Is Zelda at Switch Launch More Appealing Than PS4 & XBO Launch Lineups?

"We ask ourselves, what would we prefer, a small launch with a game that has the potential to be a killer app, or a bunch of games that don’t offer the same quality as The Legend of Zelda series typically does?" -- Nintendo Enthusiast

[NapalmSanctuary]

I'd have to say yes. I put off buying a ps4 until something was on it that I wanted to play, that game being MKX. Zelda, on the other hand, is day one gold.

[cleft5]

More appealing than the ps4 games, maybe not. But Zelda can hold it's own against those titles. It's a highly anticipated game, that will probably be amazing, so it was a smart move on Nintendo's part to have it at launch. However, if you own a ps4, you are hardly going to be hurting for games to play right now that are exclusive to the console. Still, I am sure many ps4 owners will be picking up Switch consoles as well, so they don't have to choose one over the other. They can have them both.

[PlayableGamez-]

Sony came out with 4 exclusives in a span of a month. 3/4 of the exclusives were above 80 on Metacritic and you are going to pick a console to play one game and have to wait until a month to play another? HAHAHAHA
On top of that, the PS4 already has a solid lineup waiting for you TLOU:R Uncharted 4 Bloodborne Until Dawn Ratchet and Clank Etc
Anybody who doesn't have a PS4 at this point is missing out.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Absolutely agreed on top of the new intellectual properties that are releasing by this company it is very difficult to see how any gamer could justify not owning this platform at this point.

At this point it actually makes more sense to own a switch and a PlayStation 4 than to just on a Switch.

[stuna1]

At this point making a comparison of just 1 game against a launch lineup of the PS4 sounds like moreso of someone trying to justify buying the Switch!?

I'm not speaking out against the Switch, it just seems like what the question comes across as!

[Zeldafan64]

Treating your opinion (which is purely, 100% subjective) as absolute, irrefutable fact is so incredibly tiresome that I can't believe I'm still commenting to people like you but hey, it's fun to see your (and everyone else's) responses.

[PlayableGamez-]

@Zeldafan64
Considering your user name, it's hard to take your OPINION seriously.
Numbers do not lie.
Sony has more content available both 1st party and 3rd party and in the making than the Switch. That is FACTUAL that is objective and cannot be refuted.
And don't give me that quantity vs quality bullcrap because Sony is delivering on quality as well if you consider the positive feedback both from critics and fans.
I'm not saying Zelda is going to be a bad game, I am pretty confident that is going to be a critically acclaimed game, but it doesn't change the fact that it is one game! The Switch cannot compete with ONE game.

[NapalmSanctuary]

I own a ps4 for MKX, Doom, R&C, Bloodborne and Nioh... and soon to be: Tekken 7, Ace Combat 7, GT Sport and Personna 5. Thats 9 games in 3+ years, the first of which came out well over a year after the ps4 launched. Ive been having to wait months in between games for years. Metacritic scores aren't going to magically make me like a game. Its not like the ps2, which launched with Tekken Tag and Armored Core 2, 2 of my favorite games ever made, not to mention all the other games, that I loved, that came out within 2 years of that systems launch. Value is subjective.

[thexmanone]

Absolutely disagree, Believe it or not. not everyone is a fan of Uncharted 4, Bloodborne ,Until Dawn, and Ratchet and Clank. I will be more then happy to wait for Zelda. And while I`m waiting I will be on my Xbox.
So I`m not missing out, other wise I would buy a PS4.

[Zeldafan64]

That's an absolute shocker that you have more disagrees than agrees. I never would have seen that coming.

[saint_seya]

You know, you could use a name like that in Forum named Nintendo(something) and you will get as many agrees/likes as you want, but in the real world, where there's close to 60m of Ps4 sold, you will face a hard reality..
Do you go to a heavy metal recital and scream " pop music is the best".. well if you do, then i can see why you expected more agrees..

[ShadowKnight]

Can't wait just a couple more weeks

[corroios]

Just one thing, zelda is a game of the wii u delayed for the switch. This was to come out last year . Just imagine tlou and gt at launch of the ps4 and not ps3 games.

[The 10th Rider]

I mean, I get what you're saying, but even the remastered version of the Last of Us was well received when it came out and it sold well, which mean that your comment implies that Zelda is a very appealing title to have at launch, despite it being on Wii U as well. I think that's contrary to what you were trying to say. There's also no indication that Breath of the Wild was delayed specifically to have a simultaneous release. Also, the Last of Us had already been out for over a year and didn't come out on the PS4 until 8 months after the console's launch. Mario Kart 8 is closer of a situation to the Last of Us than Breath of the Wild is.

[joab777]

Of course it was! You think it's coincidence it's being launched with the Switch?

[The 10th Rider]

They also said they delayed the Switch so that it had games at launch . . . And it still pretty much only has Zelda. It's entirely possible the Switch was delayed to release with Zelda, and not the other way around. But hey, your aunt's cousin's freind's dentist's dog probably works for Nintendo, so you've probably got insider info or something.

[Gameseeker_Frampt]

No, that isn't at all what he meant. The Last of Us wasn't launched with PS4 because Sony didn't delay it but instead released it that same year for the PS3 as was intended. Same with GT and over a dozen other PS3 exclusives in 2013. The same cannot be said about Nintendo. They have not been putting out Wii U games for a long time and the main launch game for the Switch is a Wii U game that was supposed to come out in 2015.

[The 10th Rider]

@Gameseeker_Frampt,

I did not say that's what he meant.

However, bringing up the Last of Us Remastered supports that Breath of the Wild is a strong launch title. People still praised the Last of Us Remastered as a strong title, and rightfully so. Zelda doesn't suddenly become a weak title because there's another version launching at the same time.

Also, I find the claims that Breath of the Wild was 'delayed' for Switch a bit overplayed. There's no doubt that the Wii U version would have come out earlier if not for the Switch, but it's highly unlikely it's been sitting finished. Chances are they could either allocate resources to have the game ready on Wii U for the Holidays, with the Switch version coming out sometime in the later half of this year, or allocate those resources to instead heave both ready in March. In Sony's case with the Last of Us, the former option was an excellent choice because of the number of PS3's out there. In Nintendo's case with Breath of the Wild the latter option makes sense, because there's a significantly smaller Wii U userbase. As a Wii U owner, I certainly would have lover to have Zelda a few months earlier, but the title isn't less strong because it came out later, and they made the smarter business move in their situation. People are complaining just because they want something to complain about.

[Gameseeker_Frampt]

Take away Zelda from the Switch launch and what does it have? Yeah, I thought so.

No, Zelda being delayed for Switch is not "overplayed" at all since that is clearly what happened. The Switch's launch lineup is worse than the Wii U's. At least the Wii U launched with Mario.

[The 10th Rider]

@Gameseeker_Frampt,

But why would you take away Zelda, since it is coming out at launch . . . Is it suddenly a worse game because it's out for Wii U?

[_-EDMIX-_]

Please buddy I think everybody even Nintendo fans know that that game was specifically delayed to release at the launch of the switch

Also your comment doesn't even make any sense it's actually still suggesting that delay had something to do with coinciding with the launch of the switch.

Mind you you would have to consider if they're going to delay a platform to release around the time of the game I'm pretty sure they could also do the other way around.

Not even the most hardcore Nintendo fan is going to believe that lie buddy even to people who like this game I don't believe are going to be drinking the Kool-Aid on that theory

[conanlifts]

You realise they only finished making zelda a few weeks ago. So if they only just finished it how was it delayed. Have you considered switch itself might have been delayed until after zelda was finished.

[The 10th Rider]

Clearly that hasn't occurred to them.

I don't doubt Zelda would have been out early if it wasn't for Switch, but I doubt it was 'delayed'.

What likely happened is development resources were prioritized to getting the Switch version up and running for a simultaneous release, rather than finishing the Wii U version up for the holidays and releasing the Switch version in the later half of this year. Either way that's not a delay.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

How does that matter? It's still a launch title for Switch, and it's still a great game, so it's still a valid topic.

[alfcrippinjr]

ps4 line up of games as i know im getting quality and its already there with a library of games now.
so money well spent.

where the switch has hardly any line up of games wow another mario game lets copy and paste

not sure what the retail is on the switch games but im thinking there close to the same price for a ps4 game.

it a really shame the switch is not getting a lot of a listed games for the release date
if they did that it it would had been a big hit

but this is a fail to much of a marketing hype crap!
lets release specs on the system or game play and now have someone filming a video of the machine.
which at this point Nintendo behind all the leaks nobody else
lets only release so many switches to get the prices up and the demand high.

[The 10th Rider]

"wow another mario game lets copy and paste"

Yeah, because Super Mario Odyssey totally looks like 64, Sunshine, Galaxy, and 3D World...

[alfcrippinjr]

that is so correct thanks for the laugh

[Segata]

In your nonsense of rambling of broken English,that is some impressive ignorance kid.

[saint_seya]

of of.. Complains of broken english o0

[RosweeSon]

PS4 was day one for me and haven't looked back. 2TB hard drive is bursting point. Bought my first XB1 (gears model) in oct. Done all the top exclusives and it's getting sold for a switch as already day one Zelda is more worthwhile than majority of stuff that's come out exclusively on Xbox in the first 3 years! Of it's life. The fact Mario Kart is only another 6-7 weeks after launch and there will be some downloads available from the store no doubt even VC. Gonna be a great secondary console for me. Xbox just wasn't doing it.

[cleft5]

I think you hit the nail on the head with that statement.

[porkChop]

I think that's the key thing. The Switch will be a great secondary system for any PS, PC, or XB gamer. So many people act like you can only have 1 system. It doesn't have to be that way.

[RosweeSon]

Yeah I'll play all good consoles at some point who knows may grab a Scorpio eventually but can't see it at the moment still got a couple of games to finish off on my Wii U not to mention 3ds/Vita and that PS4 isn't gonna play itself haha. Can't justify have all the console sat there as can only use one at a time. Xbox would just be sat there all summer for me 💰.
Different strokes for different folks and all that but dunno ever since it got announced PS4 sounded like a winner I was buying it without even seeing the console (when it got first announced) it hasn't let me down. 360 was great and it had all the Devs giving them the first dibs and top versions of the games and bonus DLC' etc because it was the easier to make the games for and they ran better... until Devs got used to PS3.
Difference is Sony saw this and didn't want to be playing second fiddle again they made a console that Devs are happy making games for as it's easier than PS3 was and also now happens to be the most powerful currently (if that's your thing) PS3 ended up with Gran turismo 6 pushing it at the end of the consoles life. PS4 is barely halfway there but it's got some great games to come yet and I'm sure it's got lots of room for improvements graphically without the need of sheer power that'll go unused anyway.

I'm just here for the games. ✌🏻🤓

[ERFO]

Personally, I've never been as excited for a console launch as I am for the switch. I've never preordered a console before this one and I'm seriously counting the days. 2 weeks seems like a lifetime away. I'm a 38 year old father of 2.

Yes. I am enjoying an extended adolecsence.

[joab777]

Of course. But it's like if Sony held up GoW2 for the PS3 or TLoU for PS4. They didn't. They released them for the current console first.

[porkChop]

That's true, but consider the difference in situation. PS3 has probably sold somewhere around 100m, PS2 has sold like 160m. Sony had no reason to hold those games back because there was money to be made on the older console.

Wii U is sitting at under 14m units sold after 4 years. They want the release day hype for Zelda on the Switch's launch day. They want to drive systems because their last console failed. Zelda took years to make, with more than 300 developers. The game likely cost a fortune. They want the game to make money.

[joab777]

I get it from a business perspective, not from the perspective of a shunned WiiU and every other Nintendo console owner.

[Realplaya]

I'm super excited for the switch. This time around Nintendo is doing it right. My biggest complaint with the Wii U was always that Nintendo never advertised it. I hate to say this but the Wii U feels like it was practice for nintendo's foray into had programming. As a matter of fact I'm going to call it and say with the Wii U Nintendo reacted to what fans wanted and the others were doing.

With the switch they are not listening to what people say they should or should not do. Doing that is dangerous for a company. My beliefs is if they can drop certain games then they can restore the house of Mario back to respectability.

[XXanderXX]

Don't know about that but am looking forward to playing Zelda on switch .

[slavish0]

This is dumb. We aren't play the "what if game"! The switch "IS" going up again stronger hardware with 3years of games on the market. You can also find its competition cheaper too. That is reality.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

But we're comparing launches, here. Not what you're saying.

[slavish0]

So I'm comparing reality and they are comparing fantasy 😫.... Got it🤐

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

No, you're makng unfair comparisons by using years of games on systems nearly half a de cade old each to try and out-do a new console that's only begun its rise, while the fair and sensible are comparing launch lineups.
You're in the wrong here.

[SR388]

Yes definitely, the new unboxing video is awesome

[captainexplosion]

This is crazy. PS4 and XB1 launched with games like COD, Battlefield, Fifa, NBA 2k, and Madden. Plus a few exclusives and indies. Switch is launching with their 6th most popular franchise which is also releasing on WiiU with minimal graphical downgrading. People really exaggerate the popularity of Zelda.

[Segata]

Sports and FPS games..yes such variety. Did it have TV as well? TV TV TV TV TV SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS CALL OF DUTY CALL OF DUTY.....

Not that the Switch launch is the most varied ever but it is more so.

[captainexplosion]

How is the Switch launch varied? Zelda and World of Good and 1-2 Switch. Such variety. PS4 and XB1 had games that people actually cared about. So did the Wii U launch for that matter. PS4/X1 had 1st person shooters, 3rd person shooters, sports games, open world (assassin's Creed and Dead Rising), Platformers (Knack, Skylanders), arcade games (Resogun), acclaimed smaller games and indies (Flower), and horror games.

[saint_seya]

You want variety, but you are going to buy a Switch for Zelda and Mario ... Someone explain this to me..

[originaljohn]

Zelda launched with the wii. Remember how that turned out...

[WickedLester]

Wii's success had nothing to do with Zelda.

[originaljohn]

Ultimately no it didn't but initially launching the Wii with a Zelda title for hardcore gamers and shipping Wii Sports free was a master stoke. It covered every base straight out the gate.

[Segata]

PS4 had very little at launch that was really interesting or good. Resogun was cool. Killzone was mediocre. XBO had Dead Rising 3 a decent entry to the series and Ryse but Ryse was a technical showcase and a average game. Zelda is likely to be a great game. Bomberman R looks interesting but no killer app. Switch first few months will keep owners busy however. It's a matter of taste and Zelda and ARMS fit more my tastes than another FPS or sports or AAA game TBH. Nothing comes close to the GOAT tho. Dreamcast best launch ever.

[shaenoide]

I'll buy Zelda on WiiU so it's a no for me.

[chris235]

not by a long shot. every console launch has got only a few titles. the difference with this zelda title is: it is a last gen title (a wii u title) that looks like a gameplay we've been playing for years now only much, much better. this company totally lost it.

[DialgaMarine]

Of course it is, but Sony and MS also didn't throw their last gen console to the wolves it's last couple years to bring all their notable projects to PS4/ Xbone. You think TLoU couldn't have gotten a few months more or so of polish and been a PS4 launch title? Same goes for Halo 4.

Fact is, right now, Switch's current lineup has nothing on the PS4 lineup. Zelda will be good, I'm sure, but one game can't carry a console, with next to no third party support, by itself for almost a year. A platoon will sell, but not be a hardware pusher; MK8 remaster will sell, but won't be a hardware pusher either, which basically just leaves Mario Odyssy in the holidays. Switch has other games, I know, but let's be honest most of those are shovelware.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

You don't know whether or not the new MK and Splatoon sequel will move units. To say they definitely won't, when both are offering good incentives for fans to dive back in, is just a little naive.
And as for other third party games; you haven't looked at the long list of RPG's coming to it.

[DialgaMarine]

The proof is in the pudding. If games like Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon were truly system sellers, then the Wii U wouldn't have been a failure. Both games sold exceptionally well on Wii U, and yet they didn't push that hardware sales. In fact, historically most Nintendo franchises don't.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

The Wii U had issues that the Switch does not, which were holding back its franchises from moving it like they should.
The Switch has far more potential and far fewer problems, so these games most definitely could be system sellers.

And, again, please go take a look at the list of devs and all the great RPG's coming to it.
Past system failures do not dictate the fate of a new system in its entirety. Nintendo got huge numbers for DS despite analysts saying it was doomed, turned the 3DS around despite a slow start, and even made the Wii a big seller despite core gamers everywhere swearing on their lives that it wouldn't make it past GC sales.

If they can do all that, then it is nowhere near impossible for the Switch to sell big off of games like Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon 2, let alone the greatest Zelda game Nintendo's ever made which even appeals to western gamer tastes.

[DialgaMarine]

Really sounds like you're trying to justify Nintendo making a console, declaring high hopes and huge plans, convincing millions to buy it, all so they can cut support after only a couple years, so they can shove a new one down our throats. You're trying to say Nintendo never saw potential in Wii U for forwarding it's franchises, which is a blatant lie, but I digress. So if that were the case, why didn't Nintendo just not release Wii U at all, and release the Switch sooner? Nintendo screwed a lot of people over because they gave up at the drop of a hat. Now they're releasing a new system that's there to try and play catch up.

Say what you will about Sony, but they had it far worse with PS3 than Nintendo did with Wii U, and yet they refused to quit. You can mention Vita, but there's just no potential in dedicated handheld gaming, hence why despite Nintendo's best efforts, 3DS is going to finish its lifespan off as the worst selling Nintendo portable in history, despite it basically controlling the entire handheld market. Home consoles are a different story.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

" You're trying to say Nintendo never saw potential in Wii U for forwarding it's franchises"
And you're putting words in my mouth, which invalidates your argument right from the off.
You've ignored the devs announced to be making games for it compared to Wii U, and ignored the games that are clearly listed to be coming as well.
It's obvious to me, at this point, that you WANT it to fail and will ignore anything that suggests otherwise.
At this point I'm just going to agree to disagree, so go ahead and skip the system. INLGAF.
Trying to make you see any opinion other than "It's just gonna flop period" is an obvious waste of my time, so I'm not even going to bother. Peace out.

[blawren4]

I'll admit that I didn't get a ps4 or xbone at launch so the launch games weren't on my radar, but this important of a game at launch may not be unheard of, but is increasingly rare in recent times. We may not want to believe it now, but gamers expectations about launch titles may be changing.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

If you wanna count quantity aside from Zelda, then no.
But if you want to compare Zelda 1 to 1 against any of the other launch day exclusives the other two had when they released, I'd say Zelda wins it.
Not objectively, of course, but still.

[iplay1up2]

I Own a Wii U, so no.

[drunkenspy007]

Zelda maybe is, but the console itself is not appealing since it is not as powerful. Zelda is turning out to be a hell of an expensive game. Like most, I won't be buying for the switch, I'll be buying for Zelda.