Nintendo Switch

[Satanist]

I will buy this when its £100 and all 5 of the good Nintendo games have been released for it. Same as I did for the Wii-U then.

Cartridges 

[dweezil2]

I will buy this when its £100 and all 5 of the good Nintendo games have been released for it. Same as I did for the Wii-U then.

Cartridges 

To be fair, there's a load 20 year old Megadrive games I'd rather play than stuff on the XB1 and PS4, so I don't see the storage method as a major issue and that's before taking the 3DS into consideration.

[Pyroxian]

I will buy this when its £100 and all 5 of the good Nintendo games have been released for it. Same as I did for the Wii-U then.

Cartridges 

To be fair, there's a load 20 year old Megadrive games I'd rather play than stuff on the XB1 and PS4, so I don't see the storage method as a major issue and that's before taking the 3DS into consideration.

Plus modern-day SD cards hold more than a Blu-ray can, at much higher access speeds - no more having to wait for the game to install to your hard-disc, just plug it in and play.

Hopefully they'll be ditching the horrible post-release patches as well - nothing worse than buying your game, and then not being able to play it for a day while it downloads updates...

[Satanist]

PS Vita uses a bespoke SD card, go have a look at the prices. A standard SD card opens you up to piracy (so the DS and 3DS then) which is good for the consumer pirates but not so good for Nintendo. Nintendo also lost most of its 3rd party support back in the day by sticking to an expensive cartridge system for the N64.

I'm not knocking good ole Ninty, I still have every one of their systems going back to the SNES (best console ever) and will actually fight anyone who slags off the gamecube.

BUT small cartridges swapping in and out is a pain in the arse (I have no idea where my 3ds Majoras mask went) compared to my Vita having everything installed in it. I also don't know who this is aimed at?

The hardcore gamer wants MOAR GRAFIX
The casuals have tablets and phones where games are £1 and don't get lost down the back of the couch
Nintendo fans didn't exactly buy shedloads of the Wii-U

but as I said I will still but one just so I can play Mario ,Zelda and the other exclusives.

[dweezil2]

I'm not knocking good ole Ninty, I still have every one of their systems going back to the SNES (best console ever) and will actually fight anyone who slags off the gamecube.

Too right Satanist!

The Gamecube was a bloody fantastic console, with an amazing selection of quality games!

[JamesC]

I'm more than happy to see a return to cartridges - and Nintendo's DS and 3DS ones are practically bulletproof.

[radiator]

I also don't know who this is aimed at?

Well, people like me, for starters? I love games, but have lost touch with the AAA home console scene in recent years for various reasons. The Switch seems to occupy the middle ground between home console and mobile. Great for people who don't consider themselves 'hardcore' gamers, but do want high quality action games that mobile phones and tablets will never be able to provide? Also, having the ability to host two player games on the one system seems like a great solution for families. I think people are also really underestimating the value of portability. I haven't even switched on any of my home consoles in the last 2+ years due to lack of time, but I do travel a lot and spend a lot of time away from home, so having something portable is key.

I will buy this when its £100 and all 5 of the good Nintendo games have been released for it.

On to my other point, presumably one of the main advantages on Nintendo consolidating its handheld and set top console platforms is so that they can focus their resources into putting out a lot more games on the one dedicated console. Nintendo's biggest weakness (even going back to the N64 days) has been their inability to put out enough first party titles on their home consoles, in lieu of third party support. The Switch will live or die on whether they can keep churning out unmissable games year round. If they can, I think it'll be a hit.

[Tiplodocus]

Me too.

Much as I like the consoles, I'm not a proper gamer and the most time I get to play is my 3DS on commute.  I like the Wii U - just never get peace to myself to play it.

But are there enough people like me to make it a success?

[radiator]

I really hope that Nintendo are looking at the phenomenal in demand for the NES Mini, and take that as a sign to make the Switch the console for retro gamers - ie have a huge back catalogue of classic Nintendo games ready for download right out of the gate.

They have of course dabbled with this before, with the Virtual Console, but it has largely failed (imo) due to hamfisted implementation and typical Nintendo backwards thinking (crap UI, unrealistic pricing, tying purchases to hardware instead of an iTunes style single account). Even the name 'Virtual Console' isn't great for attracting casual fans.

[IndigoPrime]

The lack of enabling people to invest in the VC is idiotic. Perhaps it's contractural, but Nintendo should really just, as you say, give you an account of some sort that can be moved between devices. Hell, how many people would buy into VC for iOS or Android as well that way?

[radiator]

Tbh, I can totally understand Nintendo's reluctance to release mobile ports of their classic games, or worse still, go all-mobile - imo it'd be a slow, slippery slope to oblivion for the company. But yeah - their backwards thinking when it comes to online stuff is truly baffling.

For example, I have a 3DS, and I'd be far, far more likely to buy digital games for it if I knew I'd be able to carry my library over to the Switch in the same way that my existing library of iOS games will work on the next iPhone - I'd also be far more inclined to buy a Switch if that were the case. The lack of Playstation/Vita style cross-buy between Wii U and 3DS is unforgivable, and yet Nintendo are probably looking at VC sales figures and thinking 'that didn't work, let's not do that any more'.

The crazy success of the NES Mini shows that there is a huge demand for hassle-free retro gaming, and that people will pay a fair price for old titles presented well, even at a time where emulators and roms are freely available.

[JamesC]

It feels to me like Nintendo have a sort of 'magic bullet' for sales success in the form of their back catalogue.
I still think they could have saved the WiiU if they'd done some sort of legacy bundle which came with a pro controller and download codes for 15-20 of the best titles from their back catalogue (which are all eshop anyway). Maybe even a Zelda bundle with all of the old titles along with the HD remasters.
They need to be careful how often they do this sort of thing though, at the risk of devaluing their IP (like SEGA have).

[dweezil2]

Nintendo!
Rope Capcom in on doing an exclusive (and good) Resident Evil game and all is forgiven!

[radiator]

It feels to me like Nintendo have a sort of 'magic bullet' for sales success in the form of their back catalogue.
I still think they could have saved the WiiU if they'd done some sort of legacy bundle which came with a pro controller and download codes for 15-20 of the best titles from their back catalogue (which are all eshop anyway). Maybe even a Zelda bundle with all of the old titles along with the HD remasters.
They need to be careful how often they do this sort of thing though, at the risk of devaluing their IP (like SEGA have).

Without wanting to get into a playground argument about it, i think its also the case that, while Sega have undoubtedly released some classic games, Nintendo's software library is a lot stronger than Sega's and always was.

With regards to the Switch, I remember thinking that the 'microconsole' fad from about five years ago (that brought about the ill-fated Ouya and that other usb stick console) had serious potential as a concept, but was hamstrung, as these things usually are, by a lack of good software.

Nintendo might be in a position to fully realise that potential, and thats why I think the Switch has a shot at success. The Xbox and PS become ever more like PCs - there just might be a market for a back to basics console that is small, portable, and hassle-free.

[Radbacker]

They need to be careful how often they do this sort of thing though, at the risk of devaluing their IP (like SEGA have).

I think Sega are now one of the largest most succesful publishers on the market at the moment (i'm sure i read that somewhere) since they went Software only (and brough up a whole heap of Studion C.A and teh Total War series make em the $ every year), I am  sad i'll never see a new Sega console again but it was probably the rightthing for them to do.  I am very interested in the Switch too even if it is just for the Nintendo games but for the love of god please Nintendo release a new Mertoid game, be it 2d or a new one in the Prinme series just do it.

CU Radbaker