Almost a year ago, I decided to try and counter the many calls for Nintendo to make a high-end, 'gimmickless' gaming console. Now, in the wake of the full Nintendo Switch reveal I thought it might be interesting to revisit my thoughts and predictions for the NX and subsequently give my verdict on the Nintendo Switch's divisive presentation.
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What the 'NX' Needs is... (Originally posted on TMTOOH 15/03/2016)
I can’t be the only one who’s sick of the all the
speculation, hype, and over-analysis that’s been filling forums and gaming
sites since Nintendo first announced they were working on a new console. Will
it be a handheld-home console hybrid? Will it be released in 2016? Will it
launch with Zelda U? Will it have “industry leading chips”? As far as I’m concerned,
the only thing we know for sure is that its code-name is ‘NX’ and until we hear
it ‘directly’ from the source I’m going to take everything else with a huge
grain of salt.
It may be too early to know what it will be, but what
would we all like it to be?
It’s certainly a topic being widely discussed and it
doesn’t take long to see the same few points being raised time and time again;
- It needs to be at least as powerful as the PS4 and Xbone.
- It needs to have full third-party support.
- It shouldn’t have any kind of gimmick.
It seems obvious right? The Wii-U has been left barren
with its lack of third-party content and surely that has a lot to do with the
systems ‘last gen’ hardware and quirky controller? Surely Nintendo needs to
learn from their mistake.
I’m not so sure.
Take some of the biggest AAA titles of the last couple of
years - Shadow of Mordor, CoD Black Ops III, Metal Gear Solid V, Grand Theft
Auto V, Rise of the Tomb Raider, PES 2015 - all of these games had PS3 or
Xbox360 versions, yet none of them were ported to the Wii-U despite its
hardware being at least on par with those consoles.
So what is the reason then? Its low install base? Again,
I’m not so sure.
At the time of writing the Wii-U’s lifetime sales are
currently sitting at 12 million which compares poorly to the PS4’s 36 million,
but isn’t too far short of the Xbone’s 19 million, certainly not enough to
write it off completely. I think the real reason the Wii-U is being left out in
the cold when it comes to multi-plats is much simpler; Wii-U owners don’t tend
to buy them.
Ubisoft decided to stop supporting the console after
revealing the abysmal sales of their Wii-U software. Despite having released
many games for the system (Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Assassins Creed III + IV,
Rayman Legends, ZombiU, Watch Dogs) only 1% of its revenue generated in 2014/15
came from Wii-U sales. This isn’t purely as a result of the low install base of
the system. First-party titles like Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, Super Mario Maker,
Super Smash Bros sold in their millions.
The reality is that people buy Nintendo consoles
primarily to play Nintendo games.
Nintendo need to stop with gimmicks though, right? Well…
The Wii was a console with a unique selling point; its
motion controls. It found itself in the homes of many people who had previously
never bought a video game console. It sold over a 100 million units in its
lifespan making it one of the most successful game consoles of all time.
Nintendo’s ‘blue ocean’ strategy was a gamble that paid off and allowed them to
set themselves apart from the head-to-head competition of Sony and Microsoft.
The Wii-U in many ways, despite its unusual touch screen
controller, was a return to a more traditional games console. Launch titles
like Darksiders II, ZombiU, Black Ops II, Assassins Creed III, Batman Arkham
City and Fifa 13 were certainly attempting to set the tone that the Wii-U was a
gamer’s console. The games tanked though and were soon finding their way into
bargain bins in an attempt to shift stock. The console itself didn’t fare much
better taking a long time to recover and build momentum.
Why would the ‘NX’ be any different?
In my opinion, the success of the ‘NX’ will not come from
third-party content, or impressive graphical prowess. Like the Wii, it will come from its ability
to set itself apart from the competition and like the Wii-U from its system
selling, first-party content.
When the ‘NX’ is released the vast majority of gamers who
enjoy AAA multi-platform games will almost certainly already have a system that
fulfils theirs needs, be it a PS4, Xbone or a PC. Not to mention it will only
be a few years at most before the next generation of Playstation and Xbox
release, and then, once again the Nintendo will be comparatively underpowered
again. Deja Vu.
Nintendo’s strength has always been in the quality of
their first-party content and their ability to innovate. My only hope for the
‘NX’ is that it stays uniquely Nintendo. Anything beyond that will be a bonus.
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So that was then, but what about now...
It'll come as no surprise from the above article that I'm
fairly pleased following the Switch presentation.
It seems pretty clear that Nintendo isn't ready to get
out of that 'blue ocean' just yet, and that could be either because (like me)
they still see their future in the shadow of the Wii, or because quite frankly
they are lost at sea and have no way to get back.
The Joy-Cons are seemingly an evolution of the Wii-Mote,
with an improved button layout, analogue sticks and the intriguing HD-rumble.
Not only is this great for ensuring the future of revisiting Wii titles but
also because it gives the developers a wealth of options to work with.
Does every game need 'waggle' controls tacked on? No, of
course not but game designers should be free to think beyond the press of a
button. Gyroscopic aiming in Splatoon has become second nature to many of us
who invested in a Wii U, as has motion controlled steering in Mario Kart Wii
and 8. Both have the option to play with or without and so in my eyes the
veratility of controller can only be a good thing and the joy-cons sound like
they have it in abundance.
Although we still don't know the full potential of the
console graphical capabilities it's clear many were disappointed to not see a
bigger improvement from the Wii U with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2
looking remarkably similar to their predecessor's counter-parts.
To me though, the games still look incredible and what
with Nintendo's apparent leaps and bounds to make the Switch an easy system to
develop for I don't think will be an issue. Does it mean that the Switch may
miss out on the big triple AAA multiplats? Quite possibly, but as I discussed
in the above article the kind of people who want to play those kind of titles
will almost certainly already have a system for doing so. Does this mean
third-party support for the Switch is doomed to dry up?
Absolutely not! Again I'll refer back to the Wii which,
despite being 'underpowered', had an incredible library of non-Nintendo titles.
Yes, it had some shoddy ports of PS3 and Xbox 360 games but it also had a
unprecidented amount of unique titles, titles like Murumasa: The Demon Blade,
No More Heroes, Resident Evil Darkside/Umbrella Chronicles, The Last Story,
Dead Space Extraction, Boom Blox, Red Steel 2, Sin & Punishment 2,
Pandora's Tower, Little King's Story, A Boy and his Blob, the list goes on and
on.
The only thing that the Switch needs to succeed with
third-party developers is to sell, and sell well... and here comes the biggest
concern.
The Wii was purpose built and marketed as an affordable,
impulse buy system. At $299/£279 the Switch just doesn't have that same appeal.
When combigned with the seemingly absurd accessory and game prices it seems to
completely alienate all but the most die-hard of Nintendo fans. A far cry from
the Wii's 'fun for everyone' selling point.
It's certainly a worrying sticking point and it already
seems to have turned many potential early adopters away (myself included). How
can Nintendo turn this potential disaster around? To delve further back into
the companies history the N64 orignally released in the UK for £250, but due to
slow sales the price was dropped by an incredible £100 just two months later.
Could we be on the verge of history repeating itself?
It's certainly a possibility. At the very least I would
expect a pack in game, or at least a bundle deal to come fairly soon after
launch, that is assuming the sales are well below Nintendo's own lofty
projections of 2 million in the first month.
Despite the some-what underwhelming launch title line up
it's not hard to see where Nintendo are seeing those kind of figures coming
from. Breath of the Wild is looking ever more breath-taking and it's likely
going to be the only game that will sell well with the system on the 3rd of
March, though it's sales figures are endangered of being cannibalised some-what
by Wii U owners who don't feel like forking out for the new hardware.1, 2
Switch looks interesting to me (though slightly ridiculous), as a means of
showing off the potential of the joy-cons, but at $50/£40 I can't see it
selling well.
Looking ahead I think things are looking much more
promising. Xenoblade 2 was an unexpected, and pleasant surprise, as was Arms,
and Splatoon 2, all of which are looking fantastic. Super Bomberman R and Ultra
Street Fighter II, Sonic Mania and Project Octopath Traveller offer
retro-modern kicks to the nostalgia crowd (Hi there!) the first two of which I
think could be a great idea for the Switch's unique multiplayer-anywhere set
up. Snipperclips looks like an incredibly charming and fun indie-esque title.
And of course last but not least Super Mario Odyssey is looking hugely
exciting, with large open environments and plenty of varied and colourful
playgrounds to explore and traverse.
So overall despite concerns about the pricing I'm feeling
incredibly confident and optimistic in terms of the Switch's hardware and
software potential. When signing off in my NX prediction article I asked for
only one thing, that the system should be 'uniquely Nintendo' and regardless of
your feelings on it, the Switch is certainly that!
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