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EA's VP Söderlund on the Switch: "...didnt get the concept, I was puzzled by it..."
- Thread starter Malakai
- Start date
It's like a nut you can play with outside
Pokemaniac
Member
Off screen play was by far the least interesting use of the gamepad, though. It's why I'm still disappointed the Switch is a hybrid with a single screen. The increased awkwardness with the map and super jumping in Splatoon 2 is a perfect example of how games will have to make sacrifices to go back to only having one screen.
The prototype two years ago probably was a lot worse than the finished product.
Refreshment.01
Member
That's selling it short or to be more precise... that's selling the Joycon short.
Thanks to them the functionality of the device extends beyond the "handheld with TV out" that detractors love to pigeon hole the device in. No wonder the EA executive didn't get it at first, since he comes from a company dead set in a model and like minded gamers don't "get it" also after the device has been out for months.
Nintendo and Ubisoft games that were designed with second screen in mind did add something tangible to the experience.
im sure if Nintendo made the Gamepad a slick device like the Switch the Wii U would have faired significantly better, no Wii levels, but certainly beyond GameCube.
Nintendo greed bite them in the ass again with that one.
Duchess O'Death
Member
Nintendo call it a console. So it's a console.
LizardKing
Member
There are a tiny handful of games that actually benefited from a second screen in a meaningful way. Splatoon was one of them, hence one of the few that also didn't allow for offscreen play. I think if you asked people what their favorite feature of the Wii U was it would be off screen play, not second screen play. Overwhelmingly.
I'm not looking forward to Etryan Odyssey...
Stallion Dan
Member
Nintendo probably pitched it to him with the cow udder milking game as the demo.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
The Switch is the evolution of the Wii U. You still have the "gamepad", only now the guts of the console are inside of it. The tether has been cut and you have the freedom Wii U lacked.
Monkeyball
Banned
This is the guy with the son called Sonic right.
Bruce Springsteen
Member
As many in this thread have pointed out they feel its a console that be portable for a couple hours, is proving the point of the EA VP
Pokemaniac
Member
Handheld series are going to be hit much harder by this. I mean, stuff like Pokémon or Mystery Dungeon or Etrian Odyssey got tons of benefit from having two screens.
Also you're ignoring more minor examples like pretty much everything that put the map and inventory on the GamePad. BoTW's UI even looks like it was probably designed for that originally.
Foxy the Fox
Member
Is a handheld guys.
A portable console is a handheld.
too bad too little games utilised the second screen functionality well. Mario Maker, Splatoon, Pikmin 3 and Nintendo Land are probably the headliners. If there we're more games that used the second screen as well as those titles I'd agree. I do think that Splatoon 1 map implementation is better than 2. Mario Maker they can work around.
staticneuron
Member
The context is important. I find it humorous how many people are like "Duh" now, when back then it was questioned given the performance of handhelds and the Wii U.
It is amazing that this needs to be pointed out to people still.
It's the classic case where a concept a literal 4 year old can understand is over-complicated by adults to the point where it's non-understandable. You see it here quite a lot:
"But what about the Vita and Wii U?"
"It's a portable you can dock!"
"No, it's a console you can take anywhere!"
"It's too big to be a handheld!"
"Its too weak to be a console!"
Jonneh3003
Banned
That's the same thing as a handheld that can be docked. We only struggle to define it because it's a rather new concept.
Pokemaniac
Member
DS and 3DS games alone more than justified the dual screen format.
Wii U just tried to bring that concept the console space, but was rejected by people who didn't understand just how much benefit dual screens had.
But VP loves the console now because it is selling well.
Those people should be mocked too. It's a very simple concept and if people still didn't get, people that claim to be gamers and follow the industry, that's on them and they're the ones with the problem.
Refreshment.01
Member
It's amazing that people still don't understand the concept when this was thoroughly explained when the Switch was just an Eurogamer rumor.
A person can buy a Switch and never used it as a handheld device, this is the difference the Joycon make. Switch is a product like 2 in 1s, Transformables, etc. Why people fail top accept this is beyond reason.
It can go farther than that. Say, even if a users opts to play it as a portable console it doesn't need to be used as a handheld.
Bruce Springsteen
Member
I dont have a Switch (waiting for Mario) but I still view it as a home console with portable capabilities that I likely wont ever use
but ds and 3ds concepts don't translate as well with the wii u. You can switch easily from top and bottom screens. Wii U you have to look down at the gamepad most times then look up at your t.v. Compare Kirby Canvas Curse to Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. The original is brilliant, the sequel while good just didn't translate as well
One of the best uses of second screen games on the wii u is Luigi's Ghost Mansion because it gives a completely new perspective than the players on the t.v. Some games it works, for other not so much.
redmetal86
Member
Well, let's see if his son can convince him to get some more of EA's catalog on it.
AAAH DAMN BEATEN
AAAH DAMN BEATEN
I tend to believe the opposite. I think the goal from the start was untethering the console from the TV but either because of technical unfeasibility or not being fully committed to the design they came up with this weird compromise and tried to push the second screen business instead.
Yup. Reminds me of what Evilore said about the Switch lol
Leafhopper
Banned
If it was a handheld it would actually be one.
Dark Cloud
Member
Once he saw all that green he understood it well.
Jaded Alyx
Member
SinCityAssassin
Member
In the end, the children showed him the way.
What'd he say?
sixteen-bit
Member
Or this
this so so chill
Jonneh3003
Banned
Do you understand why people like tablets?
Jaded Alyx
Member
¯\_(ツ_/¯ I guess everybody in the West was really doubting the portable aspect of the Switch.
Hell no. I was saying it was going to be big when the first rumors of it actually being a hybrid started to surface. And i'm not even a big Nintendo fan. I love my Vita still and yes it flopped but it really showed me how great having a powerful console as a portable was and the potential of it if done right. People really underestimate the demographics of adult gamers who grew up and now have kids and also those that want to play Zelda on the toilet.
Huge Succeeded
Banned
no, it's not. Switch's versatility is half the point to its design and that owners define their use of the console with different terms that ultimately mean the same thing doesn't suggest that they're confused by the concept at all
Think of it as a tablet whose sole purpose is to play video games with easy access to multiplayer and there is your answer.
Load up a 3D high-end game on your tablet and see how long it lasts. Tablets and the Switch have entirely different main uses.
Should have been the first post.