DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Who was ever expecting this?
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Reggie: Don't Expect Nintendo Switch Online To "Mirror" The Competition
- Thread starter Exentryk
- Start date
J-Roderton
Member
They're doing it differently alright.
StormCell
Member
I'm pretty sore at Nintendo these days, but I'll try to be a voice of reason...
Look, GAF, Nintendo did hire and fill out a whole new division of network and cloud engineers as recently as 11 months ago. Building out an online service does take significant time (much more than a year) if what they intend to build is anything as meaningful as Xbox Live. Reggie is a PR man, and at best he is just a mouthpiece for North America who communicates exactly what he is told to say. While he doesn't say that they won't mirror the features found on other platforms, he does indicate that Nintendo intends to provide their own experience.
This means pretty much nothing beyond just not expecting full feature parity with Playstation/Xbox. I'm paying for the terrible online service because I know that in order for Nintendo to support anything truly meaningful the money and demand has to be there. As a developer and cloud engineer, myself, I know that large scale projects require significant design lead time, full executive buy in, and then a lot of time to build out, fail, and progress. We're not even to the fail and progress stage with them yet (from the looks of the current service).
If I'm too hopeful, well I kind of have to be to not feel ripped off.
Look, GAF, Nintendo did hire and fill out a whole new division of network and cloud engineers as recently as 11 months ago. Building out an online service does take significant time (much more than a year) if what they intend to build is anything as meaningful as Xbox Live. Reggie is a PR man, and at best he is just a mouthpiece for North America who communicates exactly what he is told to say. While he doesn't say that they won't mirror the features found on other platforms, he does indicate that Nintendo intends to provide their own experience.
This means pretty much nothing beyond just not expecting full feature parity with Playstation/Xbox. I'm paying for the terrible online service because I know that in order for Nintendo to support anything truly meaningful the money and demand has to be there. As a developer and cloud engineer, myself, I know that large scale projects require significant design lead time, full executive buy in, and then a lot of time to build out, fail, and progress. We're not even to the fail and progress stage with them yet (from the looks of the current service).
If I'm too hopeful, well I kind of have to be to not feel ripped off.
Deanington
Member
This is a carrot on a string scenario. For Christ sake... update your shit to join the rest of the world. Hardware included. You can still make great games and do quirky stuff.
Dude Abides
Banned
Nintendo is very good at utilizing nostalgia. With online, they want the player to wistfully recall the days of 56k dial-up.
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Iaterain
Member
NIntendo's online service is like a hamburger without meat and cheese. Yes, it cost $20 vs competitors $60, but it doesn't taste $20, it is just an old bread + salad.
Everyone who paid for it, knew exactly for what they are paying for. Those people have given Nintendo their money to be defrauded and Nintendo defrauded them completely.
You paid for this service? You are part of the problem.
Everyone who paid for it, knew exactly for what they are paying for. Those people have given Nintendo their money to be defrauded and Nintendo defrauded them completely.
You paid for this service? You are part of the problem.
StormCell
Member
That's an exaggeration. I don't disagree with the sentiment ("defrauded"), but I feel it's more like they advertised a 1/8th lb patty. They're delivering something close to that 1/8th patty, but it sure is suspect. Did they weigh that before or after they cooked it?? What I mean in literal terms is they promised cloud saves, that crappy NES collection, and continued access to play games online. They've delivered just that, but we're disappointed to see that the service is still rife with disconnects and lag.
But don't blame people for paying the cheap price for a cheap service that delivers what they promised. Many people still like to play these games online, and so it's become a must.
trufflepigg
Member
and to the laymen that simply translates to: "don't expect our service to be as good as the competition"
what is there to do differently? it's not like it's charming and unique to not have basic online features 15 years into the competition
what is there to do differently? it's not like it's charming and unique to not have basic online features 15 years into the competition
Haha. That's far too dramatic.
PocoJoe
Banned
I have always said that:
Nintendo offers the worst/weakest hardware (after gamecube)with highest possible price that they can
Same seems to go with their network, at least for being worst.
They are just too greedy to rob casuals and HC fans that they will never be like PlayStation/xbox in a sense of gaming.
Nintendo offers the worst/weakest hardware (after gamecube)with highest possible price that they can
Same seems to go with their network, at least for being worst.
They are just too greedy to rob casuals and HC fans that they will never be like PlayStation/xbox in a sense of gaming.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
How about they prove themselves first, before charging coin to play online? Kind of like what Sony did with the PS3. Let the price tiers go to those who want the breadcrumb release of the NES classics.
But he is absolutely right. Anybody who was realistic expected this mess of a service, starting from the shitty app.
Hell, I remember making a thread here proposing to go to twitter and tell the few Nintendo personalities there how shitty online was, and that was called harrasment.
Like if they have a history of listening to their fans.
StormCell
Member
I think most are paying about $0.37 per month for this ($34.99 / 12 months / 8 people on a family plan). We both know Nintendo. They seem kinda dense. They're not Sony, and they won't risk eating a loss, though. They could release Wii U level failures for the next hundred years and still be afloat.
Skip the Nintendo personalities and reach out to Japan. That's the ear you need, and those are the voices Nintendo listens to.
Xaero Gravity
NEXT LEVEL lame™
My experience with the online has been so bad that at this point I'm just paying to play NES games. The console so far has been my biggest gaming regret all gen. I didn't even have much of a honeymoon phase, which is unprecedented for me.
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StormCell
Member
It really boils down to what you intended to get out of the device. I feel really good about BotW and XC2. The platform has nearly all the indie gems as well, plus there's Minecraft. Because I spend a fair bit of time away from home, I find myself playing this as a portable or in table top mode and getting a lot out of these games.
If this thing was another tethered box, though, and was still similarly under-powered then it would be far less compelling.
I assume that you probably mostly only play docked. Am I right?
Xaero Gravity
NEXT LEVEL lame™
Most of my time is docked, but I've done my fair share of portable play before going to bed. My main issue outside of the online is mostly the software. I basically bought it for Smash, the next Zelda, and MP4, so it's not like I'm so disappointed that I'm going to trade it in. I'll just have to be patient before my investment feels like it's paid off.
Afro Republican
Banned
It took awhile but I was able to translate the PR speech above.
zenspider
Member
Never has issues with online on Switch that weren't solved by plugging the cable back in my LAN adapter.
I get the issues with first-party content not being particularly robust in multiplayer modes and options, but it's the same P2P sessions as PS4. Is it not just more likely people using bad wifi than other platforms?
I get the issues with first-party content not being particularly robust in multiplayer modes and options, but it's the same P2P sessions as PS4. Is it not just more likely people using bad wifi than other platforms?
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Gamernyc78
Banned
Reggie with his used car salesman lines. Least personable exec imo. I know this is coming from higher than him but we see through the bs just like your voice chat is unique garbage.
Guess what? Shit like that is why I haven't even thought about subscribing to the service.
Guess what? Shit like that is why I haven't even thought about subscribing to the service.
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Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
In the last twenty years their game plan was/seems to have been “close, rebrand, hype, relaunch”... Wii Connect 24/Nintendo WiFi Connection, Nintendo Network, Nintendo Online, ...
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
Wait, so if their core fanbase buys a yearly subscription to a service that still does not work much better than their old free offferibf and is far from being competitive and this should stimulate them to aggressively improve it? Why not just jack up the price and give only minor bells and whistles to make it seem like they are doing something about it?
Yagami_Sama
Member
So, no improvement on the Network infrastructure ?
Sakura Doritos
Member
Online aside, it is an impressive console and has great games. Treat yourself!
StormCell
Member
I wouldn't say no improvement. They have added cloud saves. They don't currently host any game servers yet. I could see them adding more features that rely on hosted infrastructure. They didn't do all the hiring they did just to add a cloud saves feature and be done with it.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
They locked the only way to backup saves behind a virtual paywall. No way to backup saves locally (for free) is pretty anti-consumer.
StormCell
Member
Anti-consumer? I thought that was Nintendo translated into english. *smirk*
As I said before, I'm sore at them. They spend a lot of time coming up with some clever thing and miss a lot of more obvious products we'd all love to give money for. Ie. where's my Mario Galaxy HD collection?
As I said before, I'm sore at them. They spend a lot of time coming up with some clever thing and miss a lot of more obvious products we'd all love to give money for. Ie. where's my Mario Galaxy HD collection?
Azelover
Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
I've been observing this for years, and the more I look at Nintendo the more I'm convinced of this.
They don't really want to commit to a good online experience, because they value the local experience more.
The pressure to conform to certain trends like online multiplayer, makes them put something together because they have to. But secretly, they don't want people to be using their system to play online. That's what I thought for years and it continues to be my opinion..
They don't really want to commit to a good online experience, because they value the local experience more.
The pressure to conform to certain trends like online multiplayer, makes them put something together because they have to. But secretly, they don't want people to be using their system to play online. That's what I thought for years and it continues to be my opinion..
goldenpp72
Member
Not quite, Brawl is likely the worst mainstream online game of all time. 4 player randoms was restricted to like one mode and ran horribly every time. Even if you connected to someone who played nice with your connection the input lag was horrible. I still remember when 4 released and discovered there was only input lag in bad rooms at least. Still it is pretty pathetic all the same.
trufflepigg
Member
Switch makes me angry on so many levels....go buy smash recently, need 2 pro controllers, and need to subscribe to crappy online service. Total paid that day last week - controllers are 90 each, game is 80, service is 20 a year = $380 Canadian dollars, and not surprisingly it was a lag fest online.
Nintendo = making me re-purchase games I already have on Wii U for $80 and re-purchase pro controllers that are exactly the same
Nintendo = not allowing a smooth online experience even when you shell out money for it
Nintendo = terrible stock price, my worst performing investment by a land slide
Nintendo = relying on Nostalgia and nothing new
Nintendo = Crap and a stain on the gaming industry imho
Nintendo = making me re-purchase games I already have on Wii U for $80 and re-purchase pro controllers that are exactly the same
Nintendo = not allowing a smooth online experience even when you shell out money for it
Nintendo = terrible stock price, my worst performing investment by a land slide
Nintendo = relying on Nostalgia and nothing new
Nintendo = Crap and a stain on the gaming industry imho
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Reggie does have that "stuck in the 90's" car salesman vibe to him.
Rock And Roll
Member
If there's one good thing to come out of all of this Smash Bros rage, maybe it will force Nintendo to take online more seriously. When it was free they at least had an excuse to fall back on and the other online games (splatoon, Mario tennis) don't have a large enough profile to really push online. But people are genuinely pissed about having to pay for Smash bros and getting shafted with terrible online infrastructure.
Before the "it's Nintendo, they'll never do it" posts pile on, a few months back people got pissed off enough about fortnite for Sony to reverse their position. If the masses get loud enough, it's a PR disaster if they don't respond. I don't play Smash so I don't have first hand experience but I think players need to continue being vocal about their problems to force Nintendo's hand.
Before the "it's Nintendo, they'll never do it" posts pile on, a few months back people got pissed off enough about fortnite for Sony to reverse their position. If the masses get loud enough, it's a PR disaster if they don't respond. I don't play Smash so I don't have first hand experience but I think players need to continue being vocal about their problems to force Nintendo's hand.
Eteric Rice
Member
This is the one thing that still pisses me off with Nintendo. I LOVE my Switch, but the lack of basic online features kills me. The low power for probability is fine to me, it's a fair and reasonable trade off to being able to take all kinds of games on the go. Honestly it's allowed me to play games more, because I can play when and where I want. But this backwards ass approach to online is a huge thorn in the side of an otherwise great system.
I wish there were a way to tell Nintendo of Japan how we feel about it, because I feel like NOA just isn't telling them how infuriating it is to their western audience. Hell even the Wii U was pretty close to having the right features, but then they reset everything for no reason at all.
I wish there were a way to tell Nintendo of Japan how we feel about it, because I feel like NOA just isn't telling them how infuriating it is to their western audience. Hell even the Wii U was pretty close to having the right features, but then they reset everything for no reason at all.
Sorcerer
Member
Reggie is just the corporate puppet to his Japanese overlords. I am sure there are times when he is actually cringing at the statements he has to make, but then he looks at his paycheck and snaps back into reality, an executive at a video game company.
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