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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Nintendo now selling Switch systems without a dock in Japan

DonFerrari on 23 May 2018
Pemalite said:
DonFerrari said:

Several people (me included) expected that they would in near future have 3 products, HH, console and Hybrid as Switch family as to offer cheaper or more powerful alternatives to og Switch.

But congrats for holding your ground.

I always hold my ground if I believe something to be true or history dictates a high degree of chance for it happening. :P

And I actually think it's a good thing that Nintendo can potentially make so many variants of the Switch to appeal to different markets and demographics.

I agree



duduspace11 "Well, since we are estimating costs, Pokemon Red/Blue did cost Nintendo about $50m to make back in 1996"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=8808363

Mr Puggsly: "Hehe, I said good profit. You said big profit. Frankly, not losing money is what I meant by good. Don't get hung up on semantics"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=9008994

Azzanation: "PS5 wouldn't sold out at launch without scalpers."

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DonFerrari on 23 May 2018
jonathanalis said:
I thought that if it happened, it would be even cheaper, around 20.000 yen.

That just shows that the bulk of the system is the HH part, the dock is a cheap accessory.



duduspace11 "Well, since we are estimating costs, Pokemon Red/Blue did cost Nintendo about $50m to make back in 1996"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=8808363

Mr Puggsly: "Hehe, I said good profit. You said big profit. Frankly, not losing money is what I meant by good. Don't get hung up on semantics"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=9008994

Azzanation: "PS5 wouldn't sold out at launch without scalpers."

Ljink96 on 23 May 2018

Okay, now I'm convinced Pokemon is coming this year. It'll be interesting to see what effect it has in Japan.



Miyamotoo on 24 May 2018
Nautilus said:
Hmmmmmm I think they should have holded off for this option.I know this makes for a better offering in japan, specially since its about 50 dollars cheaper, but I still think they should have pushed the home console aspect of it further there.If pricing was a problem, bundles should have been the first option.But alas.

I dont see problem, full package in any has much higher value than this striped down bundle thats aimed for people that already have Switch, also we talking about Japan market where people using handhelds much more in any case.



Conina on 24 May 2018
Keybladewielder said:

That's nice for Japan since they seem to like to play only on handhelds. Personally I woud never buy a Switch without the dock because that defeats the purpose of the whole concept of the Switch.

The purpose of the Switch is selling Nintendo games and third party Switch games to as much people as possible and get them into the Switch ecosystem. This includes people who like to play on the go and on TV (group A), but also people who prefer handheld gaming (group B) and people who prefer home console gaming on a TV (group C).

The first Switch model caters mainly to group A, but a part of group B and C will also buy it, even if they are paying for features the don't want/need.

To expand the audience to other parts of group B + C it only makes sense when Nintendo adds different form factors later, which can be produced and offered cheaper without hurting their margin.



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potato_hamster on 24 May 2018
Pemalite said:
DonFerrari said:

Several people (me included) expected that they would in near future have 3 products, HH, console and Hybrid as Switch family as to offer cheaper or more powerful alternatives to og Switch.

But congrats for holding your ground.

I always hold my ground if I believe something to be true or history dictates a high degree of chance for it happening. :P

And I actually think it's a good thing that Nintendo can potentially make so many variants of the Switch to appeal to different markets and demographics.

I don't really see how including less stuff in the box makes this a "variant". Like if Sony noticed most PS4 pro owners were upgrading from PS4 in North America so they released a version with no cables or controller because most people interested in the pro already had them from their original PS4, I wouldn't call it "a variant".

That's just my take though.



Pemalite on 24 May 2018
potato_hamster said:
Pemalite said:

I always hold my ground if I believe something to be true or history dictates a high degree of chance for it happening. :P

And I actually think it's a good thing that Nintendo can potentially make so many variants of the Switch to appeal to different markets and demographics.

I don't really see how including less stuff in the box makes this a "variant". Like if Sony noticed most PS4 pro owners were upgrading from PS4 in North America so they released a version with no cables or controller because most people interested in the pro already had them from their original PS4, I wouldn't call it "a variant".

That's just my take though.

Well. It stops being a hybrid and strictly a portable, with the option of paying more to regain hybrid/fixed console functionality later.
The Playstation 4 with the omission of controllers and cables will still be a fixed home console whichever way you cut the cake.

Either way, it's part of Nintendo's M.O. Early in the 3DS lifecycle I stated that Nintendo will probably release a variant without 3D functionality, the moaning on these forums about that suggestion was unreal.
Well... History turned out to be on my side. ;)



--::{PC Gaming Master Race}::--

Faelco on 25 May 2018
Mandalore76 said:
Faelco said:

That's why I added "But we're not there yet since you still need a dock" ;)

 

If this gets a WW release with an adapter, you can expect lots of "handheld mode only" games, because the handheld only SKU will most likely outsell the full one. 

So, you really think they went through the trouble to make a single device to play the same games at home as on the go, only to turn around and go back to developing home console and portable games separately again?

Nintendo, no. (and yet they still publish games on the 3DS...)

But the third party developers, especially the small ones, don't care at all about "playing the same games at home as on the go". Give them a 3DS2 and they'll be even more happy than with an hybrid if the userbase is here. So if Nintendo makes that dockless SKU in a wider scale, the third party will have fun with it. Nothing would keep you from playing the game on a TV though, you just wouldn't get improvements (except some framerate stability thanks to the additional power?).



TheBraveGallade on 25 May 2018
GribbleGrunger said:
Kai_Mao said:

It depends though. While its great to see some of Nintendo's biggest games run on a handheld device (BoTW, Mario Kart, Odyssey, Xenoblade 2, and, soon, Smash Bros.), some are anticipating great hype for Pokemon because of the fact its going to be considered the first main series game on a home console and the first HD main series game in the franchise rather than saying its on a handheld (as every main game has released on handhelds that were usually known to be handheld versions of the last gen home consoles at the time, i.e., Game Boy being the NES you take on the go or the GBA being the SNES on the go).

Plus, most of these games run better (whether it be significant or not) docked. You can't say that Xenoblade 2 looks better on handheld when compared to it being docked. And most have probably wanted to experience the latest Zelda on a TV rather than on handheld, same with Mario. Thus, I wouldn't be surprised if Smash Bros. on Switch would mostly be seen docked while I watch tournaments.

This is why they've got to be careful. The Switch is seen as a hybrid and as such benefits from the narrative running in both console and handheld circuits. That's very important because it places them in a position as an alternative to the PS4/XB1. The handheld market is well and truly Nintendo owned and it would take a huge push for Sony to even put a dent in that, MS need not apply. Therefore, Nintendo need to hold tightly onto the console narrative more than the handheld narrative. Lose sight of the console identity, start pushing the handheld identity and they could lose a whole market for promotions. If the general public start referring the Switch as a handheld, that leaves only 2 consoles to compete and could either open the door for MS or enable Sony to gather even more momentum.

That's quite a maze of a paragraph but I hope it's clear enough. This is a dangerous move in what is essentially a perception based industry. 

Well this is Japan only, and Japan is literally abandoning the home console market at this point.



fauzman on 26 May 2018
quickrick said:
nemo37 said:

The joy-con grip comes with these systems. Also, this specific bundle is made for people that own a Switch and want more for their household (remember in Japan living space is more limited so there is one TV per house) so a dock and separate AC adapter is not necessary for people that already have one. 

everyone in japan is buying switch mainly as a handheld device, nintendo knows this, thats why they excluded the ac adapter, its just a way for nintedo to make the price cheaper and try to boost sales in japan, with out really taking a hit. i think we can all agree the ac adapter cost nintendo nothing to make, yet they exluded to force people into paying 30$ for them.

Yep this. Japan is well known for supporting handhelds much more than consoles. This makes a lot of sense for Japan as most Japanese players will be picking this up for the handheld part. 

I dont expect this to come to the west. 



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