract in place.
Not very optimistic. I think Nintendo will still put most of their focus into the Wii crowd, the people now playing games on their phones and tablets. I really think we'll just see the same sort of games that were on Wii U continue on Switch. It's got to the point they regularly mock people who like play long games on their own, the sort of people that bought their consoles before the Wii.
Egypt might be cool but I desperately want them to do Japan and ninjas. Pretty sure it's coming after that artwork in either 3 or 4 laid out a bunch of settings that each game since has taken from. I guess by Christmas 2019 the use base of the PS4/Xbone/Switch will be pretty damn huge too.
I love the idea of cheap docks so you can hook one up to all the TVs in your home, or somewhere else! I've done the same thing with PSTV units so I can remote play and it's like having a PS4 wherever I want one.
Storage sounds like it will be a huge problem again though.
I love the blox/mo games, but we've got quite a few of them between 3DS and Wii U now, and it's not THAT disappointing that they've moved onto something new, unless it was really, REALLY close to completion. I'd love FE on Switch but not really sure that's what Nintendo would put them on to start with. I know the recent 3DS games have done better than ever before, but it's still the numbers of a fairly niche series, not really the sort of system selling title Nintendo probably want.
I always (eventually) buy all the consoles, so personally don't NEED a high spec Nintendo console, but I do think to do well, it needs multi platform titles, so it needs to have similar architecture to other machines so porting is easy.
I've been very down on Nintendo for six years now, but I want to see them successful in the home console market so much. People talk about the money in the bank and how many failed consoles they can go through but that's not how business works. Nintendo exist to make money, and they'll do what they have to in order to keep making money. Worldwide in 2016, mobile games made almost DOUBLE the money that consoles and handhelds made. The worry of Nintendo going more and more towards this market is a very real one for me.
I won't buy multi platform games on Switch but people like us are not the ones that ultimately decide what becomes a successful product. If Nintendo can offer people the latest Call of Duty, the latest sports games and things like Mario Kart and Pokemon all on one machine then they have a real chance. To do that, they need to quit being stubborn and making hardware different fir the sake of it. What advantage did the Wii U get from being so different? I don't mean the game pad or colourful graphics. All that could have been done whil still using a more standard architecture. Nintendo went back to it's pre-N64 arrogance and made something different just because they thought everyone else would bend over backwards to be involved and just like the 64 it backfired in a big way.
Specs matter in far more important ways than shinier graphics.
Pretty sure Mario is still a bigger name than Pokemon. I know Pokemon is also huge, but the mainline Pokemon games tend to sell 12-15m. NSMB on DS and Wii sold 30m each! Mario Run had the potential to be an even bigger hit than Pokemon Go (and no doubt a fraction of the development cost) but it does look like Nintendo has dented it's success slightly by pricing it so high. Yeah, I know it's not a huge amount at the end of the day as people love to point out, but it's more expensive than a lot of mobile games that are much better than it.
Kotaku also put it in their favourite games of the year list. Seems crazy to me. I don't think it's bad, but I also don't think it's anywhere near the best mobile games that have come out this year but each to their own.
Don't really think it's a particularly great deal! I got a 3DS XL with Mario Kart 7 for £130 3 years ago. I know that's not a 'New 3DS' but it was the latest/most expensive model at the time. Would expect things to be a lot cheaper by now, especially the small model.
Would love to see them match the $99 deal the US got recently. THAT was a bargain.
Comments 3,237
Re: DFC Intelligence Believes Nintendo Switch Can Shift 40 Million Units by 2020
@00Wyvern I hope so I was never a fan of the Wii U as a concept, but the Switch is something I find very appealing. I don't care it's not as powerful as a PS4 or Xbox One. Personally all I want from Nintendo is gimmick-free, traditional gaming. I wouldn't like to judge how it's going to pan out before E3 though.
Re: DFC Intelligence Believes Nintendo Switch Can Shift 40 Million Units by 2020
@00Wyvern Splatoon and 3D World exist on the Wii U too and didn't really help. I mean sales went up with Splatoon, but not in any meaningful way. It was still selling worse month by month than other 'flopped' consoles like the Gamecube and Dreamcast were. They have to be holding stuff back for E3, and a couple of games between Splatoon 2 and Mario Odyssey would make the line-up seem much fuller than it does now.
I know people don't like to talk about other consoles, but this year this PS4 is going to have Gravity Rush 2, Kingdom Hearts 2.8, Resident Evil 7, Yakuza 0, Tales of Berseria, Nioh, Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Nier: Automata, Mass Effect: Andromeda, South Park The Fractured But Whole, Tekken 7, Persona 5, Yooka-Laylee, Injustice 2, Detroit: Become Human, Gran Turismo Sport, Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, Red Dead Redemption 2, Destiny II, Star Wars Battlefront II, Shenmue III (Maybe) and so many more. There's so much choice, it's easy to pick up a new game every month even when you don't like every title. With Nintendo's line up, it's still kind of... even if you like everything they release, you're still only getting about 4 big games all year.
Again, it could all change with E3. Nintendo studio's output seems very low for a good few years now, and they could easily have a whole pile of games saved up for E3 that are coming out in 2017.
Re: DFC Intelligence Believes Nintendo Switch Can Shift 40 Million Units by 2020
I think the success of the Switch is much harder to predict than any other previous hardware. It all depends on wether the market see it as a home console or a portable. It doesn't really matter what Nintendo want it to be. If they market it as a portable but consumers feel it's too big, then it won't be see as a portable.
As a home console, I could see it just repeating the Wii U numbers again as the machine and the library just seem like a seamless continuation of the Wii U. Maybe even worse than the Wii U when you consider how Nintendo's core fan base seems to have been shrinking with every machine since the 80s. However, if the market see it as a portable, it's going to pick up more of that 3DS user base and will easily outsell the Wii U.
Right now, I think the launch will be a sell out as always, then 7 months of struggle, before it picks up with the holiday boost and Mario. Nintendo are lucky though because they have time to completely turn around the perception of the machine. If they come out at E3 and show us Pikmin 4, releasing this year, a new game from Retro releasing this year, and a few other surprises, the whole picture looks COMPLETELY different
Re: Soapbox: It's Nintendo's Job To Make Switch A Success, Not EA's, Ubisoft's Or Capcom's
Not sure how anyone could really argument against this point. All these companies exist to make money, even Nintendo. Nintendo can justify a loss on something like Bayonetta or Xenoblade Chronicles X, and say that making those titles available makes the Wii U a more attractive purchase.
It's insane to expect companies like Ubisoft to go ahead with a project they know will lose money (like Rayman Legends) in order to help Nintendo out. These companies have decided to be publishers so they can work under a model of each project being judged for itself. They could all put together consoles quite easily themselves, they know these machines inside out, but they don't because they don't want that hassle.
Nintendo still carries the reputation of how horrible they were to publishers AND retailers back in the 80s and early 90s, but none of these companies want Nintendo to fail, as another successful console is another market for them, but they're not going to lose money to help them out.
If anything, some publishers gave Nintendo more of a chance than the others. Ubisoft was there with TWO exclusives on launch day, and even if you completely discount Rabbids Land, ZombiU was a proper game, built for the Wii U. Did they give Xbone or PS4 any exclusives for launch? Nope, all they gave them was upscaled PS3/360 ports, but those sold and ensured Ubisoft pushed ahead with putting games on the machines.
All the big sports games got their chance on Wii U at launch. Madden, FIFA, NBA 2k were all there. They weren't gimped, they were equal to the 360/PS3 versions (PS4 or Xbone didn't exist back then remember). They all sold poorly so the obvious decision gets made to not invest in making new engines run on the Wii U, and the console gets legacy versions from there on.
Re: It's Nintendo Switch Petition Time, With Miiverse on the Agenda
Personally I never saw the appeal. Admittedly I have zero interest in fan art which seems a big part of it, but it was impossible to actually discuss things on there.
Re: Pokémon Sun and Moon Are Now the Fastest Nintendo Games to Clear 4 Million Sales
@MitchVogel I wouldn't say it's dying, but constantly selling more software each year is a pretty standard claim for any piece of hardware that's not yet been replaced? In 2016 there were more 3DS owners than 2015 so you'd guess they would obviously sell more software? It's only once those machines are put away that the software sales start to go down.
Ultimately Nintendo will decide when the 3DS is done. I wonder would something like the next game in the Mario and Luigi series automatically get made for Switch now? They could have easily just put FE: Echoes on Switch so I wonder if they do intend to keep prompting the 3DS. E3 will give us a better idea if the 3DS will continue beyond this year.
Re: Exclusive: Unlikely Legend Of Rusty Pup Confirmed For Switch, Wii U Version Canned
@AlphaJaguar I don't think this game is crowd funded? I can't see any mention of it.
Re: Reggie on Wii U Support Going Forward
It's sad that we have to worry about Wii U multiplayer severs going down. Xbox 360 and PS3 have them up and running still. Nintendo do like to shut things off pretty early though.
Re: Editorial: Pricing Blunders Have Distorted The Narrative Around Nintendo Switch
Price is a big factor for people. A PS4 with 2 games can be had for 40% less than the Switch launches for without a game. People will say it's a new console, you can't expect it to be cheap, but people are looking at how you can get a more powerful console with a bigger library for a lot less money. £80 is 2 brand new games you could be getting with that PS4 instead.
I also don't see how anyone can defend that launch line up. Zelda looks amazing but will be on Wii U, and that's the only thing on day 1 that's not shovelware. If you're happy paying £330 to play the game instead of just spending £40 to get it on the console you already own then good for you, it's your money, but don't expect many to agree it's worth it.
These two points alone are HUGE downers for many people. People will hold off, wait for a price drop, wait for a bigger library, and suddenly the Switch is in the same situation as Wii U.
Re: The Wii U Generated Just 2.1 Percent Of UK Games Market Revenue In 2016
I doubt anyone is still reading, but here is the US Top 10 for 2016. Pretty much identical to the UK chart but 3 sports games instead of 1
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (Activision Blizzard)
Battlefield 1 (EA)
Tom Clancy’s The Division (Ubisoft)
NBA 2K17 (Take-Two)
Madden NFL 17 (EA)
Grand Theft Auto V (Take-Two)
Overwatch (Activision Blizzard)
Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Activision Blizzard)
FIFA 17 (EA)
Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix)
Re: Fire Emblem Heroes Revealed for Mobile, Arrives on Android on 2nd February
I thought the gameplay looked great, but why is it so poor graphically? Even an iPhone 5 can outpace a 3DS in terms of specs, so there's no excuse for the bland, 2D visuals.
Re: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Coming to 3DS on 19th May
Great way to get another game out there by reusing an engine and maps, characters and plot. Very smart decision!
With how much they're pushing the series, surely the Radiant games HAVE to be in line for some kind of re-release? It's a huge shame new fans pretty much have no way to play these.
Re: New Main Series Fire Emblem Title Coming to Nintendo Switch in 2018
Now there's a reason to buy a Switch! Will probably pick up the console the day this comes out, along with Splatoon 2 and Mario Odyssey (maybe Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will even be out!)
Re: Talking Point: What We Hope to See in the Fire Emblem Nintendo Direct
I know it's a long shot, but I'd love to see them do something like a Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn HD Remaster Collection. I (like many others) only got into Fire Emblem with the release of Awakening. By that point every other release in the West was rare and fairly expensive. I lucked out with the GBA games on VC, and for Radiant Dawn, had to pay the price of a new release for a used copy, that was fine. Path of Radiance costs more used than a Gamecube did on day of launch however, and I can't ever pay that much for a game. Let us play it, Nintendo!
Awakenings and Fates did better than ever, but they're still quite a way off a 'big name' IP at this point. If Nintendo really wanted to push it, you'd think making past games easier to play would be high on the agenda.
Re: New PlayStation Releases Push Evergreen 3DS Titles Down Charts in Japan
I think it's becoming quite clear that Sun and Moon aren't going to match X and Y in sales despite there being nearly double the 3DS units out there compared to 2013. Something to chew over for those that think Nintendo on mobile is purely in order to promote their dedicated games.
Re: Here's How Dragon Quest Heroes II On Switch Shapes Up Against The PS4 Version
That's a very clear downgrade to my eyes, but is that down to a bad port rather than hardware? Look at what happens to the window arches on Switch. Pretty sure it can handle curved lines. These images don't even look as good as the PS3 version of the original.
Re: Pokémon GO Racked Up $950 Million In Revenue During 2016
And sadly it shows why so much of the industry is going mobile. Nintendo's AAA games probably cost more than ten times as much to make, and would be lucky to get 10% of this revenue.
Re: Here's a Transcript of what Suda51 Said During the Nintendo Switch Presentation
No wonder the translator lost his way in that epic ramble. Always excited for more Suda51 games.
Re: Rumour: Fire Emblem Fates Could Be Getting A Nintendo Switch Port
I love Fates but would struggle to see the point. It's not a big name system sells despite it being bigger than ever, and any FE fan will already have it on 3DS.
Get working on the next one instead!
Re: Airplane Mode Symbol Spotted In Nintendo Switch UI, Sets Tongues Wagging
Luckily I have unlimited data with my phone, so combining it with a hotspot and I should be able to be online anytime I need with a Switch anyway (it's brilliant for remote play on the Vita too, been scavenging for supplies in The Division on my lunches for the last week).
Re: Investors React Negatively to Nintendo Switch Launch Details
People here make fun of stock traders for not understanding the gaming market, but it's clear most gamers don't understand the stock market.
These traders will have shares in hundreds of companies. All they care about is whether the value of their shares will go up and down. The idea they should all hold onto their shares until Christmas is ridiculous. They can invest that money over a hundred times between now and then and earn substantial amounts.
Re: The Wii U Generated Just 2.1 Percent Of UK Games Market Revenue In 2016
@clevbrowns94 Why is it an unfair comparison? In the US, Microsoft and Sony outsell Nintendo by a huge margin, just like the UK. In the US, Call of Duty and sports games outsell Nintendo's big games, just like in the UK. The two markets have pretty much the exact same taste in gaming.
Re: Guide: A Breakdown of Confirmed Nintendo Switch Games and Release Dates
Zelda looks amazing, but considering we can all play it on Wii U, I don't see any reason at all to even be considering a Switch for launch. I was sure they'd have a fantastic line up this time, as it feels like so many of Nintendo's studios have barely done anything since around 2010. I figured perhaps they'd been working on Wii U games, but by early 2014, they were already moving stuff to Switch. Now that we can see it's even more bare than the 3DS and Wii U launch, it really makes you wonder what the hell is going on.
I GET that they probably want to hold things back for E3 (or maybe they don't, as lately they seem to treat E3 like the console race, as in we can't compete here, let's do our own thing, at our time), but do they really think this is enough? We keep getting told Retro has more than one team, but the only games they've produced in a decade are two side-scrolling Donkey Kong games?
I will definitely get a Switch at some point, as I get every Nintendo console, but they've made it pretty easy to hold off. I'm not mad or anything, I have plenty to play, but it's just this feeling of... what the heck you been doing, Nintendo?
Re: Nintendo Switch Will Be Easier To Find Than The NES Classic At Launch, Says Reggie Fils-Aime
You can't take anything Reggie says seriously. These days, he hardly has any decisions to make as that part of the role has all been handed back to people in Japan. His job is to put positive spin on whatever situation Nintendo are in. Just look at that nonsense about not expecting demand for the NES Mini. If you don't think anyone wants to buy a product, you don't release it. Fact is, he had no control over how many units they got, but now he has to try and explain it all.
Re: Dragon Quest Heroes 1 And 2 Are Brawling Their Way To Nintendo Switch In Japan
@KappaBeta I like it more than a standard Dynasty Warriors game, but not as much as Hyrule Warriors.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think of the Nintendo Switch Presentation?
It was pretty much what I expected, in that it's not some bold new era, it's just a continuation of the Wii U. The console is what they wanted the Wii U to be and it's the same kind of games we've been getting.
My biggest worries were confirmed when the first two games they choose to show were ultra casual faire. Nintendo still wants those people back so badly and put so much effort and resources into what might very well be a lost cause.
The highlight by far was Mario. It looked utterly fantastic. No more linear paths and not just the same tired level themes we've been getting for years. Gives me hope that not all is lost.
Won't be picking one up anytime soon though, especially at the UK price point. I understand exchange rate plays a part but it's too much to pay at launch when the one game I really want is not out til the end of the year.
Re: Nintendo Switch Has 32GB Internal Memory, Expandable With Micro SD Cards
I don't think it will affect sales, but it's definitely going to be frustrating. I just don't know how they think 32GB is good enough. The Xbox 360 launched with 20GB and that was 12 years ago.
Re: Nintendo Switch Will Cost £279.99 In The UK
Absolutely ridiculous price! No doubt when it flops at launch people will just say the UK hates Nintendo. 40% more than a PS4 with a game costs. Their focus still seems to be on the casual market, but the casuals won't pay this.
Re: The Wii U Generated Just 2.1 Percent Of UK Games Market Revenue In 2016
So many ignorant people belittling the UK market's tastes in gaming. NPD figures come out tonight and I guarantee it will be just as bad for North America. In fact, it's worse, because you usually get at least 3 sports titles in the top 10 EVERY year (Madden, FIFA, NBA2K)
@XCWarrior I very much doubt Nintendo's share in the US is much better than 8% Just check out NPD every month. PS4 and Xbone each outsell the Wii U by over 10 to 1 every single month. 3DS isn't faring much better. I think you're probably doing the exact thing you're accusing others of doing. You're in the US and your opinion is that Nintendo is doing okay, then you come online and see articles about how Nintendo is struggling in the UK. The same news comes out every month with NPD about how it's just as bad in North America but Nintendo Life won't post the numbers because NPD is meant to be for members only.
Re: The Wii U Generated Just 2.1 Percent Of UK Games Market Revenue In 2016
The biggest surprise in the whole thing for me is Rocket League's physical version being in the top 25 selling games. For a game that surely had a much bigger digital presence, that's a phenomenal success!
Re: Nintendo Apparently Told Square "Never Come Back" After Losing Final Fantasy VII To Sony
No surprise. Nintendo's unfounded arrogance in this period was greater than even the 18 months that took in the launch of the 3DS and Wii U. Yamauchi wanted porting between other machines to be near impossible. He figured Nintendo was the market leader, so every publisher would make the N64 the lead platform and then their rivals (Sega) would have no chance to see ports. Backfired spectacularly when it turned out it was Nintendo needing the ports as so many flocked to the PlayStation!
Re: Review: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS)
Not QUITE as excited for this one as I was VII, as that game NEVER came out in Europe on any format before, but will still pick this up when I see it for under £25. Came close to pre-ordering with Amazon as it's £26.99 for Prime members.
Re: GameStop References Pokémon On Nintendo Switch Product Page
I believe Stars definitely is coming, but probably not until November. Would they reveal it now, and risk harming the Sun and Moon sales?
Re: Nikkei Reports a Nintendo Switch Price of 25,000 Yen, Prompting $250 Speculation
The drop in the pound exchange rate has really screwed things. £200 wouldn't be that cheap, as you've been able to quite easily get a PS4 + 2 games for that, but £200 would also be a LOT less than Nintendo are used to getting when it's converted to dollars or yen. Because of this, I'm expecting over £200, and therefore more expensive than a PS4. In the UK at least, it's going to be expensive enough to make consumers unhappy, and not be expensive enough for Nintendo to really be happy either when the profits get sent home.
Re: Poll: One Week to Go - How Are Your Nintendo Switch Presentation Hype Levels?
I'm not too excited for it. I know I'll get one at some point like every other console/handheld, but I don't see a drastic change of direction here. I see a console that is probably what they wanted the Wii U to be, but couldn't pull off back in 2012, and I can just see the same sort of good, but unambitious games we've got through the Wii U's life carrying on with the Switch. It doesn't feel like anything is REALLY changing, or that it's a new generation or anything like that.
I am looking forward with interest to see just how many of the Wii U's problems they rectify, mainly with regards to the account side of things and the digital store, along with how easy it will be for the rest of the industry to bring their games over to it, but I wouldn't really call it excitement.
I also cringe slightly as I can already see this whole thing play out on this community. No matter is shown on the 12th, posters here will declare it the greatest event ever, a console that perfectly suits what they want. The Switch will sell out for launch (like all other Nintendo hardware), and it will be called an outstanding success when Nintendo put out that press release saying they've sold all 2 million consoles on the first weekend, utterly ignoring the fact there's nothing outstanding about such a feat.
Perhaps the closest thing to genuine excitement is finally seeing what Retro has been up to all this time. Maybe a proper look at the new Mario, but that already looks very close to 3D World, which goes back to what I said about the type of game we got on Wii U. They were not bad, but a lot of them were just retreads, and/or quite shallow experiences compared to previous games in the series.
Re: Pokémon Sun and Moon, Along With 3DS, Led 2016 Sales in Japan
Japan is a dead market, as sad as it is to see as someone that was gaming in the era that Japanese games seemed to blow away the Western ones. No hardware sells enough for Japanese devs to make games just for Japan, and when they try and incorporate Western ideas, it usually falls flat. Only 2 games selling over a million all year! 17 million PS4s sold in 2016, and less than 2 million of them in Japan. Barely 10% They've all gone mobile and I don't see them coming back.
Re: Confusion Reigns Over Zelda: Breath Of The Wild's Release Date In Europe
Nintendo gonna Nintendo. No other major publisher seems to need all this extra time for localisation. It's not as simple as 'just import'. The currency exchange rate is weak and import tax is high. I bought a $60 item in December and it cost me £72 by the time I got my hands on it (20 import tax + an unavoidable handling fee and that was with FREE shipping. That's DOUBLE what a game costs to buy in the U.K. It's not a viable solution!
Re: Check Out These SNES Inspired Sneakers
I hate most video game clothing, wouldn't be caught dead in any of the Nintendo vans, but apart from the tongue label I love these.
Hate how there's no subtlety in video game clothing. I like the idea of something that only a few people would even realise is related to a game rather that huge logos and characters plastered across stuff.
Re: Playtonic Games Adds Two More Former Rare Devs to its Ranks
The Switch version is pretty much confirmed, so don't see why people are whining about coverage. They're just not allowed to say until the Nintendo. The fact they've said they'll reveal more about allowing Kickstarters to upgrade to Switch in January tells you that.
Re: Editorial: The 3D Effect - A Smart 3DS Feature That Struggled to Find Its True Depth
My slider has been firmly set to off since the day I bought it. Can't stand 3D movies, and dislike 3D gaming even more. Happy to see it and the double screens go away.
Re: Persona 5 Will Not Be Coming to the Switch
I don't think it was 'a given' as so many people seem to be saying. Persona has only been on Playstation systems by default. Don't think there's any contract in place.
Re: Poll: Are You Optimistic for Nintendo's 2017?
Not very optimistic. I think Nintendo will still put most of their focus into the Wii crowd, the people now playing games on their phones and tablets. I really think we'll just see the same sort of games that were on Wii U continue on Switch. It's got to the point they regularly mock people who like play long games on their own, the sort of people that bought their consoles before the Wii.
Re: Rumour: Egyptian Assassin's Creed Game To Release Simultaneously On PS4/Xbox/Switch
Egypt might be cool but I desperately want them to do Japan and ninjas. Pretty sure it's coming after that artwork in either 3 or 4 laid out a bunch of settings that each game since has taken from. I guess by Christmas 2019 the use base of the PS4/Xbone/Switch will be pretty damn huge too.
Re: More Switch Rumors From Laura Kate Dale
I love the idea of cheap docks so you can hook one up to all the TVs in your home, or somewhere else! I've done the same thing with PSTV units so I can remote play and it's like having a PS4 wherever I want one.
Storage sounds like it will be a huge problem again though.
Re: Rumour: Intelligent Systems Has Canned A Crashmo Sequel For Wii U
I love the blox/mo games, but we've got quite a few of them between 3DS and Wii U now, and it's not THAT disappointing that they've moved onto something new, unless it was really, REALLY close to completion. I'd love FE on Switch but not really sure that's what Nintendo would put them on to start with. I know the recent 3DS games have done better than ever before, but it's still the numbers of a fairly niche series, not really the sort of system selling title Nintendo probably want.
Re: Editorial: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from All at Nintendo Life
Merry Christmas everyone!
Re: Editorial: The Nintendo Switch 'Power' Debate is Likely Missing the Point
I always (eventually) buy all the consoles, so personally don't NEED a high spec Nintendo console, but I do think to do well, it needs multi platform titles, so it needs to have similar architecture to other machines so porting is easy.
I've been very down on Nintendo for six years now, but I want to see them successful in the home console market so much. People talk about the money in the bank and how many failed consoles they can go through but that's not how business works. Nintendo exist to make money, and they'll do what they have to in order to keep making money. Worldwide in 2016, mobile games made almost DOUBLE the money that consoles and handhelds made. The worry of Nintendo going more and more towards this market is a very real one for me.
I won't buy multi platform games on Switch but people like us are not the ones that ultimately decide what becomes a successful product. If Nintendo can offer people the latest Call of Duty, the latest sports games and things like Mario Kart and Pokemon all on one machine then they have a real chance. To do that, they need to quit being stubborn and making hardware different fir the sake of it. What advantage did the Wii U get from being so different? I don't mean the game pad or colourful graphics. All that could have been done whil still using a more standard architecture. Nintendo went back to it's pre-N64 arrogance and made something different just because they thought everyone else would bend over backwards to be involved and just like the 64 it backfired in a big way.
Specs matter in far more important ways than shinier graphics.
Re: Super Mario Run Races to 50 Million Downloads
Pretty sure Mario is still a bigger name than Pokemon. I know Pokemon is also huge, but the mainline Pokemon games tend to sell 12-15m. NSMB on DS and Wii sold 30m each! Mario Run had the potential to be an even bigger hit than Pokemon Go (and no doubt a fraction of the development cost) but it does look like Nintendo has dented it's success slightly by pricing it so high. Yeah, I know it's not a huge amount at the end of the day as people love to point out, but it's more expensive than a lot of mobile games that are much better than it.
Re: Uncharted And Last Of Us Designer Says Super Mario Run Is One Of His Games Of The Year
Kotaku also put it in their favourite games of the year list. Seems crazy to me. I don't think it's bad, but I also don't think it's anywhere near the best mobile games that have come out this year but each to their own.
Re: Deals: Grab A New Nintendo 3DS With Game And Cover Plate For Just £150 From Nintendo UK
Don't really think it's a particularly great deal! I got a 3DS XL with Mario Kart 7 for £130 3 years ago. I know that's not a 'New 3DS' but it was the latest/most expensive model at the time. Would expect things to be a lot cheaper by now, especially the small model.
Would love to see them match the $99 deal the US got recently. THAT was a bargain.