Thoughts on Nintendo Switch (Part 1)

Part 2 should be up before Nintendo Switch is released. Apparently this site has been hacked by Anonymous Ghost Gaza, or probably someone who has no balls to attack major gaming websites who sell their credibility to adverts and sponsorships. Attacking a small gaming website which promotes uncensored opinions is shameful.
Here’s the article:
Is it time to switch to Switch? Unfortunately, not. Nintendo Switch may be the greatest missed opportunity for Nintendo since their failed partnership with Sony to develop a console, the PS1. It is a hybrid, but it doesn’t have the best of both worlds, it neither excels in being a handheld or a console.
I opened the app store on my android phone and saw Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes, it made me think that Switch not being an Android is a massive missed opportunity. Nintendo could have broke through mobile gaming by having a console that can run console level games as well as mobile games. Not only that but a powerful multimedia machine where you can run applications. An Android running Switch could easily dominate the tablet market and give Apple’s iPad a run for its money. It would have made Switch more value for money as well as a multifunctional console that can compete with PS4 and Xbox One. It cannot be overstated how much Nintendo missed.
PS4 and Xbox One are consoles with secondary functions. Not only can they run games but they could also play Blu-ray movies. What can the Switch do aside from playing games? With its price both as a console and a package (console plus games) higher than the base PS4 and Xbox One, both are more powerful and has more games, it is simply too expensive to the point it seems like a very bad investment. An android running Switch could have justify its price point as it is way more than a console. Having the functionality of Android would make Switch an all rounder, it could play games, browse the internet, play videos and anything you could do with an Android.
The lack of Android for a tablet like console is a fatal mistake that could mean failure for Switch. People now expects more from consoles, playing games is not enough anymore.
The lack of backwards compatibility is concerning not only in Switch but PS4 as well. I don’t understand why developers feel the need to treat previous generations games like they never exist. Had Switch had Android, a weak games launch wouldn’t really be much of a concern but it doesn’t have Android. Wii U had a lot of great games like Bayonetta 2 and Fatal Frame 4, what will happen to them? Disappear?
The same applies to 3DS Games, I’m sure Nintendo Switch is powerful enough to play Wii U and 3DS games with the proper software. Nintendo needs to take advantage of their massive library of games from their past consoles including Wii, GameCube and GBA. Virtual Console, as its current state is a joke. Nintendo is better off offering games free with the Nintendo paid membership rolling out with Switch than selling these games if they want to stop piracy and emulating.
The main concern regarding games in Switch is future titles from Third Party Developers. Looking at the Launch titles, this may well be the worst launch in a Nintendo console. Nowadays it is given that a new console has a strong launch and continuous flow of games afterwards. It seems Nintendo hasn’t learn anything from the failure of the Wii U. Out of all the third party titles coming out in 2017 and onwards, how many of them are coming out on Switch? All of these titles are guarantees to be in PS4 and/or Xbox One unless they are console exclusives. Since the Switch is weaker than PS4 or Xbox One, will these games be released on it, let alone capable of running these games.
While Nintendo can say specs doesn’t matter in games, the truth is it does because a developer wouldn’t waste time releasing a game on a system that isn’t capable of running their game. Does this mean Switch will only have downgraded games like the Wii U? Probably. The first year is the most important year for a game console, I hope Nintendo learn it by now. You can be assured that a bad first year will mean the death of the Switch.
The games released on the mobile market like the Fire Emblem Heroes and Super Mario Run… Are they going to be on Switch? Because if they aren’t, that’s the first sign of lack of confidence on Switch. Although Nintendo’s entry to the mobile market is destroying the reputation of their games although that would be a discussion for another time.
The 3DS needs to die for Switch to be successful. There’s simply no getting around it. If recent reports are to be believe, Nintendo is already killing Switch before it’s even released yet. Nintendo cannot be vague on the status of 3DS once it been release, flirting with the idea of a 3DS successor destroys people’s confidence with the Switch. If Nintendo is already planning a new console then what does that say of the Switch? Will we get a Switch 1080p next year?
If Nintendo keeps making games for 3DS that doesn’t exist on Switch, then isn’t that a slap in the face for Switch buyers? Why aren’t those games in Switch, probably more than capable of playing them. Nintendo cannot afford to divide their focus on two systems as shown by the failure of the Wii U. Why is Nintendo dividing their target audience? It doesn’t make sense. Nintendo has learned nothing.
Switch is a handheld isn’t it? Perhaps I was wrong in assuming it was because if it isn’t, it all over for Nintendo Switch. Perhaps it is. If portable features like SpotPass and Mii Universe does not exist in Switch then what is the point of making Switch a portable if a 3DS successor is on the way? Is Switch a half-ass console that Nintendo release to save face from the failure of Wii U? From a technical concept, Switch is a powerful, innovative and creative console. It is a hybrid that can played on the go and in the living room. It is a 3DS successor without 3D and a very capable. The Joycons can recreate the success of the Wii with the right games. Isn’t the Switch the successor to 3DS? If not then what is the point of creating the concept of a hybrid console? The lack of Pokemon games on Switch is a very bad sign. Will the next Pokemon game be a launch title for the 3DS successor? That would be idiotic. Even a port of Pokemon Sun and Moon would be a system seller for the Switch especially with Pokemon Aimie games which uses the Joycons since children will love it. Pokemon is Nintendo’s biggest franchise and the fact that it isn’t in Switch first year line up is very concerning.
Will the new Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia be on Switch? If not, why not? Nintendo can’t be serious on still developing exclusives for 3DS now that there are launching a new console. If they are trying to to do this to hide the fact that they are not supporting 3DS beyond 2017 at the expense of depriving Switch of games is completely stupid. They could have this Fire Emblem as a launch title or a upcoming game for Switch to show fans the future games for the series will be released on the new console.
If Switch is not replacing 3DS then Switch’s greatest competition is not PS4 or Xbox One but it’s little brother. There is no reason for Nintendo to keep supporting 3DS especially if it create conflicts with Switch since the two are portable game consoles. Perhaps Switch has a identity crisis which leads us to…
Identity Crisis: What is Switch?
According to Nintendo Switch isn’t really a portable console, rather it is a console that can be played on the go.. Notice the hypocrisy there? Why would you not take advantage of the consoles portability to target the mobile gaming market which includes 3DS? If you got a console that is good enough to be played as a portable then why isn’t it being treated as a portable too. Switch is a hybrid console, this is what makes it competitive compares to PS4 and Xbox One. It may not be a strong as the other consoles but it can play games on the go, something that those consoles can’t do. Had it featured Android then it will allow it to be compete with the other consoles in an area which more powerful consoles should be able to dominate it, multifunctionality. With Android, it can play thousands of mobile games, even emulate games and do more than what you could do in an PS4 and Xbox One. Being a tablet, people will not only see it as a gaming console but as a brilliant all rounder. Notice how I keep coming back to Android, it is a big missed opportunity for Nintendo. This would have been a perfect tablet, for kids and adults, maybe even give Apple a run for its money.
Without Android, being able to play games in the only the major thing that makes it stand out against PS4 and Xbox One. If Nintendo is not taking advantage of this feature, then how would Switch be able to compete? Keep on releasing first party games like the Wii U? That’s is not enough especially without Third Party Support. It is concerning that Nintendo do not know what Switch is. It doesn’t need to coexist with the 3DS since it is able to make 3DS irrelevant by being able to play games on the go.
Nintendo must let go of 3DS or it will affect Switch. The new big games for 3DS like Fire Emblem Echoes is putting Switch in a bad light, a portable console that can’t even play games made for a portable console. I expect such games to be ported to Switch or it will be bad for Nintendo considering Switch barely has games for the line up.