Is it though? Is it really? Talking with customers, and I mean the general consumer who is not our excited enthusiast who watched the event and was asking about preorder options - The messaging of this thing is atrocious.
I await with mild dread to see what sort of setup we'll see in store to try and let customers figure this out. It's far beyond Gameboys and that sort of thing. It's not going to have the Tablet appeal, which is self contained and explanatory. It has extra stuff with it. You have to keep track of the extras, so it's like a 3DS, but it's bigger, and requires other stuff, like a tablet might, if you were considering that, but it won't do what a full tablet can. (Yes, this is speculative, but it will not be an Ipad or a Galaxy Tab in context).
Looking at this from a retail perspective, it's got lots of options for accessories, sure. But I have no fucking clue with Nintendo is doing. It's a mess. I see the enthusiasm from Nintendo fans, and I'm happy for them, I really am. And I truly hope you get lots out of this, but holy shit I'm already staving off a headache from the questions this thing is going to bring my way at work. I've already started drafting a list of questions to begin training my reps to answer on reflex about what it is, and isn't.
At least it makes a clean break from the Wii naming conventions to avoid that cluster-fuck issue. We haven't had any sign of our Nintendo rep yet, or any word from when they're planning on making an appearance, but I plan to greet them with a plan of action of an informed staff already aware of the ins and outs of this thing so we can be ready for the launch. It's close, so I want my team, and the local stores, to be on the ball.
I pride myself on being aware of all the systems and what's going on with them, so even if I don't personally game on them, I still try to make sure my teams and the local district is actively up to date - GAF helps a lot with this stuff, you know? But even just the thread about those Joy-con grips and the charging aspect was wearying.
We haven't been given any clear details about the exact launch titles yet either, guys. We need to know this stuff so we can talk to customers about what they know they can buy for launch. I'm hoping we'll know in the next few days, but this isn't the PS4 launch, with a 6+ month window of time. They've built a very narrow window of time to build any awareness of this product before it starts hitting shelves and people can start actually getting their hands on it.