
Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History - dreampeppers99
http://time.com/4739562/nintendo-switch-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-launch-sales/
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brightball
I'm going to get one because ever since my kids have discovered the old Super
Mario Brothers Super Show on Netflix they've been completely hooked on all
things Mario. Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U was such a great family game
that we've been playing it for close to 3 years now.

It had such a good cooperative experience that we could even play with my 4
year old pretty quickly. We even had a big night out for dinner after we
finally beat the crown world. :-)

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atom-morgan
I'm 26 now but I can say that some of my greatest memories as a kid are the
times I spent gaming with my brother and dad. I simply cannot think of SNES
without thinking about the three of us working our way through all of the old
Donkey Kong games. I'm sure your kids will be the same :)

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hkmurakami
I fondly remember being unable to beat Vargas in FF6 (FF3 in the States I
think?) with the Left-Right-Left Sabin command, and my dad trying to do it for
me (and failing as well). :)

~~~
brightball
Still my all time favorite console game to this day.

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Ultramax
It seems like a combo: Zelda BotW is part of it, but the hardware is also fun.
The build quality and kit is fantastic, it reminds me of an iPad designed by a
gamer for gaming.

In my case it's also nostalgia. I've been working on my own apps and games,
not to mention a day job, so this is the first console I have owned since the
N64. Never got into console titles that seemed to be just as good on the PC.

That's 3 reasons right there... I ended up buying the Special Edition ($100
gets you the game, a music CD, a hard traveling case and a collector's coin)
in March before I found a Switch in April.

I prefer the Pro Controller and using it as a standard console, but the
mobility is great if needed. Sticker shock hasn't been a factor, since I
remember buying 3 extra controllers for the N64.

The hunt for the Switch is as much as the hunt for the Classic was. Of course,
now the Classic is going for 4-5 times as much... more than the Switch!

(Note: skip the Classic and skip RetroPie. You need a mac or PC anyway to load
up the SD card... better to spend $60 on a nice XBone controller and play
games in a better emulator on your computer. Just my 2 cents.)

~~~
bpicolo
The sticker shock on the non-pro controllers is much worse because without the
charging grip, charging for 4 controllers is a massive pita.

That's really my biggest complaint with the unit, the difficulty of charging
the joycons. Taking off the wrist straps each time is really bad UX.

~~~
mercer
Not to mention accidentally inserting the wrist straps the wrong way!

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RubenSandwich
As the article alludes to this is in large part due to The Legend of Zelda:
Breath of the Wild. Which has a higher than 100% attach rate on the Switch,
which is simply amazing.

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berberous
If you are not interested in Zelda though, there is almost zero reason to
spend the money on a Switch right now.

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UnoriginalGuy
That's my concern for the Christmas period.

A lot of Nintendo fans are early adopters, that's why they're buying a console
with one significant game in March. For the general public they need to have
more on offer than that.

Here are new AAA games which we are assured will be out by Christmas: Zelda
Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Skylanders, NBA 2K18, Arms, Splatoon
2.

There's tons of indie names (e.g. Shovel Knight) or older games (e.g. Skyrim)
but those aren't "system movers" as they're already out on every other major
platform. Meaning people won't be buying a Switch to play those.

No doubt you're moaning about me leaving out Super Mario Odyssey, but at the
time of writing SMO has no set release date only a vague "TBD, Holiday 2017."
As does Project Sonic 2017. Nintendo games overrun their release date as much
as other publishers, therefore one cannot be assured SMO will ship before the
big holiday period.

If you look beyond 2017, it remains pretty slim pickings for the Switch.
Likely until at least summer 2018 we won't see more than perhaps half a dozen
exclusive AAA games on the console. We still have no assurance that the
mainstream Pokemon franchise will be developed for the console.

The Wii U also sold fairly well early in its life, but sales dried up and
never recovered with publishers avoiding it due its poor sales performance.
The key thing for the Switch to do is to consistently sell, to give publishers
enough confidence that when they target the platform that the effort will pay
for itself.

It all remains to be seen. I'll be paying close attention to Christmas 2017
sales figures because it might be the life or death of the Switch.

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j2bax
>The key thing for the Switch to do is to consistently sell, to give
publishers enough confidence that when they target the platform that the
effort will pay for itself.

I think the prospect of putting AAA games on a portable system, will draw a
lot of AAA studios to take the risk, if their game can be run on the hardware.
I think the portability factor is a large factor of why they are selling so
fast despite the lack of games right now. I think people want to see what its
like to play non-junk/freemium/IAP driven games on the go. At least it was a
major factor for me. I can't wait to play Mario Kart with my co-workers at
lunch!

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swsieber
The form factor thing is _amazing_. I didn't think I'd get much use out of it,
but I do. I get a lot. It's so incredibly convenient.

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aphextron
It's absolutely amazing to me how Nintendo continuously holds such a high bar
for themselves in terms of first party content. They've been pushing out the
same formula for console releases for 30 years now, and it works every time
because the games are just so undeniably great. I don't understand why the
other console manufacturers can't replicate this.

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EpicEng
>They've been pushing out the same formula for console releases for 30 years
now, and it works every time because the games are just so undeniably great. I
don't understand why the other console manufacturers can't replicate this.

The Wii U was a massive failure, precisely because of a lack of third party
titles. Nintendo has great ip, but they don't push out enough games. No real
Metroid in quite some time and Mario won't even hit the switch until end of
year. Other console manufacturers have been far more successful than Nintendo
recently.

Edit: to clarify, I love Nintendo, have since the 80's. It's not true that
they've been killing it for decades though, Sony has been eating their lunch
off and on since the PSX.

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derefr
Meanwhile, the Nintendo [3]DS continues to be the #1 "game console" when you
disregard form-factor, and has had nonstop YOY growth since its introduction.

The Wii U was essentially a failure because Nintendo thought there was still a
market for a chained-to-a-TV console—and there is, but only in the "hardcore
gamer" segment that don't care for Nintendo's games lineup. The segment who
_are_ interested in Nintendo games, have shifted to being far more interested
in mobile games than TV-console games (even if they would _enjoy_ playing
those games on a TV once in a while.) The Switch is an acknowledgement of
this, and that's why it's succeeding.

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Dan_Nguyen
I think a part of it has also been Nintendo's terrible naming scheme the past
few years.

I don't follow gaming news closely, so when I heard of the Wii U I thought it
was a hardware revision not unlike the Xbox One S to the Xbox One. It took me
over a year after launch to learn that the Wii U is an entirely new console.

The same thing happened with the 3DS. When I finally looked into getting one
this past holiday season, I was confused by the 3DS vs 3DS XL vs New 3DS vs
New 3DS XL. I was hesitant to buy since I wasn't sure if the New 3DS was a
hardware revision or an entirely new console like the Wii U.

On top of that, the marketing wasn't there for me. I learn of my gaming news
when it hits the front page of Reddit. When the Switch was announced, there
was massive hype behind it. I didn't see the same for the Wii U.

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derefr
> I was confused by the 3DS vs 3DS XL vs New 3DS vs New 3DS XL.

You know, people level the same complaint at the iPhone, but it doesn't seem
to have caused Apple any difficulty selling them. Maybe it's just that Best
Buy/Toys-R-Us/EB Games employees aren't as good at helping people find the
right model as Apple Store employees are?

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tpolischuk
The generation gaps are hard stops for your game library though. You can get
great support for old iOS apps, or still use the last version supported for
your phone. With a new console that doesn't offer backwards compatibility, you
may have spent 1-2 grand on a big library of games you simply can't play
anymore.

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derefr
The comparison is valid with the 3DS, though, because the "New 3DS" models
_do_ play original-3DS games. It's much more like a iPhone revision than it is
like a new console.

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SimeVidas
Nintendo has a real chance of dominating Christmas this year, if they get
Mario Odyssey and Zelda DLC right. For that reason, the latter will be pure
fan service, I think.

Do we know already what AAA games will be released on PS and Xbox during that
period?

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bitshiffed
"Zelda DLC"? Really? Even Zelda now? Ugh.

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haswell
I don't think calling it DLC is fair. Back before the DLC craze, this would
have simply been an "Expansion".

The core game is so good, so expansive, that it doesn't bother me in the
slightest that there's upcoming "DLC". Don't get me wrong - I hate the trend
in general, but in this case it's not a bad thing.

Edit: Ok, I realize that they even call it DLC on zelda.com, but my point
still stands: these are expansions. The kind gamers used to get excited about.

~~~
delecti
We barely know anything about it at this point. Unless you've got an uncle at
Nintendo, your assertion that it's an "expansion" is unfounded.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm very optimistic, and have already bought/pre-
ordered it (it's a gray area which to call it, because it unlocks some things
immediately, but the bulk of it isn't available for a few months), but my
optimism is mainly based on the Mario Kart 8 DLC, not what they've announced
about the BotW DLC itself.

~~~
VT_Drew
This is just semantics. The only reason the terminology ever changed is
because you can now download what you used to have to buy on disks.

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delecti
I don't think many modern DLCs are equivalent in scale to old-school
expansions. They would generally nearly double the content of the original in
a single expanded story. Some modern games collections of DLC (so collect all
of the DLC of Skyrim or Witcher 3) would be roughly on-par with an expansion,
but even then they tend to be multiple mostly independent pieces of content
rather than a large cohesive addition.

In that sense, I think (from what we've heard), BotW's DLC is not really an
expansion pack in the old sense.

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maxpert
Good to see Nintendo back in the game. They have been a different breed of
gaming company for quite some time now. I really missed the known gaming
faces. I mean Zelda, Mario, Kirby, Metroid etc. are like the EPIC franchises
and what I was getting on XBOX or PS4 was nothing but alternatives. With
switch I can totally see Sony or Microsoft taking up a page in their next
console.

~~~
mercer
I've only gone as far as the Xbox 360, and while I agree that Nintendo remains
special (re-playing Metroid Prime and Zero Mission for the umpteenth time on
my recently-bought WiiU while the new Zelda is _right there_ and jealous of my
lack of attention), there are a number of amazing non-nintendo games that I
played on my 360 and laptop:

Shadow Complex (metroidvania style game, and actually pretty good), Metal Gear
Solid V, Red Dead Redemption, Far Cry 3, Rayman Legends, Fallout 3, Prison
Complex, Device 6... and that's not including PlayStation exclusives that I am
almost certain to love, like Ico/Shadow Of The Colossus.

There's plenty of amazing 'different breed' type games outside of Nintendo, is
what I'm saying. At the same time I agree that Nintendo remains special: out
of all the games I've played in recent years, Metroid Prime, Wind Waker,
Breath of the Wild, Zero Mission, Mario Galaxy, Animal Crossing (GameCube),
etc. are equal and often better in my book than all the other great stuff.

I guess my point is that as a gamer dipping in and out of the 'scene'
alongside figuring out what React Router decided to break on _this_ update and
dealing with adult life stuff, there's been plenty of great stuff outside of
Nintendo, but nonetheless Nintendo has remained a consistent source of gaming
joy that, in other places, is harder to find.

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apozem
The Switch is a huge hit among Nintendo fans, but it's no surprise they turned
out for the best Zelda game in years. The real test of the Switch is if
Nintendo can keep it stocked with more first- and third-party games than the
Wii U had. If the Switch has a robust library in a year, then it'll be a real
contender.

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5_minutes
I bought it, and love it. I also bought an xbox 360 and xbox one and never
really fell in love with the console. It's hard to pinpoint "Nintendo magic".

And reading all the reactions here, many people feel the same, a strong
passion with the brand.

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wiremine
My 11 year old son and I have been playing through Zelda Breath of the Wild,
and we both absolutely love it. He thinks it's a great game, and it reminds me
a lot of the original Zelda I played as a kid (which dates me).

~~~
pohl
My 7 year old son and I just got a Switch for BotW and we're both loving it,
too.

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ProfessorLayton
I'm one of those that bought Zelda without owning a Switch (yet) since Amazon
sold it %20 off those who preordered it.

The console itself has been frustratingly difficult to find since I missed the
preorders. I'm hoping Nintendo can pull it together before all my friends
finish BoTW.

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mhink
Have you been keeping up with the stock trackers? I had some luck this weekend
with istocknow.com: at 10pm on Saturday night, it was reporting that a Walmart
about an hour away from me had gotten a shipment about three hours earlier. My
girlfriend and I thus went on a late-night trip and managed to snag one. I was
thoroughly surprised, but the guy working electronics confirmed that yup, that
information was accurate.

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sotojuan
Definitely getting it once it gets more JRPGs. I'm also interested in its
Virtual Console library.

Sadly Konami is dead so no more Castlevania games in the style of the DS ones
:-(

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agumonkey
Ha the big N still has some cards up its sleeves. Fun.

~~~
themaninthedark
Don't worry, I'm sure that the gaming press will still come out with an
article that tells us how Nintendo is dying and should just release games for
the iPhone.

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dep_b
Great news! Can I have my Nintendo Classic now?

~~~
086421357909764
Sadly I gave up and went back to RetroPie.. I'm not paying those crazy scalper
prices either.

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ashark
Try Lakka. Better performance (especially on menus) and generally better UX
than RetroPie or any other emulation frontend I've seen. Several common
controllers, including (what I use) bluetooth PS3 controllers supported out of
the box, with sane auto-mapping for all supported emulators (no more manually
mapping controls unless you just like that kind of thing).

Only tricky bit is that you have to have blessedly-pure ROMsets for automatic
per-system playlist generation to work (it's hash-based), but that's a minor
hurdle (and going through it will encourage you to clean up any "messy" sets
you have, which isn't really a bad thing). There's a stickied post on their
forum that'll give you the names of what you need. And you can always manually
create playlists or launch individual ROMs, regardless.

Not affiliated with it, just a big fan of what Retroarch/Lakka and related
projects are doing for emulation.

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Sunset
How long before they decide to discontinue it right as everyone's buying
units?

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ocdtrekkie
I'd argue this statistic is easy to manufacture when Nintendo console sales
are generally artificially limited by their production rate.

Is it that the Switch is the most immediately desirable system in Nintendo's
history, or just that it's the most quickly produced one in history?

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douche
Possibly it's that the last Wii was such a dumpster fire, and people are
desperate for a Nintendo console that is close to modern capabilities.

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josho
While playing the wii-u titles I don't recall ever saying 'this game would be
more fun if only the graphics were better'.

The hit Nintendo took by selling an underpowered console was loosing 3rd party
support, as it was reportedly too much effort for folks like EA to support a
platform that was so far behind their other supported consoles.

I wonder if history will repeat with the next generation of xbox/ps around the
corner. If switch sales continue at this pace, I suspect not.

~~~
delecti
The Wii U was reportedly also somewhat difficult to develop for (especially
compared to the reboxed PCs that are the PS4 and XBox One), and the second
screen also didn't help matters in that regard. The Switch will benefit from a
fairly standard set of inputs and outputs: the buttons on the Joycons map
pretty easily to the XBone and PS4 controllers, and it's just a single display
(though the difference in power levels between docked and undocked is a slight
hitch there).

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pbhjpbhj
The 2nd screen makes a lot of games better, BotW would be much better with the
2nd screen showing inventory, maps etc.. Presumably that was how it was
originally designed (Sheikha Slate) and they crippled it to favour the Switch?

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delecti
Oh, I totally agree that the 2nd screen was awesome when properly used. I had
the same theory around the Shiekah Slate/Gamepad parallel. They've done
similar things with an item's in-game aesthetic matching the system it's on
(most notably the Pokedex in several games matching the hardware it was
released for).

