Nintendo Switch chatter has spiked as we inch closer to the console’s January reveal, and, from what we’ve heard about the console’s potential specs and price, there are many gamers who feel concerned. Might the handheld hybrid be headed for a Wii U-caliber failure? We’re not sure, but here are five red flags as to why that’s possible.
1) All Those Ports: Provided all the rumors we’ve been hearing are correct, the first year for the Nintendo Switch is going to be absolutely full of last-gen ports from first and third-parties. From the Wii U, Nintendo will allegedly be offering augmented versions of Mario Kart 8, Super Mario Maker, Splatoon and Super Smash Bros. Heck, even Pokémon Stars is just a third take on Sun And Moon. From other developers, there’s talk of Dark Souls 3 and Skyrim Special Edition. That’s a lot of ports!
Some of those games will probably feature new material exclusively for Switch, but it’s difficult to ignore that many of them are still last-gen. From a hype standpoint, it’s hard for the mainstream to get stoked for a new system that plays so many old games. Just look at those weird Wii U ports of Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arkham City. It all feels a bit like a sad déjà vu right now, but we hope that changes.
2) A Potentially High Price: To be clear, we’ve seen all the same $250 price leaks as you. We’ve seen that some retailers in the U.K. are supposedly willing to honor that price on pre-orders. Does that guarantee the console’s cost? Absolutely not, and we’ll believe those “honored” pre-orders when the transaction is totally finished.
What we have heard from trusted insider Laura Kate Dale is that the Switch is being sold to retailers for $250. That wholesale price is probably where the leaks came from, but don’t you think the stores probably want a small cut of profit of their own for every system sold? Feasibly, that could bring the $250 tag all the way to $275 or $300. Especially if it’s the latter, or if the better sku is that price, it’s going to be hard to compete with PS4 and Xbox One’s multitude of affordable deals. The Wii U struggled with high pricing because of its gimmick, and the uniqueness of the Switch could put it in the same boat. With custom chips as opposed to PC parts, it may take a while for Switch production cost to adjust.
3) Tough Development: We’re not developers, but what we’ve heard about the Switch doesn’t send the best signals to third-parties. For one, creators will have to shackle their games to hardware with about half the power of a standard PS4 when docked. That’s no easy task, and it makes games look worse.
The second issue that emerged earlier this week is the matter of scalability. Because the Switch becomes drastically more formidable when docked, it’s like developers have to make two separate games at two resolutions for console and portable mode. You can always hobble to portable mode if you don’t want to do that, but that just makes for a lackluster presentation on TV. This process honestly doesn’t sound too different from making a PS4 Pro or Xbox Scorpio patch, but, when combined with the low base specs, we could be looking at another power struggle like the one that drove studios away from Wii U.
4) Warning Signs Of Wacky Networks: The Wii and Wii U were never known for their online networking features, but, considering Switch is a 2017 console, the hope has been that Nintendo will finally deliver a complete online infrastructure for the coming generation. We want a unified account that’s easy to add friends across all titles.
The groundwork has certainly been laid for that with Miitomo and the My Nintendo initiative, but looking at the logic behind the friend features in Super Mario Run has us worried. Essentially what we see is a return of the dreaded Friend Code from the Wii days, with people sharing links to connect. It’s a total mess and not even close to modern. The fact that such a method was even chosen makes us wonder what the Switch implementation will actually be like.
5) Low Shipments And Lost Sales: Nintendo always offers criminally small shipments of its consoles during launch windows, and the case of the Switch will be no different. In fact, the company has confirmed that just 2 million units will be available globally at launch. This is 1 million less than even the Wii U started with.
So, just like its predecessor, the Switch will likely be in short supply when it releases this March. Diehard Nintendo fans will probably be able to find their way to one, but what about the masses that this company desperately needs to win back? Manufactured hype can be a good thing, but should it come at the cost of consumer frustration? When you don’t have systems to sell, people can’t buy them. That reality won’t bode well for initial sales numbers, and it may push the public toward other hardware. That’s ultimately what happened to the Wii U.
The Nintendo Switch is expected to release in March with a detailed reveal on Jan. 12.
Do you think it’s possible for the Switch to repeat the Wii U’s failures? Will all of these price and spec concerns be remedied in January? Tell us in the comments section!
