Why dooming Nintendo Switch for its bare launch line-up doesn't add up

How does the Nintendo Switch launch compare to its predecessors?

[chrisx]

There are other reasons people are worried : expensive price, lack of 3rd parties etc, nintendos stubborness will be their downfall unfortunately.

[Neonridr]

expensive price?.. look at everything it does for a handheld and comes in at $299.

You guys are hilarious. You want the power of a PS4, a 1080p screen, a decent battery and a cost of $249. Wake up buddy, that isn't even possible for that price.

[Kingthrash360]

Lol agreed. Crazy how backwards things are now. They forgot how much the vita, 3ds, new 3ds, ps3,xbox,xboxone and 3do costed.. lol. The switch combines them all into one for about the same or less. Who's to say the switch won't have third party games? Why does it need it? The way I see it, I already have a ps4p/xbo...why do I need another one? The fact that the switch us unique should be a selling point. The only thing separatein the xbo and ps4 is the exclusives...the switch is a different console that has different experiences. That's a plus. 299 is a ok price.

[freshslicepizza]

good for those who like handheld gaming, not very good for those who want a game console

[The 10th Rider]

Exactly. Just look at the size comparison between a Switch and a PS4. The Switch and PS4 Slim have the same MSRP, though the PS4 Slim is readily available for cheaper, or bundled with a game.

That being said, I would have gladly paid for something portable that was $400 with PS4 level of power, but I don't know if that'd be possible with a decent battery life.

[Mrveryodd]

😂

[Yohshida]

The problem are all the additional costs. You spend at least 470€ before you can play a game on your TV with a real Controller.

[DARKKENT]

What about the ridiculous way to chat to friends online? Less 3rd party support than the wii u? Overpriced accessories ?That it comes in at £280 WITHOUT a game and those are £60 a pop...theres alot to criticize Nintendo for the fanboys dont want to hear it...like they didnt wana hear it with the wii u and look where that got them ...

[Christopher]

I just wanted something better than my two year old tablet that has more games and better battery life and doesn't put emphasis on gaming gimmicks. YMMV.

[joab777]

You are kidding right? If I went and bought what I needed it would be well over $400 just to start playing or put it on par with it's competitors, accessory wise. As you can buy a PS4 for cheaper, it doesn't make sense!

And no it doesn't combine them all into one! How much are you gonna pay for a mobile game today? Times are changing and the competition is fierce. It's not about what happened 4 yrs ago. It's about Nintendo surviving the current climate!

[Kurdishcurse]

its barely stronger than the wiiu and its for 300$. yaaah im not moronic or egotistic enough to justify that. not to mention im pretty sure we are paying for nintendos research and development of that laughable remote. the online and chat shinanigans etc etc. there are more reasons for this to flop than to succeed. and the wiiu attests to that. having zelda will only save the console for the 1st year. well c.

[PapaBop]

The console price isn't the main problem, it's the price of everything else. You factor everything into consideration and it's the most expensive console on the market without the specs to really justify that plus either has major features missing or implemented poorly. The fact at launch it only has one must buy game that's still available for the Wii U is like the icing on the cake.

[XisThatKid]

there's also the fact tthat with a few people. They've been burned by two systems that had potential and wasn't what was expected in the end. to them this is a repeat of that and most people aren't wrong for being weary of a new console especially if what is offered at launch isn't what you want. I see nothing wrong with that.

[feraldrgn]

Although it looks like a handheld, it's really not, at least that's what Nintendo are saying & have been saying since the first announcement.

They've repeated "home gaming console first & foremost" multiple times now (as well as "hybrid"),
they're pricing the games at home gaming console prices,
the advertisements are of people gaming on the TV & then unhooking it to game on the go, not the other way round.
Reggie said they're going to keep it alongside the 3DS.
At their conference they talked about all of the "features" they took from past Nintendo consoles & said the idea of the tablet was the off-screen play feature from the Wii-U.

[rdgneoz3]

"look at everything it does for a handheld and comes in at $299."

Yet they've said its a console first.

"You want the power of a PS4, a 1080p screen, a decent battery and a cost of $249."

Yet it's out years after the PS4 and weaker, battery takes longer to charge than it lasts for, needs a smart phone app to do voice chat and match making (of which you need to pay serice to do both, when voice chat is free with the other systems and you can match make for many F2P games without a sub), has a weak launch line up, not many big name 3rd party games coming to it, no Netflix / media apps for a while (it was on the Wii and WiiU...), and costs the same price as the PS4 and xbone (when happen to go on sale every so often for less than $300).

Yes, that is hilarious that they think they'll compete with the Pro and Scorpio, when it can't even beat the base systems.

[Erik7357]

Lack of 3rd parties, you mean lack of mediocre disappointments?

[sinjonezp]

Your lack of intelligent input is disrespectful. Only one hand full of games at launch and it's biggest release is on the wiiU? Seriously?

[_-EDMIX-_]

You and I have discussed this at length but regardless of how you personally feel about third-party support understand that third-party support is essential to a platform like this succeeding.

Regardless of how you personally feel about it there's over 20 million people that are purchasing Call of Duty every single year on other platforms.

I'm sorry but that's a lot of people not buying your Hardware.

Mind you the way I see Microsoft this generation Nintendo easily could have weaseled them out of the industry.

A Nintendo console that was as powerful as the Xbox One and also had the same architecture as well as the same media format would very likely get more support simply because it is Japanese ie Your Kingdom Hearts 3 your Final Fantasy 15 your Yakuza series etc.

ON TOP if your Call of Duty Battlefield Assassin's Creed etc

In fact Call of Duty showing up on the Wii and Assassin's Creed showing up on the Wii u very much show that these companies are not making games for this platform specifically because of its technical limitation , because they have no problem creating those games for their other platforms when they were degraded to a degree.

But Nintendo needs to bring the hardware if they accept developers to bring the games.

At the end of the day regardless of how you personally feel it is not your decision it is not your call and you do not speak for the millions of Gamers that likely would have purchased this platform if it receives a specific amount of support.

Trust me you could say no to Grand Theft Auto 6 Red Dead Redemption 2 etc, and record number of millions will say yes elsewhere to another platform.

This is a situation where the customer is always right, I see Zero reason to be fighting against Gamers that want more games.

How did the Wii U perform with all of its fabulous exclusives?

I mean you have to consider it that's a 14 million install base versus an install base of a couple hundred million

[morganfell]

The Wii U didn't have those so called Third Party Disappointments. How did that work out for Nintendo?

What console will Nintendo dump the Switch for when their repeat method fails to work again?

Start slow and taper off is not the way to succeed. A robust and continual flow of First Party Exclusives rounded out by solid Third Party Support including all those disappointments. Those that forget history are doomed to repeat it.

Apparently you do not realize that hardware isn't worth the electricity it takes to run if for five seconds if it doesn't have the software support. A multiplatform Zelda and some Mario games are not going to do it alone.

[admiralvic]

The funny thing is how some people, such as the writer of this article, overlook things like cause and effect.

Lets say the number of games launch with the Switch is unimportant, because, reasons. Okay, so the biggest hitter is obviously Zelda, but the difference between the Switch version and Wii U version are not so overwhelming that it releasing on the Wii U is more of a token gesture. This obviously lowers the appeal by a little bit. From there, the next biggest hitter is Mario Kart 8, an enhanced port and then Arms. Again, commenting on how many people will make the shift or buy for the first time over it is hard to say, but it is likely much lower than the number that will over Mario Odyssey.

From there we have Splatoon 2, which is the first "true" system seller. I call it the "true" system seller, because it is a sequel to a popular game and it is truly unique and exclusive for the system. The issue with Splatoon 2 right now, is how the paid online will impact it. If people don't want to pay for the Nintendo service, I suspect Splatoon 2 will suffer, since most of its value is in the online aspect. Finally, we know there is Mario sometime in the holiday season and it will sell because it's Mario, completely new and, if nothing else, it's the holiday season.

So what is my point? Early sales can make a lasting impression on the system and negatively impact it. We already know EA has a "wait and see" approach to anything besides Fifa and I worry that a lack of big games upfront, will cause people to adopt later and later. If GameStop didn't have their great trade in deal for my Wii U, I likely would've waited until Summer for Splatoon or Holiday for Mario if the online stuff isn't for me.

If everyone does this, then the sales will be very low, third parties will yet again avoid it and they will need to do something to recover. As we saw with the 3DS, that isn't impossible, even if they failed to accomplish that feat with the Wii U, but a long standing delay isn't good either. Like if it takes until the Holiday season to get sales that entice third parties, then it could be around a year and a half into the consoles life before it gets any amount of support.

So, while the actual launch isn't a problem per se, I definately think it could lead to much larger issues. Especially since consumers know third party support might not be there, Nintendo now has paid online and a lack of titles.

[Antnee534]

My opinion is that it will pull a vita and suck worldwide but do amazing in japan

[Erik7357]

Disagree, way more software support from Nintendo than Sony did for Vita. Actually has system sellers on it.

The Switch will have the mainline Pokemon RPG series on it, do you not see that as a huge game? Like it will be groundbreaking because we have never seen Pokemon games at this level of quality.

This is something gamers have wanting for a decades and now we are finally getting a true pokemon console game.

Ughh AND BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL 2!!! IT WILL HAPPEN I TELL YOU!

The Zelda game LOOKS AMAZING on it.....THE NEXT MARIO GAME looks amazing on it.

And....METROID...

Granted, metroid, pokemon, and beyond good evil 2 have not been shown....it is obviously known they are in the works and will be on the Switch exclusively.

[WeAreLegion]

The Vita launched with a significantly better lineup. It's not even close. What are you talking about?

[Zhipp]

@WeAreLegion
The Vita launched with a good lineup, but Sony completely abandoned the system after the first year. It was like the inverse of the 3DS. Launch lineup isn't everything, especially if said launch is so early in the year. The Switch will receive far, far more support from Nintendo than the Vita did from Sony because it will be the only platform they're supporting.

[Mrveryodd]

Way more ... Ok

[Kurdishcurse]

metroid, pickmen, BGE2 and xenoblade C2...most of which r unnounced titles with god knows how many years in between them. meanwhile, 3rd party support will pepper the console (ps4/xbox) market between anticipated exclusives, the switch will be left bone dry again for years until something like another zelda or metroid. this is just a barely beefed up wiiu, with an overly expensive price tag, for gimmicks rather than power. fuk that crap.

[Bronxs15]

Here's the thing. People are not excited for Nintendo anymore. The best thing they have going for them are they games. And people wanted to see Nintendo showing off games and see people taking an interest in them. But sadly that's what nintendo showed.

[81BX]

I disagree. I think many gamers are excited for NIN still.

[_-EDMIX-_]

yes the people that purchase the Wii U in the 3DS but that amount of people is actually shrinking.

ie why they even fused the portable with their Home console in the first place

[Bronxs15]

I purchased wii u and 3ds. But won't be getting switch. Too disappointed.

I can't believe they are pitching it as a home console. In 2017. With 32 gb same as the previous wii u. No Ethernet port. So need to get USB adapter to have a wired connection to play online smash and marionkart with good connection. No headphone jacks for headset. You need to have a smart device for voice cigar match making. Writes paid online were u get a free game only for a month.

It's hard to look at all this and say they are being competitive with other home console offerings. Or hard to see the value in it. Especially at it's asking price.

[JayPi3]

I didn't know you speak for everyone now, everyone I see claims to be excited and people who complain still say they have the switch pre ordered.

[V0LT]

Speak for yourself. I am excited.. Maybe one day people will realize Nintendo isn't trying to shut down Sony or MS. They do their own thing if it isn't obvious by now. It isn't all about visuals.

[sinjonezp]

So you are excited for a game system with five games at launch and it's selling point is a game that's available for wiiU? Btw paying over 300 for the system and God knows how much for accessories? Okay! Lol

[81BX]

5 games at launch does not equal forever... also zelda looks better on switch so why wouldnt i be excited? I get it, you dont like it but youre confussing your opinion as fact. Using your logic i should never be excited for an xb1/ps4 game if its releasing on scorpio or pro. Cmon man!

[Erik7357]

Look at your agree and disagree count. I would say it's been awhile since we've seen excitement like this for Nintendo.

To put this into perspective, just weeks ago your agree/disagree account would of been the opposite. But now as things are starting to add up the hate for this is slowing going away.

[Realms]

Considering Nintendo's current track record I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch under performs it's a very devisive topic right now because outside of Nintendo fans many gamers are cautiously optimistic. I know I am I bought a WiiU and have no intention of picking up a Switch any time soon because I want to see the kind of support the Switch get's.

[maybelovehate]

I don't mind the lineup. In fact I think with Zelda it is quite strong. What I mind is that it is a last gen console. So tired of Nintendo holding back great games such as Zelda with their cheap hardware.

[Erik7357]

I'm tired of Sony holding back Naughty Dog, let them develop a game for my pc and it will blow a ps4's graphics away please

[Tussin187]

Wait, what?

0_o

[zaherdab]

ummm ? that applies to nintendo as well if that's even an argument let them develop for pc as well ... only problem is a pc games can't be ported to Switch unless they are really 5 years old crap while ps4 is running current gen pc games.
But seriously your argument is just argument for the sake of responding ...

[maybelovehate]

That would be nice, but PS4 Pro is probably 10 times more powerful than the Switch.

[Vhampir]

It's not really "cheap" if you consider it's a 720p handheld. 3 times more powerful than the vita undocked, and 6 times more when docked. I expected consoles to one day end up like the switch. I got a smart phone in 2011 with MHL support, and I knew eventually someone would make a handheld console that outputs its screen to a tv. Original vita's would have been the first but Sony wanted to resell it as it's own thing and never released the cable.

[maybelovehate]

I have no interest in handhelds. I don't have a backpack or a fanny pack. My phone will have to make due because I can't be bothered to haul something around.

[RedPill86]

Far so I can tell, nobody is bashing it for that reason. Everyone I talk to wants the games, they don't want the system. Hence why Zelda is being purchased on Wii U. Can't justify this overly costly system.

[Erik7357]

Nintendo know's games are what are important I guess

[zaherdab]

RedPill is stating there's not enough games on switch to warrant a purchase WII U owners will just get Zelda on WII U ... probably being the main reason they bought the WII U and kept it while Nintendo continuously delaying it... so do they know games are important ?

[Rippcity]

I think Nintendo actually thinks the opposite thanks to the Wii. The Wii was able to sell millions of consoles because it came with Wii sports. The Wii sold itself based off of the motion controls. They tried agian with the Wii U gamepad to see if that would warrant a success like the Wii and we all know how that turned out. And now yet AGAIN with the Switch and the fact that it is mobile. These consoles don't sell themselves and Nintendo forgot that because of the success of the Wii. Gamers don't care about consoles, they care about what games are on them. If they announced that this thing would have Zelda, a new Metroid game, a new Pikman, a new Animal Crossing and a Pokemon game in the first year, it would fly off of shelves. Because games are what sell systems, not the other way around.

[Stronk]

Personally, I haven't been this excited for a new console in decades! Day 1.

[Cy]

It's asking us to buy an underpowered system with shaky third party support and the only big name game it has at launch is a port of a Zelda game they've been promising for years. Yeah, it has Mario and Splatoon and Xenoblade later this year, but the Wii U had all that too and it still got no third party support and a bunch of first party games no one wanted. The Switch needs to differentiate itself from the Wii U, and a thin launch line up doesn't help with that at all. Compare that to MS and Sony, both of which had amazingly successful systems last gen, and you'll see why people are more willing to put up with thin launch line ups from them, when they're not from modern Nintendo.

[Tussin187]

Please, you're making too much sense. It really hard for some people to grasp. I really don't get it what is so hard to understand.

[conanlifts]

I see a lot of people saying " wii u had that too". But there is huge difference in that it took the wii u its whole life cycle to get all that. So to me that's a huge difference.

Also it never had a true 3d mario. That's what people have been asking for.

Regarding the launch line up. There are a lot of games releasing in the first 2 months. Plus we don't actually have the full launch lineup yet. It was reported as 4 games; then 5, now it's up to 7 on day 1. By the time March arrives it might have increased a lot, or it might just be 7. Who knows. Time will tell though.

Edit: i am setsuna is now available at launch as well, taking it to 8.

[Derceto]

Because you suck at math?

[zaherdab]

Maybe a poor launch line up... gimmicky controls ... subpar performance a history of abandoning ship on their fans when things dont workout .... no cross platform content etc... adds up

[Yohshida]

Just imagine if they had all the third Party Support and would get Ports that are downgraded, but you can still take them on the go. GTAV, RDR2 and Mass Effect on the Go? System Killer! But instead they dont care.

[_-EDMIX-_]

this company's inability to adapt to the market is going to inevitably be their downfall.

The Wii U failed so badly that it should have lit a fire under Nintendo to completely revamp how they do business.

When I'm witnessing from the switch is basically the same exact thing that we saw from the Wii U.

There was a promise for change there was a promise that the future would be different regarding third parties and it's starting to sound like this company is banking on people believing them as opposed to really doing something about their situation this is extremely disheartening and it basically sounds like this company is knowingly leading people to believe that things will be better in the future despite not taking action to ensure such things.

We shouldn't be hearing 80 games in development we technically should be hearing a couple hundred if they seriously or Able to get that type of support.

It speaks large values that a absolutely absurd a lot of developers are staying away from this platform like the plague.

I think if they understood that they were going to be creating a portable that was not going to receive the same amount of support because of its Hardware limitation they should have not have been marketing it as a "Home console".

[Kurdishcurse]

ofcourse its JUST THE FREAKIN LINEUP. not all the other things...ehmm...

[joab777]

It's not the launch lineup, but the commitment going forward AND many other reasons!

[Artemidorus]

Clearly didn't own an Xbox One at launch, empty small menus with a handful of games on day one.

[Lilrizky]

I do not understand why one criticism automatically spells "Doom." I've seen the word thrown around for the lack of big games for PSVR despite for only being out for 3 months and i've bought over 30 games for it.

I agree, everybody. it's a weak lineup, their launching it in a crowded month with games for consoles you already own at a cheaper price, their online isn't great. But I still wouldn't use the words doomed. They're in trouble and they got things to fix, but they're not dead in the water. not by a longshot.

once mario, splatoon 2, smash bros. pokemon, fire emblem, monster hunter, animal crossing and all your big sellers come along, it'll sell well. It's just at launch it's going to have trouble.

[CrimsonWing69]

I think people are dooming it for many reasons not just the launch line-up... nice try there.

[gamer7804]

The issue is the launch lineup is only one of its many problems. power is one, that leads to third party support, a separate ios or android app for voice and multiplayer on a paid service where your games are actually free trials only. 2 big launch titles already on wiiu at launch. Lack of storage space unless you spend 100s of dollars since max size is currently 512gb. Other peripherals are expensive. Hd rumble is hard to feel in tablet mode. there is no true dpad on joycons. on and on... :(