Over time, the buzz died down and people found that motion controls may be more of a gimmick than the future of gaming. The jury is still out on that, but Nintendo still seems to value all audiences. It’s a bit dizzying and overwhelming in the ways you can play, but motion controls have been reintroduced in the form of joy-cons. Games like 1-2 Switch encourage multi-playing in the same room with motion controls, giving the Switch the potential to be the life of the party for any age. Early excitement thanks to marketing — The messaging around Wii U was messy. Parents had questions. Is it a sequel to the Wii? Is it an addon? No one really understood the need or benefi t from having a tablet controller. Maybe Nintendo didn’t either because although it was a fun idea to watch television while playing a game, very few games utilized the tablet for enhancing the game. Commercials and press conferences seemed to add to the confusion. This time, Nintendo has a direct message that’s easy to understand and (hopefully) equally as easy to sell. It’s a two in one. Take it out and play it. Dock it and play it at home. The secrecy around the system added to its mystique. Many speculated about the design but it wasn’t until a commercial was released on Youtube in November that the name was revealed and the system functionality made offi cial. Nintendo also aired a pretty eff ective ad during the Super Bowl, showing the world that it’s serious about getting the word out there. Speaking to your fans without creating fatigue is key. Nintendo achieved the proper balance here. REASONS FOR CONCERN Third party publishers — As stated above, Nintendo can compete with any company when it comes to its own games. However, it can’t churn out great titles fast enough, and there are a lot of desirable titles that are released on several platforms, such as PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. If you can have only one system, many won’t pick Nintendo if the game of the month isn’t being released on it. This starts with trust. Nintendo needs to reach out to developers, make it easier for them to put out their products on its system, and give them a reason to put extra resources into making the game stand out in gameplay if it can’t match the competition with graphics. It’s tricky, and there’s no telling after years of a lack of a solid relationship with game developers that it can get back that trust. It’s likely these companies are taking a waitand see approach whereby, if the Switch sells, g Price device that also acts as a console for the television doesn’t seem unreasonable. That’s usually the price for new gaming hardware. But here’s the problem: Nintendo is releasing the Switch early due to the commercial failure of the Wii U, so it’s coming into the market at a time when Sony and even Microsoft are well established, with great sales. They’re a couple of years older, but are likely still more powerful competi- they’ll give it a chance and develop for it. But for the Switch to sell well, it needs those games early. Nintendo has vague announcements of certain publishers that are on board, but no word on which games. This needs to change. — $300 for a portable Photos courtesy of Nintendo QNS.COM 18 SPRING 2017
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