It has been nearly
a week since the final presentation of the Nintendo Switch and many
of us are still unsure if we can call it a success or not. Kimishimas
first big public appearance answered many questions, but did also
raise some issues.
What can be said
without a doubt was that the presentation was very Japanese. It was
clean, correct and there wasn't too much hype material. But overall
it was a good presentation which got the point of the Switch across
splendidly. So before we jump in let us recap some of the
cornerstones of the Switch Presentation. Oh and if you haven't seen
it so far, feel free to catch up.
The Data:
The Nintendo
Switch will launch worldwide on 03.03.2017 and will sell for a
suggested retail price of around 299$ (in Europe it's probably a
little bit higher, but more on that later). The console bundle will
include the Nintendo Switch Console, a left and a right Joy-Con
controller, a Joy- Con grip to connect the two when playing at home,
the Nintendo Switch Dock, an AC-Adapter and a HDMI-Cable. It will
however not include any game at all. So if you want to play Zelda
you'd have to pay 360$ for the whole package.
The Nintendo
Switch will offer local and internet Multiplayer. Locally you can
play on one Switch or even connect up to 8 consoles. This, for
example, allows local 4on4 matches in Splatoon 2, which is one of the
games announced for the System.
On the other Hand
Nintendo finally joins Sony and Microsoft in asking you to pay for
Online gaming. After an initial free period this paid online will
start in fall 2017. From then on you'll have to pay 5$ a month to
enjoy online multiplayer, but the system also comes with several
perks. Each month you'll get a free SNES or NES game to play, but the
game is only available for that month. Also the system will feature
online lobbies and voice chat via a special designed app for your
phone. And of course you'll get special deals for your digital
purchases.
Gamewise there
were several great announcements for the Switch, but they were mostly
Nintendo exclusives. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is in development as well
as a Fire Emblem Warriors game. There was also a new interesting Ip
(ARMS) announced. The obvious highlights are, of course, Super Mario
Odyssey, Splatoon 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Apart from
Nintendos own series, which were a given, the 3rd Parties
also announced several games. Ubisoft will launch Rayman Legends:
Definitive Edition as well as the extreme sports game Steep. Bethesda
will give us Skyrim and EA has promised a FIFA game.
Still the
strongest support is coming from Japanese developers. Square Enix and
Atlus both will bring exclusive games to the Switch. (Project
Octopath Traveler and Shin Megami Tensei)
Lastly the
Joy-Cons and their functions were introduced to us. The right Joy-Con
features a NFC Reader as well as a sensor which can track motion and
distance. The left Joy-Con features a share button with which you can
share screenshots or videos in social media.
Both of them can
be used for Motion control with their build in sensors. And both also
feature the new Rumble HD feature, which allows the Joy-Cons to
simulate different feelings. For example they can simulate the
feeling of holding a glass with Ice Cubes in it and can even simulate
water getting poured into the glass.
The Good:
Like I said
earlier I think that overall the presentation of the Switch was done
very well. Especially the Joy-Cons turned out to be the huge show
stealer. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Nintendo comes up
with to utilize their unique properties. Because otherwise they will
turn out to be another Wii-U Gamepad, which would be a damn shame.
Still the new
Rumble HD feature could turn into a huge boost for game immersion.
Simulating the feeling of holding a Wheel in your Hands during a
racing sim or the recoil of a weapon in a First-person shooter is
exactly the kind of ''casual'' immersion the Media needs. What I mean
with that is the fact that many people are still kind of overwhelmed
with VR Gaming. It is complex and has a big financial threshold.
Of course I'm not
saying that Rumble HD is on the same level as PlayStation VR, but it
serves the same purpose. Make you forget everything except the game
you're playing. And while visual stimulation is certainly stronger
than physical Rumble HD offers exactly the cheap and easy to grasp
experience that could help further establish the importance of
immersion.
The other point
which convinced me across the board was the games shown of. Well I
need to specify a little. The Nintendo games shown.
For me, who owns a
good PC for Third Party games, the first Party offerings of a console
are the main selling point. Of course it was obvious that Nintendo
would not disappoint in that regard, but seeing Splatoon 2, Mario
Odyssey, ARMS, Zelda and possibly Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in the first
year reassured me that Nintendo is fully behind the Switch.
Overall I was satisfied with the Wii-Us offering of first party software and with Nintendo mastering HD development the Switch should surpass it's predecessor in that regard.
Overall I was satisfied with the Wii-Us offering of first party software and with Nintendo mastering HD development the Switch should surpass it's predecessor in that regard.
Also something
that should be mentioned is that for almost all games on the Switch
Nintendo is targeting 60fps and 720p (Handheld Mode)/1080p (TV Mode),
which is great news. And looking at the polish they gave their Wii-U
Titles I think that they'll achieve that goal for almost all games.
Because we all know that 30fps is not more cinematic.
Lastly the concept
itself is just genius. And this time they made it clear from the get
go. No more is the Wii-U a new console or just a Wii addon bullshit.
From the initial unveil of the Switch in October on they made clear
that this is a Home Console, which you can take with you. It is a
system that allows you to play wherever you wand, however you want.
The Presentation
reassured this statement and showed us that they will keep their
promise. The Battery life of 3 to 6 hours depending on the game you
play is more than enough, even for longer travels. It is truly a new
means of gaming on the go. And that's great news.
The Bad:
So now with the
positives out of the way, let us talk about the negative points of
the Nintendo Switch. Don't kid yourself, you all knew that there is
more than enough to criticize.
First of all the
third party support is sketchy at best. They stated that there are
over 80 games in development for the Nintendo Switch and I don't
doubt that, but they didn't specify how many of those games are small
scale or Indie titles. Now don't get me wrong. Indie games are great,
but they don't offer the WOW Factor that you need to sell a console.
The casual fan is buying a console because of Battlefield or FIFA or
Call of Duty or any of those big budget games, which trailers he has
seen on TV.
And looking at the
Switch from that perspective it doesn't fill me with a lot of
confidence that only Bethesda and EA were present at the conference.
And one only brought the Port of a six year old game, while the other
announced that at least one of their most milked series will release
on the Swtich. And looking at EA we shouldn't forget that even the
Wii-U got FIFA 13.
Now Reggie
addressed this in several interviews and said that they should have
communicated a clear message that the Third Parties are fully behind
the Switch, but from the announced game Line Up so far I honestly
don't see it.
Like with the
Wii-U we only get Ports from older games for the Swith launch and so
far none of the bigger titles on the horizon have been confirmed for
it. If For Honor or Read Dead Redemption got a release for the Switch
I would put all these worries at ease. But for now we only have the
promise by Nintendo that the Third Party developers will support the
Switch. And we already got this promise once with the Wii-U.
Now the Third
Party support is something that can't be entirely blamed on Nintendo,
but the debacle surrounding Paid Online can. Sadly it was only a
matter of time before Nintendo would also hop on that bandwagon and I
can understand that move. That, however, doesn't justify the sloppy
and downright insulting implementation of the concept. The free game
program they offer is laughable. One has to come except a certain
level from Sonys PS+ Service and X-Box Live Gold. And even though
Nintendo likes to act like it, they don't exist in a Vacuum.
I can totally get
behind the initial Idea of offering Virtual Console titles as a
reward. Nintendo doesn't like to ''devalue'' their actual games by
giving them away for even a reduced price. And with the VC people
would be able to experience some classics, which may spark their
interest for actual entries in that IP. But the fact that you not
only don't get to keep the game, but are only able to play it during
that one month were it's free is simply beyond dumb.
I don't get why
they do this. It would have been so simple. Just let me choose one
free Virtual Console Game each months, which I get to keep as long as
I stay subscribed. That way I can pick games that interest me, and
won't feel cheated like when my monthly game is from a genre I have
zero interest in.
The other problem
with their online infrastructure is that they try to outsource it.
One of the features of Paid Online will be Voice Chat and Lobies for
the games you play. But Voice Chat and Lobbies won't be included in
the Switch, instead you'll have to download a special Phone app to
use them. Now if these app was optional, or for example, only
necessary if you'd want to use those features away from home, I could
understand it. But making their use unnecessary complicated only
further proves that Nintendo still hasn't fully grasped the Online
age.
One thing is
clear. If Nintendo wants to justify Paid Online they have to step up
their game considerably, but from what we know so far I can only say
that this isn't worth any money.
The Use of Micro
SD Cards as storage solution is also a little bit worrying. The
problem with this form of storage medium is that it's very slow in
comparison to regular hard drives and laughable in comparison with
SSD hard drives. And that is only if you buy one of the top end Micro
SD Cards. So if you buy a regular priced one to store your digital
games, you're going to have speed problems. Load times will be an
issue with these things. So if you plan on going fully digital with
the Nintendo Switch this is one thing to keep in mind.
Another problem
with Micro SD Cards is their durability. They have a tendency to
break down during extended use, for example when your constantly
reading data from them because you're playing a game. So you
shouldn't expect them to last five to six years. That is a problem.
If the storage is
unreliable this means there are going to be data losses and if
Nintendo doesn't offer a modern cloud storage for save files this is
going to be a huge problem.
The Verdict:
Now like I said I
was mostly satisfied with the Nintend Switch Presentation and I will
happily buy the console when Mario Odyssey releases, but that doesn’t
mean I close my eyes before the problems of the Switch. Some things,
like the Paid Online Concept, can still be fixed and/or improved and
we fans should pressure Nintendo to listen and do something about it.
Generally said the
Nintend Switch seems to be an improved Wii-U, where Nintendo at least
attempts to get some Third Parties on Board. If this concept ends up
fruitful has yet to be seen, but I'm quite confident that it will
work out. At the very least we'll some great Nintendo Exclusives and
for me that is more than enough validation to buy the Switch.
So what are your
final thoughts on the Switch? Are you happy with the console and the
concept? And what would you like to see improved?
Let me know in the
comments below.
And as always
thanks for reading
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