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Here are some issues I have with the Switch launch for us to politely discuss

As an early adopter you pretty much have to resign yourself to the notion you are beta testing hardware. So when it comes to the left joycon, screen scratching from docking, and battery life, those who bought in early have to be aware this comes with the territory. This does not let Nintendo off the hook but it's the mentality you have to have as they see what can be fixed in future hardware revisions.

As for software, aside from 1, 2 Switch isn't pricing left up to publishers, so it's more Konami and Capcom being out of their mind trying to sell Bomberman and SF2 for $40.

Now when it comes to OS and other features, including the game saves issue, I'm sure all this can be resolved with firmware updates. It's pretty obvious that this system is coming in pretty hot, what with the lack of robust online features and its premium service + companion smartphone app + virtual console all being currently worked on for fall release. An online browser, streaming apps, and so on are all feasible down the road and I can see Nintendo looking for feedback on what people are looking for in this thing.

The way I see it is they went real barebones at launch, then seeing what the demand was for anything else people are looking for and then going out and making those additions later. It's a vastly different approach but in the end for people who pick up a Switch a year from now it could be a completely different experience.
 

Lothars

Member
Already saying that Nintendo has failed with the Switch is teensy bit inflammatory though, let's be honest. More like they dropped the ball in some aspects.
It's not just some aspects though. It's alot of things. They didn't fail with the Switch but they certainly haven't succeeded either.
Will they? I hope so but I think they will need a price cut sooner then later and I've said that all along but after seeing the switch launch and the issue I think it's even more true.
 

kingkaiser

Member
Speak for yourself but I am having a blast with my Switch.

Playing the best Zelda of all time, yes of all time, with the amazing ProPad is pure bliss.

Going back from the Switch ProPad to say, a DS4, is like traveling back to the Stone Age. Dualshock 4 is quite comfortable but feels like an Atari 2600 controller in comparison, that's how awesome the ProPad is.

The JoyCons mark the first time I can finally enjoy mobile gaming to its fullest. No more restrictions, no more hand cramps, just absolute control and pure fun.
 
Console needed to be a home run to prove to the market why this company "should" still make hardware and it's just not. It's just not.

Despite having years of gargantuan lead time since they'd clearly given up on the WiiU, this console still feels like it was put together like some last minute homework. As someone that had been saying Nintendo should have made a hybrid all along, them doing so but fumbling the pitch is just very frustrating to watch. That they're trying to pitch the thing primarily as a home console that you can "oh also take out I guess?" just shows what a mad un-reality bubble it must be over there.

One or two of the things clear issues could be chalked up to typical launch stuff that most consoles go through, but the whole bag of them together just paints a picture of a company that can't even keep up with the low bar they've set for themselves.

Mark my words this will be Nintendo's last home console if this thing flops.
 

LordKano

Member
It's not just some aspects though. It's alot of things. They didn't fail with the Switch but they certainly haven't succeeded either.

Seeing how it's out of stock in major countries and retailers, I'd say they have succeeded with their launch, especially with the great word of mouth surrounding the console and Zelda. Now, we'll have to see for the future. But right now, it seems to be doing good.
 
You're enjoying your Switch? Great! Now how about addressing the complaints or giving your opinion on them? You know you can still enjoy something and criticise it, right? Don't have to be all in.

Who hurt you, OP?

It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault,

Poor fella, hurt and sad.

Switch is fantastic.

Someone give OP some cookies. He seems very sad.

Show me on the doll where Reggie touched you...

Yeah, OP is biased af. Ban worthy?

fox.jpg

Someone's upset mommy wouldn't give them enough allowances to buy a second console 😫

This is not a good look. Resorting to tasteless ad hominems.
 

NotLiquid

Member
I get the points you're making here but starting off the discussion topic about how much the console has "failed" rather than setting the stage for an open conversation about where they can improve makes the topic come across a bit hyperbolic when it comes to intent - particularly when this,

They got 2 things right for every wrong.

Is something I feel rings quite true for the console. As much as I wish this were a perfect rosy launch, the more baffling oversights stand in contrast to how there's some amazing things in here which deserve equal amounts of credit.

As for the points themselves, the lack of OS level features are a bummer and I'll be hoping for them to be improved as time goes on because I love the system way too much for what it is and what it represents. The hardware issues themselves are trickier to gauge, they seem rather inconsistent as a whole. I've got enough faith that Nintendo can remedy those quirks one way or another, before or if they get too widespread.
 

RocknRola

Member
Steam doesn't, Android doesn't, IOS doesn't, Origin doesn't, UPlay doesn't, GOG doesn't, Humble Doesn't, Blizzard.net doesn't.

MS and Sony do. That's literally it. That's not an industry standard.

Steam very much does have achievements.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4462-UIOB-0425&l=english

Achievements
Achievements are rewards for completing game objectives or performing pre-determined actions in a game. The Steam Community Overlay will notify you when you have unlocked an achievement in Steam. Your achievements can be viewed in the game's main menu or through the stats in the Steam Community.
If you do not receive the pop-up notifications in the Steam Community while you earn achievements, please follow this guide.

So, out of the 4 major platforms (Steam, Sony, MS, Nintendo) the odd man out on that front is indeed Nintendo.
 

Squarehard

Member
There's a lot wrong with it.

But ideally it would be best if that discussion were not lead by people beating an angry drum for months.
There would be biases no matter who lead it as I can't imagine anyone to be fully impartial to where they stand on the system.

I feel in these cases it's best to have the biases front and center if you are going to make such an argument, and it's clear from the approach the OP took, they were very much front and center.

While I agree the approach may have been a bit extreme concerning the title of the thread, I don't believe this makes the rest of the things he said invalid.

The point is that the system has its weaknesses upon release, but it also has many strengths which have been discussed by many in this thread.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
My left joy con has proved a bit finnicky but other than that I'm having a good time. Great hardware.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Mark my words this will be Nintendo's last home console if this thing flops.

The WiiU was their last home console. The Switch is a handheld with an HDMI out but somewhere along the line pride meant Nintendo couldn't admit to and accept that's where their future solely was and so bolted on all this mad shit to make it an even harder higher price to sell.
 

faridmon

Member
You're enjoying your Switch? Great! Now how about addressing the complaints or giving your opinion on them? You know you can still enjoy something and criticise it, right? Don't have to be all in.













This is not a good look. Resorting to tasteless ad hominems.


Neither is calling the thread ''Switch is failure'' when its not

Hyperbole goes both ways

We can discuss a fault of a machine without acting pity
 

Fitts

Member
You can play [local] multiplayer out of the box.

You sure can... $140 and two pro controllers later. *Limited* two player support is available with the $300 retail package and to call it anything else or advertise it as anything more than a half baked feature is disingenuous.
 

Widge

Member
The stuff being missing from the OS are present on the devices where I'd actually use it. Party Chat, is this still a thing? Glorious voice free for me on my PC currently and love it. Compromised fidelity, isn't this one of the most lush portable platforms? Seems like the negatives are all bit nit picky really.
 

Future

Member
Played Zelda in bed last night. Played it docked this morning with the kids watching. Back in hand at the dinner table.

Definitely haven't experienced this in my 30 years of gaming. It's odd, but it actually makes me want to spend more money on more product because I actually like this hardware. Wii U I barely bought anything, but on this I suddenly want my a chunk of my past collection available.

This thing is weak on the software for sure. But personally this is finding more success than my Xbox one that is currently sitting in the corner. Because that Xbox is just another skin for a PS4 which I greatly prefer, but this thing is different. They have succeeded in selling me on this hybrid console
 

LordKano

Member
You sure can... $140 and two pro controllers later. *Limited* two player support is available with the $300 retail package and to call it anything else or advertise it as anything more than a half baked feature is disingenuous.

Okay sure lol, I see that you're already convinced of that so I'll let you that way.
 

Ashtrax

Member
I expect this thread to reach the same heights as the PS4 not having a 4K Blu-ray drive thread.

Seriously though, in regards to dead pixels, generally manufacturers will say that between 1-2 dead pixels is in acceptable ranges, purely due to the density of the screens. In most cases they should still exchange it if you are unhappy.

I wasn't big on the switch knowing that the price point meant that the OS was going to be very light on features, and I feel that due to the power constraints, Nintendo is going to hit the same problems as before with the Wii U. I think what they should be doing is making the platform alluring to indie developers trying to make a break but also looking to make mobile gaming more viable so that developers can bring their games to mobile mass Market. I imagine it might make Apple and co realise that the is big money to be made in the space with AAA games and expand their eco systems around it.
 
The WiiU was their last home console. The Switch is a handheld with an HDMI out but somewhere along the line pride meant Nintendo couldn't admit to and accept that's where their future solely was and so bolted on all this mad shit to make it an even harder higher price to sell.

Yea tell me about it. The old guard is making really perplexing calls to say the least.
 

NSESN

Member
I don't feel we need a thread to complain about everithing when every single thing complained already has thread. However I would like a problem solving megathread, with a FAQ and everything.
 

Roufianos

Member
No doubt that it's a massively flawed system. Good news is that the hardware is excellent from a handheld perspective and most of the problems are software related so can be solved.

Whether Nintendo has the willingness to address these issues remains to be seen though. They seem extremely tone deaf.
 

Jetman

Member
Played Zelda in bed last night. Played it docked this morning with the kids watching. Back in hand at the dinner table.

Definitely haven't experienced this in my 30 years of gaming.

I guess you never bought a WiiU or a PS4/Vita?
 

nampad

Member
I agree with the OP.

Nintendo failed to deliver again on modern industry standard OS and online features. Meanwhile, they are nickel and diming the customer and apparently the hardware design has glaring flaws.

I have to say the apologists attacking the OP here and finding excuses for everything are the worst though.
 
I mean all the things OP mentioned are what is keeping me from wanting a switch. People can be delusional all they want.

Outside of Zelda the next thing I would actually want is Mario and that isn't until the end of the year.
Yes the Switch is just launching but as far I could tell the Wii U never had that many games released in a year, only a handful.
 

RocknRola

Member
I Don't think that PC gamers care about achievements... Trust me. Useless.

I didn't say they cared, nor was that my intention. In fact, outside of just correcting that particular detail I don't have anything to discuss (against or for) the argument at hand :p
 

jblank83

Member
I agree with much of this, to be honest. The OS is disappointingly bare. Where's the fantastic customization of the 3DS? Where are my themes and badges? Why am I forced into a braindead ribbon, no pinning, no folders?

The accessories are absolutely overpriced. Thirty bucks for a plastic grip with a USB port? Ninety bucks for a dock that simply acts as a passthrough? You gotta make money, but come on.

The lack of native functionality for friend management/communication is similarly disappointing. Why is this not OPTIONAL? Why is this the ONLY way to do these things? That's about as poor a design choice as I can think of.

The various issues such as the dock scratching are also baffling. How was this not caught? Why was it not addressed?

Some I don't agree with. I do think the joycons are well designed little controllers for the handheld and social functions of the hardware. I also think HD Rumble is a great idea that has a lot of potential.


I'm a long time Nintendo fan. I had Nintendo Power issue #1. Opening my NES on Christmas day is one of my most vibrant memories. I also like the Switch as a handheld. It's slick. It's well designed and well produced. It's fun to play and use.

But there are so many stumbles out of the gate for the Switch that didn't need to happen.

I'm also disappointed that, YET AGAIN, we're looking at an extremely barebones OS that will take YEARS to bring up to par. It's 3DS all over again. It's PS4 all over again. By now I'd have hoped these companies would start implementing something as simple as folders right out of the gate.


That said, I'm not disappointed by my purchase. It's a well designed, well engineered system and it's guaranteed to develop a very strong library.
 

LordRaptor

Member
Steam very much does have achievements.

Steam has optional achievements developers are free to add or not at their own discretion.
Just like the Switch has.

Steam does not have mandatory systemic achievements.
Which is what people really into achievements want, so that every game has them, and all users are subject to them, and can be compared against, even if they turn notifications off.
 
Sadly , console nowadays ship with incomplete features that the manufacturers then patch later, sometimes years after the fact.

Steam has optional achievements developers are free to add or not at their own discretion.
Just like the Switch has.

Steam does not have mandatory systemic achievements.
Which is what people really into achievements want, so that every game has them, and all users are subject to them, and can be compared against, even if they turn notifications off.

Undertale for example doesnt have them and people still love that game
 
Steam doesn't, Android doesn't, IOS doesn't, Origin doesn't, UPlay doesn't, GOG doesn't, Humble Doesn't, Blizzard.net doesn't.

MS and Sony do. That's literally it. That's not an industry standard.

Uhhh what? Steam, Android, iOS, Uplay and Blizzard all have achievements.....having said that it's by far the least important thing that should be addressed.
 

LordRaptor

Member
Uhhh what? Steam, Android, iOS, Uplay and Blizzard all have achievements.....having said that it's by far the least important thing that should be addressed.

They have optional achievements.
Giving developers the option to have achievements isn't good enough for some people.
 

HvySky

Member
Goddamn. The people mocking and attacking OP simply because he doesn't like the Switch is pretty gross. Defense force is out in full force, it would appear.

I don't own a Switch myself, but I agree with your sentiments based on what I've read as well as anecdotally from people I know who seem pretty bummed about the system so far (Breath of the Wild excluded). It really feels like Nintendo threw this thing together as a direct result of the Wii U flopping and as a result it's got a ton of half-baked ideas, none of which seem all that compelling. Hopefully in a year or two it comes into it's own, but right now it's not so impressive.
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
The system just came out yesterday, and a lot of people are enjoying Zelda. They have not failed at all because the machine does largely what they wanted it to do and put in compromises for that

Sorry to use ArsTechnica, but to paraphrase them, we should not look too closely at Switch's early small trifle issues to determine success. Even the small stuff will be improved

I'm no hardcore defender of Nintendo, but they have executed their plan as they felt they should
 

Gin-Shiio

Member
I think when it comes down to it, Nintendo's usual audience are people that are satisfied just purchasing a system that plays Nintendo games. As long as those fans get that, they are satisfied.

On the other side of the table, the people who aren't satisfied with just that, get disappointed due subpar implementations or lack of industry standards/features and when you think of it this way it's very easy to see why a large demographic of people/potential customers are dissatisfied with this system.

Nintendo already has their fans 'won' per se as you can see by a lot of impressions across this site with people who literally just don't care about a lot of these things. For this other audience that is untapped, it will remain a very flawed and dated system in ways.

That's a very reasonable way of putting things. The way they argue the flaws are non-existant is slightly obnoxious to me however, I won't deny.
 

Future

Member
I guess you never bought a WiiU or a PS4/Vita?

I have both a Wii U and vita.

Playing on that Wii U screen...inferior enough that I preferred the tv by a mile. Plus never really enjoyed the feel of the game pad

Vita...even if remote play ever worked as well as the hype (always enough lag that I'd rather play straight on the PS4), the lack of stick clicks and double shoulder buttons always made the experience inferior. This included older PlayStation ports

This is the first time I've actually felt pretty good going from tv to portable, because the experience this time is pretty much literally the same. Since it's the same controller with a screen that can do it justice
 

Maximus.

Member
Hey OP is back with the same thread again. I responded to all the issues in the last one...

Having the Switch in hand, the OS is great and looks amazing. Fuck all the bloat from the Wii era, its time for new shit.

Game library is small, but Zelda is a huge fucking game, so I am not worried right now.

The build quality of the device is great. I realized here on GAF there are a lot of nitpicking whiners and that is what it is. No issues with the left joycon, no scratching, no issues finding my wifi. Not saying there aren't any real issues plaguing some owners, but I think its a bit more blown up here than it is in reality.

Great potential in the system, if people stop going out of their way to find reasons to hate it. I am willing to give Nintendo time. It has already done a great job with the original video, conveying the idea of the system and producing a good product. This is coming from someone who hasn't really been a fan of Nintendo home consoles since Gamecube (sibling had a Wii which allowed me to play some games I wanted and I didn't own a Wii U). I have always enjoyed the handheld experience though.
 

Jubenhimer

Member
Look, nobody's denying the Switch has it's flaws, and is half-baked and barebones. But the thing is, most of the problems with the Switch are either subjective non-issues, or can be easily fixed in future updates. It's very obvious the system is being rushed out the door before the end of the fiscal year. The Wii U was a bomb, and they couldn't just sit there and have it bleed more money, they have to get something out. By the holidays, the Switch should be a much more complete system.
 
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