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Nintendo Switch - Happy Switchmas Everyone!


Serebii

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Agree with this

 

http://kotaku.com/a-month-before-nintendo-switch-launches-we-really-shou-1792053110

 

The Nintendo Switch is dropping on March 3, less than a month from now, and it feels like we still don’t know some key features about the console. But how does that compare to other console launches? Is this lack of information unprecedented or par for the course?

 

So what don’t we know about the Switch? Although we know it will have a paid online service, we don’t know how it will work or what it will look like (though we know Miiverse won’t be part of it). We don’t know if it will have an achievement system. We also don’t have any concrete information on the Virtual Console, Nintendo’s service for selling digital versions of their classic games, which has been a huge feature on Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.

 

To see how other consoles compare, we looked back at three different launches: the Wii U, the PS4, and the Xbox One.

 

It’s worth recognizing that online services just aren’t as big a part of Nintendo consoles as they are on Sony and Microsoft ones. Until now, Nintendo’s online services have been free, and also kinda janky. In any case, we did know about the Miiverse by mid-June 2012—the Wii U would drop on November 18 of that year. By September 14, we also knew that Miiverse would feel more like a social network than a matchmaking service.

 

As for Virtual Console, we knew that the Wii U’s version of the classic game service would allow you to transfer your old Wii VC purchases by June, 2012. With the Wii U release in November, that means we had we had concrete information on this key feature five months prior.

 

Regarding the Virtual Console on the Switch, Reggie Fils-Aime has said that more information will come “at a later date,” and also that the introduction of the Nintendo Account has the potential to tie purchases to a particular user. Compared to what we knew about Virtual Console for the Wii U this close to its release, that’s pretty lacking in substance.

 

 

Information about the Playstation 4's paid online service and achievement system were revealed at Sony’s E3 press conference in 2013. Some information was clarified closer to release, specifically that the PS4’s online service wouldn’t stick streaming video sites like Netflix behind a paywall, but for the most part, once E3 was over this information was in the wild. Backwards compatibility was slightly more vague. Backwards compatibility was mentioned at E3, and by September 2013, we knew that Sony intended to make the PS3 library playable via Gaikai streaming the following year. The console was set to drop November 13, 2013—again, most of the above information was in the wild five months in advance.

 

Similarly, Microsoft dropped most of the vital information about the Xbox One at their June 2013 E3 press conference, including information about Xbox Live and changes to the achievements system. Unlike Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft did not emphasize any kind of backwards compatibility—the console wouldn’t be able to play 360 games until June 2015—but Microsoft did claim it would continue to invest in the 360 to push it into new markets. The console released November 22, 2013.

 

Looking at this information in aggregate is kind of worrying—it seems like five months before release, we knew a lot more about the Wii U, the PS4 and the Xbox One. But what’s especially worrying is the lack of information on Virtual Console, which is a key feature specifically for Nintendo consoles, and could make the Switch a must buy. If you just want a Zelda machine, you already know everything you need to know for now. But compared to previous consoles, the Switch appears to be built on a foundation of hype more than anything else.

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This is a really great 4-5 minute discussion on IGN's NVC about Nintendo's short reveal to release timeframe for the Switch. They make a lot of great points about how it was a really clever strategy and how hardware doesn't need nine months to sell itself. The exception being Nintendo's continued silence about the online/Virtual console details.

 

Jump to 47:42:

 

 

I think this is the way to go for future consoles. Having to wait 9 months to a year between reveal > release for the Switch would have been such a buzzkill. Hell I can barely wait 25 days for it.

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This is why I think the switch will have good word of mouth and gain traction out in the wild.

 

http://m.uk.ign.com/articles/2017/02/06/nintendo-switch-hands-on-impressions-from-8-ign-staff-members

 

MARTY SLIVA (Senior Editor): “Right from the outset, the Switch felt wonderful in my hands. It’s small, but it feels substantial, sort of like an Apple product.

 

CJ GIBSON (Senior Producer): “The Switch is the hybrid piece of tech that I've been yearning for someone to create since the invention of the original iPhone.

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Yeah its a Zelda machine for le at the moment but in the short term only. I'm buying it at launch knowing that.

 

I would like to know more about VC though. If this information is not forthcoming will I change my mind and cancel the pre-order? Nope, but I am a Nintendo fan so in all probability I would buy the machine regardless.

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Isn't that pretty much what the Switch is to most people at launch? That's pretty much how I see it and why I wont be picking it up until later on this year.

 

Thing is that the complaint of that is asinine. It's an understandable thing for waiting, but when people use it as a complaint it's just weird. At console launches, it's always one or two gems around a load of ports and crap. Why do people use this complaint, and the "hidden costs" one against Nintendo when it's the same with every single gaming device ever to have existed?

 

With the Switch launch, I've noticed a vast number of people have forgotten how launches for devices actually were.

Edited by Serebii
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"Just want a Zelda machine" what a fucking bullshit comment.

 

Why all the drama about VC? It's like the paid online panick all over again. We know the VC is part of the console.

 

The 3DS and Wii U both launched with no VC. Surely not again we will have a third console on the trot that launches without this feature.

 

Secondly its not just about the VC but the OS. We need to see something rather than being in the the dark until the device lands at our a door.

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I've not posted here for a long time but decided to have a look at what's happening as I've pre-ordered a Switch.

 

Despite nearly taking the plunge a year or so ago I never bought a Wii U so my thinking on the Switch is that as a worst case scenario it's my chance to play Zelda, Splatoon and MK8. I've missed so many great games though perhaps not enough to justify an entire console cycle.

 

The reveal has been poor though - there's far too many gaps in our knowledge of the machine this close to launch. It genuinely feels like I'm not quite sure what I'm buying. I hope that doesn't put lots of buyers off who may see it as too big a gamble.

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Because as far as the UK goes, they just didn't bother one bit.

I can count the WiiU TV ads I actually saw on one hand.

 

Maybe there wasn't any on TV, but how can you possibly say they didn't bother when they bought us this clear and excellent piece of...marketing?

 

 

The product was the issue. The fact Nintendo needed to produce this tells you it was a problem.

 

The fact that TVii is on there and we're still awaiting an online app/service that we know incredibly little about is one of the big reasons I'm wary of Switch on launch/until we see more. It's just like Online being the air they breathe, along with their unprecedented partnership with EA.

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The 3DS and Wii U both launched with no VC. Surely not again we will have a third console on the trot that launches without this feature.

 

Secondly its not just about the VC but the OS. We need to see something rather than being in the the dark until the device lands at our a door.

We've seen the OS...

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We've seen the OS...

 

We have seen glimpses which didn't come from nintendo. Nintendo need to release a video showing the OS in all its glory with UI so we see the functionality and the speed of navigating through menus.

 

Nintendo have history of bad implementation of these kind of things so you can forgive people wanting to see more.

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We have seen glimpses which didn't come from nintendo. Nintendo need to release a video showing the OS in all its glory with UI so we see the functionality and the speed of navigating through menus.

 

Nintendo have history of bad implementation of these kind of things so you can forgive people wanting to see more.

Maybe they won't show it because many of the features are coming in a day 1, Wii U-style patch. ;)

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We have seen glimpses which didn't come from nintendo. Nintendo need to release a video showing the OS in all its glory with UI so we see the functionality and the speed of navigating through menus.

 

Nintendo have history of bad implementation of these kind of things so you can forgive people wanting to see more.

 

So the official Nintendo websites aren't from Nintendo?

 

Damn

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So the official Nintendo websites aren't from Nintendo?

 

Damn

 

Just like the official store isn't their problem either, right? ;)

 

I'm still in agreement nonetheless - they really should show more. All I really know about this system is that it plays games, has these detachable controllers with 'HD rumble', and can both dock to TV and go in handheld. Everything else, other than the announced titles, still feels too rocky to me due to how little they're giving on the details. I can't see why you'd do that from the point of view of trying to sell thing - so I have to wonder what other reason it could be and naturally that leads me to concern that it might be something more problematic.

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