There are things to like game wise when you delve deeper (something casual punters won’t).
Zelda looks truly amazing. So many nods to previous stories and I can’t wait.
Odyssey didn’t do much for me when set in a real world but the footage of Mario using his hat as a platform to teach places and exploring those zany, colourful lands made me smile.
Ultra Street Fighter 2 sounds a right giggle. Dual art styles, team attack on bosses…
Mario Kart 8 now being 12 players via multiple Switches and a decent battle mode would be a blast (but this felt more like Wii U DLC than a new game).
And I’m sure Splatoon 2 given its my favourite game on Wii U will be good, but it was hard to tell why this is any better?
Rime, Shovel Knight, Steep and Redout all appeal in theory but are available elsewhere.
Xenoblade 2 and Travis returning should have me excited given how much I adored those Wii games, but XC X and NMH2 were both a bit hit and miss and I imagine these are 2018-9 titles.
The Joy Cons looked like a real move forward and ARMS was charming. But both seemed very pricey for what could be curios.
But first impressions count. Treehouse will be more Western world orientated later today and rectify some of the worries I suspect (this was a Japan orientated event largely) but its a step backwards after a great October reveal.
Release this lot in November when tech is cheaper and online is functioning and BANG you’re fully ready and its a holiday craze. Release it just after an expensive Christmas with little to love at launch and its a tough sell for many. Me included.
I think it’s a little disappointing that 32GB seems to be the only internal storage, and 2.5 hours battery life is alarming, but apart from those things I think this still looks decent. I certainly feel way more positive than I did about the Wii U… but that’s not saying much.
The price is high but Nintendo know that for the first few months it’s going to be mostly their die hard fans who will buy this, and are willing to pay that much. I’ll bet money that at Christmas they release a bundle that is £280 including Zelda, which is basically a price drop in itself. They’re approaching it as a console and handhled combined, so to them it seems affordable. If this is going to replace both the DS and the Wii, then I can see why they would want to charge more.
I’m not really a fan of Mario games but I think Odyssey looks pretty good. Splatoon 2 (I think this would have been a great pack in game), Mario Odyssey, Zelda, Mario Kart 8, etc. I think the initial launch looks really thin but by December it’ll be a solid set of games.
They’ve missed an opportunity in not doing something Pokemon related but there you go. RPGs look really solid, with Shin Megami Tensei, that Project Octopath, Xenoblade Chronicles X 2, and that Disgaea 5 remake. Personally I’m glad Fifa is on it again because I would like to have a proper portable version of it, but god knows how EA go about that, can see it just being a port of the PS3 version…
Not sure how I feel on there being a monthly subscription for online stuff. Nintendo has gotten loads better with its online services but it’s still some way short of the others. That and the only games from the Wii U you would want to heavily play online were Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart. If it’s a similiar amount of games on the Switch, that’s a big ask. A free NES/SNES game a month though is kind of cool.
I won’t get one at launch but I think there’s a good chance I will towards Christmas. I’m really not sure whether to get Zelda on the Wii U though. If it looks noticeably better on the Switch I’ll wait to get a Switch. My worry is that the Wii U version will have a really bad framerate, which wouldn’t be all that surprising considering the scope of the game and the dated hardware. That and I bet all the trailers are from the Switch version, meaning it could be a bit of a shock when people load it up on the Wii U.
MC shit launch. Not necessarily a bad console but I guess for it to get good third party support throughout it’s lifespan it will have to sell well and sell early. From first impressions, pricing and launch titles there’s not going to be a mad rush to get one on day 1 and that’s probably a bad thing for the long term prospects.
Was going to say this - doubt they’d want to announce Pokemon Stars (I think it’s been badged as?) now while Sun and Moon are shifting the only thing shifting hardware until March.
Haven’t watched anything yet, but currently sitting on the fence. Price is about where I expected and 3-6 hours hasn’t surprised me on battery life (you get about 3 hours out of a Nvidia Shield).
More disappointing is new on the cost of accessories (or are Game just trying their luck?) and the fact that despite Nintendo saying they understand at last that games are key for launch they only seem to have announced about two and a half titles, one of which is coming out on a console I already own.
Also hacking me off is that they’re asking for £50 for Mario Kart 8.1. There really needs to be some kind of discount for those who already own the Wii U version. Swallow your pride Nintendo.
Okay, a bit more. The video parts of the presentation are actually fairly slick - don’t really understand why they’re still doing stilted live presentations. Understand why they led with 1-2 Switch, but it was probably a mistake to put that first.
Mario looks good to me, other than the ghost people wandering around. Assume it’s unfinished which is why they’ve pushed Zelda forwards to March, else they’d be launching with nothing. The soundtrack to the Zelda trailer is superb, Splatoon 2 looks like more of the same (which is undoubtedly a good thing).
Arms looks possibly interesting, although I’d need convincing, 1-2 Switch doesn’t look my cup of tea (although presumably it’s part of the family pitch), a Christian Whitehead led 2D Sonic game has serious potential for portable action (so long as Sonic Team don’t get their grubby hands all over it) and Stardew Valley on the move available in Q1 or Q2 would help push me towards it as well.
MK8 is a tried and trusted title, but unless there’s a LOT more content that they haven’t shown already or they’re discounting heavily for Wii U & DLC owners I won’t be buying it and Super Bomberman R looks like an utter mess. Konami will never surpass Bomberman '94 and shouldn’t try.
Game release dates for Q1 and Q2 need emphasising in pretty short order and likewise, with online they need to make much clearer exactly what you’re going to get and for how much when they launch their service; it makes a big difference to whether the likes of MK or Splatoon are going to be worth it buying.
The whole thing so far actually wouldn’t be too bad for announcing stuff at an 5 months out at E3 for a Christmas launch, but the detail is missing for something that’s less than 2 months away.
The price is way higher than expected, and without a game, so this means I won’t be able to purchase quite so soon…
I can understand the decision on the 32GB of mem. You can’t just whack a HDD in a tablet, and the price of SD cards being higher means this would have pushed the price up even further, and they are basically on the edge of what is acceptable price point wise already, so they couldn’t do anything there.
Yes the PS4, XB1 have much more mem, but you’re paying for portability with the Switch really. You can’t take your PS4, XB1 on the bus and play it. It’s much easier to take your Switch round to your mates and hook up a game of mario kart with his. There is value there.
As for the game prices. I know £60 feels like a lot for Zelda, but I paid £60 for Mario 64, 20 YEARS AGO!
I really hope Zelda comes with Japanese and English voice overs. The Japanese Princess Zelda sounds so much better than the localized one, plus it completes the Ghibli feel.