Help a very lapsed gamer understand the Nintendo Switch

[nevets88]

Why the appeal? It's like half of one thing and half of the the other.  

This game is cool though:

 

[SavvySwede]

Nintendo doesn't give the consumers what they want. They make quirky products and then try to sell the public on them. I anticipate another flop like the Wii U.

[iacas]

18 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

Nintendo doesn't give the consumers what they want. They make quirky products and then try to sell the public on them. I anticipate another flop like the Wii U.

Ditto.

[Groucho Valentine]

28 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

Nintendo doesn't give the consumers what they want. They make quirky products and then try to sell the public on them. I anticipate another flop like the Wii U.

I think thats a positive for them. There not going to be able to compete with Sony and Microsoft in the console market, so why bother making a duplicate product? People generally want to be told what to like and whats cool, not the other way around. 

[jamo]

I think it'll sell better than the Wii U. I know a lot of people who have already pre-ordered one, none of whom have a Wii U. It seems to be getting more coverage online too.

A big issue with the Wii U is that it did too much, none of it well enough, and none of it that people actually wanted. The Switch seems more focused on gaming. (Case in point: it doesn't even have Netflix at launch. There are refrigerators that have Netflix.)

I plan on getting one. Maybe not right away. I won't ever use it away from my TV.

[jsgolfer]

My son pre-ordered this, so he'll get his in a couple of weeks when they are released.  I've never been a huge fan of Ninetendo once the playstation and xbox came out.  They just don't make enough games that I enjoy.  But my kids (25 and 22) love Ninetendo.  I pretty sure we still have every Ninetendo game system that has been sold.  

[SavvySwede]

8 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

I think thats a positive for them. There not going to be able to compete with Sony and Microsoft in the console market, so why bother making a duplicate product? People generally want to be told what to like and whats cool, not the other way around. 

They could go back in that direction if they wanted and they really need to. Nintendo is slipping because their lower console power doesn't get them the third part multi platformers anymore and less and less people are willing to buy a new console just to play the newest iteration of Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Zelda.

[Groucho Valentine]

16 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

They could go back in that direction if they wanted and they really need to. Nintendo is slipping because their lower console power doesn't get them the third part multi platformers anymore and less and less people are willing to buy a new console just to play the newest iteration of Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Zelda.

They've done a poor job trying to develop an alternative ecosystem, no arguments about that. But i like that they keep trying to be different and holding on to their base IP's rather than let the EA's or Activation's mutilate them. I feel like they're trying to stay in a retro gaming type of space. 

[JxQx]

Nintendo also seems to aim their products more towards kids. From what I've seen a majority of their games are more kid friendly compared to other consoles but that's just me, I don't really follow gaming systems too closely anymore. That probably tends to hurt them now given a lot of parents don't mind getting their 10 year old kids grand theft auto or call of duty or other mature games so the appeal to a more kid friendly system kind of goes by the way side.

[SavvySwede]

10 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

They've done a poor job trying to develop an alternative ecosystem, no arguments about that. But i like that they keep trying to be different and holding on to their base IP's rather than let the EA's or Activation's mutilate them. I feel like they're trying to stay in a retro gaming type of space. 

??? I don't think they would ever sell off their greatest assets. I would guess they will eventually give up on hardware and focus solely on developing their IPs for other platforms.

5 minutes ago, JxQx said:

Nintendo also seems to aim their products more towards kids. From what I've seen a majority of their games are more kid friendly compared to other consoles but that's just me, I don't really follow gaming systems too closely anymore. That probably tends to hurt them now given a lot of parents don't mind getting their 10 year old kids grand theft auto or call of duty or other mature games so the appeal to a more kid friendly system kind of goes by the way side.

The one thing Nintendo is doing right with the Switch is shying away from the kid friendly advertising. I think they are starting to realize their fan base is now getting old and the kids of today aren't loyal to Mario.

[JxQx]

6 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

The one thing Nintendo is doing right with the Switch is shying away from the kid friendly advertising. I think they are starting to realize their fan base is now getting old and the kids of today aren't loyal to Mario.

Do you mean shy away from kid friendly games? Because I don't think it's the advertising as much as it is the games themselves. All their major titles are all ages games and as such you'd market them accordingly.

[SavvySwede]

10 minutes ago, JxQx said:

Do you mean shy away from kid friendly games? Because I don't think it's the advertising as much as it is the games themselves. All their major titles are all ages games and as such you'd market them accordingly.

No I mean the marketing of the actual console. No kids present in this ad, all appear to be in the 25-40 yo range.

 

[Strandly]

Nothing on console looks appealing to me so it's hard for me to say.  It does look like something intended for a younger crowd though; maybe something along the lines of Pokeman Go.

I agree that at least Nintendo is trying to innovate, Xbox and PS just churn out new iterations of the same old titles and spam DLC.

[saevel25]

On 2/14/2017 at 11:24 AM, SavvySwede said:

Nintendo doesn't give the consumers what they want. They make quirky products and then try to sell the public on them. I anticipate another flop like the Wii U.

Probably.

The good thing for Nintendo is they don't have as much overhead as Sony or Microsoft hardware. They get the most out of their games for the hardware they use in their systems. They might be the best vide game making company of all time. If they have a few more flops like the Wii U I might see them getting out the hardware aspect of the video game industry. Though I can see them staying in the portable hand held gaming system. I can see them easily going into just making video games with Mario and Link being played on Microsoft or the Playstation. 

The sad thing is, I might just buy this system for Zelda 

[iacas]

Just bought my Switch today with Mario Kart 8 (didn't have a Wii U or the 3DS stuff), Zelda, and Splatoon 2.

Played some Mario Kart already.

[saevel25]

6 months after its release date the Switch has sold 4.7 million units. That's 35% of the Wii U. I am pretty confident that the Switch will outsell the Wii.

[nevets88]

Watched the Zelda gameplay awhile back, was very tempted to buy it just for that. Not familiar with Mario though, I know it's huge, need to see what other games it has.

 

 

[iacas]

2 hours ago, saevel25 said:

6 months after its release date the Switch has sold 4.7 million units. That's 35% of the Wii U. I am pretty confident that the Switch will outsell the Wii.

And it's incredibly - STILL - supply constrained.