Discussion Coming from the Wii U gen, does the Switch gen almost feel like it's playing out like a fan fiction?

[Kreese]

Imagine telling your former self in the Wii U generation that Nintendo would go on to create the Switch and have:

• the fastest selling console ever
• breaking overall software sales records as well
• ample third party support
• a platform driven by core franchises
• Nintendo pushing the most revolutionary and advanced emergent open world and physics gameplay systems with games like TOTK leading the charge
• a platform that would also have arguably the best 2D Metroid ever

I wouldn't have believed any of this and called it fan fiction but here we are...

 

[ReyVGM]

I haven't seen this much 3rd party support for a Nintendo console since the SNES days!

 

[Kreese]

I haven't seen this much 3rd party support for a Nintendo console since the SNES days!

Yep, thousands of amazing Indie titles, not to mention remasters of many of the best games ever, also games like Doom Eternal, The Witcher 3, Skyrim, MonHun, Nier, great Japanese support and many, many others.

I have over 100 third party titles which is more than any other platform I've ever owned.

 

[JorgenRaft]

Their handheld consoles pretty much always sell really well with a lot of 1st and 3rd party software to support it, so it hasn't been that shocking IMO.

Something I'd consider fan fiction would be something more along the lines of them releasing a home exclusive console with hardware up to par with the other guys that ended up being just as successful and supported as Switch.

 

[Kreese]

Their handheld consoles pretty much always sell really well with a lot of 1st and 3rd party software to support it, so it hasn't been that shocking IMO.

Something I'd consider fan fiction would be something more along the lines of them releasing a home exclusive console with hardware up to par with the other guys.

It's very much the console experience and console games are driving it unlike Nintendo's (less profitable) dedicated handhelds.

Hardware power is seeing considerable diminishing returns to the point where Nintendo's own games like TOTK are more impressive to developers than games designed from the ground up on platforms several times more powerful.

Switch offers a fantastic home console and portable experience when considering the quality of its library and to be frank it's obvious they now have command over the best and most versatile hybrid form factor moving forward and are not "tethered" to the tv.

 

[chocolate_supra]

If during the WiiU generation someone had told me Square would come back and flood Nintendo's next system with RPGs new and old I woulda said "fanfiction." Just that alone has blown my mind.

 

[Machrider]

The third party support in terms of the bigger ticket IP is still lacking.

I would say the Wii/DS is honestly a bigger miracle, but Switch is right up there.

 

[GamerJM]

Seeing the console get third-party support at first did remind me a bit of this GameFAQs post I made back in the day.

A lot of these actually seem less farfetched now, though some of them not as much. The TMNT Turtles in Time sequel actually did sorta end up happening, not by WayForward but by a similar indie dev.

Also, re-reading this, it feels like a huge missed opportunity that LucasArts never let some indie dev make a 2D sidescrolling Star Wars game in the style of the Super Star Wars games to tie in with the sequel trilogy.

 

[JorgenRaft]

It's very much the console experience and console games are driving it unlike Nintendo's (less profitable) dedicated handhelds.

Handheld gaming is often emulating what a home console experience was giving a couple generations behind and Switch (with some exceptions of course) has pretty much done the same so that’s why that aspect hasn’t been too surprising to me.

 

[ReyVGM]

Yep, thousands of amazing Indie titles, not to mention remasters of many of the best games ever, also games like Doom Eternal, The Witcher 3, Skyrim, MonHun, Nier, great Japanese support and many, many others.

I have over 100 third party titles which is more than any other platform I've ever owned.

Same here.

 

[Kreese]

Handheld gaming is often emulating what a home console experience was giving a couple generations behind and Switch (with some exceptions of course) has pretty much done the same so that’s why that aspect hasn’t been too surprising to me.

With the Switch what we are seeing now are direct console/PC ports on lower settings whereas before they usually built different games entirely because the handhelds were not equipped for the home experience.

Technology came far enough and returns diminished to the point where Nintendo could feasibly build a hybrid home and portable experience that is good enough to satisfy both segments of the market.

 

[Clov]

Looking at the most important things that have happened in the Switch era: the localization of the original Fire Emblem, the remakes (and localizations) of the first two Famicom Detective Club games, the remakes of Advance Wars 1 and 2, and the wealth of Jaleco games available for the Nintendo Switch Online service... it really feels like a dream. I never would have guessed we'd get this much good stuff after the Wii U!

 

[meatbag]

I know the Stinky Horse game razzled everyone’s minds, but we’re not living in a fanfiction, don’t worry

 

[lexony]

I know the Stinky Horse game razzled everyone’s minds, but we’re not living in a fanfiction, don’t worry

That we are getting a new 1 2 Switch before a new Mariokart game sounds like made up by some 4chan troll though

 

[Reinhard Schneider]

The Switch feels kinda like a monkey paw-ish fanboy twitter fanfic.

Console is a sales hit, has gathered amazing third party support, impossible ports no developer would have bothered to tackle on Wii U, the NSO controllers for retro fans, the amount and variety of retro content on the eShop, Xenoblade achieving the relevant series status...

But then the console is, in practice, a slightly more powerful Wii U - form factor notwhistanding -, NSO is a paid service and the eShop is ridden with shovelware.

 

[PixelKnight]

The Switch feels kinda like a monkey paw-ish fanboy twitter fanfic.

Console is a sales hit, has gathered amazing third party support, impossible ports no developer would have bothered to tackle on Wii U, the NSO controllers for retro fans, the amount and variety of retro content on the eShop, Xenoblade achieving the relevant series status...

But then the console is, in practice, a slightly more powerful Wii U - form factor notwhistanding -, NSO is a paid service and the eShop is ridden with shovelware.

From my perspective as someone who only uses portables, the Switch is an amazing step-up from the 3DS for me. All of my favourite series have great entries on one device I can use as a portable, the same way I’ve always done. I don’t really mind NSO (I’ll probably unsubscribe once I’m done with the last Sunbreak update as MonHun is the only online game I play, and £1.50 a month felt ok to me). As for the eshop, it’s more that it chugs along that bothers me as it makes browsing a pain. Being riddled with shovelware is just part of being a leading platform I think.

 

[chocolate_supra]

Seeing the console get third-party support at first did remind me a bit of this GameFAQs post I made back in the day.

Hell yeah Chrono Break

 

[TheMindOfThomas]

Also, re-reading this, it feels like a huge missed opportunity that LucasArts never let some indie dev make a 2D sidescrolling Star Wars game in the style of the Super Star Wars games to tie in with the sequel trilogy.

This is a genius idea. Thanks for making me want something that will never exist lmao

 

[Xaltmas]

Some of the titles do read like a wishlist.

NEO The World Ends with You
No More Heroes 3
Deadly Premonition 2
Shin Megami Tensei V
Metroid Dread
Bayonetta 3

 

[Jersh]

That we are getting a new 1 2 Switch before a new Mariokart game sounds like made up by some 4chan troll though

I would've believed we got a second one in a year or two

The bizarre part is that it took six and there's still no Mario Kart

 

[lexony]

I would've believed we got a second one in a year or two

The bizarre part is that it took six and there's still no Mario Kart

Yeah the six year time is what it makes it really bizarre.

 

[Joe]

I still think about how everyone laughed when Kimishima said he expected the Switch to outsell the Wii in its lifetime.

 

[MusicProposition]

Imagine telling your former self in the Wii U generation that Nintendo would go on to create the Switch and have:

• the fastest selling console ever
• breaking overall software sales records as well
• ample third party support
• a platform driven by core franchises
• Nintendo pushing the most revolutionary and advanced emergent open world and physics gameplay systems with games like TOTK leading the charge
• a platform that would also have arguably the best 2D Metroid ever

I wouldn't have believed any of this and called it fan fiction but here we are...

Sales numbers are no fan fiction to me. I’m happy it sells well when deserved, and that’s it. Yeah, Zelda and Metroid are in a very good spot and overall I’d say that the Switch is my favorite Nintendo console.

HOWEVER no original 2D Mario, DK or Mario Kart are a downer for me, I also expected more from Odyssey or some bigger sequel and the current state of the Mario RPGs (AlphaDreams bankruptcy and Paper Mario) is also not what I’d consider “fan fiction”.

 

[julian]

I would've believed we got a second one in a year or two

The bizarre part is that it took six and there's still no Mario Kart

It’s crazier because if you told a Wii U owner that you won’t just not get another Mario Kart for at least 10 years, but what you will get is DLC for the game you’re already playing but years into the next system’s life.

 

[Mango]

Everything about the Switch feels amazing when thinking back to the Wii U.

 

[Pennington]

It does seem a bit like fan fiction, but for me it's more a feeling that it isn't being made by the same people who originated it.

 

[Romancedawn]

Switch era has ushered in true fan fiction!

Zelda becoming open world and blowing me the eF away not once but twice now is still a little surreal to me. But not only did it blow me away it apparently had enough of an impact that Pokémon and Sonic stepped their aspirins up! Pokémon and Mario haven’t reached my truest fanfic visions but what they are attempting is more than what I would have dreamed possible so far.

Ridley in Smash? Some thought it was too fanficky but here we are.

On the 3rd party front Sonic Mania was made during this era and there is mode to play Sonic with Knuckles. Sonic & Knuckles! In the way that I dreamed! & Knuckles!

 

[ILovethegameAC]

Kinda, the 3DS was doing well at the same time, so it's not a complete 180, however it is true that the Switch has gotten much more hype and support than the 3DS too, I loved that console but I remember how even most of it's most popular games paled in comparison to the average AAA console games in terms of hype, and it's third party support was mostly limited to a few japanese companies.

 

[RennanNT]

• the fastest selling console ever

Not anymore though. PS5 had the fastest start, Wii was the fastest in the first ~2 years and the DS simply put everyone to dust afterwards (three years of ~30 mi units sold in a row).

Niptick apart, here's some more for the list:

• "Zelda U" is going to outsell all mainline Pokemon games including RGB.
• The Wii U successor doubles down on playing with a tablet and it made more profit than Wii and DS combined.
• Nintendo second best selling game is a remaster.

 

[Kreese]

Not anymore though. PS5 had the fastest start, Wii was the fastest in the first ~2 years and the DS simply put everyone to dust afterwards (three years of ~30 mi units sold in a row).

Niptick apart, here's some more for the list:

• "Zelda U" is going to outsell all mainline Pokemon games including RGB.
• The Wii U successor doubles down on playing with a tablet and it made more profit than Wii and DS combined.
• Nintendo second best selling game is a remaster.

It goes back and forth depending on holiday seasons reports, but Switch went into a beast mode that I don't think will be replicated and no device has ever sold so well this late in the game.

If it sticks around long enough it will easily become the best selling platform ever.

 

[fourfourfun]

I often wonder how pivotal that Doom port was, the sheer amount of coverage "the impossible port" got that led to a succession of games managing to cram down onto Switch.

The seams are bustin', but I often can't believe I'm playing No Mans Sky on a handheld.

 

[Rooster]

Haven't thought of it that way, but I guess so.

The one thing my fan-fiction would have is the return of more dormant IPs. Though I suppose that might still be remedied. Hopefully before the next thing is known so it doesn't impede their sales potential.

 

[RennanNT]

It goes back and forth depending on holiday seasons reports,

That was the case between Switch and PS4, but not with DS. 24 quarters in, the Switch was at 122.5 mi after last holidays, while at the same timeframe the DS was at 135.6 mi by Sep 30th (2010).

but Switch went into a beast mode that I don't think will be replicated and no device has ever sold so well this late in the game.

The Switch had an amazing run and the best "6th year" of any console (17.97 in the last FY), but the DS just had an even more amazing run thus far (and even it's 6th full fiscal year was just half a million below Switch, at 17.52). To illustrate, here's the Top 10 FY for vg consoles:

1.DS	2.DS	3.Switch	4.DS	5.Wii	6.DS	7.Switch	8.PS2	9. Switch	10. Wii
31.18	30.31	28.83	27.11	25.95	23.56	23.06	22.52	21.03	20.53

DS had incomparable explosion in sales and PS2 incomparable legs. Switch will have better legs than the DS going forwards (launch aligned, 3DS just launched) and has a decent chance of surpassing them, depending on Nintendo plans, but "easily" is far from how I would describe it though.

Edit: For those interested in sales, here's some really good data and graphs comparing PS5, Switch, Wii, DS and PS2 sales over the years.

 

[Aostia82]

Imagine telling your former self in the Wii U generation that Nintendo would go on to create the Switch and have:

• the fastest selling console ever
• breaking overall software sales records as well
• ample third party support
• a platform driven by core franchises
• Nintendo pushing the most revolutionary and advanced emergent open world and physics gameplay systems with games like TOTK leading the charge
• a platform that would also have arguably the best 2D Metroid ever

I wouldn't have believed any of this and called it fan fiction but here we are...

 

[Marce-chan]

Yes. The fanfiction I had in my dreams by 2015 of what a Wii U hybrid successor would be, what its games would be like, how it would sell and how its games would sell, and the insane grow in franchise sales is exactly what Switch became. In fact, it even surpassed that.

Let's not forget when everyone bashed Ryng for the "Smash is gonna sell 25M copies", now it's on 30. Or how the sales predictions for Super Mario Odyssey, the most optimistic ones, guessed what it would do in 2 months. Or how Animal Crossing came from 12M to 40M+ which before Switch was only ever managed by NES SMB and Wii Sports by Nintendo.

Also the library is stunning. Xenoblade and Fire Emblem receiving multiple entries, Metroid receiving multiple entries(I mean even Dread name being brought back was fan fiction by everyone and it happened lol), 2 open world Zelda's, Smash with everyone + all the most insane third party characters possible, Odyssey being a celebration of its own franchise with a realistic city, DK references and Pauline as Mayor.

Third party wise too. Mortal Kombat came back to Nintendo platforms after 13 years. Then it comes with another entry that even gonna skip PS4/XBO. And that's gonna have Khameleon!! That was totally my fanfic dream. Bethesda going all in too. The most impressive indie library of anywhere but Steam. A very healthy indie scene with indie games selling most there.

 

[wolftendo]

Something as simple as waking the switch up from sleep with the press of a button, and getting instant access to your game sounds like fanfiction coming from the Wii U, where accessing the system menu from BOTW would require the game to spend an eternity loading.

You know, people are 100% within their right to criticize Nintendo for their lack of customization options (themes) and the more plain interface this generation but just having an absolute snappy experience feels like a dream come true. Yeah, I had so many cool themes in my PS4 but the experience of turning the console on (I never used sleep mode because I almost always would find that the console turned off because of some short late-night power outage) and loading a game makes it feel several generations behind the switch tbh.

 

[ProteusRidley]

Not enough sequels to games that haven't seen the light in forever. When we get sequels to Ice Climbers, Mach Rider, Custom Robo, Lost Kingdoms, F-Zero, Golden Sun and Star Fox than yes, it will be a fan fic d:

 

[boodream]

The third party support in terms of the bigger ticket IP is still lacking.

I would say the Wii/DS is honestly a bigger miracle, but Switch is right up there.

In terms of sales, the Wii/DS era did better, but that wasn't really fan fiction. Consoles that offer you games as fantastic as Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 or Zelda Spirit Tracks and Phantom Of Hourglass BUT require you to use motion capture or a stylus, it felt like the darkest timeline to me, clearly.

Hell, script-wise, Skyward Sword is one of my favorite Zelda games, and I'd never have played it on Wii, but like, never.

This is the era that drove me away from Nintendo, personally.

 

[Dekuman]

This generation has gone off even better than i expected.

Is that fan fiction? It feels like a Super Nintendo in HD generation to me

 

[Machrider]

In terms of sales, the Wii/DS era did better, but that wasn't really fan fiction. Consoles that offer you games as fantastic as Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 or Zelda Spirit Tracks and Phantom Of Hourglass BUT require you to use motion capture or a stylus, it felt like the darkest timeline to me, clearly.

Hell, script-wise, Skyward Sword is one of my favorite Zelda games, and I'd never have played it on Wii, but like, never.

This is the era that drove me away from Nintendo, personally.

I mean I agree, I actually don't even mind the Wii U per se, I prefer it to the Wii in a lot of ways, Wii with it's emphasis on casual gaming and ugly SD visuals was a lot more of a turn off.

But people forget now how dark things looked for Nintendo in say early-ish 2005, when the PSP launched the DS was the butt end of many jokes believe it or not, people were like "this is a real handheld, and now Sony will destroy Nintendo's portable market just like the Playstation has on the home market".

This meme became sorta famous on gaming boards shortly after the PSP had a red hot launch in North America ... like the DS was being laughed at and everyone thought Nintendo was toast.


To go from this point to in about 2 years completely dominating the PSP and the Wii trouncing the PS3 as well would have been so unthinkable.

 

[PixelKnight]

I mean I agree, I actually don't even mind the Wii U per se, I prefer it to the Wii in a lot of ways, Wii with it's emphasis on casual gaming and ugly SD visuals was a lot more of a turn off.

But people forget now how dark things looked for Nintendo in say early-ish 2005, when the PSP launched the DS was the butt end of many jokes believe it or not, people were like "this is a real handheld, and now Sony will destroy Nintendo's portable market just like the Playstation has on the home market".

This meme became sorta famous on gaming boards shortly after the PSP had a red hot launch in North America ... like the DS was being laughed at and everyone thought Nintendo was toast.


To go from this point to in about 2 years completely dominating the PSP and the Wii trouncing the PS3 as well would have been so unthinkable.

I think the DS Lite design helped a lot to sell the concept. It was slim and sleeker rather than looking bulky, I remember having a DSL with a stylus in my suit pocket at work, I’d see people quietly tapping away at them a lot more on my commute than the original. One of those points where a product redesign was critical rather than just a tech upgrade combined with the new lower cost of materials a few years down the line.

To be fair when Vita was revealed you had a short period where plenty of people thought it was going to trounce the 3DS too, again due to being something seemingly reliable and easy to grasp as ‘console games on the go’, while the 3DS felt a bit undercooked at launch. Sony’s launch support was interesting, as was the third party stuff (some better than others but hey that’s often the case at launch), but the first party support just fled the device shortly afterwards, meanwhile Nintendo righted the ship on 3DS with a price cut and when the big hitters started landing on it.

 

[boodream]

I mean I agree, I actually don't even mind the Wii U per se, I prefer it to the Wii in a lot of ways, Wii with it's emphasis on casual gaming and ugly SD visuals was a lot more of a turn off.

But people forget now how dark things looked for Nintendo in say early-ish 2005, when the PSP launched the DS was the butt end of many jokes believe it or not, people were like "this is a real handheld, and now Sony will destroy Nintendo's portable market just like the Playstation has on the home market".

This meme became sorta famous on gaming boards shortly after the PSP had a red hot launch in North America ... like the DS was being laughed at and everyone thought Nintendo was toast.


To go from this point to in about 2 years completely dominating the PSP and the Wii trouncing the PS3 as well would have been so unthinkable.

I completely agree with you, thé décisions made, in particular thanks ro Iwata at that time just saved the company whose survival was threatened. So from that perspective, it’s a miracle, as you say.

However, I don’t think it’s a fanfiction. As a fan, I didn’t come up with a console that would target my grandmother more than me. Or that forces me to play a certain way.

It’s great that a lot of people, including fans, really liked it. But not leacung the choice, imposing this casual approach without leaving any alternative, it was not a utopia. Commercially it’s a miracle, for many people who loved Nintendo it was a nightmare too. The switch is much better at reconciling the two approaches because it allows everyone to play as they want. That is what was missing at that time.

 

[Evil Lucario]

I mean, the Wii/DS had its own fanfiction moments. Bringing back Excite, Punch-Out, Sin and Punishment, ushering in cool motion controls with Wii Sports/Red Steel 2, Virtual Console, I could go on and those are just on the Wii side, to say nothing on the DS.

Switch also has that, though, with Metroid Dread, Famicom Detective Club, 3D Kirby finally, the entire hybrid setup, etc.

So it's safe to say that they bring out stuff regularly that seems like fanfiction.

 

[Machrider]

I'll put it this way, like when the PSP launched and it had a solid launch, it was the "cool new thing" in the US for a while and it was even outselling the DS initially in Japan for a lot of weeks ... people thought Nintendo really was on the ropes and was going to go third party like Sega did with the Dreamcast. The console side with the GameCube was ugly obviously at that point too.

Just putting that into context, the idea that like within 16-18 months Nintendo would be dominating both the PS3 and PSP seemed like a complete fantasy at that time.

 

[9-Volt]

Nah, it's a natural evolution but not for Wii U. Nintendo home console line died with Wii U. It never was Nintendo's strong suit since SNES (not even with Wii, sold well but struggled for 3rd party support). Switch carried on both 3DS's (and DS) and Vita(and PSP)'s legacy quite nicely. It's the ultimate handheld, culmination of everything came before it.

 

[ethanswift]

I could only wish next-gen console is the Nintendo Switch U, with more than 29.3 times graphic capability jump just like Wii to Wii U.
Imagine the Nintendo Switch U is 11.5 teraflops when docked & 4.6~5.7 teraflops when portable play.
I could die happily.

 

[Celine]

Kinda, the 3DS was doing well at the same time, so it's not a complete 180, however it is true that the Switch has gotten much more hype and support than the 3DS too, I loved that console but I remember how even most of it's most popular games paled in comparison to the average AAA console games in terms of hype, and it's third party support was mostly limited to a few japanese companies.

Switch is going to end up with several times more third-party game releases at retail than 3DS (like 6-7 times) which I'd call "a complete 180" even when comparing to 3DS.
The number of third-party packaged software released just in the previous fiscal year in America was higher than the entire 3DS lifespan.

Nah, it's a natural evolution but not for Wii U. Nintendo home console line died with Wii U. It never was Nintendo's strong suit since SNES (not even with Wii, sold well but struggled for 3rd party support). Switch carried on both 3DS's (and DS) and Vita(and PSP)'s legacy quite nicely. It's the ultimate handheld, culmination of everything came before it.

Both Nintendo TV and Handheld console lines died to be renovated into the Hybrid console line.
Tie ratio is one of many hints that proves what I've just stated.