I Refuse to Make a Switch Pun (Part 2)

With the background of the Switch’s unique announcement period out of the way, this brings us to the present and the future.  Even after the January 12^th presentation there are still many question marks surrounding the Switch such as the nature of the eShop and Virtual Console and they’re odd but unique take on voice chat using a smartphone app.  These questions are causing hesitation in some potential buyers so one can find it strange that Nintendo has left them unanswered so close to release.  Yet here’s the thing, the Switch is still sold out of preorders across all major retailers around the world despite those unanswered questions. 

Die-hard Nintendo fans, of which there are many, were going to buy the Switch at launch regardless.  Nintendo has those initial sales on lockdown.  While this was also the case with the Wii U, the difference is that there is a palpable excitement in the air surrounding the Switch.  Buzz for the console on social media and news outlets has been more or less positive, although not overwhelmingly so.  Nintendo doesn’t have a reason to release more news that could potentially dour those expectations.  It goes back to the confidence they’ve been showing throughout the announcement period.  They believe that once the Switch is out in the wild and people discover for themselves that the core aspect of the console itself is solid and enduring, then consumers will be less bothered by the less favorable, smaller details.  This extends to the Switch’s launch line-up as well which, besides Zelda, is pitifully weak.  But because Zelda is there that alone gives the die-hards enough reason to pick up the Switch at launch and support the platform until later games release.

This is for the first few months of the Switch’s life but what about after that?  A console of course needs to live off of more than its dedicated fans.  Here’s where the make-or-break period begins for Nintendo.  The Wii and Wii U lost almost all third party support from major AAA developers and the consoles suffered for it.  While Nintendo’s own first party titles continued to provide mostly top notch experiences, they couldn’t make up for the month long gaps that came between them.  This will be alleviated somewhat by the fact that the Switch will be absorbing most of the Wii U, 3DS, and PS Vita markets but that still will not be enough.  It’s been said time and time again and now it’s all the more important that Nintendo recapture the interests of those third party developers to pad out those month long periods in between first part Nintendo games.  This will be, and always has been, an uphill battle for Nintendo as they consistently deal with weaker hardware than their competitors Sony and Microsoft.  Nintendo must show major third party developers that allowing their consumers to take their games anywhere they please is a feature worth investing in.  Nintendo does this, of course, through raw sales of the Switch console.  While the Wii U failed to accomplish this, the Switch stands apart in one key distinction: it advertises itself.

Think back to the original Switch reveal trailer.  Imagine that you are the guy in that trailer taking his Switch onto a plane.  You take your seat next to a complete stranger and get settled in for what may or may not be a long flight.  Once the plane has reached cruising altitude you take out your Switch.  The man sitting next to you glances out of the corner of his eye from the book he’s reading or Sudoku puzzle he’s solving and sees what seems to be any old tablet you can find on the market.  He then realizes you seem to be handling the tablet a little more than one normally would and actually looks over to see you pulling out a kickstand to place on the tray table.  Then he sees you take these weird attachments off the side of the tablet and lean back in your chair as you started to play some gorgeous looking game (be that Zelda, Mario Kart, or Skyrim, what have you).  You’ve now piqued this man’s interest.  He asks you what kind of tablet that is.  You answer it’s not a tablet, but actually a console made by Nintendo called the Switch.  That is exposure, that is the Switch’s power to self-advertise and it is a power that cannot be underestimated.

As word spreads and exposure increases, more and more people will take an interest in the Switch console.  College campuses in particular, in the commons areas or in between classes, have immense potential in this regard.  Furthermore, the nature of the Switch controller, called Joy-Cons, means that a Switch user is always equipped for multiplayer experiences and can easily get a friend involved who may be interested. 

As the Switch grows in popularity and more units sell, third party developers will see potential in developing their games for the Switch.  Herein lies another challenge for Nintendo.  As I said before, Nintendo is dealing with inherently weaker hardware than its competitors.  The big question will be if players merit the ability to take their games on the go over having higher graphical fidelity.  That is a question that I cannot begin to give an answer to.  It depends on a number of factors such as how much of a noticeable graphical downgrade there is or how stable the new online infrastructure will be.  In that regard I can at least say that JRPG’s, games that aren’t usually pushing graphical limits, will most likely find a place on the Switch given its convenience of play.  Recapturing the core gamers will likely be the last major obstacle the Switch will face.  If it can overcome it, then the Switch will have carved out a place for itself in the video game market and reestablish Nintendo as the company that supplies viable alternatives to traditional styles of gameplay.

The bottom line is; I am very excited for the Nintendo Switch.  More so than I ever was for the Wii U at any point in its life cycle.  The most apt word to use to describe the Switch at this stage is “potential”.  It shows a potential return to form for Nintendo and feels like they are making a console for gamers again.  Its primary gimmick is a feature that people can easily wrap their heads around and is not something that developers feel they have to go out of their way work around.  It shows enormous potential by combining the home and handheld gaming markets, not to mention E3 hasn’t even arrived yet where the biggest game announcements will surely be unveiled.  However, potential in the end is just that: potential.  It’ll be up to Nintendo to capitalize on that to make the Switch something truly special that will make its place in history like the Wii before it and the N64 before that and the NES before that.  It all starts in 11 short days, and what a long short days those will be.