Nintendo Switch pre-orders are hard to come by these days, but they may not be that worthwhile even for the most passionate of Nintendo fans. While gamers continue to refresh the Amazon store page, here are five reasons to delay your release day investment.
1) You Can Play Zelda On Wii U : Not everyone jumping onboard the Switch train has a Wii U, but we suspect many of the system’s earliest adopters are Nintendo fans that do. In that case, it’s in your best interest to remember that Breath Of The Wild, the biggest Switch launch game, can also be played on Wii U.
You simply don’t have to invest in a $300 machine to enjoy Link’s next quest, so why make the jump? The portability of Switch is nice, but the basic gameplay experience is more or less identical across both platforms. Without Zelda, what exclusive reasons are there to have a Switch on pre-order?
2) The Good Games Are A Ways Off: On that same train of thought, it’s no secret that the Switch launch lineup is pretty sparse. Beyond the allure of Breath Of The Wild, the next major releases are Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in April and Splatoon 2 this summer. The first game in that duo is an enhanced port, while summer is still quite a ways off. Further down the road is Super Mario Odyssey in the fall.
Even taking inevitable hardware shortages into account, it seems reasonable to think there will be plenty of Switches available in June or July when there’s more to play. Even if you love Zelda, there’s not much new to do in a few weeks when it’s all over. Why spend the money now on something that won’t have any sense of sustained fun till the summer?
3) The Unanswered Questions: As we pointed out shortly after this month’s Switch presentation, there’s still a lot we don’t know about this console. How do its Virtual Console and online features work? Is there any sort of trophy system? How much will internet access cost? Do we really have to do matchmaking and voice chat through a smartphone app? Just weeks away from launch day, we still have no idea.
These features may not matter to everyone that pre-ordered, but the silence surrounding them should. If Nintendo hasn’t offered us an answer now, it’s because they don’t have a firm one to share. That’s precisely why Switch online play will be free till the fall. We’re essentially beta testing these network features as they roll out. If Nintendo hasn’t figured out every aspect of its own system’s launch, it’s a risk and a half to plop money down on a product before knowing the truth. We’re just months removed from No Man’s Sky, so we should heed the warnings it tells us. Don’t believe something will fulfill every promise till you see it in action.
4) Clearly Cautious Third-Party Support: One of the most disappointing moments of the Nintendo Switch presentation was its groan-worthy showcase of third-party support. Most of the featured developers were talking about projects they had just started that could easily get canceled. On the western side, we saw ports of the standard Skyrim and a possibly last-gen version of FIFA. That’s really all we could get from some of the wealthiest studios in the world?
Taking a look at that moment and the Switch’s early games lineup, it’s clear third-parties are doing the least they can possibly do to assist Nintendo’s console. Whether Nintendo fans want to admit or not, the Switch needs substantial effort from Ubisoft, EA and Activision to stand a chance. Right now those partners aren’t there, and that’s initially worrisome. If you’re concerned the Switch might fail, cancel that pre-order. The very early signs are far from positive.
5) The History Of Potential Price Drops: With a future so clouded in mystery, there’s the distinct possibility of the Switch struggling to gain traction beyond day-one sales. With that in mind, the unit’s $299 price almost seems like a safeguard for an emergency price drop. Nintendo is selling the system at a profit now, and rumors made gamers feel very good about a $249 price tag. If Switch doesn’t sell, Nintendo could easily offer discounts a few months in.
Just take a look at what happened to the 3DS. The portable launched in March 2011 for $249 to tepid sales numbers. Just five months later, the unit’s price dropped down to $169. Early adopters were rewarded with 20 free Virtual Console games to compensate for their wasted money. Wait and see how the Switch does before this happens to you.
Nintendo Switch releases March 3 for $299.
Are you keeping your pre-order despite these concerns? Are you totally confident the Nintendo Switch will deliver? Tell us in the comments section!
