160°

The Switch's Growing Third Party Problem

VGChartz's Thomas Froehlicher: "The Switch is starting to look very much comparable to the Wii. Both were smashing sales successes that gave rise to a lot of enthusiasm at first, but eventually resulted in disillusioned third parties, new release drought, and a demoralized fanbase. From my perspective Nintendo seems to be repeating the same mistakes it made in the middle of the Wii era, by being technology-adverse, persisting with outdated hardware, and failing to capitalise on incredible sales figures by building up third party relations and ensuring a steady stream of AAA software support.

Despite initially dominating the Xbox 360 and PS3, the Wii collapsed around five years after its debut, when both third parties and the casual audience moved on. It got an original Metroid game at around the same time that this happened; is this a sign that, as they say in SoulCalibur, history is eternally retold? Considering the respective momentum of both systems at the same period in time, I don't see the Switch declining so quickly, but third parties might not be prepared to wait around to find out."

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vgchartz.com
brewin1041d ago

I definitely agree they will be hitting that proverbial wall fairly soon here, if it isnt already happening. There has been a severe lack of high quality 1st and 3rd party titles already! Theres a handful sure, but nowhere near the level of quality from the first 2 years. They relied too much on Wii U ports the last year or so, and the pipeline isnt looking incredible by any stretch.

They really messed up by not announcing a real upgraded model, instead giving us this incremental OLED upgrade that no one asked for and that did nothing to the guts of the system. They really needed a system that could at least run some of the new generation games, even if at a lower quality. Even something as powerful as the PS4 and theyd at least get the big time 3rd party games. Im fully expecting the support from most publishers to fall off a cliff relatively soon here.

The Switch cannot survive on indies and vast amounts of shovelware, the Wii proved that already. Unfortunately, it looks like Nintendon't is back to doing its thing, cuz Nintendo wouldnt let this stuff happen all over again! But hey, at least we're getting a new Metroid!

Outlawzz1041d ago

There's good games coming out this year still. Next year I'm not so sure. I plan to supplement it with a steamdeck though by that time hopefully lol

Nintendo is always working on games and their directs have switched over to focusing on games within the near future so who knows wt they have in store for the next 1-2 years

masterfox1041d ago

Freakin finally somebody seeing the shovelware that is being created for a while now for the Switch, exactly like the Wii, the thing is just selling cause imo is a fad, cause if you look closely the quality of their games is below average imo.

tehpees31041d ago

I honestly do not see a new Switch getting AAA support like this one did. I will explain why.

PS4 and Xbox One (the base models) were never a full generational leap. They were underpowered 2013 consoles and were never as far ahead of the HD era as people made out. PS5 and Xbox Series are full generational leaps so I imagine a new Switch trying to keep up with them would be like PSP trying to keep up with 360 and PS3.

It can't because the default platform is a full generation ahead. PS4 (the base model) was not.

Sciurus_vulgaris1041d ago

Nintendo ever since the N64 has had issues with 3rd party. A variable combo of either: dated hardware, storage issues, underdeveloped online, weird controllers or high licensing fees, has caused issues for 3rd parties on Nintendo consoles.

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60°

Overwatch 2's Big Matchmaking Changes Explained

Overwatch 2's newest update for Season 10 comes with big changes and additions to the game's competitive matchmaking and progression.

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gamerant.com
80°

Overwatch 2 ditches another PvE game mode

Blizzard Entertainment has recently announced the discontinuation of the Hero Mastery Gauntlet mode in Overwatch 2.

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apptrigger.com
LG_Fox_Brazil10d ago

They will probably focus 100% on the pvp because if Marvel Rivals steals their spot it will be very hard to recover it

jeromeface8d ago

Marvels IP roster is much more interesting than overwatch's... and I'm willing to bet a better developer than actvision/blizzard. If Rivals has a PvE mode its over.

200°

Let's Be Real, There Is Nothing "Micro" About Microtransactions Anymore

Microtransactions have gotten ridiculously overpriced in recent years, with titles now offering cosmetic skins worth more than some games.

Terry_B28d ago

Yup..this is 100% the sad truth

z2g27d ago (Edited 27d ago )

The elephant in the room tho is personal accountability. It’s easy (albeit basic) to blame the big, bad corpo, but microtransactions wouldn’t be where they are if gamers didn’t spend money on them. As it stands the MTs usually make more than the game. Publishers know raising game prices will cause backlash, so they do MTs to compensate. But the adult conversation is consumers determine the success of products with their wallets. So if MTs are a huge thing, it’s because we as consumers told them we like them by giving them a lot of money for them. So if you don’t want them to be a thing, convince your fellow gamers to stop buying them and expect that games will be decently more expensive. You all can disagree all you want, but reality is a bitch, and eventually you have to live in it.

anast27d ago

Trying to convince people is the least realistic thing. If we are trying to be adults, actual action is what changes things not "convincing campaigns" on platforms owned by the people 'you' are going against. It's madness and idealistic.

ApocalypseShadow27d ago

Easier said than done. I've told gamers for years to not buy micro transactions, expensive dlc, etc. Gamers bought it anyway. Didn't fit on a DVD that would have fit on a Blu-ray disc.

I also told some gamers to not pay for online like Xbox Live because it would force the rest of the industry to only offer playing online if you pay for it. Told them not to support a broken console that Red Ringed. To not support Xbox One because Microsoft tried to take away game ownership and how you play your games. To not pay for a console by one manufacturer where a, now 3 trillion worth, didn't make enough games at the level of Nintendo or Sony who are worth less money.

How much of that did you support anyway with your money then go back and read your comment again.

notachance27d ago

yeah that was like telling people not to do drugs or alcohol, these game companies invested a lot of money in researching about how to make people buy MTs, from creating mechanics like loot boxes, purposely make the game grindy, all the way to menu designs and what color and sound effects played when gamers bought MTs.

It was specifically engineered to take advantage of vulnerable and prone to addiction people.

bradfh27d ago

@z2g
People always struggle with issues like drinking, drugs, and gambling. But in games, especially those played by kids, microtransactions are another way companies take advantage of them. It's a problem that needs addressing.

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S2Killinit27d ago

I recommend everyone read this article.

My suggestion is to name these transactions, what they ARE: Hidden-fees.

isarai28d ago

I mean except for the amount of content you're paying for.

Hugodastrevas27d ago

There never was, the only time I paid for a microtransaction was on Blacklight Retribution (PS4) and it was because I enjoyed the game a lot so I felt the devs should get something for all that entertainment (€5 "membership")

-Foxtrot27d ago

The devs wouldn’t get that though, that shit goes straight to the higher ups who do f*** all let’s be honest.

Hugodastrevas27d ago

Probably, but I wasn't as cynical back then and €5 wasn't a big ask to get the guns with grinding instead of renting them, and the game was good (still is on the PS5/4)

CrimsonWing6927d ago (Edited 27d ago )

I couldn’t believe what Blizzard charged for horse armor and cosmetics in Diablo 4…

I remember back in the day when a season pass was $15 and you got everything included in it. Now, I see them at $60 and you still don’t get everything.

CantThinkOfAUsername27d ago

That's just Blizzard. Unlike Bethesda's $0.99 horse armour, Blizzard's first microtransaction, Sparkle Pony, cost $15.

Phoenix7627d ago

Bethesda out did themselves a few years back with 76. They released a Xmas bundle for half price on day of release! So, was meant to sell for only $12 from day 1, but tried to convince everyone it was half price, by marking it at $24!

Shane Kim27d ago

As soon as gaming wasn't deemed nerdy anymore, and reached the casuals this happened. We're smart, but casuals play mobile games and other stuff, and don't really have anything to compare. They think gaming is supposed to be like this and pay for in game purchases.

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