So I've taken some time to let this sink in.
I get where you're coming from,
Cervantes, but that presentation was awful. Really poor. I came away from that presentation feeling less optimistic about the Switch than I did going in.
Don't get me wrong, I'm going to buy the Switch regardless. It could end up being one of the best handheld consoles ever. But that isn't the way it was presented. And that was a mistake.
And that's not even mentioning the translator. Absolutely terrible. The guy should be fired on the spot. Bad!
The launch lineup is sparse. The new Zelda looks to be an absolute killer, but a little more variety would have been a good idea. And by more variety I mean
any variety. What else is even going to be there at launch?
Oh yeah. 1 2 Switch.
It's basically a mini game collection meant for people who have friends. If the game isn't packed in with the console, I won't buy it. I think we all see it for what it is: an attempt at a new Wii Sports. Maybe it will do well. I doubt it, but I thought Wii Sports was dumb too and that turned out to be one of their biggest games ever.
The controllers are what surprised me the most. I had not expected them to bring back motion controls at all. My first thought was that it was a bad decision. Maybe Nintendo's improved the tech. Maybe it will work well in some games. But if games force you to use motion controls like the Wii did on a PORTABLE system, it's going to get weird. I mean waving-your-hands-around-like-a-mad-man-in-public kinds of weird.
The Rumble HD feature of the Joy Cons (look how many ice cubes he can fit in his controller) does seem pretty cool. That's the kind of thing I can see becoming a new industry standard, especially with VR. Assuming it works as advertised.
The co-op multiplayer aspect of the controllers is also win. But damn if the things don't look tiny. On the go it'll be fine, but you're going to need more of them for when the system is docked (imo) and these things are pricey. 80 bucks a pop!
Other than that, I think this hardware is A+ stuff. But I already felt that way before the presentation. The idea of the Switch - a portable console with the power of a home console (at least a Nintendo home console) - is awesome. 300 bucks is a fair price.
My feelings of the games:
ARMS: First impression: meh. But if the game has some depth to it and you can play it with standard controls, it could be cool.
Splatoon 2: looks exactly the same as the first one. But that's fine, I guess, for online possibilities below.
Super Mario Odyssey: Yes. One of the best-looking Mario games in a long time. Since Galaxy at least.
Puyo Puyo Tetris, Ultra Street Fighter 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Bomberman, Sonic Mania, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Will buy.
Just Dance, Fifa 20XX, Minecraft: Nah.
All of the JRPGs: What
stratogustav said.
Best of all: no more region locks! FINALLY. I hadn't expected that at all. It's one of the best features of the original Game Boy and I'm glad to see it come back. It'll be nice to be able to buy games no matter where I am.
The final big announcement was about Nintendo's new online service. Obviously long over due. Nintendo is way behind as far as online gaming goes. No word yet on pricing or features as far as I know, but this is a must. I get that they're iffy on voice chat, but Splatoon needs it. And the idea of having the online features as an app on your phone sounds surprisingly good.
Hopefully they keep the price at or below 60 a year. Their announcement about getting a free NES or SNES game per month was a little confusing. Is it just me, or did it sound like you only get to keep the game for that one month? Lame.
Overall I'm still excited for the system, but I think the presentation would have been way better if Nintendo of America had been put in charge of it. Take a look at the
Switch Treehouse to see what I mean.
Will this be the console to turn things around for Nintendo? No clue. I hope so. Either way, I'm buying it, though not at launch. Super Mario Odyssey is coming out at the end of 2017, so I think I'll probably save my money til then. Knowing Nintendo, that's probably the earliest the Switch will even be reliably stocked in shelves. Ha!
Longest post ever?
