So, we're all a whole lot more clued in to the nature of Nintendo's latest Mad Science Experiment. And as is tradition for these sorts of events, we're all penning down our Takes™ of various temperatures about how Nintendo is Doomed, a state they've been in perpetually for at least since the Wii was announced, like a lingering debuff that nobody is sure actually does anything and can't be bothered to deal with. According to the internet at least.
And I, ever the Cool Human, will be no exception.
So here's a proper play-by-play of the whole event, with my thoughts on everything worth thinking about.
As an aside, I'll be focusing on the information provided and the trailers, rather than the presentation itself, so forgive me for not mentioning how well put together the whole event was. Or also the Squid Scientist Man. Or the Yakuza-looking guy representing SEGA. Or Immortal Vampire Todd Howard standing in front of the ending sequence Phantom Blood. Or that adorable translator who was clearly up past his bedtime. Poor guy.
So after the funkiest rave ever to open a press conference, and a brief recap of what we know, we get a worldwide release date of March 3rd, and a price of $299.99(so about £250). That's a good price! £200 was the estimate coming before the event, but considering all the extra tech we now know is packed into the thing, the fact that it's ONLY £50 more is quite impressive. And there's always the possibility of a bundle with less accessories dropping that lower. This is already a shaping up to be a console to appeal to parents buying for their kids, and a price point noticeably lower than Ninty's competitors is certainly going to help with that market.
This online service isn't detailed too much in the conference, but the more I hear about it the more... Nintendo, it seems. An NES game a month which is then taken away again, voice chat relegated to a smartphone app, odd decisions. Very Nintendo decisions. That said, the trial period makes me think they aren't set in stone about this service, so there's still time for them to prove they can make an online service worth paying for.
Now region locking is dead, and good riddance. Though, for a portable console, region locking was never really an option, was it? When your system is designed for travel, you can't have people unable to buy games abroad. Nonetheless, it's a good move.
Thus begins a slick pair of trailers that very nicely showcase the Switch's unique functionality. If they can keep up this level of clarity for their TV ads, the Switch could be an absolute sensation with the same sort of people who picked up the Wii. And unlike the Wii, Switch hasn't sacrificed the immediate appeal to their more dedicated audience to make it so. The in-built local multiplayer via the two Joycons is frankly a work of genius on that part, and one of the most exciting features for me.
The battery life is understandably worrying to some, and I can imagine power packs like the ones made for the 3DS will be a must for anyone wanting to take advantage of that portability. Personally I'm most worried about the Joycon battery life, since I'll be using them even when the console is docked and charging. My hope is that since they're smaller, separate things they'll last longer, but at worst I may have to juggle between using them and the pro controller while they charge.
Thus we get a clearer idea of the size of this thing, and boy is it adorable. The console itself seems about the size of my Kindle Fire tablet, and the Joycons are evidently smaller than your average Amiibo, assuming that new Link is about as big as smash counterpart. They also have a screenshot button, which is a wonderful addition assuming it doesn't have the awful lag the PS4 one does. I'm also pretty damn happy about being able to use the Joycons separately in each hand, which was secretly the best thing about the Wii. Nothing better than not having to have your hands clawed in your lap for relaxing.
And we transition to another slick trailer, this time to show off the various sorceries of the Joycons. These things are PACKED with lovely little oddities that will doubtless be used in weird ways by various developers. Overall, pointless features, but they're the sort of things that always give Nintendo consoles their character. I've no idea how HD rumble(which I'm sure is actual sorcery) is going to get used in the future, but god am I excited to find out.
The first new game shown off in the presentation seems built for that kind of showing off. 1 2 Switch looks like a lot of fun, a kind of Warioware game for showing off the Joycons at parties or the like. It's the sort of thing I'm 100% down for, but my worry is that it's seemingly coming out as a full priced game, when it would likely serve better as a bundled game with the console. Inevitably there will be bundles released with it though, so just because it's not doing a Wii Sports doesn't mean it won't find it place. And I hope it does, because there's nothing more fun at social gatherings than pratting about with incredibly dumb videogames. It's also a bit of an odd one out in this conference, being the only game that isn't geared towards "hardcore" fans in some way, so it's odd that they'd open with it.
Next we get Arms, or Punch-Out with a sugar rush and an adrenaline shot. Honestly, this looks like a blast. Lots of over the top characters, a theme that reminds me of Monday Night Combat with some lessons learned from Overwatch. I'll need to see the sorts of modes available before I know if I'm fully on board, but I'd definitely listening.
And now Splatoon continues to be as perfect as always, made perfect-er with hairstyles(tentacle styles?), pro-ass duel guns with dodges, a killer soundtrack, and the yet more absolutely brilliant art design in that amazing world. And god, I can't get over Marie standing all dramatic-like in full Adam Jensen getup. I hope that shot means there's going to be an expanded story mode with some mad shit about global conspiracies. Maybe Callie and Marie came to a disagreement during a secret mission in their secret lives and split up to pursue solo careers, while investigating the same case separately with different methods. Marie with the support of the SIA(Squid Intelligence Agency), and Callie as the rogue cop who'll break all the rules to get justice. I'll stop now.
Super Mario Odyssey. This looks incredible on all fronts. There's something genuinely divine about performing the acrobatics in 3D Mario games, and this new open world approach is PERFECT for bringing that to the forefront. The interaction with the environment of New Donk City(NEW DONK CITY) and the various other locations looks incredible in so many ways. And it just looks an absolute joy to play. Even just watching it fills my heart with unfathomable glee. It's a shame it's missing out on launch, but nonetheless I am intensely excited for this.
Yet somehow the next trailer made me more excited than anything else in this conference.
The best conferences like this always have a game that sends you absolutely wild with happiness and excitement, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was that for me. I missed the Monolithsoft logo because I was tweeting, so for me it was a slow realisation of what I was watching, culminating in that spectacular scene at the end mimicking the Xenoblade 1 title screen, with equally gorgeous music. I've some spoilery theories on what the story appears to be, though I'm certain it's a direct sequel to the first rather than a new story like X was. I might even make a whole post about them. Needless to say, this is without a doubt one of my most anticipated games on Switch, and I'm pretty excited for a LOT of Switch games. Here's hoping for English Voice acting as amazing as the first game's.
Koei Tecmo is making a Fire Emblem musou game. That's a thing. I am positively affected by this.
Ok, in all seriousness, this is cool. I'm not the biggest FE fan, but I'm into it's visuals and what I know of the story, so I'm on board here.
Shin Megami Tensei now, and again, I'm not exactly a superfan. I mean, I liked the chunk of 4 I've played, but it's vague directives have left me at a dead end and I'm not exactly jumping back in. I did finish Tokyo Mirage Sessions though? I need to see more, but I think I'll probably pick this up at SOME point. Not much else I can say.
"Huh, this Squeenix RPG thing looks gorgeous. Sort of Last Story meets Bravely Default meets Fire Emblem. I'm down for thi-"
"Project Octopath Traveler"
*laughs forever*
But in all seriousness, I've heard great things about the Bravely Default games and this, from the same people, looks to be my jam. Count me in.
Skyrim is happening again. Consider me neutral to this event.
Supposedly, Suda was a bit tipsy when announcing No More Heroes 3, which feels somehow appropriate. He's properly involved in development for the first time in ages for it, so it should be fun to see. Following the excellent Let It Die, I've high hopes.
Sports is also happening. Good for it, I'm sure people will be very happy. Unless it's another shitty port of the PS3/Xbox360 version like it was for WiiU. Then happiness won't be guaranteed.
And a montage with a few nice titbits to be gleaned, like confirmation of a Disgaea title and that Sonic Generations follow-up making their way to the console, among others. This seems as good a time as any to mention though, not a lot of these are in the launch window. Or at least, not as much as might be hoped. That's no worry for the most die-hard fans, who will surely be playing Zelda for long enough, but in terms of getting a wide audience quickly, it could do with a bulk-up.
Briefly we get a rundown of what comes with the switch, and there's nothing surprising there. Console, Joycons, dock, wrist-straps, Joycon grip and cables. Pro controller is a separate purchase, and it's got a semi-transparent cover, which is objectively the most stylish of console/controller designs and I won't hear otherwise.
And so, after a brief showing from Reggie, Miyamoto and Aonuma, we get a spectacular trailer for Breath of the Wild. Damn does that game look good. And what a trailer too, excellently done. Xenoblade 2 made me get incredibly giddy and excited, but Zelda remains my most anticipated game for Switch I feel, if only because it feels so close. And damn, what better game to have on launch day. This is going to be GOOD.
So yeah, that's that Switch conference. Hopefully there are some more launch titles and launch window releases to help it get the success it deserves, but personally? I was sold from before the conference began. I'll always support Nintendo for putting fun first. For being a beacon of personality amongst other companies. Sure that's in broad strokes, it's a company like all the others, made of many people with different priorities, but the broad strokes matter to me, and a whole lot of other people.
And on a practical level, I truly believe the Switch as a concept is the future of games. Being able to bring your games on the go sacrifice is never going to become an obsolete idea, even if the Switch were to fail (and I don't think it will), the idea would remain, and resurface. Even if future iterations don't share the name, the Switch's DNA will exist forever, as the first console to take the plunge.
I'll support it weather it becomes the next Wii, or the Dreamcast 3. But I've faith that it will be successful, and if not, that it will at least persist.
And I, ever the Cool Human, will be no exception.
So here's a proper play-by-play of the whole event, with my thoughts on everything worth thinking about.
As an aside, I'll be focusing on the information provided and the trailers, rather than the presentation itself, so forgive me for not mentioning how well put together the whole event was. Or also the Squid Scientist Man. Or the Yakuza-looking guy representing SEGA. Or Immortal Vampire Todd Howard standing in front of the ending sequence Phantom Blood. Or that adorable translator who was clearly up past his bedtime. Poor guy.
So after the funkiest rave ever to open a press conference, and a brief recap of what we know, we get a worldwide release date of March 3rd, and a price of $299.99(so about £250). That's a good price! £200 was the estimate coming before the event, but considering all the extra tech we now know is packed into the thing, the fact that it's ONLY £50 more is quite impressive. And there's always the possibility of a bundle with less accessories dropping that lower. This is already a shaping up to be a console to appeal to parents buying for their kids, and a price point noticeably lower than Ninty's competitors is certainly going to help with that market.
This online service isn't detailed too much in the conference, but the more I hear about it the more... Nintendo, it seems. An NES game a month which is then taken away again, voice chat relegated to a smartphone app, odd decisions. Very Nintendo decisions. That said, the trial period makes me think they aren't set in stone about this service, so there's still time for them to prove they can make an online service worth paying for.
Now region locking is dead, and good riddance. Though, for a portable console, region locking was never really an option, was it? When your system is designed for travel, you can't have people unable to buy games abroad. Nonetheless, it's a good move.
Thus begins a slick pair of trailers that very nicely showcase the Switch's unique functionality. If they can keep up this level of clarity for their TV ads, the Switch could be an absolute sensation with the same sort of people who picked up the Wii. And unlike the Wii, Switch hasn't sacrificed the immediate appeal to their more dedicated audience to make it so. The in-built local multiplayer via the two Joycons is frankly a work of genius on that part, and one of the most exciting features for me.
The battery life is understandably worrying to some, and I can imagine power packs like the ones made for the 3DS will be a must for anyone wanting to take advantage of that portability. Personally I'm most worried about the Joycon battery life, since I'll be using them even when the console is docked and charging. My hope is that since they're smaller, separate things they'll last longer, but at worst I may have to juggle between using them and the pro controller while they charge.
Thus we get a clearer idea of the size of this thing, and boy is it adorable. The console itself seems about the size of my Kindle Fire tablet, and the Joycons are evidently smaller than your average Amiibo, assuming that new Link is about as big as smash counterpart. They also have a screenshot button, which is a wonderful addition assuming it doesn't have the awful lag the PS4 one does. I'm also pretty damn happy about being able to use the Joycons separately in each hand, which was secretly the best thing about the Wii. Nothing better than not having to have your hands clawed in your lap for relaxing.
And we transition to another slick trailer, this time to show off the various sorceries of the Joycons. These things are PACKED with lovely little oddities that will doubtless be used in weird ways by various developers. Overall, pointless features, but they're the sort of things that always give Nintendo consoles their character. I've no idea how HD rumble(which I'm sure is actual sorcery) is going to get used in the future, but god am I excited to find out.
The first new game shown off in the presentation seems built for that kind of showing off. 1 2 Switch looks like a lot of fun, a kind of Warioware game for showing off the Joycons at parties or the like. It's the sort of thing I'm 100% down for, but my worry is that it's seemingly coming out as a full priced game, when it would likely serve better as a bundled game with the console. Inevitably there will be bundles released with it though, so just because it's not doing a Wii Sports doesn't mean it won't find it place. And I hope it does, because there's nothing more fun at social gatherings than pratting about with incredibly dumb videogames. It's also a bit of an odd one out in this conference, being the only game that isn't geared towards "hardcore" fans in some way, so it's odd that they'd open with it.
Next we get Arms, or Punch-Out with a sugar rush and an adrenaline shot. Honestly, this looks like a blast. Lots of over the top characters, a theme that reminds me of Monday Night Combat with some lessons learned from Overwatch. I'll need to see the sorts of modes available before I know if I'm fully on board, but I'd definitely listening.
And now Splatoon continues to be as perfect as always, made perfect-er with hairstyles(tentacle styles?), pro-ass duel guns with dodges, a killer soundtrack, and the yet more absolutely brilliant art design in that amazing world. And god, I can't get over Marie standing all dramatic-like in full Adam Jensen getup. I hope that shot means there's going to be an expanded story mode with some mad shit about global conspiracies. Maybe Callie and Marie came to a disagreement during a secret mission in their secret lives and split up to pursue solo careers, while investigating the same case separately with different methods. Marie with the support of the SIA(Squid Intelligence Agency), and Callie as the rogue cop who'll break all the rules to get justice. I'll stop now.
Super Mario Odyssey. This looks incredible on all fronts. There's something genuinely divine about performing the acrobatics in 3D Mario games, and this new open world approach is PERFECT for bringing that to the forefront. The interaction with the environment of New Donk City(NEW DONK CITY) and the various other locations looks incredible in so many ways. And it just looks an absolute joy to play. Even just watching it fills my heart with unfathomable glee. It's a shame it's missing out on launch, but nonetheless I am intensely excited for this.
Yet somehow the next trailer made me more excited than anything else in this conference.
The best conferences like this always have a game that sends you absolutely wild with happiness and excitement, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was that for me. I missed the Monolithsoft logo because I was tweeting, so for me it was a slow realisation of what I was watching, culminating in that spectacular scene at the end mimicking the Xenoblade 1 title screen, with equally gorgeous music. I've some spoilery theories on what the story appears to be, though I'm certain it's a direct sequel to the first rather than a new story like X was. I might even make a whole post about them. Needless to say, this is without a doubt one of my most anticipated games on Switch, and I'm pretty excited for a LOT of Switch games. Here's hoping for English Voice acting as amazing as the first game's.
Koei Tecmo is making a Fire Emblem musou game. That's a thing. I am positively affected by this.
Ok, in all seriousness, this is cool. I'm not the biggest FE fan, but I'm into it's visuals and what I know of the story, so I'm on board here.
Shin Megami Tensei now, and again, I'm not exactly a superfan. I mean, I liked the chunk of 4 I've played, but it's vague directives have left me at a dead end and I'm not exactly jumping back in. I did finish Tokyo Mirage Sessions though? I need to see more, but I think I'll probably pick this up at SOME point. Not much else I can say.
"Huh, this Squeenix RPG thing looks gorgeous. Sort of Last Story meets Bravely Default meets Fire Emblem. I'm down for thi-"
"Project Octopath Traveler"
*laughs forever*
But in all seriousness, I've heard great things about the Bravely Default games and this, from the same people, looks to be my jam. Count me in.
Skyrim is happening again. Consider me neutral to this event.
Supposedly, Suda was a bit tipsy when announcing No More Heroes 3, which feels somehow appropriate. He's properly involved in development for the first time in ages for it, so it should be fun to see. Following the excellent Let It Die, I've high hopes.
Sports is also happening. Good for it, I'm sure people will be very happy. Unless it's another shitty port of the PS3/Xbox360 version like it was for WiiU. Then happiness won't be guaranteed.
And a montage with a few nice titbits to be gleaned, like confirmation of a Disgaea title and that Sonic Generations follow-up making their way to the console, among others. This seems as good a time as any to mention though, not a lot of these are in the launch window. Or at least, not as much as might be hoped. That's no worry for the most die-hard fans, who will surely be playing Zelda for long enough, but in terms of getting a wide audience quickly, it could do with a bulk-up.
Briefly we get a rundown of what comes with the switch, and there's nothing surprising there. Console, Joycons, dock, wrist-straps, Joycon grip and cables. Pro controller is a separate purchase, and it's got a semi-transparent cover, which is objectively the most stylish of console/controller designs and I won't hear otherwise.
And so, after a brief showing from Reggie, Miyamoto and Aonuma, we get a spectacular trailer for Breath of the Wild. Damn does that game look good. And what a trailer too, excellently done. Xenoblade 2 made me get incredibly giddy and excited, but Zelda remains my most anticipated game for Switch I feel, if only because it feels so close. And damn, what better game to have on launch day. This is going to be GOOD.
So yeah, that's that Switch conference. Hopefully there are some more launch titles and launch window releases to help it get the success it deserves, but personally? I was sold from before the conference began. I'll always support Nintendo for putting fun first. For being a beacon of personality amongst other companies. Sure that's in broad strokes, it's a company like all the others, made of many people with different priorities, but the broad strokes matter to me, and a whole lot of other people.
And on a practical level, I truly believe the Switch as a concept is the future of games. Being able to bring your games on the go sacrifice is never going to become an obsolete idea, even if the Switch were to fail (and I don't think it will), the idea would remain, and resurface. Even if future iterations don't share the name, the Switch's DNA will exist forever, as the first console to take the plunge.
I'll support it weather it becomes the next Wii, or the Dreamcast 3. But I've faith that it will be successful, and if not, that it will at least persist.
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