So many Nostradamuses in this thread!
Some appropriate music:
Nintendo's learned nothing from the Wii U!
Man oh man, seems Nintendo hasn't learned a damn thing.
I hope this console flops harder than the Wii-U does and Nintendo finally jumps ship to being a software only company. Well if they keep the DS I don't care, but screw the home consoles. They are terrible at it and have been for over a decade. This shows they have not learned a damn thing from their previous failures.
So they expect us to play like this? Sorry but this console shows they haven't learned a thing from the WiiU.
All the mistakes of the Wii and Wii U are being repeated again. Nintendo should just market it as a handheld with HDTV out and save themselves the embarrassment of calling it a next gen home console.
Nintendo should have just made a direct competitor to Xbox and Playstation!
It's simple...the last time Nintendo had a truly successful console that attracted 3rd party developers and had huge software success was when they made a device that measured well against the competition using the relevant tech of the day and just delivered a game machine. Go back and look at how successful the SNES was and then how poorly the N64 did against the Playstation. They didn't keep up with the technology trends of the day and it hurt them in sales. Their library wasn't impressive and it had less 3rd party support. They had a good attempt at a comeback with the Gamecube but still fell below the competition overall because of the proprietary disc format and hostile 3rd party stance. It's clear that their business strategy isn't creating sales vs what the gaming community is actually interested in buying. The numbers clearly indicate this. Casual gamers bought a Wii but not very many games and there weren't enough faithfuls buying the first party titles. Had they delivered something more traditional and put their first party games on it, it would be much more successful with the demographics we have today. As zerocool84 mentioned and he isn't wrong, people want to play what everyone else is playing and now they want to do that online with their friends. Nintendo is left in the cold.
Or, they could have gone away from gimmicks and just put out a PS4 clone. Then, they would have gotten all the multi-plats and exclusive nintendo games.
The only thing killing nintendo is their idiotic management. They literally could have just hired a few hardware people from sony or M$ and just put out a x86 machine for LESS R&D money than putting out a new gameplay paradigm.
If they had something similar to a One S or PS slim for $250 for holidays last year, they'd have sold gangbusters. I mean, they could have just ported Mariokart, 3d world, and smash bros, and had a couple big multi-plats, and they'd have sold tons.
Nintendo should just give up on hardware and become a software company!
Basically this. Become a software company, Nintendo.
The fact they have a Mario deal with Apple and iOS right now gives me a glimmer of hope that they may be starting to think the way a lot of us are - just become a software company already and start putting games out on better consoles than their own outdated pieces of crap. Them putting out a Mario game on iOS is a pretty huge milestone for Nintendo if you think about it.
For whatever reason, they have given up on "high end" and chasing the hardware sales/power throne.
I do hope their strategy keeps them afloat, though perhaps it would be better if they just because a software company in the future.
Definitely needs third party games to be successful.
The thing is though without having the huge third party games this is just going to end up like the WiiU. I'm going to buy it, no question about that but just because of Zelda, I do wish they'd release a Metroid on it at some point too. But if it's not going to have the huge games that everybody buys, then it's not going to sell huge numbers and will be people's second choice of console. They can't settle for second choice.
The games shown (Zelda, Super Mario Odyssey, Arms, Splatoon 2) all looked cartoonish, clearly targeting kids and teens. Nintendo continues to shy away from targeting hardcore PS4/XB1 gamers and they are completely out of touch with the Western and European gaming audience. The only hope they have is for 3DS/New 3DS loyal gamers to carry this console over the next 3-4 years.
No faith in Nintendo putting out a lineup of first-party games on the system in the first year.
But I'm pretty confident that since Nintendo is stupid they won't have a Mario game at launch and it won't come out for a year+ after launch. It just appears that they haven't learned anything still so I won't believe anything has changed until I see it.
You are giving Nintendo WWWWAAAAAYYYYY too much credit. No chance they would put 6 quality titles in 4 years at the pace they move. Maybe 4 if they are up to snuff.
Yeah, 6 games in 4 years? I can't say that's what my Wii U got me. I mean, yeah, there are people who like a lot more Nintendo stuff for me. However, I beat New Super Mario Bros. U, played a lot of Kart and Smash, and that's basically it. Woolly World is nice, but got played just a few times. Didn't care for Donkey Kong, and Mario Party and Tennis were both outright bad. 3D World was OK, but we played it once. So, 3 games got heavily played on my Wii U, I think.
LOL ... Mario comes out "Holiday 2017".
Which means Summer 2019 at the earliest.
Needs more games at launch! Why will people buy it for just these games?
W
T
F
Literally only four games at launch, four.
And seven more games for launch window, what the hell.
They should have held back launching this thing so they could have at least had a decent selection of games.
No one really wants a portable system. And it hardly appeals as a portable system.
I've said before that I've never seen anyone with a 3DS outside their house, certainly not in their pocket either. They have a phone, what need for another device on the go? I see very little issue with that.
That and there's no way this thing will have good battery life either. It's "portable" but no one would truly take it places they'd take a 3DS let alone phone.
Here's the problem: The big feature of the Switch is that you can take it with you.
We have no shortage or portable entertainment these days. Many of us already carry around smartphones and tablets. We probably aren't going to spend $200+ for another device to bring with us. We're just not bored enough to spend that much for portable entertainment. We already have that.
I love Nintendo and I hope they prove me wrong, but I don't see a compelling reason for most people to get the Switch.
Nintendo is DONE. They're clueless! Only a miracle will save them.
chips aren't that expensive. This is overly engineered, overly complicated. Nintendo is done.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh I guess since I don't care that much. Such a shame though that Nintendo really is so clueless and just used to smelling their own farts.
As far as I can see it, Nintendo is basically done for home consoles. This is even worse than the Wii or Wii U since at least those consoles undercut the competition...Once the dust settles, only major price cuts or a miracle will save this console.
What a dumb name! Dumb sound, too!
Not sure why no one is saying anything about the name really..."Hey do you have your Switch with you? Dont forget to grab your Switch, son..."
I personally feel like its a pretty bad name and is not going to be very marketable. The N-E-S, Super Nes, N64, Wii, WiiU, DS, 3DS, and now you have the Switch...Really? They should have just stuck with NX or maybe something similar.
I'm already over that fucking snapping sound.
And finally, looks like Nintendo stock is going nowhere.
Names redacted to protect from egg on face, but y'all know who you are. I did leave out anyone just saying they personally had no interest in the Switch -- this is about predictions for how the Switch will do on the wider market and how well conceived of a product it is.