The Nintendo Switch and The Hubristic Fanboy’s.
If Apple’s next tablet was said to have a 720p/6.2 inch screen with 3 hour battery life and need a physical connection to cast to an external display it would be a laughing stock. Even the most avid of fanboys would be questioning the direction of the company. However, Apple fanboys have been topped. There is a new king of fanboy blindness… The Nintendo fanboy.
Nintendo Switch vs. Xbone and PS4
It’s still cheaper than the Xbone and the PS4 on release.
This is where my anger seed was planted. From the specs announced, the Nintendo Switch is not comparable to the Xbone or PS4. This may change, there are still 2 months to go. Nintendo may announce that the incredibly ugly docking station is an external GPU that will render games at 1080p or 4k. Personally if I was Nintendo I would of announced that as early as possible.
Nintendo Switch (as a 3DS replacement) vs Tablets
If this is positioned as a 3DS replacement, it could be a big hit. However, its close to double the price of any previous Nintendo handheld devices.
It also pushes the switch into the same price category as some premium tablets.
The Switch with a game will be around £320. The Nvidia Shield which also has a display dock is only £179.99. The iPad Air 2 and Google Pixel C are £399.99.
Obviously the iPad Air 2 and Google Pixel C are much more than just gaming machines. They also have great relationships with indie and AAA developers already.
Android/iOS Games (excluding Tap Simulators):
- Papers, please
- XCOM
- FIFA 16 Ultimate Team
- NBA 2k17
- Valiant hearts
- Bastion
- Faster then light
- Don’t Starve
- Transistor
The list goes on and will only keep growing. Mobile games have a much wider reach and developers are finally taking this seriously.
Nintendo Switch: The New Horizon?
One fanboy thinks:
Nintendo Switch will be a game changer, specs don’t matter. Just like the wii!
This broke me, I closed all communications at this point. I was tempted to stick around and try and figure out what exactly the Wii done, but I couldn’t stomach it anymore. The Wii was the 2000’s version of owning an acoustic guitar in the 1990’s. Every household owned one but nobody actually played it.
The Wii sold a lot of units, Microsoft and Sony had to react with the Kinect and the Motion+ controllers. If I was an executive I would act the same way looking at the sale figures, but as a gaming form I can’t think of one motion controlled game that will last the test of time.
So if the Nintendo Switch is the new horizon, what exactly does that mean? So far the new horizon has 4 announced game.
- 1–2-Switch
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Skylanders Imaginators
- Just Dance 2017
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild comes out on launch day, it also comes out that day for the Wii U. I will be getting this on the Wii U so I can hopefully play at 1080p rather than the Switch’s 720p.
Skylanders Imaginators has been available since 13 October 2016.
So the new horizon is a party game and a dance game. I know every new console struggles with releases but can Nintendo be trusted to release top quality games?
Nintendo’s Game Production
But Zelda…
Star Fox Zero was confirmed in a press sheet on June 8, 2014. It finally released after multiple delays on April 21, 2016… and was a massive flop.
The Mario Party franchise peaked at version 4 out of 10.
It took Nintendo until 2015 to create Mario Maker. Where as Playstation’s platform creator puzzle game Little Big Planet has been out since 2008 and is on its 3rd version.
Mario Kart and Zelda are always gold, but is that enough anymore?
In Summary
This isn’t my final nail in the coffin for the Nintendo Switch, but the measurements have been taken and wood has been ordered. Nintendo could release details on there operating system and it could be a big competitor in the handheld market. They could release the dock specs and it competes with the Xbone and the PS4. Either way, sooner or later, the fanboys will need some more ammo or this will make the No Man’s Sky hype train look like a matchbox car.
