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On January 13th, live from Tokyo, Japan, Nintendo revealed the price, release date and launch titles for their newest console: the Nintendo Switch. And it was childish. Before you haters celebrate my post, read this: I didn’t like it, but I understand it. Nintendo is one of the world’s most innovative companies, but they don’t present themselves in a Steve Jobs-like manner. As a 33 year old gamer that grew up on Nintendo (and PC gaming), I love the way I feel when I think about Nintendo. The Nintendo Switch just might be the ultimate Nintendo console – we need to give them a chance to prove it in 2017.
Let’s play the tape forward. If Nintendo’s next console were just like the PS4, why would we want it? Ah, yes, for those wonderful Nintendo-developed series such as Zelda, Mario and Kirby. Those series were fantastic before the launch of the Wii, Nintendo’s first nontraditional console. However, some of the best titles in those series appear on nontraditional consoles:
- Super Mario: Galaxy (Wii)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
- Super Mario: 3D World (3DS)
- Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
- Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS)
Nintendo have made products and supported services that were not successful: the Virtual Boy, the Virtual Console, the Wii U. But these were necessary for Nintendo to eventually hit a home run. I’m not saying the Switch will be a home run, but it deserves a chance. That doesn’t mean we should all buy one without a compelling reason. But it does mean we should not judge the console, at this time, based on a one-hour press conference. Frankly, I’m tickled by the child-like enthusiasm that comes out of me and some of my friends when we talk about the Switch. While most of us didn’t enjoy the January 13th presentation, they were….well, I think my podcast co-host Kenney said it best: very Nintendo.
Kenney says “stop being Nintendo”. #nintendoswitchhttps://t.co/jd8XncBCyQ pic.twitter.com/cyCIjvbILP
— Joe Barhoum (@JoeBarhoum) January 21, 2017
The Nintendo Switch, in my opinion, has both a marketable gimmick with the Joy-Cons, and a portable/home console hybrid approach baked into it’s DNA. We’re finally starting to see Nintendo’s Virtual Console platform come together well with solid titles and ubiquity across the Wii U, 3Ds and Switch. There are many concerning attributes of the Switch that were announced on the 13th that make me nervous: battery life, that social app, and accessory pricing. But nowhere else on the planet will we be able to play the newest Zelda or Mario games. If Nintendo announces a new Metroid Prime game in 2018 and delivers it in 2019, along with all of their usual first-party hits, they’ll likely sell over 30M Switch consoles which will draw the attention of publishers everywhere. By 2020, we may hear of a Switch 2 with better battery life, backwards compatibility, and perhaps a larger screen. This can be the beginning of something great. I ask you friends, for the love of Nintendo, and every good and bad thing they’ve done, let’s give them all of 2017 to show us they’re ready to hit that next home run.