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Do we all agree that Nintendo is having a "soft launch" with Switch?
- Thread starter Annoying Old Party Man
- Start date
The launch lineup doesn't give me "soft launch" vibes, but the following bullets do:
- OS by all accounts, seems incomplete
- No proper online functionality
- Seemingly no other apps (Netflix, browser, etc) besides core gaming functions.
I could easily see shifts in how they move forward with these areas based on consumer feedback. It'd be nice if they were transparent about everything though.
- OS by all accounts, seems incomplete
- No proper online functionality
- Seemingly no other apps (Netflix, browser, etc) besides core gaming functions.
I could easily see shifts in how they move forward with these areas based on consumer feedback. It'd be nice if they were transparent about everything though.
Yes, the only way i see this getting better is with virtual console games, otherwise this is quite bad imo
I am bumping this 6-week.old thread to say.
ABSOLUTELY
I just went to gaming stores here in Germany and it's like Launch hasn't happened
.- no consoles (of course)
.- no merchandising,
.- barely any games (some Zelda and 12 switch copies)
.- barely any perihperals,
.- no visual advertisement, like posters,
.- no area in the store allocated to switch
I can understand the console being outsold, but the in-store landscape is pretty telling, nintendo didn't even care about sending promotional materials or.... anything.
ABSOLUTELY
I just went to gaming stores here in Germany and it's like Launch hasn't happened
.- no consoles (of course)
.- no merchandising,
.- barely any games (some Zelda and 12 switch copies)
.- barely any perihperals,
.- no visual advertisement, like posters,
.- no area in the store allocated to switch
I can understand the console being outsold, but the in-store landscape is pretty telling, nintendo didn't even care about sending promotional materials or.... anything.
The launch of 3DS is certainly not what made the console work.
Yes. Absolutely.
They knew they'd sell 4m or so of these in six months to the hardcore Nintendo fans and Zelda fans.
By the time the fall arrives, the full online services will have launched, eShop will be more fleshed out, the software library will have a good number of exclusives, the kinks will be ironed out, and they can push for holiday sales with Super Mario Odyssey being the flagship title.
They knew they'd sell 4m or so of these in six months to the hardcore Nintendo fans and Zelda fans.
By the time the fall arrives, the full online services will have launched, eShop will be more fleshed out, the software library will have a good number of exclusives, the kinks will be ironed out, and they can push for holiday sales with Super Mario Odyssey being the flagship title.
Chinbo37
Member
I was at my local "everything" store (like target and groceries).
They don't have the system (ok fine) no really switch section at all. Literally three games (zelda, 1 2 switch and just Dance) which are next to the Wii U games under a heading that says wii u games.
It's really strange actually.
They don't have the system (ok fine) no really switch section at all. Literally three games (zelda, 1 2 switch and just Dance) which are next to the Wii U games under a heading that says wii u games.
It's really strange actually.
I thought I was having deja by but this really is just a bumped threading day this again. Switch's launch is a rushed launch, not a soft one. I doubt they intended a thin launch line up and incomplete IOS just to "test the waters". That makes no sense when two of the Switch's heavy hitters will be out 7 weeks after launch.
RevolutionizeTheGame
Neo Member
I feel like Nintendo is going to sell as many Switches as possible at the $300 price point before dropping the price. If Apple can sell a 10" iPad for only $30 more than a Switch, then I don't see why Nintendo won't be able to lower the price later this year.
Megatron
Member
No, because there is no such thing as a soft launch. You either launched or you didn't. Now a launch can be really well planned and prepared for, or it can come across like it was hobbled together at the last second by people who have no idea what they are doing. The Switch launch unfortunately was closer to the latter.
Well our local MÜLLER and SATURN have plenty promotional stuff. Differs to where you go I guess?
Majima Everywhere System
Member
I think it'll be a soft lifetime unless they commit to bringing their handheld projects onto the platform.
Maintenance
Member
It's easier for the Switch to reach the 20m first year forecast than it is for GAF to agree on something.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
"Soft launch" is spin for not having your shit ready and releasing a half baked product. At least that's how it's being used with Switch. A real "soft launch" would be NES releasing in New York as a test.
Much like "launch window" is used to cover up not having enough content ready for day one.
Call it what you'd like but the Switch launch was very weak. I'm happy with my purchase, but I'm not going to sugar coat things.
Much like "launch window" is used to cover up not having enough content ready for day one.
Call it what you'd like but the Switch launch was very weak. I'm happy with my purchase, but I'm not going to sugar coat things.
I don't see any problem with a sort of soft launch. They know people are going to buy it at first just because it's there. They know Zelda's not quite an exclusive, but is a big game that they can always use as a selling point. And they know they'd have had trouble providing a full launch lineup without gimping the rest of the year.
Makes more sense to let the typical Nintendo launch buyers get in now, and let the usual holiday customers jump in around the end of the year. Zelda alone is a bit of a stretch to sell to anyone on the fence, but if Mario gets well received, system could be a strong value proposition by the end of the year (Mario + Zelda + a few other Nintendo gems). I'm hoping their plan ultimately is to bundle Zelda in, seems like that would be pretty appealing.
Makes more sense to let the typical Nintendo launch buyers get in now, and let the usual holiday customers jump in around the end of the year. Zelda alone is a bit of a stretch to sell to anyone on the fence, but if Mario gets well received, system could be a strong value proposition by the end of the year (Mario + Zelda + a few other Nintendo gems). I'm hoping their plan ultimately is to bundle Zelda in, seems like that would be pretty appealing.
Nah, soft launches do exist. One good example of it is a film that releases in a limited number of theaters before opening wide to the general audience.
However, soft launches are typically associated with things like a limited amount of marketing, releasing in smaller markets before hitting larger ones, and the like. This isn't the case of the Switch so it's not a soft launch; it's just a case of Nintendo not having everything in place before they launched.
I'd say it all has to do with Zelda. It got a massive push last year at E3, and they couldn't sit on it for 15 months or so. Putting it out as a Wii u only game wouldn't have worked out too well - they're not even making the system any more and the last game they put out for it was 6 months ago. So instead they launch it with a new system, bolstering the Zelda brand, Switch brand, and Nintendo brand as a whoile with the grandest piece of software they've ever developed. Seeing as how BOTW has dominated the gaming discussion in a way no other nintendo game has sinc... when? Wii Sports 10 years ago? Seems like they made the right choice.
Glass Shark
Banned
Putting a phrase like "Do we all agree that..." in your thread title immediately makes me think you're making a bad faith argument.
Soft launches are to slowly build up momentum, not to completely sell out across the globe, making your store shelves look like the Soviet Union during a famine. Even if it was intended as a soft launch, which I doubt, it clearly didn't turn out as one.
It's an early access launch, that at least you could say.
It's an early access launch, that at least you could say.
CanUKlehead
Member
I'lll be honest, I don't want this scenario at all.
RichiRamjag
Member
Pretty much this
I can't think of most anyone who couldn't guarantee this for any console tbh.
It will definately get better as 3ds, Vita third parties need to go somewhere.
After Pokemon Stars, I think we will see a lot of them.
Tyraniboah
Member
I always believed the console was originally intended for late 2017 based on the fact that dev kits were sent out so late. So..I do agree that this is a soft launch. This will be a completely different system by this time next year. I also think we will see some ports of the more popular Wii U games to pad out the time between big releases. I'm happy with my purchase, but I'm just hoping they don't botch the virtual console. If I purchased it on the Wii U or 3DS, at least give me a good discount on the Switch version.
Edit: reading through the thread and I see some good points about 3DS/Vita third parties. The Switch is absolutely the logical place to go. Might take a couple of years though
Edit: reading through the thread and I see some good points about 3DS/Vita third parties. The Switch is absolutely the logical place to go. Might take a couple of years though
I guess the difference is they'll go into their first holiday with a lot of enthusiast purchases out of the way, and a line-up that's had a few months to grow. Plus all this paid beta testing :^)
That's an argument for the Switch being released sooner than Nintendo had originally intended, but it's not one for it being a soft launch. Soft launches are characterized by, among other things, having a limited number of units available for sale at the beginning. 2 million units in the first month is not limited, so it's just a regular launch.
The Greek Freak
Member
It is pretty embarrassing that half of the store is freaking Neo Geo games.
That said Zelda is receiving both effusive and near universal praise so I don't think it matters.
That said Zelda is receiving both effusive and near universal praise so I don't think it matters.
GankzyMcfly
Member
Lol some people in this thread actually trying to argue the ps4/xb1 launched with too many games and that nintendo having less games is actually better for gamers....mind blown
JoshuaJSlone
Member
Seriously. Launching worldwide on the same day, this is somehow... the hardest launch of all.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
They have a fine piece of hardware and a great concept that's more then making up for all the shortcomings. If Switch were a standard console without the portability factor we'd probably be looking at a very different situation right now.
Jon Carter
Member
They probably have Skylanders Imaginators too, but in the Skylanders section. That's how it is here in LA. I'm not sure why they don't put a couple of Skylanders boxes in the Switch section as well.
Strange, a lot of promoters in the north of Germany in the huge electronic stores...Big ads in central station hamburg for release. Since then stores are selling what they get so I guess for now no further activity needed.
thestopsign
Member
Has there been a single indication that this thing isn't doing well or will flop?
No, see, Nintendo didn't launch the Switch as a reaction to the state of the Wii U, they started holding the Wii U back to prepare for the Switch launch. Nintendo chose to pull hardware from store shelves rather than cut the prices to get them into homes. Nintendo could've upped advertising for the Wii U and pushed Zelda hard on the system, but chose to cut the Wii U off at the knees and put that money into an early Switch launch. Whether that idea was the right one or wrong one is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but the situation was largely of Nintendo's making.
DR2K
Banned
Actually it didn't, they had to drastically reduce the price and apologize to people who paid full price
Jon Carter
Member
If the console is good, they know it's not a lost sale. You'll get one, eventually. If you had gotten one truly just because of hype and now never intend on buying one ever, you may have ended up selling it and the person buying it from you would have been a lost sale too.