Nintendo Switch discussion

[VenomousAlbino]

Now it's been out for over a month, what are everyone's impressions? Personally I love it; switching to/from the TV or handheld modes is easy and incredibly fast, the UI is simple and free of clutter, the battery life is more than long enough for extended sessions and that screen - even if it is only 720p - is gorgeous.

As was the case with the Wii and Wii U, the Switch will definitely be the go-to system for multiplayer in our house; I have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on pre-order and also have my eye on Fast RMX, Super Bomberman R, Puyo Puyo Tetris and Jackbox Party Pack 3.

Splatoon 2, Sonic Mania and Super Mario Odyssey are the games I'm most eagerly anticipating this year. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is another one I'm looking forward to and I wouldn't be adversed to Nintendo porting more Wii U games to the Switch in the future. I'm also eager to know when Nintendo plans to launch Virtual Console on the system and whether or not there's any truth behind those ongoing rumours of Gamecube games being included.

 

[JackSkellington]

I haven't bought one yet. There is barely anything on it. It's all just ports and gimmick games really, in my view. It feels like a super rushed launch.

I've been a huge Nintendo fan for many many years- however they have disappointed me time after time, so it's hard to believe Switch wont just die quick like Wii U did. They promised a better Switch launch than Wii U. I just don't see it. Switch is near impossible to find- and launch lineup was pretty poor, controller issues, etc. To be fair.. most system launches haven't been great though. I'm still a bit ticked at Nintendo for ditching NES Classic so soon. It feels like it was around just to help keep Nintendo in the news/hype up the Switch more.

A big part of me feels like Virtual Console games will come at a snail's pace like they did in the past. As a huge game collector, I don't have a huge interest in digital games unless they are for hard to find/expensive older games.

I think the days of Nintendo surviving on Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and a few others is almost a thing of the past. I will admit I bought Nintendo systems mainly for a few Mario games and Fire Emblem in the past. Most of their other exclusives never did much for me. So Switch honestly needs great exclusives and a decent Virtual Console to be a buy from me. You know what would be amazing? A decent Paper Mario that is similar to Mario RPG and/or Paper Mario 1+2! But doubt it will happen. I still remember the interview where they said Mario+Luigi for portable is RPG, and Paper Mario is officially now action/adventure (or whatever).. because they refused to do two RPG series for Mario. Paper Mario was around FIRST- it shouldn't go through a dumb genre change because the game makers are stubborn.

Anyway- time will tell. Perhaps I will get a Switch one day.

 

[VenomousAlbino]

@JackSkellington to me personally, one of the main reasons I'm so enamoured with the Switch is that it fulfils one of the selling points of the Wii U that that console failed to deliver on: portability. While playing with the Wii U gamepad was fine when in the same room as the console itself, as soon as I took it upstairs I'd experience non-stop connectivity issues and input lag or sometimes the thing would lose its connection entirely; same thing happens whenever I try to do PS4 Remote Play through my Vita. But with the Switch it doesn't matter where I am, and the fact that I have a home console that I can take anywhere and play something like Breath of the Wild in another room or in bed or on a car journey or on the toilet consistently amazes me.

To say that the Switch's launch is lacklustre and that the console is doomed to fail seems kinda presumptuous in my opinion. There were multiple reasons to which you could chalk up the Wii U's failure, plus no console's launch lineup of games has ever been exemplary; it's always one or two great games and a load of guff. I'd also like to think that Nintendo's strategy of aggressively signing up and marketing indie titles bodes well. Personally, from now on if an indie game - or third-party "AAA" release for that matter - releases on both PS4/XBone and Switch, that "play anywhere" factor will always sway me toward the Switch version.

 

[JackSkellington]

I was never a huge fan of portables, so that's why I'm not amazed by Switch yet. I was never a person to take my Gameboy to the bathroom. Just seems gross. Lots and lots of germs in there and it could easily spread to your handheld. Then wherever the handheld goes- the germs invade that area. I'm not a germaphobe by any means.. but I do know the bathroom is a good breeding ground for them.

If Nintendo added 3DS/DS adaptor to Switch- I would be interested. Tons of stuff I want on DS and 3DS but wont get due to it's small screen. I'm not going to hope much for DS will be on Switch Virtual Console- because Wii U got a tiny selection. I've seen the Virtual Console lists (a bit ago, not super recently)- almost everything past Super NES has barely any offerings on the Wii, Wii U and 3DS libraries. Nintendo (and most companies for that matter) just think people don't play retro enough, so they don't bother with getting old games ported much. Sure they will throw a bone out there- Virtual Console, NES Remix stuff, NES Classic, etc.. but it's just sickening how they treat their longtime fans.

 

[VenomousAlbino]

I'd like to put a disclaimer in here: I've never actually played a handheld on the toilet; not because of the germs but because I'd be terrified of dropping it in there.

In regards to Virtual Console, I'd like to see DS/3DS games on Switch, although I'm not sure how they'd pull off the dual screens. Maybe holding the Switch vertically might work? I totally agree that consoles post-SNES haven't had nearly enough love on Virtual Console thus far. If Gamecube games do end up coming to Switch via VC, I'd love to see Nintendo really lean into that as there are a ton of GC games that I either neither played or never finished - I was terrible for not finishing games back in the GC/PS2/Xbox era - that I'd snap up on Switch. To be honest, I imagine that if Nintendo put Metroid Prime on there, people would lose their sh*t.

 

[The Penguin]

@JackSkellington to me personally, one of the main reasons I'm so enamoured with the Switch is that it fulfils one of the selling points of the Wii U that that console failed to deliver on: portability. While playing with the Wii U gamepad was fine when in the same room as the console itself, as soon as I took it upstairs I'd experience non-stop connectivity issues and input lag or sometimes the thing would lose its connection entirely; same thing happens whenever I try to do PS4 Remote Play through my Vita. But with the Switch it doesn't matter where I am, and the fact that I have a home console that I can take anywhere and play something like Breath of the Wild in another room or in bed or on a car journey or on the toilet consistently amazes me.

Which got me thinking of the Switch some what more like portable console instead of a standalone console.

I waited for the bus once and seen someone play with their Switch. Seem like an interesting console. Not sure if I would get one for myself. Maybe Nintendo seeing many people playing video games on their mobile device which might relate why they choose the design for the Switch.

I haven't got any modern consoles with the exception of the Wii U. The only reason buying the Wii U was to play games with a friend, and I have free points at a store to get $200 off so it was almost like a free console for me.

Nintendo is currently the only vendor that manage to stay in the market the longest. I guess we see how Nintendo do within the next few years with the Switch.

 

[Sylar]

I've been a huge Nintendo fan for many many years- however they have disappointed me time after time, so it's hard to believe Switch wont just die quick like Wii U did.

I have to agree with this, I'm honestly surprised it's selling as well as it is. I know launch titles for new consoles (especially Nintendo) are pretty weak but even ignoring that there are so many red flags.

The Switch is too expensive for my liking. Other Nintendo consoles have been easier on the wallet than the competition but this is more expensive than the PS4 and XBox One despite being significantly less power, and that's just for the base console, you also have all the different controllers you'll need if you want to play offline multiplayer which also carry a shocking price tag. And they've lost their biggest advantage over the other consoles by getting rid of free online multiplayer in favour of a subscription service, in doing so they've given themselves a disadvantage by not only giving you classic Nintendo games for the monthy free games, but you only get to have them for that month rather than as long as you have the subscription. I also read that the multiplayer service wouldn't even be available until months after the launch but that might have changed between the time the article was written and the launch of the console.

This video also highlight some issues that put me off:

I've not played a game on my Wii U in nearly a year and haven't even turned my 3DS on in over a year so I'm probably going to pass on the Switch. I don't enjoy the Zelda games at all so I'm not drawn to the new one and they've already killed the appeal of Mario Kart by giving us Mario Kart 8 with some extras rather than Mario Kart 9. I don't care about Pokemon or any of the little Mario spin-offs like the sports games or Paper Mario or the Party series. In the end I just don't see much point in getting one, just like with the X-Box One, I'm not interested in the exclusive titles and the cross-platform games are available on the PS4 which I own so I might as well stick with that since I don't even play on that much.

I'm sure the fans of those games will love the console and if you have one and enjoy it then I'm happy for you. If the price drops and a new Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros and Mario 3D World come out I might change my mind, but until then.

 

[xudo]

I was never a person to take my Gameboy to the bathroom. Just seems gross. Lots and lots of germs in there and it could easily spread to your handheld. Then wherever the handheld goes- the germs invade that area. I'm not a germaphobe by any means.. but I do know the bathroom is a good breeding ground for them.

It's absolutely disgusting and nobody should ever do that. I should add I do have some issues surrounding germs stemming from OCD.

I'd like to put a disclaimer in here: I've never actually played a handheld on the toilet; not because of the germs but because I'd be terrified of dropping it in there.

And I would like to put a second disclaimer that he will in no way ever be using the Switch in the bathroom, because I have to use it too and that's gross.

 

[Questella]

I'm sure I'll get one when there is a RPG pokemon game on my for the switch.
I've gotten every Nintendo handheld just for pokemon... -.- I only have pokemon games for my 3ds >/ nothing else ever caught my eye. Though I will be getting the mario maker on the 3ds since I missed out on the Wii U I'm still totally wtf I can't believe I missed out.

 

[VenomousAlbino]

I also read that the multiplayer service wouldn't even be available until months after the launch but that might have changed between the time the article was written and the launch of the console.

Yeah, Switch already has online multiplayer up and running. I'm not sure what games altogether support it, but I know Super Bomberman R and Fast RMX definitely do.

 

[VenomousAlbino]

@Xenocity I noticed you've been playing Super Bomberman R. How is it? I'm not especially interested in the campaign but my brother and I played the hell out of multiplayer on Mega Bomberman on the Mega Drive/Genesis and it was always a good time.

@Questella Super Mario Maker is fantastic on Wii U but the online functionality is apparently pretty gimped on the 3DS. I did toy around with getting it on 3DS but ultimately decided against it; give me a Switch version though and I'll absolutely jump straight back in.

 

[Misery]

I definitely find the thing interesting from a design point of view. They've certainly come up with a creative and practical idea here, for the most part. And there's no damn focus on screwball motion controls (is why I loathe the original Wii so much). I dont care about the price.

No, the problem for me with the thing is simple: Terrible selection of games. Particularly for someone that's coming from PC gaming (where there's tens of thousands of available games at any time, releasing too rapidly to keep up with). On the Switch, there are TWO, exactly TWO, games I could possibly care about: Splatoon, and Mario. And.... that's it. There just isnt anything else. And no, I dont care about Zelda; I've not had an interest in the series ever since Ocarina, and I *loathe* open-world games (or as I call them, Ubisoft-style action games).

Now if they made a Mario Maker game for the Switch, THAT I'd jump into instantly. But.... this is Nintendo. I may have gained alot of respect for them in the last couple of years, but they tend to do the absolute direct opposite of whatever it is I'd like them to do at all times. Mario Maker is my favorite, it's popular, it's sold well, it's freaking Mario, it encourages creativity.... so Nintendo wont think of ANY of that and wont make another one for the Switch. That's just how it'll be. Typical.

Mostly then, it's all about Splatoon, because I'm not *entirely* certain about the Mario one. I love Mario, but the 3D ones.... I dont always get along with those. Come to think of it, the ONLY full 3D Mario game I've particularly liked is Mario 64.... and even that has problems, I'd still rather play any of the 2D ones.

So for now, there's no reason for me to get one of these. Typical for me when it comes to consoles though. The PS4 is so bloody useless that I have no idea where mine went and dont yet care enough to look for it, the XBone looks *awful* and has yet another version of what I consider the second worst controller ever made, and I dont even HAVE any consoles from the previous couple of generations. The Wii was a loathesome device, the 360 irritated me too much with it's hell controller, and the PS2 is the single worst piece of electronics I've ever owned and was consigned to a watery demise after it pushed my patience too far. And I barely remember the original Xbox. All I've got now as consoles go (aside from the old ones) is the Wii U, which mostly exists to play Mario Maker. Doesnt really do anything else.

Super Mario Maker is fantastic on Wii U but the online functionality is apparently pretty gimped on the 3DS. I did toy around with getting it on 3DS but ultimately decided against it; give me a Switch version though and I'll absolutely jump straight back in.

It's not just gimped: It's outright missing. No level uploading, no downloading, no.... anything. Make levels of your own and only you will ever play them, and that's all you can do. Apparently they thought that giving it the stupid Streetpass thing ONLY was a good idea. I really, really hope someone got fired for that. And forced to work at McDonalds for the next 8 years.

 

[VenomousAlbino]

@Misery While I think that calling the selection of games - both out and announced as coming in the future - "terrible" is a little unfair considering the Switch hasn't even been out for two months yet and we're still pre-E3, it's completely understandable that if the games that have been announced don't interest you, then the console wouldn't either. There's little point in dropping that much money on something you'll never or rarely use; that's the same reason there'd probably be no Xbox One in our house if @xudo hadn't bought one.

 

[Misery]

@Misery While I think that calling the selection of games - both out and announced as coming in the future - "terrible" is a little unfair considering the Switch hasn't even been out for two months yet and we're still pre-E3, it's completely understandable that if the games that have been announced don't interest you, then the console wouldn't either. There's little point in dropping that much money on something you'll never or rarely use; that's the same reason there'd probably be no Xbox One in our house if @xudo hadn't bought one.

To a degree this is true, at least theoretically, but even to me, the other consoles didnt have this issue even close to as much (even for the PS4, I still have a good 6 games for it). Nintendo however is absolutely infamous for having a really bad selection on every console that's come after the SNES. Even for players that are really positive, the opposite of my usual negativity. People outright EXPECT that bad selection now (and even from positive players, the number of people that I've seen stating "bad selection" as the reason why they'll likely never buy one is stunning). That company is downright legendary for their godawful 3rd party support (the Wii was sort of an exception... however, 3rd party support on that thing came in the form of a barrage of terrible shovelware games... it got SO bad that the "official Nintendo seal of quality" was changed to be just "official Nintendo seal"). Combine this with the fact that they produce 1st-party games at the speed of a dead frog in sludge with a house strapped to it's back, and you get a really bad selection. The thing is, this fact will be the same even at the end of the year, when it's had plenty of time to put out more. Even at this time next year, it's likely to STILL be just as bad. Hell, the Gamecube and N64 had the very same issue.... throughout their entire lifespan. They NEVER got better because new releases were so slow to appear. Heck, I really liked both of those consoles.... but in the end, the N64 existed only to play Mario 64 and Blast Corps, and the GCN was just "the Phantasy Star Online box", because they just hardly had anything else.

 

[VenomousAlbino]

To a degree this is true, at least theoretically, but even to me, the other consoles didnt have this issue even close to as much (even for the PS4, I still have a good 6 games for it). Nintendo however is absolutely infamous for having a really bad selection on every console that's come after the SNES. Even for players that are really positive, the opposite of my usual negativity. People outright EXPECT that bad selection now (and even from positive players, the number of people that I've seen stating "bad selection" as the reason why they'll likely never buy one is stunning). That company is downright legendary for their godawful 3rd party support (the Wii was sort of an exception... however, 3rd party support on that thing came in the form of a barrage of terrible shovelware games... it got SO bad that the "official Nintendo seal of quality" was changed to be just "official Nintendo seal"). Combine this with the fact that they produce 1st-party games at the speed of a dead frog in sludge with a house strapped to it's back, and you get a really bad selection. The thing is, this fact will be the same even at the end of the year, when it's had plenty of time to put out more. Even at this time next year, it's likely to STILL be just as bad. Hell, the Gamecube and N64 had the very same issue.... throughout their entire lifespan. They NEVER got better because new releases were so slow to appear. Heck, I really liked both of those consoles.... but in the end, the N64 existed only to play Mario 64 and Blast Corps, and the GCN was just "the Phantasy Star Online box", because they just hardly had anything else.

All valid points, especially the one concerning third party support. Prior to the Switch's launch it seemed like Nintendo at least has its sights set on a bustling indie scene this time around but there's been some concerns raised recently - by anonymous developers and publishers - regarding curation of the Switch eShop. I guess like all consoles only time will tell on that one.

Personally though, I buy a Nintendo console to play Nintendo games. Yeah, they're notoriously slow to appear but generally - with Wii U being the exception - by the time a Nintendo console's life cycle ends, I feel like I've got my money's worth.

 

[Xenocity]

@Xenocity I noticed you've been playing Super Bomberman R. How is it? I'm not especially interested in the campaign but my brother and I played the hell out of multiplayer on Mega Bomberman on the Mega Drive/Genesis and it was always a good time.

It's fun. Story mode is a bit of a pain when playing alone.
I'll play it again when my cousin comes back over.
Multiplayer is really fun.

I've but the game back in it's case, because it's boring in single player.

Though I did get the game for $40 instead of $50 due to a sale.

Right now I am playing Mario Kart 8: Deluxe! It is so much better than the original, especially due to the return of double items (Boo is the new returning item in Deluxe) and power drift (3 levels again)
It also has an optional auto accelerate too.
The game is way more chaotic with items and blue shells than the original.

Though I've played an hour of it, my right thumb can't take anymore.

Also playing with a single joycon is not bad at all.

I've also been playing Puyo Puyo Tetris which is addictive puzzler. Though obviously it would be more fun with humans in the same room. (Digital on Switch is $30)

Lastly I've also gotten addicted to the indie game graceful explosions machine. The game is an addictive old school side scrolling arcade shooter. You play as a spaceship who must destroy all the alien enemies to clear the level.
You scroll can scroll left or right. You can switch directions by pressing one of the shoulder buttons.
The longer you keep chaining kills, the higher your multiplier and score goes.

It's like R-type but not as fast paced.
Oh the explosions of the enemies are colorful squares.
It's only $12 on the eShop

I buy a new game almost every payday as a reward for making it to payday.

 

[Xenocity]

All valid points, especially the one concerning third party support. Prior to the Switch's launch it seemed like Nintendo at least has its sights set on a bustling indie scene this time around but there's been some concerns raised recently - by anonymous developers and publishers - regarding curation of the Switch eShop. I guess like all consoles only time will tell on that one.

Personally though, I buy a Nintendo console to play Nintendo games. Yeah, they're notoriously slow to appear but generally - with Wii U being the exception - by the time a Nintendo console's life cycle ends, I feel like I've got my money's worth.

Though to be fair Western third parties refuse to support a system that lacks 15-35 Western Male who wants to AAA blockbusters and shooters.
The Western third parties expect the platform holder to subsidize their games.

Microsoft spends almost $400 Million just to get EA to support Xbox One from the beginning.

Both Sony and Microsoft will spend almost $1 Billion each to get Westerm third parties to fully support their consoles.

The Japanese third parties are waiting to see how well Switch sells before fully jumping in.

Though Square-Enix said they are going to port and develop as many games as possible for Switch.

Anyways Third parties regularly cite Nintendo's first party games (Sony and Microsoft make very few) diverse user base (PS4 and Xbox One are almost entirely made up of 15-35 Western males who want AAA blockbusters and shooters), lack of financial help as the main reasons for avoiding Nintendo systems.

Funny enough Xbox One and PS4 only see shooters, sports, and AAA Blockbuster games sell well, while everything else bombs with a loud thud.
It's the inverse for Nintendo Systems.

Lastly the vast majority of third party games and practically all Western games release between September and December.
Until then... Switch won't get any Western games or most third party games.

 

[Misery]

Though to be fair Western third parties refuse to support a system that lacks 15-35 Western Male who wants to AAA blockbusters and shooters.

What's really unfortunate to me is just how much this bit really says about the state of the industry as it is now. As if I didnt hate cutscenes and FPS games enough as it is. But then, it's been like this for awhile now, eh? Certainly aint like this is a recent change. Ugh.

The Wii U ended up being nice and all... well, for Mario Maker and Splatoon at least... but overall I'm really glad I jumped ship for the PC when I did. Console game purchases for me now are stupidly rare, but I buy stuff on PC *way* too often (AKA, whenever I feel like it, which seems to be every few days or so).

Lastly I've also gotten addicted to the indie game graceful explosions machine. The game is an addictive old school side scrolling arcade shooter. You play as a spaceship who must destroy all the alien enemies to clear the level.
You scroll can scroll left or right. You can switch directions by pressing one of the shoulder buttons.
The longer you keep chaining kills, the higher your multiplier and score goes.

This one actually looks kinda interesting. Granted, I normally only stick to bullet-hell types nowadays when it comes to this genre (because they're the only sort capable of providing a challenge anymore) but still, doesnt look like a total "traditional" shmup either. Hm, reminds me of Defender. I wonder how many people would even recognize that name these days. Ugh. I feel old.

Still, that might be an interesting buy. Not that I need any more shmups though really, I've got... so many now.... but that's never enough I suppose.

 

[Xenocity]

What's really unfortunate to me is just how much this bit really says about the state of the industry as it is now. As if I didnt hate cutscenes and FPS games enough as it is. But then, it's been like this for awhile now, eh? Certainly aint like this is a recent change. Ugh.

The Wii U ended up being nice and all... well, for Mario Maker and Splatoon at least... but overall I'm really glad I jumped ship for the PC when I did. Console game purchases for me now are stupidly rare, but I buy stuff on PC *way* too often (AKA, whenever I feel like it, which seems to be every few days or so).

Yes dating back to PS1, this is when the shift occurred.
It didn't take full hold until 2003.

This one actually looks kinda interesting. Granted, I normally only stick to bullet-hell types nowadays when it comes to this genre (because they're the only sort capable of providing a challenge anymore) but still, doesnt look like a total "traditional" shmup either. Hm, reminds me of Defender. I wonder how many people would even recognize that name these days. Ugh. I feel old.

Still, that might be an interesting buy. Not that I need any more shmups though really, I've got... so many now.... but that's never enough I suppose.

It's really fun and fast paced.

 

[Xenocity]

From Nintendo's financial briefing (it was yesterday)

Switch Demographics!

Also Xenoblade Chronicles 2 confirmed again for this year!