even over a week later, this strange, icky feeling remains.
Let me take a few steps back and tell you my reaction after I finished watching the Switch Presentation a week ago:
I was in a strange spot. I somehow had expected to be incredibly hyped at this point, yet… I wasn’t. Was I disappointed? Not really. I was somewhere in the middle. Interest but not outright excitement. Maybe I had grown tired of hype? After so many disappointments, E3 after E3, Gamescom after Gamescom, was I simply getting too old for it all?
I tested this theory by re-watching the new Zelda Trailer.
Then I watched it again for about half a dozen times.
...
DON’T JUDGE ME! Have you seen this trailer?! This game is gorgeous!
So no. that wasn’t it.
But today, about a week later, I think I have figured it out. The Switch still looks very cool. Unfortunately the Presentation was anything but.
Just compare the tone of the presentation to the tone of the first trailer back from October, or the visit at Jimmy Fallons:
It feels VERY different, as if they were made for completely different audiences. Im not even saying that the overly childish tone of the Presentation was bad, just that it was the opposite of what we expected.
Other good parts ended up hampering themselves:
We got the price and release date very early instead of being teased with both for the entire presentation. But the higher than expected price (especially for accessories), paid online & the small launch line-up but a damper on that, making everything else feel like justification for the high price point. Even the release date of 03.03, which is much sooner than anybody expected, could help much.
The long explanation of the JoyCons and the big focus on motion control 2.0, HD rumble and that strange camera thingy were annoying and strange. We wanted to see games! Also, didn’t they say that they are moving away from Wii? Also 1,2,Switch and ARMS both looked rather bland, like the classic cheap Nintendo party game, that will be followed by a metric ton of shovelware.
Looking at it again I realized: Those two are the only games that actually USE the whole motion-rumble-shish-kebob in a major way, and ARMS actually allows a pure button input. The major complaint of the Wii years, motion-controls being unnecessarily forced on everything, was gone and we never noticed because Nintendo failed to tell us! Also, after seeing ARMS in motion during the Treehouse and hearing people who tried it talk about it, the game suddenly sounds very interesting and much deeper than expected!
One of the biggest issues: We had SO MANY leaks and rumors about the Switch, many that turned out to be accurate, so we somewhat expected the same from the presentation. But no Gamecube VC, no Pokemon Stars, no Beyond Good and Evil 2. We had hoped for so much more that we hardly could appreciate what was there: Xenoblade 2! A new Warriors Crossover, this time with Fire Emblem! A whole lot of JRPGs in general. Unexpected Third Party Games like Redout, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 or Steep, to name just a few!
Probably the biggest part we had hoped for: A confirmation on the actual power-level of the Switch. Not even a live-render tech-demo like the whole bird-and-fish-thingy the Wii U got. So we presume its gotta be weak and overlook the Games I just listed: Many of them are Multiplatform Games that are already out / will be out on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
One COULD argue that, in a way, we did to the presentation what we did to Games like Watch Dogs, Destiny or No Mans Sky: We overhyped it. We expected so much more that it would have been very hard to satisfy us all.
But doing so would let Nintendo of the hook way too easy!
They already had it! Just look back at the first trailer and Jimmy Fallon! All they had to do was to keep this mood!
But alas, they did a total 180 and went right back to everything we thought they had left behind, or at least it looked that way.
The resulting disappointment makes us overlook the better parts: Zelda & Mario look incredible and will be out within the year, Zelda in a few WEEKS! Theres a new Xenoblade Game coming. Splatoon 2! ARMS as a completely new IP is looking much better than expected! People who were able to test it are all very excited!
The Switch itself, as a console, is looking good and so are the Games!
I think a major part was in Nintendo trying to avoid the Wii U blunders: Over explain everything to make sure it is understood. Have the Presentation close to launch to keep interest alive. Give out the most important details directly. Double down on your plans to prevent software droughts, even if it means a weaker launch. And the list keeps going on...
The good thing is: The console itself looks very good. The current problems (Pricing, Online, Number of Games, etc...) CAN be adjusted and optimized.
They aren’t set in stone!
But then again, this is Nintendo we are talking about. We all know how thickheaded those people can be.
I’m far from convinced that the Switch will solve all of Big Ns problems. But I am equally far from saying that they hopelessly messed up the system and are finished forever.
Let’s see what comes out over the next weeks, go and test the system when it launches and check out what they have saved up for E3!
To the people saying I am just deflecting: Yeah, maybe I am. But then again, the console didnt turn out much different than what we had seen before, so can we truly say that it has to be the cause of our disappointment? Its not like the October Trailer is now invalid and never happened or showed a different product, and we all loved that trailer! So, again, lets just wait and see. There is nothing wrong with doubting, nobody forces you to buy the damn thing on day one, I definitivly wont. Lets wait for Nintendo to work to regain our trust, and remember:
If there is one thing that you can count on with Big N, it’s that you should never count them out!
The new guy.
Sorry for possible mistakes, not a native speaker!
