Switch Reveal Opinion Extravaganza

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It’s Dae here! I promised to write up a bit on my opinion on the Switch reveal, but it turned out to be longer than I expected. Therefore I’ll take this opportunity to publish my first article in a couple of years. Enjoy!

Let’s get the conference out of the way first; it was a poor showing. Live shows are usually a hit or a miss and this one was definitely a miss. Awkward, stiff translations as well as weird presentation of games and holding out on information that would entice customers are among my major gripes. The nice thing is that the Zelda trailer was absolutely amazing and Mario and Xenoblade 2 had a good showings too. But Zelda shouldn’t have been the final ‘one more thing’ surprise, everybody expected it to be a launch title already. Rather, I’d have liked a Metroid tease or something along those lines as a finisher for the show.

The lack of distinct games was also apparent. I guess they didn’t want to show games that weren’t prepared for release, but it didn’t show any confidence that they could produce a steady lineup of games for the Switch. People fear a repeat of the Wii U now, and that could really damage the sales of the console. I also wonder what makes the games so sparse at launch. Nintendo hasn’t released a lot of games in the past two years so I would have assumed they were working on new ones. If that isn’t the case, what were they doing all the time? I guess we’ll have to take a wait and see approach here and time will tell if they announce more games.

The games that have been announced do look pretty good though. Zelda is, of course, breathtaking and had one of the best trailers for a game I’ve ever seen. It really hit all the marks on a checklist of ‘how to make the perfect trailer’. Odyssey looks refreshing and can set itself apart from Galaxy so it won’t have the trouble of being compared to its shadow. The real life city may feel a bit uncanny valley, but I actually like the effect it brings out and luckily there’s a whole slew of different environments. Really looking forward to a more sandbox-style Mario again after the more linear games we’ve had in the past ten years. Splatoon 2 looks fresh, although it looks more like an upgraded port instead of a actual sequel, but then again what is a shooter sequel actually? You can’t innovate a lot except for new weapons, new maps, new strategies and a better online infrastructure. I don’t know if it was confirmed or denied, but I hope for online co-op possibility. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is also more of a luxury port, but the base game was great and this one will still be lots of fun for parties. I liked the new style of Xenoblade 2 too; it’s a bit different from the previous two but that’s OK in my opinion. Looking forward to hear about those games. 1 2 Switch looks like a fun mini-game collection, but I understand people saying they wanted this to be a pack in title. I don’t expect many people to cough up $50 for it, and I do believe they should have made it a $30 game, but I wouldn’t count on Nintendo rethinking it as a pack-in. I feel like they want to give the impression of it being a top-quality title.

The Switch will launch with only a couple of games, the sparsest it’s ever been for a launch of a console. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. First, you have Nintendo releasing Zelda: BotW. Most who picks up a Switch will pick up Zelda too. That makes for a tough competition from the get-go and games like Skyrim really could suffer from it. That’s why I think some high profile games got delayed last minute when they heard Zelda was making launch. And on the third party side, there a few ports of older games. But then I think, who buys all those ports anyway? Yes, they can make the ports and show ‘confidence’ in the Switch, but neither customers want old ports of uninteresting games they already bought and the publisher won’t make their money back too. It’s sadly a bit of self fulfilling prophecy, as few ports don’t entice customers to buy the console which leads to even fewer ports. But the Switch will all-in-all be a Nintendo and Japanese gaming system, and we just have to have faith in the usual companies to bring over their franchises. In this way I see Switch more as 3DS, with it getting the 3DS like library. With this I mean stuff like Phoenix Wright, Zero Escape… To be successful I think Nintendo just have to push through with being an alternative system, there’s no point to go compete with PS4 and XB1 without bringing some new stuff on the table.

And that brings me to the hardware. I haven’t used the actual hardware itself, but I read many positive impressions. The build quality is great and the looks are top notch. I even find it to have a bit of ‘sex-appeal’. If you search for direct comparison shots between the Switch and Wii U Gamepad, you’ll realize how bad the Gamepad looked and feel like it was made by Fisher-Price. But they did a great job with the Switch. The concept is appealing, and can be demonstrated easily to someone unfamiliar with the console. As a power engineer with some electronics background, I can also tell from all the technical stuff I read that this is the best console they could have built. The processor and graphics card is the most modern one that can power the console for continuous use. Processors in a iPhone 7 or upcoming Galaxy S8 may be faster, but they clock down due to power and heat concerns. The battery is also rather large and takes up a lot of space already, so saying they skimped out on battery is untrue. The battery life might not be a lot, but it’s actually comparable to phones running at 100% load. They also use a lot of modern application like USB C fast charging, Wifi AC, multitouch… Maybe you don’t believe it, but it’s really an impressive piece of tech that is competitive with stuff released today.

We can’t forget about the best parts of the console too: the Joy-Cons. I feel like they are the heart of the console, they are so well designed that the concept of the Switch really shines. Some vendors do have some detachable controllers for a generic tablet, but the from factor, build quality and ease of use are so far ahead that you can really see the ‘Nintendo magic’. Switching (haha, get it?) between docked, portable and table mode is so easy that it gets this wow factor when showing it off to friends. Being able to share a Joy-Con for two players is also nice, even though it doesn’t seem to be the most comfortable thing. But I can assure you, I can pop out my Switch and have some great fun with friends playing Mario Kart 8. The HD Rumble works well too apparently, and I think Nintendo can find some good applications for its use in games. Having some motions controls built in while functioning as traditional controllers is what makes this console combine the best of both worlds. A 20 hour battery life isn’t too shabby either, and you can easily recharge the battery when you dock the console.

This all reflects on the price too, which is indeed a bit expensive. $80 for a pair of Joy-Cons is steep, and far above a regular PS4 or Xbox One controller. Yes, you technically get two, but you’ll be buying them in pairs, because who wants a single lonely Joy-Con? I suspect many games to require a pair of Joy-Cons too, even though I don’t know if it’s possible to connect four pairs of Joy-Con if some game featured four player local multiplayer (Smash Bros?). They feature lots of tech and game companies always want to make money on accesories, but I think it would have been better if they priced it $10 to $15 lowers to reduce the sticker shock effect. The other accessories are expensive too, the Pro Controller is the definitive controller for couch gaming, but it comes with a definitive price as well. Buying extra Joy-Cons don’t even give the same colour straps, which can be bought for $8 seperately. And if you want an extra grip and be able to charge your controllers, which you can’t do with the included grip, it’ll cost you an extra $30. Granted, including it in the box would have upped the box price with another $15. If you want a ‘starters pack’ for new Switch users, you can feel nickel-and-dimed due to the high accessory costs. I wish Nintendo can first address those prices if it seems that it is a barrier to entry.

As for the box itself, I feel the $299 is still a fair price. Based on what I read, I already expected that $249 would be a tough target to reach. $299 is actually reasonable if you know what’s inside and how much things cost in manufacturing, R&D costs, distribution, retail and not to mention bad exchange rate and taxes in Europe. I believe that Nintendo still makes less profit in Europe per console sold, since people always forget that doing business in general is more expensive here due to wages, business taxes and buildings. The real question is actually value sided. It’s not: ‘Is this a fair price to charge’, but: ‘Do I feel like this is a fair price to me’. Nintendo will have to do a good job in selling value to the consumer and needs a clear messaging what it’s actually selling. In that I feel that a comparison with PS4 and generic tablets is not the way to go. Yes, the PS4 is comparable in price and more powerful, but as long as the Switch offers distinctly different features, people may still get enticed to buy. We’ll see if this works out, but I’m not the one who is calling this out as a flop already.

As for myself, I still believe in the Switch and even did save up enough the past two years to go on a crazy shopping splurge. I pre-ordered the Grey console, got the Pro Controllers, the Red/Blue Joy-Cons, the Charging Grip and an extra case. I really felt like that at some point in the future, I would have bought it anyway to play my favorite Nintendo games and therefore it doesn’t matter to me if I buy it sooner. I also want the definitive edition of Zelda, and being able to transport it between my dorm and home is a really big plus to me. I really look forward to most of the first party games that are announced, even though not many details have come out already. The conference damped my enthusiasm a bit, but I think it will be on full fire again closer to March 3rd. I’ll do a technical review of the Switch in six weeks when I get my hands on one, so look forward to reading it here!

This thing has gotten really long now, and I didn’t even touch on all the aspects of the Switch, but I need to wrap up here. If you’d like to have my opinion on an untouched subject, just ask in the comments. I’ll still check them regularly, even though I may not be an active writer anymore 🙂 I’d love to hear your opinion on the Switch too. Are you buying at launch? Holding out a bit? Or have even become uninterested? What do you think of the price? What games can entice you to buy? Tell me in the comments!

Enjoy and you’ll hear back from me when I get my Switch!

~Daedardus~

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3,671 thoughts on “Switch Reveal Opinion Extravaganza”

  4. lol, I forgot about the fact that the “masked royal” asks you, Hau and Gladion to have a foursome in the battledome and Hau reacts the way all of us would. Innuendos.

    Reply

  10. So as a WiiU successor, the Switch really isn’t looking *that* impressive…but if you think of it as a 3DS successor, it’s amazing.

    Reply

  11. Going through my Disqus, it seems like people think I’m Ziggy.

    I don’t know how many people believe me, but I swear to you all I’m not.

    If my conversation with Dae is anything to go by, I think I know who the real Ziggy is.

    Reply

    • Ugh.

      I don’t want to be seen as a gullible sucker if you turn out to be Ziggy, but it also doesn’t seem right just to disbelieve you after I haven’t been any definitive reason to think one way or the other.

      Reply

        • I remember very early ziggy days he made a second anonymous account to back him up. Could be this guy. You could compare usernames

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          • Before that I went by Yu Narukami.
            And as I stated before, I’ve been lurking on this site for six years.

          • Compare usernames with what exactly? 😛

            I’m not denying that there is evidence, but I’d really hate to be mean if it’s wrong. I know I’d hate if people assumed me to be Ziggy, so I’d rather not treat them that way until given cold hard evidence.

          • Compare Amazing Waffles pre-disqus username to Ziggy’s cronnie a few weeks ago he obviously had. See if they’re the same anonymous account.

          • I don’t have that account name. Also anons don’t have trackable accounts.

            I also don’t want to sound like I’m being gullible, ugh….
            I’m starting to sound stupid aren’t I?

          • I’m just saying you could if you want. If you were able to find the post you could see if they use the same anonymous username.

          • I know I’m under suspicion here but I remember that thread.
            His second account was Aladdin Sane, as if to keep with the Bowie theme naming.

          • I realize that.
            My only defense; I remember the stupidest stuff.
            Ask me about the rumors that sprang out from Black and White, I’ll probably remember it.

          • So if you’re not Ziggy, go tell your sibling to cut the shit. If we never see Ziggy or some variation of him come here again *maybe,* and it’s not even up to me, you can stay. If we see him again, you’re gone. You share an IP address. It’s you or someone close to you.

          • I’ll see what I can do. I’d honestly beat his @$$ but what would that accomplish.
            I’ll shake him off this site and try to keep him off.

          • you basically just did yourself in with that statement though, because if you knew that was the username, then you knew all along that your “sibling” used both that one and the ziggy one, and that they were one in the same. Which would also mean that you knew your “sibling” was trolling this entire time, and personally if I had a sibling that was actively trolling on a site as I was posting on it at the same time, I would have said something.

          • Again, this is just a hunch. And even to this day, I can’t confirm if he was using double accounts or if some guy was genuinely agreeing with him (Poe’s Law).

            And to that last comment…there’s only so much I can do. I just thought that he’d get tired of getting banned and move on. I was worried if I spoke up earlier, especially when I was still anonymous, I’d catch the heat for it too. I’d never know he’d go this far.

          • If I’m going to be completely honest, I don’t think Ziggy ever believed any of what he was saying, he just seemed like a bored s.o.b that had nothing better to do and wanted to cause a commotion whether for self validation or whatever who knows, but he was clearly very intelligent and most people with his intelligence (or what he seemed like he had) don’t often believe in the stupid shit he did.

          • That’s the scariest thing about Poe’s Law. You can never tell how serious someone is being on the web.

        • I mean even if its not him, he still has a crazy person in his house, so I guess he’s screwed either way. Its not like we can take his word for it.

          Reply

      • Actually, that’s what I want to say.

        I believe one of my siblings has been trolling you guys.

        I don’t know if you believe me but that’s the truth of it.

        Reply

        • I’m not sure I do. For a troll, ziggy was very articulate. Never really made grammatical mistakes, and you don’t seem to either. It’s suspicious to me.

          Reply

          • Even online there are certain ways to tell a who a person is because we all cling to certain forms of speech in a subtle way or another its very hard to have two completely separate personas going on. But again, we cant take his word for it, or even really say its him, but we can rely on certain similarities over time they will become more present.

  17. Losing these battle trees is making me very angry
    If I jump off level 40 well it ensure my death?
    JK I CANT EVEN GET TO 40 BECAUSE BIMBO TEAMMATES

    Reply

  19. Fire emblem direct predictions (since no one is talking about it):
    – FE Warriors roster dissapoints everyone (fans have way too high hopes)
    – FE Mobile will be lame
    – FE15 (using 3DS engine) teaser

    Reply

  20. Im actually kind of pissed that one some pokemon went to 3D their shinies basically became the same as their normal ones, like Lanturn went from vibrant purple to a slightly lighter shade of blue -_-

    Reply

  22. And my suspicions were confirmed; that little turd was trolling everyone afterall.

    After some interrogation, my brother came clean; he was Ziggy after all. Apparently, he found your reactions “funny”.

    So we made a deal; since I’m paying his phone line, if he ever steps foot in here, under any name, he gets cut off.

    He should never bother you guys again; Ziggy has officially gone with the Spiders from Mars.

    Reply

  23. In all seriousness…I realize that the trust here is gone and for good reason.

    Even if I wasn’t the one writing it, I was in the same house and did nothing about it.

    This was equal parts my fault and I’m sorry. I honestly don’t what else to say. Shitty things happened here. I can’t take them back, I could only apologize for them.

    I don’t expect to gain your trust, I just wanted to say my piece. I honestly hope we can move past this.

    Reply

  25. Going to bed, and I better not hear a single peep about fartface, not. A. Peep
    Don’t reply to him
    Don’t acknowledge him
    Just freaking go about your life if he emerges and just freaking disengage

    Plain and simple, he only holds what minuscule power only if you engage

    Reply

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