Reaction: Nintendo Switch Announcement

Hopefully you all have not been living under a rock and saw the announcement for Nintendo's new console. But if you've just now come out of your bomb shelter (The 2016 election is near GO BACK IN!), then watch the video here and come back to this post.

Let me tell you a short story. In 2006, Nintendo launched a system that changed the gaming industry as we know it. Selling out in all stores, the Wii was able to capture the casual gaming market. It had a cheap price point compared to the other consoles and had fun party and multiplayer games. I remember standing in line for a whole day at my local Wal-Mart to get one and feeling relieved that I did since the system was sold out for months.

Nintendo tried to double down on the casual market in 2012 with the Wii U, but the company fell flat on their faces. Due to terrible third party support, not having the same cheap price point, and terrible marketing strategy (honestly, there were no commercials for this thing!). The name didn't help either. Consumers didn't know if this was an expansion to the system or a new system all together. It also didn't help that the Wii U didn't look all the different from its predecessor either. Sales plummeted and even Nintendo abandoned its own console to work on their new system, Nintendo Switch (a.k.a "Nintendo NX")

Fast forward to today and we finally get an official look at the Nintendo Switch, a home console system that can be taken on the go. The warning was sudden, only yesterday did Nintendo post the time they were going to show the Switch. I don't know if it's the grown up me, but a lot of me wasn't excited. Even if I'm not planning on buying a console, I still get excited to see the next new and shiny video game technology. But after the lack luster Wii U, I wasn't really expecting nothing. But after watching the video before heading off to work, the tired, sleepy, and caffeine starved me still let out an inaudible "neat" at its conclusion. But as the day went on, I got more and more excited. Maybe it was the coffee that finally woke me up, but I thought about how awesome the system could be if developed on correctly.

Since there wasn't much to the video, there wasn't much to like. But what I did like is the smooth transition from playing on the big screen to playing on the tablet. There is no powering off or putting it standby mode. You just undock it and go. I actually do like the control scheme and the freedom to use whatever controller scheme you like. The omission of the sensor bar (and maybe touch controls in general) gives me hope that Nintendo listened to its fans.

The games look great, I think. I mean, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was already confirmed and shown at this year's E3, but other than that it looks like the other games were just ports of Wii U games. There is one exception. The girl in the last segment of the video seems to be playing a completely new version of a full fledged Mario. This piqued my interest because now it looks like there are two main games I might be able to sink my teeth into immediately (if I were to purchase it)

But then there is the bad, or more accurately stated, the unknowns. This is essentially a gaming tablet PC with a TV dock. If it can be described as that, then how long will the battery last outside? What drops in performance will we see when switching from TV to little screen? I noticed that even in the video the frame rate for The Legend of Zelda got a bit choppy when "switching." Another question I have is how the hell can people play comfortably on those joystick nubs? I mean the old wiimote was small but these things are half the size! My last fear is that despite a lot of third parties backing the system launch, how many are going to continue to develop for it? I already know the system will not be the graphical powerhouse of the recently announced PS4 Neo and Microsoft XBone S. So what will happen a year after system launch? What about in two or three years? I don't want this system abandoned just like the Wii U.

My last important thought is that Nintendo is still trying to cater to couch co-op style of multiplayer and I'm too grown up for it now. I can't schedule the time to have my friends over every day to play games in person. Skype and Steam had also come up with easier ways to play with people even when they are far apart years ago. I also don't think my friends would want to play a gaming system outside when there are billion other things we could be doing. And I know that most of my friends also won't get a Switch at launch or ever.

But if they generate more single player games that just straight up (no gimmicks) good, fun, and interesting games, then I'll buy this system no problem. But only time will tell. There is still so much we do not know about the Nintendo Switch. But I guess I'm excited (and cautious) to find out more.