The Switch Reveal Proves Nintendon't Get it

The Nintendo Switch reveal Confrence is out! Gamers now know the date, the
price, and the lack of release titles for the Switch. Reactions towards
this confrence has been mixed at the best. Some gamers see this as Nintendo
still not getting the point. Many see The Switch as the Wii U all over
again. Is this the Wii U 2.0 or can the Switch come around and be something
great? But, with games like Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario
Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8, how can this conference be bad?...How?

[FallenAngel1984]

What did proved Nintendo gets it prior to this event?

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

The average non Nintendo gamer expectation going into the event.
-- Expected western multiplats to be announced at a Japanese Event

Your loss not Nintendo.
Anyone who thought Nintendo was going to have a bunch of western games announced don't know Nintendo, past system library of games or understand Japanese Developers.

If you don't like Nintendo or Japanese games. Stop talking about the Switch or Nintendo. Because you're never gonna get what you want nor will you even buy it even if Nintendo did get em.

Stop lying to yourself. Wake up and face reality. Nintendo isn't gonna westernize themselves for your sake. They don't care about you nor do the Japanese developers do.

Now i understand JRPG are too complex for some of you to handle. Too much reading and strategy for your taste.
You rather have hand holding games that put you at the nearest check point, with guns, gore, blood and realistic visuals with no sense of creativity.

If you don't like Nintendo of Japanese Games or Indie games for the matter. Stay your PS4(Even though it has Japanese games too but because it's Sony it okay) and Xbo---PC or Steam.

[Poli_Games]

Oh boy... let's start from the bottom and work our way up shall we! Let's start with "I don't like JRPG's because their too complex...ext, ext." JRPG's usually aren't my jam. Not because, I want my hand held. What a silly comment to make. I do enjoy a bit of persona, and Fire Emblem. I never really liked Xenoblade because the story wasn't for me. Most of the time it's the turn based combat that turns me off (No pun intended) to most JRPGs. But, I do find the character development quite rich and interesting.So...yeah... Anyway, You are correct Nintendo isn't going to Westernize ANY time. I understand somethings during the conference went over my head because, of the different cultures. But, fact remains Nintendo can't continue only being successful in Japan, it has to at least try to make an impact in the west. Was I expecting Western titles to make an appearance, sure. But, what I wanted was a launch line up that is more than Zelda. The launch line up is empty with the first half of the year being rather vacant for the console interns of ip. The Mario game that's a holiday release is rather jarring when he's in those "real world settings" and could get excited much because I didn't see much. I'm still picking up the system, maybe because I'm a glutton for punishment, or the fact that Splatoon is one of my favorite new ip in recent years. I just just wanted to see more then just 2 launch games during that announcement. And I can't stress enough if you honestly think it can sell as bad as the Wii U did and keep its lights on. I want to live in our reality. It needs to bend the knee a little to western markets with 3rd party games that speak to them. Sony PlayStation knew that, that's why PS2, and PS4 are thriving. You can find a sweet spot between Japanese roots and western influences. You just have to find it. Also just like to add though they're not RPGs I will be playing a TON of Gravity Rush 2(please buy that game) and Neir. :)

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

There are more than two launch games.
There are a total of 5 for US, 4 EU and about 7 for Japan.

Plus for US you can get Zelda, Super Bomberman R, I am Setsuna and Disgaea 5 Complete for those don't have a Steam or PS4. Beside it not the entire year one lineup. Though I understand where people are coming form but got to remember.

Super Mario Bros. - NES
Super Mario World - SNES
Super Mario 64 - N64
Luigi's Mansion - GC
Zelda; Twilight Princess - Wii

These past Nintendo had like one major title and few other okay or extra titles.

[-Foxtrot]

"Anyone who thought Nintendo was going to have a bunch of western games announced don't know Nintendo, past system library of games or understand Japanese Developers"

It's not even that

People have moaned about wanting games like F-Zero, Mother, Star Fox and bloody METROID for years, even at the start of the Wii U's life cycle.

Wouldn't you think that Nintendo might have thought

"Hmmm they seem to want these games, why don't we get one or two of them ready alongside Zelda for launch"

It's ignorance and stupidity

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

You got Star Fox last year.
F-Zero I understandable
Mother creator doesn't want to return
Metroid understandable

But you're telling me non Nintendo gamers are asking for those
you guys aren't fooling anyone.

[MyDietEqualsGames]

Nintendo does what it wants. Not what it's fans want or anyone else. They really haven't changed much.

[Manashake]

Well said.

[Quicksand]

As awesome as f zero is, it doesn't sell well. I want it badly but it's never been really successful so they feel no reason to push it. But f zero, metroid, kid Icarus, punchout, excite bike, animal crossing, a real fire emblem, donkey kong, kirby, Pokémon, yoshi, pikmin, star fox, Mario golf, smash, I mean just how their logo and say in development. I don't need footage. Nintendo doesn't like showing things until they are nearly complete but just let us know they are out there. 1, 2 switch is something the Japanese will probably love, they love weird stuff, but that should have never made the conference. I think most the problem with the conference is us here in the west don't get the Japanese and alot is lost in translation. I'm hoping for the best but also wouldn't be shocked if this is nintendo last bow.

[PlatinumGX]

The thing is, how does Nintendo expect to sell big if they keep focusing solely on Japan?

As you said, the PS4 has japanese games too, but Sony doesn't focus solely on Japan, not by a long shot. Even then, they have full support from all japanese devs, and they also got full support from western devs.

Now, I don't really care much about western games since most of my games are jrpg, but to say they aren't needed at all for Nintendo to suceed is completely false. The fact that Nintendo keeps ignoring western support is one of the reason their sales have sunk so low.

You can hate western games all you want, but it's a fact that Nintendo needs them, not the other way around.

[conanlifts]

Plus randomly games like dragon quest 1-2 are releasing in japan day 1, yet there is no talk of a western release. All they need are subtitles and they could release it worldwide.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Focus where the support is.
Plus the Switch has the same 3DS third party developers.
We just got a Shin Megami Tensei game last year on 3DS and a Dragon Ball game.

If this event was in America then you would have a point but it wasn't. It was in Japan.
Why almost all the major Third Party Publishers are Japanese. And 90% of the games announced were Japanese. There were almost 40 games of the 80 currently in development.

But of course since there no Mass Effect. Red Dead, GTA or all that other western stuff it's irrelevant. Sony doesn't even take Japan seriously as the used too. The increase in sales over that past year for Japan has all be Japanese Third Party doing the work.

Sony has shifted majority of their effort in the west.

[conanlifts]

You know i have ordered the switch, but you need to take a step back a minute. This was a terrible conference. They had developers come on stage and say " we are making a switch game" then showed no footage. They showed games without release dates. Didn't mention any hardware capabilities past the joycons. Plus the worst thing was that this is so far their worst launch lineup of games ever. Possibly the worst in any consoles history. Of course zelda is amazing yes. But nintendo fans with a wii u are already saying there is nothing to prompt them to upgrade until mario, which based on wii u history could easily be delayed. They didn't even tease future announcements and the way they teased the " we don't know when zelda will release" was cringe worthy. If you don't like zelda or own a wii u there is little reason to buy switch as there are no alternative games. The wii and wii u had around 20+ launch games. Xbox one and ps4 well over a dozen on day 1. This gave gamers the choice of what they liked.

[MyDietEqualsGames]

What the hell are you going on about? You claim to know what Japanese like and don't like. Have you even been to Japan? Also, if you have, was it just a tourism thing? Because man, you seem full of it.

JRPG's too complex? Lol. You should see what some Japanese are saying these days. That some games seem to be getting more difficult for them.

You come in here with misinformative hyperbole and try to order people around that you don't even know all while posting in a hissyfit tone.

[yeahokwhatever]

"Expected western multiplats to be announced at a Japanese Event" <- Is that what you're telling yourself? You do realize who buys most games, right? Hint: Not Japan. "Your loss not Nintendo". False. Nintendo is the one selling these, not me. Assuming someone doesn't like japanese games because the Nintendo Switch sucks, is insane.Just think things through before you go off next time.

[agent4532]

PC western games are very complex and no hand holding. Perfect example rts games or simulation games. The one thing I hate about the switch is the whole idea of pay to play online. Its the internet service provider not console manufacturer that dictates the gamers' online experience. I am interested in JRPGS.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

I wasn't talking about PC and I certainly wasn't talking about everybody.

I am talking about those who went into this event expecting western games or multiplats being revealed in a Japanese event by Japanese people in the way their culture is.

Of course I expected people to disagree with me.

[Orpheo]

One feature I'd love to see with the Switch are handles with different analog positions. As I'm a PlayStation gamer I'd love to be able to buy a left Switch handle where the analog stick is below the D-Pad.

[Linzoid]

Totally with you on this, I've never got the asymmetrical stick thing, makes no sense.

If they release symmetrical sticks and I'll consider buying

[lellkay]

Nintendo struggle to sell their home machines, or at least keep the software sales running, and have done ever since GameCube. Even when the Wii sold loads to the casual market, the third party developers didn't stick around, and Nintendo didn't give the machine expected features that the other machines we getting and this is still happening to this day. The modern gamer in 2017, expects a robust online infrastructure. Third party support from ALL big name developers and to get their AAA games at launch, and they also expects the machine to be spec-wise at least similar to the competition, for this to happen. Nintendo refuse to move with the times, and also refuse to be transparent in and day and age, where gamers want to know the details of the system they are trying to be sold, especially when there is strife competition on the market.

The problem with the Switch unveil to me, was the information. They had an hour with all eyes on them to tell us what gamers wanted to know, and what they really did was cater that show to the same Nintendo fans (See: OtakuDJK1NG-Rory) , that will buy that machine regardless of how weak the showing is, because they love Nintendo and they appreciate the brand and have strong trust in the IPs. (Zelda, Mario, Splatoon etc) and while I Wont knock then games, (I like Zelda) I will say, this has proved countless times to not be sufficient in the current home console gaming market. The other problem, was the transparency of the event. There was so much they didn't tell us. Yet so much padding they didn't need. There was no reason to spend excessive time on '1-2 Switch' (a game that should be a pack-in and not a full priced title) and they spent a lot of time on 'Arms' which looks nice graphically, but at heart is just a Wii game... The same sort of shovelware that did not sell after the allure of the Wii on the casual market wore off... Plus its being sold as a fully fledged priced title.

[lellkay]

The info people needed to hear, such as how are Nintendo going to bring their online service up to the expected level, that their competition has been doing for two gens now, was told to us in 30 seconds and skimmed over with no details. This communication is what hurts their brand and kills interest. During the conference, they showed 2 games that were confirmed to be at launch, they didn't give European price, they told us 'we have third party support' but just like the WiiU conference, just showed us a jpeg of developer logos but barley any substance. What this says to me is, 'We have a bunch of developers who aren't fully committed to Switch", they are going to port over 5 year old games, but if they don't sell, you can bet they are pulling support, the same way they did with WiiU, And this is EXACTLY what I see Skyrim as on Switch. (and in the case of clarity, there was NO details on Skyrim, is it vanilla 2011? Is it the remastered version?) We live in an age, like it or not, of the modern western AAA high budget blockbuster. And the large base of 'core' gamers, want that experience. You care argue all you want that 'Nintendo makes better games' and that "JRPGS more clever though" you are more than welcome to your opinion, but genuinely quite frankly I don't think the general home console market agrees with that statement any more, because if it was true. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One wouldn't have outsold the WiiU so brutally. Nintendo does not have a single block buster western AAA IP to compete in the largest market in gaming right now. And there lack of ability to see see this, and adapt to it, really hurts them on top of everything else.

We find out (Afterwards again) Europe doesn't get online play at launch. How mad is that?? Can you imagine Xbone One or PlayStation 4 not launching with online play? In 2017? It should be a standard feature at this point. So much for 'being committed to online'

[lellkay]

Switch also hurts itself with what you get in the box. The console is £279 with no software. So add £60 (the UK asking price for games) to that price. The console does not come with a headset packed in. Headsets in 2017 are seen as mandatory and are packed in with both Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Nintendo told us 'we are committed to online' yet clearly not, as there is no headset packed in the box. Again later we informed that you need to use your phone and a headset in your phone to chat... WHAT? this is absolutely laughable and ridiculous (Consoles in 2001 had an inbuilt voice chat feature!!), but either way a mono headset has since been confirmed (one ear chat, one ear game sound) So let's add a budget headset to the cost, as in the eyes of the modern gamer, a headset is mandatory. Let's add £20 (a guess).

Next up, the 'pro' controller. Its not really a 'pro' controller... Its a standard normal issue controller that is expected and mandatory with any other system of the market. Guess what, Nintendo are not offering an official SKU with the controller bundled in, To me the modern gamer wants that controller. Its £65. So we must pay £65 for the privilege of having a normal standard issue controller that comes with every other system. Ok. So let's add £65 to the bundle.

Next storage. This makes me laugh because in the hour event Nintendo had to tell tell us all about the Switch, they didn't mention the devices storage. How can we be expected to scour online forums and websites looking for info when they had an hour conference to tell us this information??

Later we find out the device has 32gb of storage. Now I appreciate the device is portable, but 32gb is very very very small. To give you an example. Halo 5: Guardians on Xbox One has a multiplayer title update that is 20+gb. This isn't unheard of, with multi format games such as Battlefield One, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Star Wars Battlefront among many, having huge multiplayer title updates. If Nintendo expects to get third party support, and the developers to be able to add content and title updates to their games as they do with the competitions machines. That 32gb internet storage is gone with a matter of a few updates.

Don't get me started on digital culture. Digital games in the form of full release, smaller budget games, and Indy titles and all the rage now, and in some cases. ONE of them games will totally fill that 32gb storage instantly.

But looking online again we find the Switch is expandable with SD cards. (Why was this not told to us during the conference?!?) This is good because it resolves the issue. But you have to go and buy an SD card. For a 200GB SD card, you are looking at roughly £50-60, 200gb is less than HALF the standard base models of Xbox One and Playstation 4 came with at launch, and to be fair people are complaining that even 500gb isn't sufficient, with gamers needing to do maintainace regularly to have space for games, patches and dlcs.

[lellkay]

My point over all, is that to bring the switch to the expectation of the modern gamer you need a headset, more memory, a 'normal' controller and a game. You've just added surplus of £160 onto the Switch price to make it inline with modern expectation.

I feel like Nintendo get a free pass a lot of this stuff. The fans are very loyal and will defend Nintendo till their last breath, but I wish this wasn't the case. What we saw with the Xbox One Unveil was the fans turned on Xbox and wanted more. Xbox One got absolutely ravaged, I'm a hardcore Xbox fan, and when the system was announced, i totally threw it to the wolves. Expected features that were missing we made a big deal of it, the direction was wrong. The voices were loud and Microsoft HAD to react, to save themselves and try and re-steer the brand. Xbox Ones launch was a mess of lack of info, lack of games, and lack of expected features. (Sounds familiar right Switch?) the fans and internet turned on Xbox One and Microsoft had to adapt and change to stay relevant. A year later you could buy an Xbone with out the kinect, the focus on gaming was better and the addition of Backwards Compatibility arrived. Microsoft adapted and kept themselves in the game.

Nintendo fans will not belittle Nintendo. As loud as everyone else shout, I find that Nintendo fans will fight tooth and nail to defend every single decision Nintendo make, They will always come up with some excuse, they just can't just see the wrong. Nintendo fans should expect and want more, they should thrive to push Nintendo to force them to grow for everyone's benefit.. I feel the whole rest of the gaming populace sees Nintendo as nothing more than 'the side, kiddie company' and that is an image they really need to shake.. And they did NOTHING to try and remedy it.

Look up the details for Nintendo's Online subscription by the way. They have no real big multilayer titles to warrant an Online subscription to pay to play. They could have offered a 'streaming service' of the VC, imagine having all Nintendo's past library at your finger tips in a netflix style system, where Nintendo add games monthly and you can stream and play these for as long as you are subscribed. But no they give you ONE NES or SNES ROM for a single month, then take it away... But again this information wasn't at their conference... Of course it wasn't.

[ShwaaMan]

I love my PS4 and I want an Xbox but it's always been a love/hate relationship with Nintendo. I've had a lot of anger towards them for their business practices the last few generations. However, if they actually (finally) release a true Metroid game (not like the disgrace of Other M) I will flat out buy this system. Super Metroid and Prime are some of my all time favorite games, and to this day they still hold up. Nintendo does not listen to their fans and they don't utilize the many amazing franchises they have collecting dust. Does anyone seriously wonder why we all have almost completely given up on them? I want to love them I really do, but what the fuck are they thinking?