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[JigglesBunny]

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills that nobody is recognizing this.

Wii U: launched holiday season with 30 titles before anyone knew what it was = poor performance, setting a precedent for its future

3DS: launched in the spring with a sparse but strong lineup throughout the year, fully formed with at least 3 major titles by Christmas = great performance, setting a precedent for its future

How is it even controversial that the Switch would follow the 3DS model?

In a roundabout way, it seems like you think launching with a dismal launch line-up and building the line-up down the line was what brought the 3DS success?
The 3DS was successful because it had a massive price slash, a decent library forming and because the other Nintendo hardware wasn't exactly flying off the shelves so anyone looking for Nintendo titles went to the 3DS.

The Switch is a full console launching in 2017. It has about seven games at launch, one of which is the long anticipated Zelda game that will also be on the Wii U. Other than Zelda, you have a slew of ports and a party game that's major "draw" is using the vibration function in the controllers. Let's add in the fact that there's no video streaming apps, no web browser, and an external phone app required for matchmaking and voice chat. That's dismal anyway you slice it. It makes the 3DS launch look like a generous offering.

Believe me, nobody wanted to love the Switch as much as I did. And you know what? The hardware looks great despite a lack of horsepower. But if we're talking about what counts, the games and services, the Switch is limping to the starting line and it has a whole race left to go. Things aren't looking great.

 

[ronaldthump]

If by launch we talking about day 1 releases, yep it is.

End of 2017 is promising as hell though.

why is end of 2017 promising as hell? you only have mario odyssey.

 

[OneUh8]

Yeah this thing should have been releasing Fall 2017 at the earliest. But because of Zelda and investors, I think that forced their hand.

 

[tenderbrew]

Like just staring at console launch lists and having been through quite a few, I'm not sure what people were so excited about at any of the other launches.

To me, the only really impressive launch for a home console looks like Dreamcast.

Some totally excellent consoles like PS2 had terrible launch line-ups. This DOA stuff is wearing thin. Especially since one of the actual worst launches ever might have been the 3DS and that thing turned around huge.

 

[Ataru]

I'm hoping the whole Switch is a "soft console" and they announce the real thing in 6 months.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the Switch itself, the concept is neat enough, and the tech looks pretty slick.

It's all of Nintendo's decisions regarding the console that is a problem:

The price point is too high, especially considering there is no pack-in game.
The accessory prices are ridiculous.
Weak launch line up
Little third party support
No web browser
No Netflix
Removing miiverse support and replacing it's functionality with Facebook integration and a Smartphone app.
Paid online, for an online service they haven't even finished yet.

 

[jholmes]

Yeah this thing should have been releasing Fall 2017 at the earliest. But because of Zelda and investors, I think that forced their hand.

Can someone explain the idea that investors forced this system to come out in March? Last I checked Nintendo board members held quite a bit of the company. Besides, I don't know how happy these shareholders are going to be about the Switch catering -- like, are they going to say, "At least it launched in fiscal 2016!"

More to the point, these annoyed shareholders want to see them developing on smartphones more than anything console related.

 

[thatoldlimey]

Like just staring at console launch lists and having been through quite a few, I'm not sure what people were so excited about at any of the other launches.

To me, the only really impressive launch for a home console looks like Dreamcast.

Some totally excellent consoles like PS2 had terrible launch line-ups. This DOA stuff is wearing thin. Especially since one of the actual worst launches ever might have been the 3DS and that thing turned around huge.

Armored Core 2
DOA2: Hardcore
Dynasty Warriors 2
ESPN International Track & Field
ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding
Eternal Ring
Evergrace
FantaVision
Gungriffon Blaze
Madden NFL 2001
Midnight Club: Street Racing
NHL 2001
Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
Q-Ball: Billiards Master
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Ridge Racer V
Silent Scope
Smuggler's Run
SSX
Street Fighter EX3
Summoner
Swing Away Golf
Tekken Tag Tournament
TimeSplitters
Unreal Tournament
Wild Wild Racing
X-Squad

yea...ps2 had a terrible launch lineup...

 

[tenderbrew]

Armored Core 2
DOA2: Hardcore
Dynasty Warriors 2
ESPN International Track & Field
ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding
Eternal Ring
Evergrace
FantaVision
Gungriffon Blaze
Madden NFL 2001
Midnight Club: Street Racing
NHL 2001
Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
Q-Ball: Billiards Master
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Ridge Racer V
Silent Scope
Smuggler's Run
SSX
Street Fighter EX3
Summoner
Swing Away Golf
Tekken Tag Tournament
TimeSplitters
Unreal Tournament
Wild Wild Racing
X-Squad

yea...ps2 had a terrible launch lineup...

I had it at launch, what in the world were people playing and excited for off this list? I got SSX and it was pretty good. My buddy was really into DW2. But I'm not sure I got anything else for it until Twisted Metal Black or something ridiculous the next March. Volume-wise there are a lot of titles...

 

[UncleSporky]

In a roundabout way, it seems like you think launching with a dismal launch line-up and building the line-up down the line was what brought the 3DS success?

No?

A console's first Christmas is what is most important for its future health. It doesn't fully enter the public's consciousness until then. They're not looking at consoles until they show up in the flyers, catalogues, and recommended items in online ads. They're not looking until they need to buy those gifts.

Wii U launched in the holiday season with a bunch of games, but nobody knew why they should want it. It didn't really have multiple heavy hitters, it mostly had a lot of ports. Nobody had seen a friend playing one. It wasn't even a Christmas option. And because it did poorly, every third party went "pshh, they can't even sell our games during the busiest shopping season," and it became a self-fulfilling thing for the life of the console.

3DS had a quiet launch but was in full gear by the end of the year, which was when a lot of consumers were first hearing of the thing at all. By the time people were figuring out that it existed, it had games like Ocarina of Time 3D, Mario 3D Land, Star Fox 64 3D, Mario Kart 7...Monster Hunter in Japan. It had the goods by then and people noticed.

While it can't be said to be good for a system to have fewer games early in its life, if it can appear robust by the holidays, that's what ultimately matters. Launching in March gives them time to get the kinks worked out and make any necessary changes to go into their holiday season strong. Sure, it could be stronger, but it's a vastly better strategy than launching in November, when you're likely going to be selling out the initial shipments anyway and trying to keep up with Christmas sales as well.

 

[Seik]

why is end of 2017 promising as hell? you only have mario odyssey.

By the end of 2017 I'll probably already have bought:

-Zelda
-Bomberman
-Fire Emblem Warriors
-Isaac
-Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
-Splatoon 2
-Sonic Mania
-Xenoblade 2 (If it came out, which I doubt very much)
-Arms
-Dragon Quest Heroes I&II
-Ultra Street Fighter II
-Fast Racing RMX
-Redout

Closing the year with Mario Oddysey.

14 games in a year is legit to me and they may announce/release more in the meantime...maybe Smash/Pokemon Stars?

EDIT: Forgot about MK8 and Spla2n! :O

 

[Ataru]

I had it at launch, what in the world were people playing and excited for off this list?

Seriously? Fighting games were still pretty damn popular then, and the PS2 launched with several good ones.

I'm pretty sure I picked up Ridge Racer and Timesplitters at launch too. Unreal Tournament was quite popular as well.

 

[Manmademan]

There is nothing inherently wrong with the Switch itself, the concept is neat enough, and the tech looks pretty slick.

The Switch strikes me as a half measure that will end up satisfying very few people.

There's no real demand for console level games "on the go." The PSP and the Vita both offered this and neither one really set the world on fire. The Nvidia shield tablet is similar hardware and was doomed to obscurity.

The mobile market is fairly robust and seems perfectly happy with low tech timewasters.

The switch being a relatively powerful handheld has traded very low battery life to hit a performance level few mobile users are demanding. No Android integration means it can't replace a phone or tab.

Ironically all that power is only a third of what the Xbox one or Ps4 offer even when docked, so it's nowhere near as powerful as it needs to be to address the needs of console users or receive third party ports. From a home console perspective the switch will end up exactly where the WiiU was...too weak to receive ports of ps4/Xbox one/PC games and needing an exclusive build just for it.

Without the userbase to merit the effort, third parties will just abandon it, leading to Nintendo doing all the heavy lifting again and months long software droughts.

Nintendo should have gone all in on mobile OR a home system. The hybrid approach is flawed from the jump.

 

[Okami Haundo]

Launch day is weak and certainly deserves criticism, but they clearly saved their big guns for fall. They'll get the pain of launch out of the way in March and have plenty of time to build up a solid set of games/features for the holiday season. Between a few interviews, Reggie basically said that they know a launch in March is really just for the diehard fans.

While Nintendo certainly deserves criticism for a lot of things, their first-year lineup for Switch (if nothing gets delayed) looks fantastic. I'm also willing to bet that there's still a "big" game or two that we haven't seen yet for 2017.

 

[jholmes]

3DS had a quiet launch but was in full gear by the end of the year, which was when a lot of consumers were first hearing of the thing at all. By the time people were figuring out that it existed, it had games like Ocarina of Time 3D, Mario 3D Land, Star Fox 64 3D, Mario Kart 7...Monster Hunter in Japan. It had the goods by then and people noticed.

Nintendo was very aggressive with the 3DS at launch, putting it in customers' hands in part because they worried the appeal of 3D play was hard to convey otherwise. Meanwhile the software lineup was weak, basic stuff like the eShop wasn't ready at launch, and Nintendo rolled out a huge price cut and gave away games to try to make up for the launch issues. Then it shifted development resources away from the Wii before it finally got exciting new system-selling N64 ports like Ocarina of Time 3D and StarFox 3D on the market.

Just because the 3DS survived its launch doesn't mean it had a good one.

 

[tenderbrew]

Seriously? Fighting games were still pretty damn popular then, and the PS2 launched with several good ones.

I'm pretty sure I picked up Ridge Racer and Timesplitters at launch too. Unreal Tournament was quite popular as well.

Fair enough, I was going mostly off my own lived experience, but I guess most of the stuff there just wasn't up my alley.

 

[x17th]

While people say the console is getting a forced launch, I think it should be fine with the way it's going. It's not launching with a lot of games, but it is launching with 1 high quality game that matters. There are some technical problems, and a lack of information to be sure. But they basically have been telling everyone before the Switch was even shown that they intend to never have a gaming drought ever again. So the games they have coming out are at least in Nintendo terms are their big hitters within the first year. They're also about 2 - 3 months apart each to give a decent pace.

There is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition, Splatoon 2, and Mario Odyssey. All of these can be considered console sellers. Most consoles usually never have console seller games during their first year. Most people tend to agree that the 2nd/3rd year is when you'll see the console's true strengths. This is basically what I felt was the general consensus was with the PS4 during its 2nd year. It's also the year where they basically just left Microsoft in the dust, as they picked up an intense amount of steam with console selling games coming out that time.

Ignoring these heavy hitters, some other games were basically said throughout the entire presentation that they would be appearing throughout 2017, and they're all relatively decent games that doesn't favor one side or another too heavily. This release process gives people time to wait and see, and probably prevent an unnecessary rush for launch.

It's not the best set up, but at least it's more appealing than the Wii U ever was. I recall the Wii U launching in the holidays, and then there was a massive gaming drought until almost the next holidays...I'd prefer this set up over that.

Also both Xbox One and PS4 basically launched with 2-3 million units around mid to the end of November. During the end of December I recall Sony sold about 3 - 4 Million units. So a 2-3 million console launch is actually pretty reasonable by Nintendo considering they're launching during the Spring.

 

[Vital Tundra]

I don't see how they think their launch is strong. Especially when what you do have isn't the right price (12 Switch should be 15 dollars max. Honestly a pick in). Their 2017 line up is actually amazing. 3 GotY contenders in 1 year is crazy. Add Arms as a possible sleeper and it's gold. Fire Emblem Warriors in the fall. And still things we don't know about.

 

[protonium]

.

 

[CanUKlehead]

It's got 3DS launch vibes emanating from it.

But I suspect they need to sell for their fiscal year, they have an online system they should probably testm if they wait until fall they're coming up against Scorpio and Zelda's ready.

If they were able to wait and launched with BOTW (even if it had been out for Wii U cause the Wii U has a low install base anyway), Mario Kart and Splatoon with Mario in holiday, (edit) and with a ready online infrastructure?

Best launch ever.

 

[UncleSporky]

There's no real demand for console level games "on the go." The PSP and the Vita both offered this and neither one really set the world on fire. The Nvidia shield tablet is similar hardware and was doomed to obscurity.

The mobile market is fairly robust and seems perfectly happy with low tech timewasters.

I think you're conflating "console level" with both graphics and gameplay, when only one of those might actually matter for games on the go.

At first I thought you were just talking about graphics but then you specifically called out "timewasters."

A demand for timewasters/handheld-designed games is a myth. DS and 3DS were both successful with long, rich experiences. Not as much graphically, but the best games on both systems bar none were the ones with console level gameplay. Long RPGs like Pokemon, Bravely Default, or ports of Dragon Quest/Chrono Trigger/Final Fantasy, the full Smash Bros and Mario Kart and Zelda experiences. These are not bite sized, and yet they bring those handhelds success.

 

[Malice215]

There's no soft launch. Just Nintendo getting the console out of the door before the end of the fiscal year.

Lots of consoles have bad launches. I don't see the Switch being $499 Xbone with mandatory Kinect bad, or Vita with proprietary memory bad, but marketing needs to get their shit together. There shouldn't be so much information left to speculation or withheld with a month before launch.

I wouldn't make any judgments based on 3rd party support at launch because 3rd parties can easily jump in or jump out based on the performance of the platform. Wii U and Vita had a bunch of 3rd party games at launch and that support quickly dried up, the 3rd party launch titles on the PS4 and Xbone were nothing to write home about, and none of these are launching with a title as strong as Zelda, which is going to eat up a lot of attention in the month of March.

If you're not interested in Zelda, then there's nothing wrong with waiting for the holiday season when the Switch should look much better, and these painpoints should be ironed out. The real question is whether the market wants a hybrid, but Nintendo is clearly out of the console race and isn't interested in trying to compete with Sony and Microsoft.

 

[Mexen]

Let us imagine if this launch was right around the PS5 and XBox [Two] launching. How differently would it be from what we have today?

 

[Crayon]

It's 9 months till the holiday so call that what you want to.

 

[saskuatch]

It seems like Nvidia has brought paper launches to consoles

 

[CanUKlehead]

Let us imagine if this launch was right around the PS5 and XBox [Two] launching. How differently would it be from what we have today?

Like...two years from now?
Two more years of Wii U?

They can't afford to do it.

They're the same guys that launched the Wii against the PS3. Console power isn't something they've cared about since the N64, so I think it gets even more crushed. They're launching without another console against them now. I say that's better.

 

[UncleSporky]

It's got 3DS launch vibes emanating from it.

But I suspect they need to sell for their fiscal year, they have an online system they should probably testm if they wait until fall they're coming up against Scorpio and Zelda's ready.

If they were able to wait and launched with BOTW (even if it had been out for Wii U cause the Wii U has a low install base anyway), Mario Kart and Splatoon with Mario in holiday, (edit) and with a ready online infrastructure?

Best launch ever.

Launching with tons of system sellers during the holiday season means they would have zero capability of keeping up with demand. They'd already be selling out to the day one audience and then have to try to keep up with holiday sales, with no historical sales data for the console that might give them some idea of how many to produce.

Having the "best launch ever" for a gamer doesn't always correspond with an effective holiday strategy that sets a good precedent for the life of the console.

 

[x17th]

Launching with tons of system sellers during the holiday season means they would have zero capability of keeping up with demand. They'd already be selling out to the day one audience and then have to try to keep up with holiday sales, with no historical sales data for the console that might give them some idea of how many to produce.

Having the "best launch ever" for a gamer doesn't always correspond with an effective holiday strategy that sets a good precedent for the life of the console.

This is pretty much why I'm relatively optimistic about the potential releases throughout the first year, as it has a much better setting for Holidays unlike any other console has done for their 1st holiday season usually.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Seriously? Fighting games were still pretty damn popular then, and the PS2 launched with several good ones.

I'm pretty sure I picked up Ridge Racer and Timesplitters at launch too. Unreal Tournament was quite popular as well.

Madden was a key as well. It's easy to forget now, but the PS2 was the only console where you could play a current gen Madden at the time because EA completely skipped the DC.

 

[Lucifon]

By the end of 2017 I'll probably already have bought:

-Zelda
-Bomberman
-Fire Emblem Warriors
-Isaac
-Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
-Splatoon 2
-Sonic Mania
-Xenoblade 2 (If it came out, which I doubt very much)
-Arms
-Dragon Quest Heroes I&II
-Ultra Street Fighter II
-Fast Racing RMX
-Redout

Closing the year with Mario Oddysey.

14 games in a year is legit to me and they may announce/release more in the meantime...maybe Smash/Pokemon Stars?

EDIT: Forgot about MK8 and Spla2n! :O

Just wait... they'll have a direct later in the year where they'll announce a delay to XB2. But to make up for it they'll release a XBX port. I have a feeling.

 

[CanUKlehead]

Launching with tons of system sellers during the holiday season means they would have zero capability of keeping up with demand. They'd already be selling out to the day one audience and then have to try to keep up with holiday sales, with no historical sales data for the console that might give them some idea of how many to produce.

Having the "best launch ever" for a gamer doesn't always correspond with an effective holiday strategy that sets a good precedent for the life of the console.

That's why I said best launch ever, not best lifetime ever. I do believe it can go either way with a strong launch, but Nintendo should be motivated to prove they can get a stronf start going again, so I think a strong launch would help them in this situation.

To your point, Dreamcast had the best launch ever, though, and I doubt the third parties would still care to create their best games for it. I mean, the precedent there is the Wii.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

It seems so. It's definitely a risk though as it can be hard to restart momentum if it struggles to sell after launch hype dies down. They pulled it off with a huge early price drop on 3DS. I doubt they can do that here as they're not willing to take a loss on hardware. They didn't try a big price drop on Wii U either as the cost to produce was too high. 3DS they could drop as they were just greedy and priced it the same as Vita thinking it would sell at a huge markup.

 

[Seik]

Just wait... they'll have a direct later in the year where they'll announce a delay to XB2. But to make up for it they'll release a XBX port. I have a feeling.

Loving both previous Xeno games, I'd take that too.

 

[flkraven]

There is nothing inherently wrong with the Switch itself, the concept is neat enough, and the tech looks pretty slick.

It's all of Nintendo's decisions regarding the console that is a problem:

The price point is too high, especially considering there is no pack-in game.
The accessory prices are ridiculous.
Weak launch line up
Little third party support
No web browser
No Netflix
Removing miiverse support and replacing it's functionality with Facebook integration and a Smartphone app.
Paid online, for an online service they haven't even finished yet.

That's exactly it.

As I've said before, after the first commercial I was 100% all in. Ready to preorder it. And then the official press conference happened and I'm 100% out. They literally fucked every single thing up. All your points, but here is my main problem:

In the commercial they showed a focus on standard, grass-fed gaming. Their 'gimmick' was the 'switch', game on the go and game at home. For once it seemed like their gimmick wasn't ridiculous. Focusing purely on controller gaming (with the only caveat being on the go and at home), it was conceivable that most every first party game would have something for me. Likewise, it was conceivable that third parties might actually port to this thing if it was easy to do so.

Then the press conference happened and it was clear that the console's portability was at the periphery of their vision. They were clearly back to focusing on carnival-style gimmicks: waggle, HD rumble, 3D ir, a plastic stearing wheel accessory, like 15 control schemes.

It was like every bad decision from their previous consoles amalgamated into this horrible monster. All of this extra crap drives up the price of the console, so now it's $400 Canadian (more expensive than any other system out). Likewise, every accessory costs twice what it should because of the 'HD rumble' and Amiibo sensors etc. Now I'm certain that they will waste resources on gimmicky games after half the presentation is focused on 1-2 Switch and ARMS. 3rd parties aren't going to support this thing. I'm sure they sacrificed power so they could put all this other garbage in the box, and the gimmicky nature means no one outside of Nintendo hardcore are buying it.

So all of your points, and all of this. The idea of a console at home + on the go is a great idea. It's something everyone expected Nintendo to do for years. However, they fumbled literally everything else. They need a do over.

 

[x17th]

It seems so. It's definitely a risk though as it can be hard to restart momentum if it struggles to sell after launch hype dies down. They pulled it off with a huge early price drop on 3DS. I doubt they can do that here as they're not willing to take a loss on hardware. They didn't try a big price drop on Wii U either as the cost to produce was too high. 3DS they could drop as they were just greedy and priced it the same as Vita thinking it would sell at a huge markup.

At the very least that momentum restart will be supported by a few potentially unique things I'm guessing. Console selling level games will be available by Holidays, while also just being Holidays to get the train moving. It's rather funny/interesting how the Xbox Scorpio could also potentially help the Nintendo Switch if they fail at releasing the Scorpio well. The Scorpio compared to the Switch might look overpriced for the games a person might already have, while the Switch will at least "feel new".

But this could all go really bad. At least the software line up by Holidays is positive (assuming no delays).

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I do not. Zelda alone makes it anything but. People assume that it being on Wii U hurts Switch but that's simply overestimating how many own a Wii U. Super Bomberman R and Afterbirth+ are huge for me, the latter is even more so if it's optimized well enough.

 

[SmokedMeat]

At the very least that momentum restart will be supported by a few potentially unique things I'm guessing. Console selling level games will be available by Holidays, while also just being Holidays to get the train moving. It's rather funny/interesting how the Xbox Scorpio could also potentially help the Nintendo Switch if they fail at releasing the Scorpio well. The Scorpio compared to the Switch might look overpriced for the games a person might already have, while the Switch will at least "feel new".

But this could all go really bad. At least the software line up by Holidays is positive (assuming no delays).

The Scorpio has the benefit of a continuing ecosystem, while Switch is starting from scratch all over again.
If the price difference is only $100, I'd say Switch would be a tough sell. Especially given Microsoft's aggressive promos of giving people everything but the kitchen sink.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

At the very least that momentum restart will be supported by a few potentially unique things I'm guessing. Console selling level games will be available by Holidays, while also just being Holidays to get the train moving. It's rather funny/interesting how the Xbox Scorpio could also potentially help the Nintendo Switch if they fail at releasing the Scorpio well. The Scorpio compared to the Switch might look overpriced for the games a person might already have, while the Switch will at least "feel new".

But this could all go really bad. At least the software line up by Holidays is positive (assuming no delays).

Still a risk though. Just like people said Mario 3D World, or Mario Kart 8 or Smash etc would save the Wii U. Or how well the PS4 sold with a weak first year or exclusives, showing the western third party games Nintendo doesn't get are what really move hardware and brand mindshare (and ms ruining theirs with the X1 reveal) determine which platform people buy to play them.

I don't think Scorpio will matter much. People that want the "most powerful console ever" are probably largely disinterested in Nintendo and their underpowered hardware. The Halo, Gears, Forza crowd are largely disinterested in Mario, Zelda et al. For those that are interested, Nintendo is a secondary platform so still no affect beyond maybe waiting longer to buy Switch if they have to shell out for a Scorpio.

Nintendo just isn't directly competing with Sony or MS anymore. They're a platform that needs their diehards and portable gamers to buy en masse, some lapsed fans to come back and a fair amount of core gamers to pick one up as a complementary console of it's going to be a big success. Having a soft launch with a price many are finding high and getting blow back for things like paid online isn't a good first step to achieving that.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Seriously? Fighting games were still pretty damn popular then, and the PS2 launched with several good ones.

I'm pretty sure I picked up Ridge Racer and Timesplitters at launch too. Unreal Tournament was quite popular as well.

SSX was also a hot new franchise

 

[mrklaw]

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.

whose fault is it that Nintendo chose an unnecessarily expensive connector for their charging/TV out solution? They could have stuck with a simple charging connector and separate TV out for massively less cost if your prices are accurate.

Never mind 'future proof' which is a comment I've heard, or 'its a better connector' - its a fixed platform that will only ever use it for basic charging and connecting a TV.

 

[Peltz]

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

This. I think the real launch is when Super Mario 3D Lan... errr I mean Odyssey comes out.

 

[JustenP88]

Yeah, they need to please the investors and launch it in 2016 FY.

Their worst move atm is not bundling 1-2switch though. I mean come on the budget of this title is not in millions. Wii had Wiisports bundled and the word of mouth worked.

For sure, early march aligns with the theory that they are rushing to market to be able to account launch sales into the end of the fiscal year.

Yeah, these things. They need to make some money in the year off this thing they've been dumping a ton of R&D into for who knows how long. The enthusiasts will be there no matter what. If you look at the lineup this console will have this holiday season (pretty much annihilates any competitor's first year), the fact that a lot of features are being explicitly described as "not ready until later this year" and the fact that pretty much nobody launches a console in the west during the spring and, yeah, the launch is soft.

 

[Spy]

I had it at launch, what in the world were people playing and excited for off this list? I got SSX and it was pretty good. My buddy was really into DW2. But I'm not sure I got anything else for it until Twisted Metal Black or something ridiculous the next March. Volume-wise there are a lot of titles...

We must have extremely different taste in games because I see a ton of gems in that list.

DOA2: Hardcore
Midnight Club: Street Racing
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
SSX
Street Fighter EX3
Tekken Tag Tournament
TimeSplitters
Unreal Tournament

Though if you're not a fan of Fighting, Sports, or Shooters I can see how it may be lackluster.

 

[sora87]

Christmas seems to be the real launch, should have a solid few games by then + Mario coming out too.

 

[Haunted]

You only get one launch. This is the launch.


I'm sure they're going to ramp up marketing for the holidays like everyone else, but this is the launch.

 

[Ocarina_117]

If it wasn't for Zelda and my need to play it's superior version (it's been 5 years since the last one, I need to experience this game in all it's glory) I'd have held off until the end of the year most definitely. By then there will be a better 1st party library available and we'll have an idea of what to expect from 3rd parties after e3.

I'm wary of the paid online subscription. I purchase Xbl gold rarely to play halo 5 online and recently purchased ps+ as I was gifted tf2 and bf1. Otherwise my online fix is met playing overwatch on the PC. I'll need to see what it offers and it's pricing. Currently, everything surrounding online is a worry for me with the switch.

However issues regarding video player support, lack of an optical out and not coming with a charging dock (Xone came with batteries, the ps4 with a 30cm cable and a controller with a shit battery life) don't bother me as much. I understand the complaints and the fact that video streaming is a standard feature, but I believe by Christmas this will most likely be readily available on the switch.

TL;DR - my thirst for Zelda is real, otherwise I'd have waited a few months minimum to pick up the switch.

 

[DMiz]

I'm fine with the 'soft launch'. The intent is to get early adopters in on the system while Mario at the end of the year will basically be their massive pitch to get as many other buyers as they can.

 

[Apathy]

If we were to imagine it releasing in the fall or holiday instead of at the start of the year, the launch lineup would look much healthier with not only really strong first party support but also more third party games and a working online right out of the gate.

 

[Peltz]

No Dock, No Grip, $199 in October is my guess.

Splatoon 2, Mario, FE Warriors, Xenoblade, Pokemon Stars and maybe Smash

You're crazy if you think they're selling this thing without the dock. It's as integral to their pitch as the Wii remote was to the Wii.... especially when you consider the battery life.

 

[Xscapist]

For the records, the Wii U had the biggest launch -- and most exclusives at launch -- of the current gen consoles, and look where it got them. The SNES launched with five games.

 

[Skittzo0413]

Yeah this seems to be the case for whatever reason. Especially when you consider Koizumi basically confirmed that Mario Odyssey is mostly done, yet being saved for fall. It seems they want the Nintendo core to hop on at launch, and they're giving us one of the best looking/biggest launch games in recent memory to do so.

I guess their marketing in the coming months will tell us what their goal is here.


Also, OP, I agree with most of your points, but 2-3 million units worldwide for the first 3 weeks isn't terribly low. I'd consider that a fairly high number for launch.