Normally, we’d start this with a concise explanation of what happened, but we at Source Gaming feel it’s important to provide more information. So while we could discuss some of the awkward on the spot translations, or the meat or lack thereof regarding the presentation, we’re just going to provide links before getting to our initial thoughts.
Additional reading: Main Page – Switch
Wolfman_J: This was fairly mixed for me. The games are, of course, the highlight. The amazingly stupid looking Arms is reminiscent of the similarly iffy looking Splatoon trailer at E3 2014, so I’m optimistic for its being good. Mario being yet another victim of the “New York Donk City sandbox setting” virus was frustrating…until he did parkour moves, used his hat like Oddjob and then stepped on it as a platform, and explored worlds that don’t fit a lot of “stock” video game levels in a game that looks absolutely stunning. And of course, Zelda was excellent. It’s clear Nintendo knew some of this was hard to sell, and this mollified that. And about that…
As for more negative thoughts…really, the big one for me is the online subscription. It’s not the biggest thing; I barely play online. But paying to (among other things) communicate through your phone which you can already do with a phone, and getting Virtual Console downloads that may only last a month? That’s disappointing. The price is also steep, especially considering how that bizarre 1-2 Switch thing appears to be a full-priced retail game and not a bundled in tech demo, and the extra hardware far moreso. The number of games shown is also surprisingly small for the number touted as being in development, but I also get that this was a proof of concept about Switch first and foremost. Which does look good! I like that its gimmicks are simple, having two controllers – even if my hands are likely too big for the Joy-Cons – is good, and, well, it just looks fun. I guess, really, this was alright. It pushed some buttons of mine, and the hardware is interesting, but the awkwardness of the presentation compared to the elegance of Nintendo Directs, a lack of focus on the games, and some choices that feel wrongheaded made for something less satisfying. But it was fine.
LIQUID12A: With my own personal nitpicks aside this presentation was largely great for me. Splatoon 2, Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade 2, even BOTW has me highly interested. Not a fan of the paid online, admittedly. In a rare moment of milestones, Nintendo has sold me on nearly everything shown tonight. I actually want a Mario game now. FE Warriors, while interesting on paper, has to do more than it teases to get me interested in playing it over the aforementioned titles, and it’s very likely to be overshadowed by potential future releases. Ironic, in fact, that I’m more interested in Zelda than it right now. But it was great.
Cart Boy: I need time to properly gather my thoughts, but as for my first impressions upon finishing the presentation? I figure it was solid. Of today’s reveals, I’m eager to play Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Splatoon 2.
TheAnvil: It’s kinda hard to conduct all of my thoughts right now but I’ve honestly been rather let down. While there was certainly some very good things there (such as Super Mario: Odyssey), the whole presentation was littered with things to be concerned about.
Most importantly, the new paid-for online service. With the incentive being that you can play a free SNES or NES game for 1 month (you don’t even get to keep it permanently), Nintendo are going to have a hard time convincing people that this is a good deal. Splatoon 2, Mario Kart, and Smash won’t be enough to persuade me to pay for an online service, especially when I can already play 2 of these games for free on the Wii U.
We’re looking at a rather weak launch (again), Zelda and Bomberman are all that really interest me, and the Mario Kart Deluxe port looks like a mixed bag. Some interesting additions but is it enough for me to want to buy instantly? I’m not so sure. It’s pretty disappointing to see Diddy Kong missing again, in favour of more Koopas and more ‘Dry’ characters.
On the plus side, Splatoon 2 and Arms should be fun.
NantenJex: For now these are my general thoughts on the presentation. I give it some good thumbs up. First of all I was surprised at, well, being surprised! I was sure from GameCube VC to Rabbids x Mario that we would know the majority of titles going in but apparently Nintendo were set to surprise mode and I appreciate it.
I should never have doubted a mini-game compilation for a Switch launch title and their new IP, Arms, looks really fun. Nintendo showed off a lot of 3rd Party titles that were really appealing and showed just enough 1st party to show that they have got a lot in store for us.
One oddly concerning thing is the lack of focus on the launch titles. I fully expected that as a focus but apparently Nintendo thought otherwise, only giving us two launch games being Zelda and 1, 2, Switch! This doesn’t include third party of course but it was surprising that this was all Nintendo was going to have.
Overall I am fairly positive on this presentation as a whole. Now lets hope we are not stuck in another info draught from now until March.
Nirbion: It was quite a lot and and also needed time to collect my thoughts. The presentation overall was good. Instead of the quirky style known from Directs, they focused on a more “tech-entertainment” presentation. It reminded me of Apple conferences and I think the similarities were intentional. But some section felt “out of place” in terms of their presentation and after the Nintendo of America clip, it weirdly feels not connected to the presentation and its style. But overall, Nintendo did a VERY good job emphasizing on key-elements of the Switch.
Nintendo presented good games, and Zelda looks gorgeous. I’m looking forward to many of the upcoming titles, but unfortunately, I never got the feeling that I HAVE to the Switch right now. Everything sounds nice, but there are too many aspects of the Switch where I’m not sure, especially how their online-network is working. It’s something we have to wait, but Nintendo didn’t managed to 100% convince me of their vision. Unlike the Wii, where I couldn’t wait to finally get it, the Switch feels safe and it didn’t clicked to me. But for now, I wait until everyone calmed down (including retailers, who’re trying to sell the Switch for 350€).
Spazzy: I really think Nintendo made a few missteps with this presentation. This needed to be the Switches coming out party… a showcase for why we should be excited for the system. Instead, it was slow, plodding, and showed very little in the way of games. The good news is that most of the games they showed were great. I don’t remember the last time I was this excited for both a 3D Mario and a 3D Zelda title, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 looks like it might be a return to form for the series (not hating on X, but the original game had a charm that it couldn’t replicate.) Pus… Bomberman lives! Still, a weak launch line up and a slightly out of reach price point make me doubt it’s immediate success. With October-November price cut and a slow build up of games, however, I would not be surprised to see the console have an amazing holiday season.
PushDustIn: I’ve watched both the Japanese and the English presentation and I have to say: Nintendo dropped the ball in multiple ways, but underneath they had a presentation. So I’ll do this short write up like a compliment sandwich. First, the worldwide release date was probably the highlight of the stream. It’s much earlier than expected, and it’s almost simultaneous (with the exception of timezones). Now…the live translation into English was not effective — and at times straight up awkward. It took up a lot of the buzz and hype that the develops had and made it…stale. A Nintendo Direct format would’ve worked so much better. Or, if Nintendo is going to do a live presentation, just have it translation beforehand. Live translating killed the hype and energy that in my opinion was at least present in the Japanese version.
Mario looks fantastic, 1,2, Switch looks great. I think Arms is going to be the next party game. However, it comes at a price. There’s no pack-in titles, and consumers are going to fork over a hefty amount of cash just to get settled in. If you want to play Arms with local multiplayer, be prepared to spend over 439 USD (299 for the console, 60 for the game, and 80 for another set of Joy-Con).
Lastly, there have several rumors that were no-shows. In general, the presentation felt like it was missing a lot. Nintendo could’ve included information about Sonic Mania, Inklings in Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, or Super Bomberman R. But they weren’t mentioned in the actual presentation and instead left as surprises for immediately after the presentation. There’s also a couple of rumored games that were no-shows. Including GameCube virtual console and a Smash port. They may be saving these for E3, and to ensure the Switch maintains momentum. In the end, I feel there’s not that many games available right at launch and I’m just sitting here wondering, what the hell was 2016 for?
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The paid online is unfortunate (and the accessory costs, which weren’t par of the show), but everything else felt great. It sold the hardware as elegant and flexible, power be damned, and gave me a full roster of reasons to own this thing. Even if not everything is at launch, the release schedule outlined thusfar gives me confidence we won’t have a first year drought like the 3DS and Wii U had.
Not sold on this thing having that much Western third party support. Japanese and indie support seems more encouraging. It could end up similar to the 3DS in that regard. Which is still a big leap over the Wii U.
Overall, a solid B. That’s with me checking my fanboy excitement for Super Mario Odyssey and Fire Emblem Warriors.
Paid online is nothing new to gaming. Honestly it might mean we finally get better online functionality. Am I eager about it? No, but I don’t think its the end all.
Super Mario odyssey, Zelda Botw, Splatoon 2, Xenoblade 2 got me hyped for the switch. Paying online isn’t new for consoles but it sucks that we have pay for it when fall arrives, aside from square enix, and Atlus, the 3rd party for me felt mixed, I’m glad there’s going to be another No More heroes title, but that translator just stuttered and it was both laughs and cringe, otherwise it was a good presentation,
I wasn’t surprised that smash bros didn’t get revealed or at least a teaser, but i could see it as either a next Nintendo direct or for E3.
Excited for Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8, Arms, Fire Emblem Warriors, & Zelda. I was pretty disappointed in the presentation & I worry about the lack of western presence.
There was nothing really spectacular in there for me, but there wasn’t anything abysmal either. It was a nice presentation, and I am very happy with the fact it is region-free first and foremost!
I’ve watch the presentation (not Direct) on real-time, and as being honestly, it was great! Source Gaming really gave me a good tip of hyping responsibly, and since I wasn’t expecting anything at that moment, there were many surprises. I mean, I think I should correct that as “few” surprises, but I’ll explain that later…
The console itself was interestingly made with uniqueness. I was wondering where the LR buttons are on the joy-cons, how it’ll work as a regular controller and a new Wii remote, and how to read amiibos. Everything was answered, and I’m relieved.
The games were something I was interested to see the most. 1, 2 Switch…pretty not impressive for the one with no family and friends to play with. Arms…looks awkward for a new IP, but can be the new Punch Out if it goes okay. Skyrim and Shin-Megami Tensei…not interested as I was never a fan of those. But leaving the weird ones aside, I was well surprised with the other major titles. Mario Odyssey looks great as it brought the open world mechanic back, and using the hat as his new weaponry move (and a spin dash-like move)…everything looked so beautifully great! When I first saw the city with realistic humans in the scene, I thought it was another Sonic Adventure game. But when I saw Mario pop out from the sewers…I was like what the hell’s going on!? Mario in Sonic’s world!? Yeah things did look awkward back there but even then the new stages were entirely interestingly great. And since we see Mario’s hat being alive as almost becoming the new FLUDD, while we’ve seen both Mario and Bowser the new hipster lord uses their hats as weapons, Mario going into a Crazy Cap store, and Mario riding on a hat-like ship, I think this Mario’s new theme’s gonna be hats. This new Mario game was a great surprise for me, and I do like to play it!
Splatoon 2 looked great too! Not just the Inkling’s customization become more unique, but using two guns at a time, using a robo vacuum cleaner as a sub weapon, using a pump as a jet pack…everything looked so great than the first game! But its disappointing that you still can’t play as the Octlings sine the Octarians return for revenge, but the characters were interesting…Judge’s new kitty companion, and a kimono female Inkling that almost looks like Marie? Taking place in two years after the first game seems to have something behind secretly, but can’t wait to play it!
Mario Kart 8 DX looked interestingly great! They’ve fixed the battle mode and brought returning items, while they’ve brought back King Boo, Dry Bones and Bowser Jr. While the returning characters wasn’t that fascinating to be honest, but the inclusion of the Inklings was something I was more surprised on. However, since this game wasn’t fully introduced in the presentation, we don’t even know if there’s gonna be new single race stages or any new content so far. The characters were said to be 40 of them, and as I calculated the characters from the previous game including the DLCs and adding the returners and Inklings…yup, that’s 40 total alright. So we may not have anymore new and returning characters after this, if they’re planning to add more in the future like DLCs. But even then, I’m looking forward for it!
BOTW looked more beautiful than expected. Characters can now talk in full voice (while we know Link’s gonna be muted for the rest of his life), and they all sound awesome! Even Zelda looked so great, even wearing the same outfit of Link’s…and who said there’d be a female Link!? Stupid info scammers. But as the game is ultimately open world as there’s so many things to do, this game really gives me a lot of interest to play it, even I hardly play any Zelda games (except for Hyrule Warriors).
Although it wasn’t fully introduced, there were more other games that surprised me. Bomberman returns in his 33rd Anniversary game Super Bomberman R, which proves Konami DIDN’T kill Hudson’s main mascot for good. Well, not to mention another Hudson’s franchise Momotaro Dentetsu made its comeback too not too long ago, so this made sense as Konami’s trying to revive Hudson’s games at least. Fire Emblem Warriors is something we’ve been predicting about, but still it was a surprise for me. Somebody even made this fanart 8 YEARS AGO (http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=7294806), and it finally became true!! Although I’m not a FE fan, I’m definitely looking forward to play it! Thank you Koei Tecmo! Also as a Sonic fan, I’m glad Sonic Mania finally made it to Switch as it wasn’t planned in the beginning. Now I can play the nostalgia once again! And Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 making it to Switch is another surprise I’ve had since I don’t own any PS and Xbox consoles, which I could finally bring out my own Majin girl and Frieza avatar to the game!
Now does everybody still think I’m being too generous here? No, I’m being honest, and if you wanna hear me be more honest, then here are the negative parts. The online subscription may have been a huge thing of this presentation, that you need to pay whenever you need to go online. Well, since I hardly go online, except for Splatoon which its a must, I don’t think that’ll matter me at this point. Also, slight disappointed that there was no info on Smash port and Pokemon Stars, but wasn’t THAT disappointed since I wasn’t expecting any of it yet. And also the launch titles weren’t enough as most of them were summer and holiday releases, which probably pulled the trigger. These lacks possibly made the presentation and the Switch itself become negatively received. Not to mention Nintendo have ultimately lost 5.75% of their stock market right after the presentation was over, which seems to be a huge damage to the company. So this may not be Switch’s best starting point at all, but its still a beginning. Things may change further in the future, so we can expect to see more light on this new generation.
Finally, am I gonna get the console? Definitely, but not yet. Not just there’s not many games to play in the beginning, but need to save some money for better reasons. So far, I’m waiting for the Smash port and Pokemon Stars info, and I think they’ll say something about it in March after the console release. Sure, rumors can’t be trusted, but it’s something we should look forward for it, as long we hype responsibly (remember Source Gaming’s #1 rule!). Overall, negatives aside, this presentation was good. Not perfect, but good as well, which I give 75% ratings.
Question to Push : you mentioned the live translating killing some energy. I’ve felt the 3rd party particularly low on that front, particularly the sega guy which seemed to have nothing to say. Was it better in japanese ?
In general, i think the presentation would have benefited from a more detailed focus on the third party games ( at least names appearing in the mash-up trailer toward the end) but the first year line-up looks solid and easily compensates the relatively weak launch one. The paid online worries me a bit as a game like splatoon will live or die by the online cost. The only real negative point is the seriously overpriced accessories in my opinion.
I feel that the launch games do no spell doom for a console as long as there is something every few months. It’s good that we have breathing room and games that appeal to most people. It also makes sense that Mario Odessey would be pushed back since we saw a short snippet prior to the big announcement and have Zelda become a launch title since people waited since ~2014.
Disregarding the translation issues, I felt that there was stuff to be interested about without having to overspend on many titles at launch. That being said, Switch consoles may be out of stock so I hope there will be enough.
“What the hell was 2016 for?”
You mean the announcement trailer for the Switch or the severe lack of games and lackluster games (excluding a few gems like Kirby Robobot, and Sun/Moon)
Because the Announcement trailer was simple – Hype. Hype and silencing people prodding on and on about the NX while getting the Switch ready.
2016 in Nintendo games? Obvious most of the developers within Nintendo are still working on new titles and they weren’t ready to show.
Now as for my reaction…
– Presentation: Yeah, it would be better to do a direct, but it wasn’t really aimed at fans, it was aimed at investors seemingly more so given all the businessmen in the audience. The English translators flubbed badly.
– Controller is neat. We kinda got the idea of what it’s going to do with the initial trailer, but HEY we have to add motion controls! At the very least 3rd parties can now seemingly ignore them in favor of straight porting if they’re doing a bigger game.
– Paid Online: I already have two years of Playstation Plus stacked on my PS4. It’s a pain going from not paying for Internet to having to do so on Nintendo systems, but if I can stack it like I already do for Playstation, I’ll be fine: get the Internet all paid for and done with in one fell swoop.
– 1, 2, Switch… It’s the Wii Sports and Nintendoland of this system, but since it’s not a pack-in deal, I honestly can’t see it being that big a hit. And to be frank, I’m not interested in it. A video game where you don’t have to look at the screen in order to play – kinda takes a dump on the very definition of VIDEO game, wouldn’t you say? Who’s to say, but I think it’ll fail.
– ARMS: LEGS jokes aside… Call me KL-Conspiracy, but I think this game could actually end up being an eSport title down the line, should the game mechanics end up deep enough to be more competitive. After all, Melee might be faster than other Smash titles, but the original speed the game is meant to be played was definitely not tournament level when people first started playing, only finding out ways to make the game faster to develop a whole metagame behind it. I could see ARMS possibly having the same kind of feel to it – if people can break ARMs to make higher level play a thing, I could see it become a hit in the competitive scene. It’s not a launch title though
– Super Mario Odyssey: Not a launch title… And thus sadness begins. But hey, it’s a game focused on globe-trotting, and I like how the Mushroom World is more than just the Mushroom Kingdom. Realistic proportioned humans next to Mario seems odd, honestly – it wasn’t so much with Sonic in Sonic Adventure, but Mario’s a human so it just makes it seem odd. Numerous nods to DKC in the city level which is good. And hey, it’s the 1st 3D Mario where you don’t seem to be limited to a single path since Sunshine, so that’s pretty cool.
– Splatoon 2: Not a launch title… But it’ll get her sooner than Mario Odyssey. A more traditional controlled Splatoon, Gyro control is still there. We also now have dodge rolls, which no one else seems to talk about. It was also not Splatoon remastered, it’s a legit sequel.
– Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Looking forward to it. I need to get back into the 1st game…
– Fire Emblem Warriors: I can expect plenty complaining that Fire Emblem is getting more focus, but the franchise is a hot commodity to Nintendo right now – it makes sense to tease that, especially to a Japanese audience, than say a new Metroid where the series isn’t hot there.
– Breath of the Wild: Love it. Just pure and simple. I like that Link is seemingly getting some friends – at least in cutscenes. We have the Rito AND the Zora in the game – Rito Archer looks like the best character so far. Best point – It’s a Launch Title! (I couldn’t get the Master Edition though…)
– Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Pretty much what everyone interested in Mario Kart predicted what was going to get: Junior, Dry Bones, Inklings. No Diddy, and I’m personally sad that Kirby isn’t in (The Kirby series fits in SO well with the Mario cast) but we also finally have a proper Battle Mode. It’s also coming in April, so yay – Might not be for Launch, but not too far away. Not sure why it wasn’t given a segment, but then again investors. I am worried that there’s no Miis. Now I won’t even have a Kirby mii suit…
– Skyrim: People noted the lack of ‘Special Edition’ and are wondering if this will be the original version. I doubt it’d be the case, and the lack of ‘Special Edition’ was simply a lack of communication. Would be bad if it was though. It’s also not launch day, but instead will be a Fall release. REALLY?
– Lack of Smash, GCN VC, etc.: Probably the same reason why Mario Kart 8 wasn’t shown in the presentation itself, Smash will likely be a port, it wasn’t ready to be shown (I have a feeling showcasing Smash and how to hook the Gamecube controllers to the thing would take away from the JoyCons they spent time focusing on…), and it wasn’t shown because investors. Nintendo wanted to sell the system on how ‘revolutionary’ it is, which is likely why the focus for a good half of the thing was about the controller, battery life, price, noting Online services, and companies interested in making games for the Switch, instead of what fans exclusively want to see from Nintendo: Games. I believe we’ll see these things down the line in a more fan focused Nintendo Direct, but it was clear this wasn’t a show for the fans, but Nintendo wanted the fans to see and help gauge a reaction.
I was very impressed by the Breath of the Wild’s epic trailer. The music they used is by far the best in the series in my opinion. Wouldn’t surprise me if Ryo Nagamatsu is involved in the arrangement for the trailer, the guy is incredibly talented.
Didn’t get to mention Puyo Puyo Tetris – I really love both titles and had been wanting it for a long while. It was ironically enough the first Switch title I pre-ordered.
They also have Skylanders Imaginators coming for the Switch too. From what I heard, they’re allowing you to download and register your Skylanders onto the system itself so you can play them anywhere – no more fiddling around with a portal.
And… What’s this? STEEP?!? But… But I just got Steep on PS4 for Christmas… REALLY?!? I’m happy, but I’m also pretty dang irritated with that – and I plan on buying Skyrim despite owning it.