• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

One year ago today, the Nintendo Switch was announced

phanphare

Banned
BotW is nostalgic for me in a way I haven't felt for a game in well over a decade and it's not even eight months old. Imagine how kids who play the game will feel about it in 10-15 years.

oh man, I can't even imagine how kids who played this game feel about it

the biggest thing that zelda did for me was make me feel that child like wonder I used to feel playing video games that I just don't get anymore
 

Cuburt

Member
I think the Switch has turned out better than I expected, in terms of hardware and software support, and I was optimistic.

Not only that, but with third party accessories, it's been able to take the hardware to functionality and customization not only beyond what I've seen for any handheld or console, but it really keeps on surprising me with the flexibility in what ways we can use the system. Like people worried about battery life but the options of just plugging it into an external phone battery made that a non-issue in the first day (besides having decent battery life outside of intensive games like BotW). Then we've had tons of options for grips, cables for charging, batteries in grips, portable docks, attachable batteries, etc. all in a matter of months and people want all that stuff. Even skins and mods are beyond what I remember being available for the 3DS or the Wii. It speaks to just how hot this system is, even before all the software support and features make the system really hit it's stride.

The first party support alone is practically beyond not only any output of the first year of any Nintendo console, but any console period. It really makes you forget that the Wii U was a failure and the struggle Nintendo has had to get support, not to mention the skepticism and fear Nintendo fans/early adopters had. The early criticism was harsh and unrelenting that first month and would have buried the console if it didn't have so much positives going for it to outshine any flaws, growing pains, and oversights. BotW being not just a great game, but scoring as one of the best games of all time and a dramatic shift from all Zelda games before that was huge for the system and once people had the Switch in their hands, there was far less whining about weakness on paper when you can actually experience the strengths in practice.

It really deserves the praise it has been getting so far.
 
What a goddamn ride it's been so far. I remember being super excited after the reveal, but still a little bummed out that the big thing about the NX was something a lof of people had already pinpointed. Was hoping for something way more left field.

Also found the follow-up conference to be underwhelming and strange. Still don't understand what the deal was with the couch on stage, and the presenter sitting on it for a second, then getting up and talking again.

Obviously all of this didn't matter when Switch launched. It's delivered a legendary first year. I'm not sure I've ever owned a platform that's matched in its initial year what Switch has been delivering on year 1. It's all insane when you think about the 180 that Nintendo has managed after the WiiU.

CvMCHBoWcAAb0jy.jpg

Lol. Perfect.

EDIT:

Looking back at the original thread, really surprised to see some people were down on the name. Totally forgot about that. I thought it was great from the get-go. Short, simple, and communicated the core feature of the system.
 

Mexen

Member
Ironically, this doesn't seem to have happened. I initially thought unifying under a single platform was kind of the point for Nintendo, but it's become obvious that there's still a large market of (mostly) kids who need a rugged, inexpensive handheld, that can be tossed in a bag and treated irresponsibly.

It seems inevitable we will get a cheaper, more kid-friendly model of the Switch (a la 2DS) at some point, maybe without the detachable controllers and dock, and that will be the nail in the 3DS coffin, but for now, they oddly enough do seem to have distinct markets,

Bingo
 

sneas78

Banned
oh man, I can't even imagine how kids who played this game feel about it

the biggest thing that zelda did for me was make me feel that child like wonder I used to feel playing video games that I just don't get anymore

I got my son a wii when he was 7. He got into Zelda very quick. Can’t tell you how excited he was for BOTW. He was soo into Zelda .. and it was amazing to see this first hand.
 

hotcyder

Member
3D Mario Autorunner
Zelda doesn't have any towns
Splatoon Port
Mother 3 Q2
Analogue Triggers
Dark Souls 3 Port

Not to mention everything that came out of Super Metal Dave

At least it got LKD the gig on Kotaku UK
 

Tesser

Member
For what it was - a teaser trailer of sorts - it did exactly what it needed to do and then some. Better still, it was a significant and much-needed improvement over the Wii U's marketing and communication. The video alone does have a few things I would cut out or reduce - "yo man I love playing basketball...let's play NBA on our Switch now dude". Yes, because I wouldn't have known what the game was had it not been shown through IRL sequences.

And the Switch presentation thereafter only added to the growing confidence that Nintendo had something good going for them. The console/company is not without its criticisms of course - and the launch line-up was worrying - but I was somewhat more positive going into launch day than I was October 19/20 of last year.

What's more, liked the name and logo from day one. The little "click" animation preceding all promos and videos too is simple, effective and nice to have (though I'm glad they dialled down the sound effect a bit as well).
 
That initial Mario Odyssey footage in the console reveal was pretty clever considering the hid the cappy gameplay.

I think someone (Gamexplain?) picked up on the significance of his cap wobbling as he runs. Back when some people were arguing that probably wasn't footage from a real game and just some random cgi they'd knocked up.
 
Top Bottom