Does the Switch Stand a Chance in 2017?

With the heavy competition lining up this year, does the Nintendo Switch stand to make a splash or will it flop?

[CrimsonWing69]

it'll make a splash-- in it's first year then you'll see the plateau flop that Nintendo is oh so famous for.

[SourtreeDing]

it does not stand a chance...

how are you gonna make the consumers of the Switch pay for online and not provide enough memory on the console for Patches and DLC? lol cant wait to see how this turns out
it also launches with 3 games.....
i dont see 3rd party supporting this in the long run.... this is them just being nice right now

DOA

[CrimsonWing69]

yea but keep in mind brand loyalists. All those who went out and bought a Wii U just because it was a Nintendo console. Don't underestimate what they'll do within the first 2 years. Then you'll see it dying.

[Lonnie18]

Right what is 32 gigs now-a-days lol

[_-EDMIX-_]

That became extremely apparent during their presentation it was essentially like a ghost town for major third-party publishers

[-Foxtrot]

A Majikarp makes a splash...but it's never effective

[CrimsonWing69]

Well played, sir

[XanderZane]

The hardcore gamers will snap it up really quickly and then it will start tumbling again, just like the Wii U. They have already sold out on Amazon. They still have some on Gamestop.com though.

http://www.gamestop.com/nes...

This is normal though. Same thing happened with the Wii U when it first launched.

[deadfrag]

Its going to flop due to price 329 euros and not even a game bundle.Dead on arrival.

[Paytaa]

And people will just rather buy a PS4 or Xbox One. If you're not a fan of any console exclusives but love console gaming then it's either Xbox or Playstation. I mean is vanilla Skyrim REALLY a selling point in 2017?

I had more hope for the Switch but after the reveal, it just seems like the Wii U again with a bit more incentive.

I applaud Nintendo for consistently going unconventional to try something new but I think they should release a console that a lot of people can get on board with and when and if that is successful try and build upon that with what they believe are innovative ideas.

[remixx116]

Exactly, skyrim is a 6 year old game yet it's being treated like such a huge deal.....

[XanderZane]

It was original leaked at a price of $250. I guess that rumor was false after all.

[Bennibop]

The have completely messed this up. High price, poor subscription service, lack of hdd space, only ports launching with the system, underpowered, short battery life and cost of peripherals.

[jerethdagryphon]

Spec wise its on par with a premium phone. I dont know about you but the idea of. Playing skyrim on a 6 inch screen. On trains or bus's doesnt appeal its too weak and not innovative in any way. Other then. Home to mobile better then remote play.

[Mykky]

That phone, I would like to see. At least I have never heard of a phone with the same specs as a slightly better ps3 or 360.

[jerethdagryphon]

As revealed in October, the Switch will use an Nvidia Tegra-based system-on-a-chip (SOC) for its processor

The tegra is a low power mobile chip with specs. Easily visable online and its cpu is arm based. Hence mobile phone. Tech. The lg g5 had 4gb ram an andeno 530gpu which pretty well matches tegra in most aspects and a quad core 2.15ghz snapdragon 820

[nitus10]

Actually, 32 GB of storage is fine if all you have on it is the operating system, game saves and DRM codes associated with each game which can reside on external media. If you can use SD cards for external media then to get the best performance you would have to consider class 10 cards which can be quite expensive although not as expensive as proprietary cards.

The only peripheral I would consider the most important is the so-called pro controller and when you add this to the cost of the Switch the overall price is on par with the PS4pro. Somehow the PS4pro looks very attractive considering its performance and features.

The only things the Switch has over the current consoles is the portability of a tablet and first party Nintendo games which for some people is all that they want.

[FallenAngel1984]

It stands a better chance than Wii U in 2017

[NukaCola]

Let us see what system sells more copies of Zelda

[sk8ofmnd]

The wiiu version! 😂 if that isnt a tastament of a botched new system i dont know what is.

[FallenAngel1984]

How is that going to make Wii U's position in 2017 any better when it nothing else to look forward to afterward

[_-EDMIX-_]

Well... it's also not going to help the switch if you consider one of the biggest titles coming to that platform is already coming to an existing platform.

[FallenAngel1984]

Are you really arguing that Wii U, which has no future after BotW and is being disregarded by its own manufacturer in addition to the rest of the industry, still has a better positioning this year than Switch, which still has plenty of other games besides BotW and will be Nintendo's main focus?

I can't believe this is actually a topic of debate?

[Fist4achin]

If it has games, they will come...

[Lonnie18]

Nope, it only has 3 legs to stand on, a beast need four! Only Zelda, 1-2 switch, and Arms at lanch!?

[mcstorm]

You sure that's all there is. When I press ordered mine yesterday there were a few 3rd party games to one was fifa

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I don't think the Switch will do that well, due mainly to it's price, and expensive accessories. The console is launching with Zelda, but that is also on the Wii U. How much better is the Switch version of the game compared to the Wii U version (is resolution and framerate the only difference (1080 or 900p30 vs 720p30?) ? Then, you have to factor in that the Switch is launching in March; Sony and MS, are known to do sales around that time.

You can get an XB1s or PS4 slim bundle with games for a price comparable to a Switch sku, that comes with no games or extra peripherals. Also, some vanilla PS4s and XB1s, are still available for less than 250 USD. Then there is the hardware, which appears to be well below the vanilla PS4 and XB1.

[hiawa23]

Sure, it stands a chance. it is the only portable console that docks in 2017.

[nitus10]

You should realize that you can display the screen on some smartphones to your HDTV. https://www.verizonwireless... and considering many current smartphones have 1080p displays the output will be a 1:1 equivalent. You can also stream wirelessly (ie. DLNA) if your TV support this or via HDMI cable.

[hiawa23]

I know all that, not really interested in portable gaming or playing from my phone, or tablet. I wanted a traditional console with Pro, Scorpio specs or somewhere in between. Hope it does well for Nintendo, as the console market is better for all console owners when all three are doing well.

[jerethdagryphon]

And premium phones will match it in spec where people are getting 360 spec of ps3 ive no idea its confimed to run tegra x1 which is a 256core gpu with cpu integrated. A 4 core. Cpu of arm design . ram is up in the air but 4gb seems reasonable. Oddly those specs match the google pixel phone. Closely. Soo ... Where are the posts stating its a tri core 3.2 ghz machine....

[Derceto]

It'll stand a chance, for about 6 months. Then...... crickets.

[DualWielding]

no

[tdogchristy90]

I've been thinking about this.

It seems as if Nintendo relies too much on its own past glory. This is fine for the Nintendo generation BUT it is aging. The "new kids" seem more interested in the likes of high tech and 4k. Nintendo seems unable to adapt to the "new generation" of gamer.

It's the adapt or die dilemma.

[lunatic0001]

i agree i was loving some of the games like zelda...can't wait...my younger brother who is 16 yrs younger than me saw the zelda trailer...looks up at me and says...have you seen horizon running on ps4 pro and 4k...blows zelda out of the way...kicked him out of the house haha...but i feel the same nintendo hasn't really clicked with the younger generation or modern 3rd party developers for that matter

[Zikax]

ps4 pro and 4k? hahhaha ouu boy

[MrSec84]

As things stand I think the only people that are going to be sold on Switch are the Nintendo diehards, the reality to the masses is that this system costs as much, or more than the competition, for weaker hardware, portability and a smaller games library, with what seems like only the odd 3rd party game that they can play on either PS4 or XB1 coming to it, next to a few nice Nintendo exclusives.

I think Switch will sell through it's launch shipment, but probably not before the end of the fiscal year and Nintendo or retailers will then be forced to cut it's price to £199.99/$249.99 before the holidays to get people onboard.
Accessories and game prices will also need big reductions in price, there's no way regular gamers will buy Skyrim for £59.99 when you can buy it for £25 on PS4 or XB1, and they certainly won't buy a second set of Joycons for £75 or the Pro Controller for £65.

Switch is a ripoff, if Nintendo don't tweak their prices down hard they're in for yet another bad generation of poor sales, maybe not as bad as Wii U if they get a more consistent stream of games out, but it will be hard for this thing to sell more than 20 million units.

[sk8ofmnd]

Exactly, once digital foundry tear this thing apart and word spreads through the gaming community... Gamestop employees would be more knowledgeable and start using it as a selling point to move more ps4's and xb1's like wildfire. Juat imagine if on the switch release date, the ps4 and xb1 become 250 with a free game... The sad truth... They dont need to even do that to murder the switch. That would only be overkill... Like beating a dead horse. You would hear the cries from nintendo fans for miles... But our first partys are the besssst

[MrSec84]

The funny thing is that here in the UK the retailer Game has the 500GB new, base PS4, with Overwatch & Ratchet & Clank bundled in for £249.99 and you could get Doom and Fallout 4 for £14 each (I'm sure if you want something different there are others for a similar price or less), so £277.99 (with 4 awesome games) and Switch is £279.99 with no games.
By the time you buy Zelda for £59.99 you're talking £339.99, so you add a year's PSPlus (usually £39.99) to your new PS4 with 4 great games, you get access whatever titles are in the IGC for the next 12 months.

500GB PS4 with 4 great games, a years PS+, that also plays Blurays all for £317.98.
32GB Switch, with Zelda BoTW for £339.99.

I know people can make similar XB1 packages to the PS4 one I've made, Switch is unfortunately not good value for money, when you could probably buy 5+ games with your console, plus a years online service, which will include access to a further 24+ game for all that time you're subbed and you're not going to miss out on any 3rd party multiplat titles.

It should be easy for Nintendo's production teams to see all of this, I'm sure America, Asia and plenty of other regions could make similar price comparisons, it's a shame Nintendo just doesn't care, maybe they will when Switch tanks.

I wish it would go differently, but it's impossible when you're fighting that kind of an uphill battle.

[sk8ofmnd]

Exactly, i thought the wiiu was bad... But how can you do worse? This needs to be 199 and have free online, games, and hell maybe a pro controller all included to even stand a chance.

Maybe the switch will get a huge pricecut like the 3ds did before it will garner support.

The only problem with my above statement is it needs to do those things now! But definately by holiday 2017!
I hate to see nintendo fail but you can tell this is self inflicted.

[gbsrnctaln]

You dont know nontendo very well bud. The wiiu is STILL $299, albeit this price now gets you a game bundled in. Nintendont price drop, and thats all thete is to it.

[MrSec84]

I know them very well, when 3DS wasn't selling at launch they dropped it from $249 to $169.99, this was just under 6 months after launch.

Switch's price is hugely over inflated. Seriously it's a $299 device with a 720p screen launching in 2017, that uses a cheap Nvidia Maxwell gpu from 2015, a 4,310Mah battery in the console (you can buy 10,000 mah battery packs for $10.49, that's with retailer's mark-up).
That dock is just a hunk of cheap plastic, with basic tv passthrough connections and a power connector and it retails for almost 1/3rd the RRP of the system.

The Joycons are also very basic, the rumble tech is a few years old already.
Ninty are probably making over $50 in profit, if not close to $100 on this thing at launch.

The reason they've marked this thing up so high is because they know people buying one at launch will pay that, they won't make a loss if they drop the system by $50 in June, but most likely they'll wait until September for the pre-holiday sales and because they can use Mario and Xenoblade 2 as an incentive pick up sales.

Nintendo does price cuts, Wii U was the exception not the rule.

[Masterchief_thegoat]

Next year is going get ugly for switch. Pro and Scorpio will own third party games... and for first and second party sony is unstoppable

[lunatic0001]

nah...when it comes to first party..nintendo is king...but still doesn' matter when sony has great 1st party, 2nd party, and all 3rd party games on board

[starchild]

Sony definitely has the most balanced lineup out of the consoles. But still, there's no accounting for taste. Some people love Nintendo exclusives and the ability to play them and some third party games on the go will be enough to get many people's attention. How many people? Well that remains to be seen.

[Chaosdreams]

*shakes head*

It's pretty much dead on arrival. It will sell to its most dedicated fan base. But it's essentially got nothing going for it.

- Portable but only 2-6 hour lifespan.
- Pay for online / don't get to even own games the entire duration that you're paying for the subscription.
- Out of touch prices
- lack of a strong launch (game wise)

So on. So on. It's basically everything you don't do. And they did it. Someone gave them the wrong list.

Now! On the plus side. If the prices go down and bundles start happening (say with Zelda) then it'll bring more people.

But. Still. Nintendo is lost in the clouds. Unfortunately.

[MrSec84]

Very true, I hope Switch sells under half it's launch stock so that people can send Nintendo a message that these kinds of practices are not OK.
I also hope that Nintendo have really merged their handheld and console game development to release everything on this thing, otherwise the volume of games coming to it will be very small.

This system should have been £80 cheaper in the UK, even £249.99 is too expensive when you can get a 500GB PS4 slim, which plays Blurays & DVDs, with Overwatch and Ratchet & Clank for that price, £279.99 for Switch is way too expensive. Switch should have been £199.99, with 1, 2 Switch and Arms packed-in with the system or something like the Switch version of a Miiverse to show gamers around the system's features.

[DarkZane]

First impressions are important and with that god awful presentation that everyone but the Nintendo fanboys seems to hate, its fate is already sealed.

The same thing happened to the Xbox One, its fate was sealed after the reveal and it flopped, now Microsoft are making all their Xbox One exclusives for PC since they're transitioning there. I bet they realized the Xbox One is their last console.

[lunatic0001]

i highly doubt that

[BlakHavoc]

Can't see it having much success past the summer. We're bound to get some heavy hitters around the holidays and a brand new console in Scorpio which will cater more to the hardcore crowd. I just don't see it having much success past the usual fans purchasing it upon release.

[souljah45]

It will have its own market but Sony and Microsoft wont see this as a threat

[ShellB]

Does the Switch play bluray movies? I'm curious.

[MrSec84]

It has no disc drive, the only ways it will likely play digital video is if you copy content to an SD card or it has media apps like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, etc.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

At what? Competing directly with Sony or Microsoft?

No.

But then I again I don't think that's Nintendo's strategy.

[sk8ofmnd]

Its not their strategy because they have already failed trying to compete with them just like they failed on making a home console.

[_-EDMIX-_]

The only way I felt Nintendo coming out of the gates swinging was going to be with Electronic Arts Ubisoft and Activision all releasing at least three to four of their major Triple-A properties on the platform.

And then with Nintendo at least introducing two intellectual properties that are from genres and Concepts that they have not already established.

What I saw from this presentation was very reminiscent of all their other previous presentations where Electronic Arts with one game here is Sega and Square Enix with smaller titles clearly they're not bringing they're over there Triple-A properties in that is a very scary, because it pretty much is saying this is more or less going to be the same thing like their previous generations.

It's very clear they did not try very hard to get more third-party support.

I was even more worried when Nintendo said they have 80 games that are currently in development for the switch....Ummmm

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

PlayStation 4 had well over 1,000 the Xbox one had over 250...

Oh but switch has 80 games? Mind you they weren't even talking about whether or not it was independent as it sounds like they mean combined.

This is a very sad State of Affairs

[starchild]

You make some good points. I want Nintendo to do well, but there are definitely some worrying signs. They really needed to get more third parties on board, but it does seem to be the same ol' same ol' there.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I felt if their Hardware was truly that easy in regards to architecture in the platform was really that advanced I believe we would be seeing multiple titles releasing on the platform from major Publishers but for Electronic Arts to only bring a one title pretty much says it all.

If it's not profitable for them, I don't expect it to be for other Publishers and I just think that Nintendo is running out of time and this might have been one of their last great opportunities to show that they're able to cooperate and work together with third parties instead they basically keep working at arm's length.

In the world of real estate we regard working at arm's length with a business partner or a client to where you're not really concrete or exact on your intentions or you're not 100% invested to work together.

Now sometimes this makes sense like in real estate you work at arm's length with someone that you might be doing a deal with but not necessarily for ie if I'm a listing agent and someone brings me a buyer to purchase a house I'm only going to give the Legal Information necessary to protect my seller. What I won't do is confined in them specific information about the house that could potentially hurt my seller's chances of selling.

Instead of working with Publishers Nintendo seems to be working at arm's length with them as if they say they're still trying to compete with them so they're not really making the architecture that much easier and they're not working with them enough to allow them to support the platform to be profitable this is inevitably going to get them out of the hardware Market because of Electronic Arts is saying they're only putting one game on your platform it simply means your platform might be dead

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

The third party developers, aren't investing much into the Switch at launch (and likely for the rest 2017). If the system doesn't do well, the third parties will jump ship fast, which is what happened to the Wii U.

[paddy95]

It's will be another dust magnet. 6-9 months between games and no third party support.

[Noxrest]

I can see with the comments that most of the pereption on the switch is negative, at least on this site, if so... how much do you think zelda will sell? jut curious

[Good-Smurf]

I'll buy one...maybe in 2018 but there's no denying that it will not stand a chance in 2017.
All the PS Exclusives this year make Switch really hard buy for many people.
And I still didn't get to play The Last Guardian and Gravity Rush 2 yet.
I do excited for Super Bomberman R so maybe I'll buy the game first but the console will have to wait,I ain't buying
$300 for few worthwhile games to play with hell no.

[slavish0]

If this thing would have launched at 199.99 it would sell but it so underpowered and exclusives alone cant win they tried that with Wii u.

[OzzY-waZZy]

This system is going to flop hard. I was ready to preorder the day of the presentation. Then the presentation happened. I had low expectations and they managed to somehow out do them. Kudos Nintendo.

[PlatinumGX]

Looking forward to the please understand.

[captainexplosion]

I was planning on buying on buying this day 1 like I do all consoles but not anymore. Absolutely no need to. There isn't a single game I want that it's launching with. My son no longer wants this either, and he's even a Zelda fan. I really think this thing is going to struggle. At the very least they need to knock $50 off the price and get rid of paid online to compete.

[AndreR]

It was a smart move to release zelda on the wiiu. Because the only game i want is zelda, till mario comes.

[AndreR]

Wow thanks nintendo. I will probably buy the switch next year just for mario and zelda. So 2 games 60 dollar each plus the console. 2 expensive games. Then everyone knows that there will not come out anything else for it.

[OsafuneKatana]

Switch can definitely go for the second place because of how much a joke xbox's 2017 lineup is. Sony will absolutely win 2017. Best wishes wo ninty for second place.

[Ninte]

I bought my wii u on clearance because they weren't selling enough, then the store stopped selling them and stuck with the xboxone and PS4. I can see it all over again with the ridiculous price.

[lunatic0001]

ill give it a chance..i like the concept and hopefully they announce beyond good and evil 2 and metroid at e3...that would definitely make me get one

[sk8ofmnd]

Nope...

I wanted so badly for this reveal for the switch to be great yet we all knew (expected) it to be a lackluster yawn fest and we were right... How many other negative assumptions about the switch are we right about? For an old school nintendo fan... Thats a sad thought.

Its going to be 300 msrp they needed to make it worth 400 or more. They needed to be willing to take a loss. Show consumers they are serious about turning their image around! Yet we have another overpriced nintendo product. You dont win new consumers by being overpriced, underpowered, and largely starving for game support.

The failed wiiu sits on a shelf right next to the switch for the same price as a reminder to those that got burnt on the wiiu, and also as a device to confuse new consumers (double fail).

For 300 they @ least needed to throw in a free game where you can find many different kinds of bundles on other systems for the same price.

They needed to talk about power! We live in an age where consumers are more tech savy than ever before. Esp if you havent lived under a rock and this isnt your first gen as a gamer, when they totally neglect whats in the device it makes it look like they are trying to hide something. Where its a common practice for others to tell at least a ball park figure of whats powering non nintendo 8th gen devices, as expected we have no fucking clue.

If nintendo fans still dont think things are bad... Wait till the tech heads tear this thing apart and present their findings all over magazines, online, and on tv. Once word of mouth travels whats really powering the switch, if its only marginally powerful than a wiiu... They are fucked.

Like seriously im trying to wrap my head around this... Are they thinking... Man they will see the switch is more powerful than a wiiu for the same price and think they are getting one hell of a deal? Genius!

[Zikax]

sony fan girls going hard on this... switch is gona be awsome, because i just need to put zelda in it and play that shit where ever i want.

[MrSec84]

It's one game, by the time you buy a Switch and Zelda you're looking at £339.98 here in the uk, for that you can buy a 500GB PS4, with Overwatch, Ratchet & Clank, Doom, Fallout 4 and a years PS Plus and have £22 left over in change because that awesome bundle only cost you £317.98.

You can do the same for XB1, so you can make all the immature comments you like, calling people names like a hypocrite, but that doesn't stop Switch being insanely overpriced.
One great game vs 4+ on a more capable device is an easy choice to make IMO.

[Inzo]

Well in South Africa, which is a Playstation stronghold, I thought it had a slim chance but it is rumoured that it will retail at around R5500 to R6000 which is about 350 to £400 so the answer, at least in SA is no, no it does not stand a chance.

[hahaha]

Probably not with that annoying clicking sound.

[ufo8mycat]

The competition offers a technically superior console, more and better games, at a cheaper price.
The Switch should be priced at around $100 less then the PS4. Being priced higher for something that is inferior and less games to play makes no sense.

[xMoac]

It's not inferior , it's a different product. You can't compare raw power and measure a product solely on that. Consoles are not PC parts.

[xMoac]

I think the product is genius, true innovation. Just remember all the great games that the 3DS had - the Switch is MANY times more powerful - way more powerful than even a PsVita. The Psvita screen is 540P while the Switch is 720p and looks very high quality.
A console power handheld that will have all Nintendo future games.
Very impressed with the Switch, and the Joycons are way more advanced than I assumed. Really fun.
What sold me on it was when I saw Mario Kart running on it , two people can play without any additional controller purchases, ANYWHERE.
For those that have kids it's a cheap console to buy, no need to purchase a second controller (what games even support split screen on PS4 and Xbox one?) or even have a tv for the kids to play on. Nintendo needs to drive that point home.
Split screen has been dead on Xbox one and PS4 but Nintendo has now resurrected it.
GO PREORDER A SWITCH.

I am not a Nintendo fanboy , never owned a Wii U or wii, only Nintendo consoles I ever owned are a NES , DS and 3DS.
The mistake they are making is that they are not bundling 1 2 Switch with the console. The price is fine given what we are getting, and i think the first wave of buyers will justify the price of 300€ than they will lower it to 250€ within a year to attract the mass market once they can mass produce it.

Some of you don't get what this machine is , just look at all the games that came out for the 3DS , where will all those developers turn next? I think it will be the Switch.

[Bronxs15]

switch is DOA

[sampson3121]

oh god! i can't wait until i can visit this site and not see every other article being about the Switch. i watched the press conference, and bias aside, it was bland and uninteresting. i understand there are people over 20 that still love Nintendo, but i will never understand the lack of forward thinking the company seems to find itself in the past few generations.

i hope Nintendo succeeds with the switch.
i also hope the rest of us don't have to see the gimmicks and same old games for much longer.