The Wii did not do well enough in latter years either from a hardware or software perspective.
I should have included the GBA. It's early for me.
What exactly do these two things have to do with eachotherTLDR: This seems like more FUD to me that takes attention off the fact that Switch is on track to being one of the most successful platforms ever if not the most successful platform of all time and things have never looked better when it comes to their current and future trajectory in the market.
yes I know, that's why I was talking about the ps4 to ps5 transition, that's kind of parallel with the switch to next switch transition, a transition from a super successfull console (ps4 and switch) that was a successor to one of the biggest failures of the company (ps3 and WiiU). But I've never heard so much concern about the ps5 becoming a new ps3 while the idea that the next switch could fail just like the WiiU is brought up constantly.
The Wii U was some weird horrendously marketed prototype of the Switch and the 3DS ended up selling fairly solidly even though Nintendo didn't support it with the right software out the gate.
Why do I have to be "upset" about something? I've heard the concerns and I just disagree them. This thread is just my take on things.
Counter Point: While I agree that “more beef” on its own wouldn’t be enough, I wouldn’t worry because there hasn’t been a slowdown in software momentum, and there aren’t any signs of that happening - A Direct is likely in the next month or two, then whatever takes the place of E3, then an Autumn Direct, and where barren spells might have existed in the past, it’s forgotten that on the Switch, all of the 3DS/portable teams will develop software for the one platform, along with their Wii (U)/home console teams. They’ll always have gimmicks. Some will be out of the box, such as the split controls and HD Rumble. Others won’t - See Labo and Ring Fit. The rest are still to come in some capacity, for example, the stylus and different form factors. I also don’t feel that one can underestimate the impact of the pandemic (which isn’t over, by the way) on internal events and development schedules. To address how they’ll address Game Pass, etc. - The Booster Course Pass and Splatoon 3 support are a few steps they’ve taken to keep users invested and active; I suspect we’ll see more in that spirit.
The 3DS was more then not being supported by the right software out the gate. We can see this in the price cut that happened not long after. The Drake will be fine even without a powerhouse roster of 1st party IP.
I also think the Pandemic and the supply constraint that occurred really rattled them. Which honestly, may support a more safe approach to the next console. The Switch is still popular. The hybrid form factor is still popular and probably the best form factor for Nintendo. Nobody is saying they are particularly tired of the Switch. They just want a more powerful Switch. And it really wouldn't be a Wii U situation because even though they modeled it as a the next step for the Wii Brand, the form factor was different with that giant Leap Frog controller.
For that analogy to be comparable, the Wii would have to sell over 18M units in its sixth year in the market, and recieve three potential 10M+ sellers (KFL, Splatoon 3, Nintendo Switch Sports) and one potential 30M+ million seller (SV), on top of all of the other landmark titles like Xenoblade 3, Bayonetta 3 and Fire emblem Engage.
One thing to consider is that the games that are the base of all of our nostalgia when we were young, Mario 64, OOT, Animal Crossing (GCN), Smash Melee, Mario Strikers, Mario Galaxy were games with small to medium sales (at least under current standards), ranging from 2.3M to 13M. Now imagine this: All of their respective sequels/new games in the switch generation have been 20M+ sellers, which means that the fanbase of those games has grown significantly. AC went from a 2M seller to a 40M seller in three console generations. Even pokemon has grown somehow, selling significantly more than the 3rd/4th/5th generations and almost reaching late-90s pokemania levels.
There definitely was a lot less software on it and less excitement from 3rd parties. I remember E3s 2012 2013 for 3DS being very barren outside of the Nintendo announcements and select Japanese 3rd parties. It was a lot of smallish indies like Renegade Kid trying to drum up excitement
That was a strange era in general because at the same time, Nintendo was transitioning to HD game dev for the Wii U and experiencing many of the pain points other companies had already navigated years earlier. And that's on top of the continued split between console and handheld development.
I believe it's been noted that there was a lot of announced and unannounced software for the 3DS that were canned/shelved after it flopped, particularly since it was also failing to sell software. Nintendo "saved" it with the price cut, but it was still a perennial underperformer that routinely missed hardware and software forecasts after that. It was ok at selling some first party games and Monster Hunter, but a lot of other stuff never did particularly well. By the time they got the 3DS on track, I think a lot of devs couldn't be bothered. Capcom is a good example of a publisher that got burned by the 3DS, which is probably why they were so slow to support the Switch.
Underrated post
Idk if it's the "nintendoomed" boogeyman so much as honestly mostly valid concerns that are literally exhibited by Nintendo themselves if you read between the lines.
Oh, I understand that. It's not that Nintendo doesn't have valid concerns, and their corporate ranks are very different than they were prior to the Switch launch. But randos are sure to take a commentary on realistic views internal to the company and paint it as though it's something far more dire, because that's what always happens with such speculation.
Yeah I do agree that some do paint it as a dire scenario, quite annoying and derails discussion. On the other side of the same irrational behavior those who say success is guaranteed for Nintendo are also being very naive (even if I love their positivity)
not being able to support major engines really hurt it. 3DS got unity support waaaay too late, and UE3 was, of course, a nonstarter
I think this is the most realistic outcome, like the 3DS but better and probably sells like 80% of Switch's total as some casuals feel "I already got Mario Kart 8 why do I need another one?". Time will tell though.
source: my ass
Yes we can still blame Covid-19 for a lot. While the worst has passed it has wide reaching consequences felt still. Nintendo has talked about the issues C19 is still presenting (materials, shipping, prices, margins, etc). Never mind other world events that have caused issues or other factors like Nvidia’s chip design.
Wholly absurd take. Most people are actually fine with the current Switch, and software sales reinforce that, in ways that weren't as obvious on the Wii. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Splatoon 3, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 were among the fastest-selling entries in their respective IPs, while Kirby&TFL didn't perform badly, and a Bayonetta 3 boycott failed. On the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2 didn't achieve the same commercial success as the first one, for example. Nobody is owed a new platform - What we REALLY need is for publishers to be better invested in the existing Switch, and if they do that, you will see better performance, and if the game is functioning competently, isn't that the most important thing? NieR: Automata on Switch was this past October, but some would have you believe that it's a toaster, or "long in the tooth" crap. I guess one has to ask at this point if you play games for fun, or specs to impress tryhards on other platforms, which will never eclipse PCs, anyway. The pandemic is real. It hit development as people stayed at home, and it hit manufacturing, too. There is no "Pro". There never was. That entire rumour mill is an industrial scale grift. But a new platform will come - That much is a statement of the bleeding obvious, and it will be so much better because a little patience means that the overall conditions can improve. Also, why is a 7-year cycle out of order for them when other platforms had that and longer? Had they dropped a "Pro", or even new hardware much earlier, when you wanted it, that, too, would be "long in the tooth" today, and considered unfit for a generational purpose. By the time they're ready, the software will be, too, and a shot at higher performance will be more possible.
I think I've been calling it the Nintendo Switch it Up™, but streamlining that to Switch Up™ does present a certain elegance.
Literal Fire Emblem erasure smh
I think the Switch 2 will outsell Switch 1 in the same way PS5 will outsell PS4 and Series will outsell the One
Its true, and more people should be saying this
Switch Enhanced
You really broke things down well here regarding the current state of Nintendo and trends in the industry at large. I also agree that this is the way they'll go.
I disagree with the sentiment that they will simply go for an interative upgrade, and that Nintendo will now just be whatever industry trends are currently present.
I have a feeling Nintendo might do something big with controllers. Or rather, take advantage of the Switch modularity of its implementation. [/speculation]
