The Nintendo Switch, formerly known as the NX, is the company’s upcoming addition to home consoles.
While Nintendo has been busy ruling the handheld market with the 3DS, their latest home console, the Wii U, was lacking in sales. The failure of the Wii U is debatable, but it’s no doubt that Nintendo’s lack of first party titles helped create an early demise for the ambitious system. Pair that with a marketing strategy that claimed it was a console good for 1v4, and you end up with an unreceptive group of gamers.
The Nintendo Switch looked like it could’ve been heading in a similar direction when leaks first started happening. With some sites reporting that the Switch would be taking over from the Wii U, and others saying it would work in tandem as a third gaming platform from Nintendo, no one really knew what to expect by the time that the Switch made its debut.
And, unsurprisingly, the code name NX kept people in the dark exceptionally well. I’m not sure anyone was expecting to see a docking console when the reveal trailer for the Switch released in October.
While Nintendo has reputation of standing out in the handheld market as of late, the Switch is taking a different spin on where and how you take your games with you.
Unfortunately, the choppiness of Breath of the Wild during the launch trailer didn’t go unnoticed by some fans – and it seems like that might be a reality, according to Eurogamer’s spec analysis. The reports claim the console runs considerably slower when undocked, and unfortunately developers have the option to have the games run at full memory bandwidth even while undocked if they so choose.
Although Nintendo’s newest project promises to stay on the trend of trying new things, it’s important to ask the question: when is innovation going too far? If the Switch doesn’t go over well, Nintendo needs to reel themselves in and offer a home console that is simplistic, but runs well, instead of the continued innovation that they are seeing fail time and time again. Or opt to cut the console line and simply focus on the DS and its future.
The Nintendo Switch has 8 confirmed games coming to it. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon Switch, Mario Kart Switch, Just Dance 2017, Holiday 2017 Sonic Game, Dragon Quest X, Dragon Quest XI, Untitled Steamworld game.
Although all of the games are exciting to see coming to The Nintendo Switch, one of the more notable games is the follow up to 2015’s Splatoon. Although the game might not of sold incredibly well (being a Wii U title itself was damaging to the IP), the game has grown a cult following. And with a more ‘normal’ system, it will most likely gain even more traction.
Although Nintendo has yet to confirm whether or not it is simply an updated version of the Wii U game, or a new game all together, Splatoon Switch is sure to offer a family-friendly shooter experience.
Nintendo is expected to reveal the Switch’s specs and release date on January 13th during the Japan event, which is going to be 7 hours long during both of its ‘hands on’ days (Jan 14-15).
While the specs aren’t officially out, patents have pointed towards a non-replaceable battery. The Wii U’s battery life was only 3 hours in the beginning, and with a replaced battery it moved up to 8 hours. If the battery isn’t replaceable, we will be relying on Nintendo to give us a good battery life, which typically isn’t their thing.
Nintendo has been a family name for years. The last time someone in your family who didn’t know a lot about games talked about them, they most likely referred to your Xbox or PlayStation as a “Nintendo.” Mario has become the most recognized character among children, and it’s hard to see how anyone could dethrone the company as the leader in family-friendly video games at this point in time.
With a huge amount of savings put away, Nintendo can run on a deficit for a reported 38 years. That, on top of the 3DS sales keeping them up, will have Nintendo stay prominent in the gaming industry for the foreseeable future.
The Nintendo Switch certainly won’t end Nintendo, regardless of the outcome. And it isn’t like the Wii U is Nintendo’s first failure (from a financial standpoint), but if a lack of support from developers continues, it could continue the damage that started with the Wii U.
Nintendo, from what they’ve claimed, has never been about fighting Sony and Xbox in the great ‘console wars.’ That being said, there comes a point in time when Nintendo needs to reel in the expectations of what they actually want people to buy and make a solid console that will run the games they want to deliver to the masses.