Copy-pasted from what I posted on Facebook:
Summing up how I feel about the Nintendo Switch: “Worried,
but hopeful.” It doesn’t quite do
anything new and innovative that we haven’t really seen before. I think this was ultimately what Nintendo
wanted to do with the Wii
U.
Nintendo finally revealed their new system. The system is a home console/portable system
hybrid where you can play games on the TV like a traditional console and take
it along with you like a portable system. Here's a break-down of my thoughts on
the reveal.
Positive/Excited Opinions:
-Name: I don't particularly like the name, but I think it'll
catch on. At the very least it's straight-forward (much like the N64 being a
64-bit console, the Gamecube was cube shaped). The Wii U name caused confusion
and grief for marketing.
-Portable Console Quality: This might be the first time a
portable system has the exact quality of a console (I haven’t played with the
nVidia Shield so I’m not sure if that counts).
-Company Focus: Having to focus on one system that supports
both home console play and portable gaming on the go gives fans hope that 1st/2nd/3rd
party support will ensure a large library of games will be available for the
system (something that the Wii U sadly lacked).
-Easy LAN parties: Games like Splatoon are generally played
online, but the way it’s previewed they could potentially allow you to connect
several systems together (much like the 3DS does for local multiplayer) for an
easy setup for a LAN party.
-Cartridge-based: I hope this means faster loading for
everything. The one thing that has
bugged me to no end since the introduction of the Sony Playstation is that
Disc-based games take so long to load everything.
Negative/Concerned Opinions:
-Controllers: At a glance, the switchable controller looks
ugly, uncomfortable, and delicate. The
Wii U gamepad and Pro controller were also uncomfortable, but I eventually
adjusted to them, so it might be okay. My
main concern stems from its main functionality to detach from the controller
and onto the portable screen and back: will it wear out quickly? Is it sturdy enough? Will it hold the portable screen securely? Using the mini-controllers also looks
uncomfortable. That dedicated home controller
looks particularly ugly (it makes the Wii U pro controller look amazing). Ugh, I hope these are prototypes…
-Portable screen: When I had the original B&W Gameboy
and Gameboy Color, one of the problems I ran into was that the screen was
unprotected. It would get dirty, oily,
or scratched. But ever since the Gameboy
Advance SP, the clamshell design has protected the screen and buttons while
keeping the device portable. It’s cool
that the Nintendo Switch will have a large screen to play on, but now there isn’t
an implemented method of protecting the screen and it won’t easily fit my
pocket anymore because of the protruding joysticks. These were probably ignored due to conforming
to our tablet culture (the Wii U was half way there, and now it’s all the way
there).
-Battery life: The portable
screen looks small, but it has to be strong enough to run a console quality
game on it. How long would a battery
hold out before it knocks out?
-Exclusive support: It’s great to see that games like Skyrim
and the NBA2K series being supported, but I hope it’s not ONLY going to be
multi-platform game support. The Wii U
tried to regain its core gamer audience that it lost during the Wii Era by
bringing a lot of multi-platform support. The problem is that a lot of people playing
those games will already have another console that plays those games and won’t
go out of their way to pick up the version for the Nintendo console. Games like Bayonetta 2, Xenoblade Chronicles X
and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE really set it apart from other consoles and was a
great addition to the library of games available, but it wasn’t nearly enough
for Wii U. The Nintendo Switch needs a
lot more games like those and I’m hoping that a lot of developers are willing
to create a tons of games fans are craving specifically for the system now that
they only have to focus on one system rather than 2.
-Audio: The Nintendo DS and 3DS finally had stereo audio for
the portable system! From what I can
tell in the preview video, the audio might come out from those holes on the top
of the screen. Does this mean it’s going
back to mono? I hope not! At least there’s still a headphone jack.
Overall, I’m not THAT excited since it doesn’t really seem
to bring anything new to the industry that the Wii, DS, Wii U, and 3DS did;
however, I am hopeful that we’ll get a lot more games for the Nintendo console
this time around. Despite the public
complaints about the last generation of Nintendo systems and its seemingly poor
sales, I really enjoy playing my Wii U and I absolutely love my 3DS which
currently holds a ridiculous backlog of 20 games on it. I wish Nintendo the best and hope they’ll
continue to provide innovative and entertaining games for many more generations.
No comments:
Post a Comment