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[RulkezX]

If the OS is as half assed as it's sounding and the launch is rocky , it's really going to steal momentum from those November/ December sales.

Not sure calling it a soft launch is accurate. That would imply it's coming in hot through choice rather than just Nintendo half arsing stuff gamers expect as standard in 2017.


Never forget the sloooooooooooooòooooooow shitty WIIU OS at launch

 

[Oregano]

That's insane. Unless it's a WiiU/3DS launch situation that's not going to happen. No way will they drop $100 by doing that (50 off the system and 50$ game) for the first holiday season. I think a holiday bundle will happen, but it'll be at the $299 price unless the Switch is DOA from the start.

Nintendo said they have priced it to allow themselves to be profitable from day 1 and can do price drops in the future but I wouldn't expect them to do that until 2018.

Sales are going to be really slow and MK8 Deluxe will have paid for itself before that point. As an enhanced port they really don't lose anything by bundling it. They might not do it but I think they should.

 

[Sgtpepper89]

Its not a soft launch just becouse everything is not in place. That is just poor management by the producer.

 

[Baleoce]

What worries me about soft launches is, isn't a lot of sales momentum determined at the beginning of a consoles retail presence? I feel it needs to be perceived as a valuable product from the get go.

 

[Milly Osworth]

Nintendo will get away with it though. A new Zelda you can play on a handheld! A new Zelda period!

 

[disap.ed]

How? They cut the price by 80$ after 4 months.

That actually wouldn't be the worst of ideas

 

[D.Lo]

I don't see it. The dock and grip combined likely cost less than $5 to manufacture.

Find me a USB C to HDMI adapter that also charges the USB C device for $5 please.

The Macbook equivalent (charger+cable+HDMI adapter) is $120.

 

[Skux]

You don't know which product offers less at launch, the Switch or Street Fighter V.

 

[Wishmaster92]

You don't know which product offers less at launch, the Switch or Street Fighter V.

Damn. Anyways, it's obvious this console has the telltale signs of a soft launch.

 

[Milly Osworth]

Find me a USB C to HDMI adapter that also charges the USB C device for $5 please.

The Macbook equivalent (charger+cable+HDMI adapter) is $120.

He said manufacture though, not the insane retailprice Apple dares to ask.

 

[D.Lo]

He said manufactor though, not the insane retailprice Apple dares to ask.

That's not what I said, I said find me one. There is none, by any manufacturer. The cheapest anyone could come up with in the other thread was $70-80.

Obviously Apple charges a premium, that was just an example.

 

[Sgtpepper89]

You don't know which product offers less at launch, the Switch or Street Fighter V.

I was just thinking about SFV and I thought everyone in the gaming industry was taking notes.. apparently not:/

But SF2 bruh! That Nintendo and Capcom combobreaker

 

[Crayolan]

They will not sell it whiteout a dock. For one, Switch is the name of the device. You can't Switch without the dock.

For two, the dock is probably dirt cheap to produce. All it is, is a usb c to hdmi converter with a couple of USB ports.

They could easily just sell the handheld and give people the option to "upgrade" to the dock.

Also they're charging $90 for the dock so it can't be that cheap to produce.

 

[disap.ed]

I expect price to drop to 250$/279€ with a party game bundled, like 1-2 Switch or whatever they have in stock.

I expect some / hope for 299€ with pack in game offers (like they exist for PS4/XB1 with FIFA or whatever).

 

[Kurt]

i can't speak for other regions, but about EU:

If we check the past, like nes, snes, n64, they all had weak launch games
(n64 had mario 64 as launch game, but the game wasn't available on launch...)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_console_launch_games

When checking the wii u lineup, it's almost unbelievable how many games there were for launch?

 

[Iacobellis]

Worked for the 3DS.

3DS didn't have any true competition until the end of 2011 when the Vita came out.

 

[noshten]

3DS Launch:

Pilotwings Resort
Steel Diver
Nintendogs + Cats
Third-Party Games:

Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition
The Sims 3
Madden NFL Football
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Ridge Racer 3D
Super Monkey Ball 3D
Bust-A-Move Universe
Samurai Warriors: Chronicles
Asphalt 3D
Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D
Rayman 3D
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

Wii U launch

Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Skylanders Giants
Transformers Prime
Wipeout 3
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
FIFA Soccer 13
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
New Super Mario Bros. U
Ninja Gaiden: Razor's Edge
Nintendo Land
Sing Party
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Warrios Orochi 3 Hyper
Darksiders II
Assassin's Creed III
ESPN Sports Connection
Just Dance 4
Rabbids Land
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
ZombiU
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Game Party Champions
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition

What were Wii U and 3DS launch pricing for the first six months again?

Do people here think there was anything more appealing than Zelda on either of those systems at launch?

I don't think that those were successful launches by Nintendo and the launch games weren't particularly impressive at least to me. I waited for MK8 and a free game to get my Wii U. It was a console I had no interest for launched day.
If someone missed out on the Wii U because of the awful messaging and marketing by Nintendo, Switch might make more sense. Being able to play MK8, Zelda, Splatoon during it's first half an year - on the go is a pretty great upgrade compared to the Wii U. In a sense the Gamepad should have been this device - but technology on the Wii U is ancient compared to the Switch. The GamePad is also a monstrosity compared to the Tablet and that's from someone that likes what the Gamepad did for the Wii U.
3D and 3DS at launch to me was also a mess, the 3D didn't sell the system - price cuts and games did.
Switch needs to launch better than both those systems but Nintendo would probably be conservative and there would end up being a lot more demand than anticipated. Anyhow there is still a month or so left so we have plenty of time to see how preorders are shapping up. After all it's not only Switch games scheduled for Q1. Amazon, Japanese Preorders and other supply related PR will be able to shed more light whether Switch is going as much of a disaster as some are predicting.

I honestly be surprised if the Switch doesn't do a better than both 3DS and Wii U's first 6 months. It's the holidays I'm more uncertain about.

3DS didn't have any true competition until the end of 2011 when the Vita came out.

Sure Switch competes with Consoles/PC for one demographic.
But it competes with Mobile/3DS/Vita in another - where it has every chance to be bigger at least at launch compared to either Vita or 3DS. Both Vita and 3DS were $250 devices at launch but neither was as successful as their predecessor. Switch is replacing both these devices and other than mobile there is no substitute.

 

[Barry Burton]

Absolutely. The March release date allows for this. Where the Switch stands this holiday is what's really going to matter.

 

[KingSnake]

Find me a USB C to HDMI adapter that also charges the USB C device for $5 please.

The Macbook equivalent (charger+cable+HDMI adapter) is $120.

That's not what I said, I said find me one. There is none, by any manufacturer. The cheapest anyone could come up with in the other thread was $70-80.

Obviously Apple charges a premium, that was just an example.

You're confusing retail price with the production cost.

 

[Deku Tree]

I feel like After the Wii U meltdown Nintendo couldn't even convince Netflix to give them a launch app. Must be tough times.

 

[UncleSporky]

If the OS is as half assed as it's sounding and the launch is rocky , it's really going to steal momentum from those November/ December sales.

This doesn't make any sense.

Look at all the great "momentum" Wii U had launching holiday season with like 30 games. Nobody knew what it was or why they should want one, so it had a poor first holiday season, which set the tone for the rest of its life. Third parties saw that nobody bought it or their games even during the busiest shopping time of the year, so they gave up on it, so nobody bought it even once it had some good games under its belt.

By contrast, look at the 3DS, which had a somewhat quiet launch but went into its first holiday season with a price drop and at least 3 big games that made it desirable (there was so much talk about the "trifecta" at the time). The public had seen it out in the wild and were intrigued. It had reason to sell, and it did.

the 3DS game plan is so vastly better than Wii U's. By holiday season Switch will have Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon, and Mario Odyssey, and lots of people will have seen them and know what the console is. It's a setup for plenty of holiday momentum.

What worries me about soft launches is, isn't a lot of sales momentum determined at the beginning of a consoles retail presence? I feel it needs to be perceived as a valuable product from the get go.

I would argue that most of its momentum comes once it's been through its first holiday season. While it is possible to launch close to that and sell well, it's not a given.

In fact it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, when you think about it. When a new console launches it will nearly always sell out of initial shipments from early adopters. And the holiday season is a busy shopping time of year. Why would you launch then, when you know you're already going to sell out, and then have to try to keep up with demand in the lead up to Christmas? Why not get some perspective on how the console will perform in the market first?

 

[noshten]

I would argue that most of its momentum comes once it's been through its first holiday season. While it is possible to launch close to that and sell well, it's not a given.

In fact it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, when you think about it. When a new console launches it will nearly always sell out of initial shipments from early adopters. And the holiday season is a busy shopping time of year. Why would you launch then, when you know you're already going to sell out, and then have to try to keep up with demand in the lead up to Christmas? Why not get some perspective on how the console will perform in the market first?

This is especially true for Japan

Launch Weeks:

Dec 2012 WIU | 308.142
Feb 2011 - 3DS | 374.764
Dec 2016 - Wii | 350,358


Feb 2014 PS4 | 309.154
Dec 2011 PSV | 324.859

Cant seem to find PS3 Launch numbers



The Nintendo 3DS launched in Japan on February 26, 2011, priced at ¥25,000.
Switch launches at ¥30,000 if it had Splatoon packed in it would have been a great deal, not having a pack-in like Splatoon 2 is a missed opportunity.
Still expecting ¥30,000 Switch with Splatoon for the summer holidays.

PS3 did 81k at launch.

http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=4872885

Compare this to the numbers the 3DS did just on the back of Pokemon(which moved 108k units at launch) and a port of SMM

Media Create Sales: Week 48, 2016 (Nov 28 - Dec 04) - 78.929
Media Create Sales: Week 49, 2016 (Dec 05 - Dec 11) - 108.975
Media Create Sales: Week 50, 2016 (Dec 12 - Dec 18) - 133.478
Media Create Sales: Week 51, 2016 (Dec 19 - Dec 25) - 176.562
Media Create Sales: Week 52, 2016 (Dec 26 - Jan 01) - 70.522

 

[jblank83]

- Only 2-3 million units for launch[/B]...

2-3 million is fairly typical for a console launch. 2-3 million is exactly how much PS4 sold in its first 1.5 months.

It's not undershipped. It's not artificially constrained:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1335679

 

[Mokujin]

3DS and WiiU launches had the benefit of being the successors of two of the most successful consoles ever though, 3rd parties were willing to take some bets just in case.

Switch doesn't have that privilege, so it was to be expected a harsh "Wait and see" attitude from them.

 

[Occam]

Soft as in shit?

I am flabbergasted by the fact that they weren't able to get more games ready for the launch, they had several years to prepare.
The online infrastructure obviously isn't ready, either. Basic system functionality like voice chat and matchmaking requires a smartphone? What the heck.

 

[Hermii]

They could easily just sell the handheld and give people the option to "upgrade" to the dock.

Also they're charging $90 for the dock so it can't be that cheap to produce.

I doubt there is a correlation between what they are charging and what it costs to produce.

 

[shouamabane]

Holiday 2017 will be the real proving ground for Switch.

 

[Dremark]

It seems rushed, but not enough to really damage it like the US Saturn launch. It feels like they needed to pull numbers in for the fiscal year and felt they could do so without damaging the brand.

I don't think the launch line up is great, but I don't think it's bad enough to hurt it and they can work on building things up until the holidays which will be the first big test for them.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Holiday 2017 will be the real proving ground for Switch.

if sales are limp going in the months leading up to the holidays, the holiday sales bump won't really mean anything unless it's astronomic. Which it won't be.

 

[Albo]

Could be that the first party lineup is lacking because 3ds devs are still learning to develop in HD. The ports/remasters could be being used as learning process for them like wind waker hd for the zelda team.

 

[StayDead]

Definitely. Feels very similar to the 3DS launch to me.

I was thinking this as well, but accelerated a bit. There's 4 very good Nintendo titles in the space of the first 8 months, the 3DS didn't really have that.

 

[Neff]

For me it's a much more attractive launch than any of the recent (3DS/Vita/Wii U/PS4/XB1) platforms were. It doesn't feel like they're quite as ready as they should be considering they wanted to reveal at last year's E3 and launch over the holidays, but I'm actually pretty happy about the price, hardware and software from day one. Although that's basically carried by one game. Without Zelda, it'd be a mad gratuitous impulse purchase along the lines of Wii U than an investment I can be fully at peace with.

 

[Pie and Beans]

I mean the word I'd use is 'shit'.

They seem more woefully unprepared to launch an electronic device into the market than ever before.

 

[KingSnake]

if sales are limp going in the months leading up to the holidays, the holiday sales bump won't really mean anything unless it's astronomic. Which it won't be.

It really depends on what are the next steps. If they cut the price before holidays and they have Mario and Pokemon launching then Switch will sell very well. At $299 without a game bundled I'm not sure if even Pokemon can save it.

 

[UncleSporky]

I mean the word I'd use is 'shit'.

They seem more woefully unprepared to launch an electronic device into the market than ever before.

How was the 3DS launch any better?

 

[Jawmuncher]

As said the launch day is weak. But if they can hold a lot of these releases they have planned to 2017, by the end of the year the system will be in a good spot.

 

[paulc316]

I would say its more of a botched launch than a soft launch.

 

[Oppo]

well they un-sold me hard at the announcement. nothing is done. OS is unfinished. games library severely lacking. online system delayed a year. so yeah. a very very soft launch.

 

[13ruce]

What worries me about soft launches is, isn't a lot of sales momentum determined at the beginning of a consoles retail presence? I feel it needs to be perceived as a valuable product from the get go.

No otherwise the 3ds would be death for ages. Got a price cut around the holidays and bundles. And then took off.

 

[Occam]

It's pretty clear that Switch isn't ready for prime time.
The only explanation is that they had to launch it now for fiscal reasons/to please investors.

Lack of software, terrible pricing policy, botched online functionality (that is behind a paywall). Nintendo is making it really easy to sit out this launch.

 

[Taker666]

Find me a USB C to HDMI adapter that also charges the USB C device for $5 please.

The Macbook equivalent (charger+cable+HDMI adapter) is $120.

Well if it's truly that costly...they were dumb as a brick to include it.

Far,Far better to sell a standalone console and standalone handheld that play the same games and are far cheaper individually...than waste that much cash on that tech just to let you connect a handheld to your tv and charge it.

 

[Spades]

It's a rushed launch, not a soft launch. It's clearly not ready.

 

[mindsale]

Is there a single game in March that isn't on another platform?

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Nintendo can't afford to do a soft launch. This system is already skating on thin ice outside of the Nintendo core.

 

[febLey]

If the OS is as half assed as it's sounding and the launch is rocky , it's really going to steal momentum from those November/ December sales.

Not sure calling it a soft launch is accurate. That would imply it's coming in hot through choice rather than just Nintendo half arsing stuff gamers expect as standard in 2017.


Never forget the sloooooooooooooòooooooow shitty WIIU OS at launch

The Xbox One OS is still shitty slow x(

Is there a single game in March that isn't on another platform?

Bomberman, Snipper Clippers, 1-2-Switch, not sure if we can count Fast RMX, but nothing special here.

 

[KingSnake]

Is there a single game in March that isn't on another platform?

 

[Falchion]

The early adopters are essentially beta testers to work out all the kinks and jumpstart the platform for it's real launch this holiday when the more casual crowd will get their hands on it.

 

[El Topo]

Is there a single game in March that isn't on another platform?

Snipperclips and 1-2 Switch?

 

[wild wild rice]

Seems like all new hardware is a soft launch in one way or another. People just forget over time.

 

[Milly Osworth]

Is there a single game in March that isn't on another platform?

Zelda Breath of the Wild.