Photo: Nintendo
The Nintendo Switch seems to have made a relatively positive first impression on fans, though that hasn’t stopped investors from being somewhat disappointed in the reveal, with the company’s stock sliding after the announcement.
But for most observers, the idea that Nintendo is playing to their strengths with away-from-home mobile play for their new console is a good one, and the system does seem poised to course correct from some of the missteps of the Wii and Wii U.
However, despite a fundamentally promising concept, there are a number of potential questions about the system that remain unanswered, and if the rumors are true, may remain unanswered until early 2017, as some reports say that Nintendo won’t be talking about the Switch any more until then.
Here are five questions which, if answered wrong, could potentially sink even the promising Nintendo Switch.
Photo: Nintendo
1. What is the Battery Life?
Honestly, if I could just pick one question that is key to the success or failure of the Nintendo Switch, it would be this one. While it’s great that Nintendo has made a mobile-focused console, without the battery life to support it, the entire concept could be rendered useless. I recall some less than fond memories of the SEGA Nomad which would play actual Genesis games but was a failure because of hilariously bad battery usage.
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There are a few factors that make me concerned about the potential battery life of the Switch, namely that this is a handheld that has to be powerful enough to run home console games on the go, which is no small feat. Also, it itself is a charger for the controllers that attach to its sides. And lastly, every Wii U owner knows the pain of how absolutely terrible the Gamepad’s battery life was, and if the Switch screen is similar, that may be a significant problem.
One saving grace could be the fact that the Switch screen might not be bogged down with components like cameras, a gyroscope or even touchscreen capabilities, which could help with battery life. Nintendo hasn’t confirmed that the Switch screen is just that, just a screen, but it seems probable at this point. Still, battery life is the single biggest question about the system that needs to be answered as soon as possible, as the entire concept rests on the answer.
Photo: Nintendo
2. How Much Does It Cost?
It’s reasonable to believe that a new Nintendo system will not cost much more than $300-$350 at launch. Nintendo has always been a lower cost alternative to its rival systems (though the Wii U’s price has not kept up with PS4 and XB1 price drops as of late), so to debut a new system at say, $400 would be a pretty significant departure.
While I don’t imagine this will happen, I’m not sure I can rule it out either. This is a piece of hardware that now effectively operates as a home console and a designated handheld, when previously those have always been two separate devices with two separate prices.
The fate of the 3DS is still unknown, but it seems possible that the Switch may end up replacing the unit in the next few years, and then Nintendo will only be selling one device to fans, not two. Would the price be set high to compensate for that, or will Nintendo make sure to keep it down in order to maintain the status quo? Also, it’s unclear what accessories the console may or may not come with, like the heavily advertised and seemingly necessarily Pro controller, for instance.
Photo: Nintendo
3. How Extensive is Third Party Support, Really?
I wrote a lot about this yesterday, so I’ll just reference a few thoughts from that piece:
“Nintendo can throw up a giant image full of all these brand logos that are supporting the Switch, but It’s impossible to know what those mean. Is Ubisoft delivering only Just Dance, or also Assassin’s Creed: Empire a year from now? Does Activision’s appearance mean Call of Duty and Destiny are heading to Switch, or is it probably going to be Skylanders? Everyone was making a big fuss about Skyrim Special Edition essentially headlining the Switch debut, but that will be a five month-old game when the Switch launches, and I’m much more curious if the system will get say, Elder Scrolls VI when that’s released.
What I’m predicting here is what happened with the Wii U. We see early Switch versions of Xbox One and PS4 games, some probably months after their initial release, but that eventually trails off because of the power limitations of the console and the fact that it’s often a tough sell to port games to Nintendo products, regardless of that. Remember when Ubisoft made two separate Assassin’s Creed games in one year, one for 360/PS3 and one for Xbox One/PS4, and neither of them came to the Wii U? Often the problem is more than just horsepower. And if this is some brilliant new era of third party cooperation, why did the biggest third party game of next year, Red Dead Redemption 2, just get announced without even a whisper that it might come to the Switch?”
The end result could be promising. The idea is that if the Switch is at least as powerful as the base-level PS4 and Xbox One, that many third party games could be developed alongside those versions for the Switch, avoiding many of the Wii U’s problems. But again, we have heard this song and dance before, and Nintendo always seems to come up short within a year or two, as series and publishers flee their hardware for one reason or another.
Photo: Nintendo
4. Is It Comfortable?
While I was excited to see a pretty clear emphasis put on a new version of the Pro controller, some of the other configurations of the Switch looked….less than appealing.
There’s a controller that forms when the two pieces of the Switch controller are slotted together, which many have said looks like a cross-eyed cartoon dog, but I’m more curious about how that would actually be to hold in your hand, as it doesn’t look terrible grip-friendly.
I have faith playing the Switch on the go when the controllers are hooked into the side will work at least as well as it did with the Wii U gamepad, which was indeed a lot more comfortable than it looked, but probably less so than a DS/3DS has been.
But when the controllers are taken off the screen and used as what appears to be a pair of Wiimotes, or worse yet, each one is used individually for multiplayer games, that looks incredibly painful for any adult human. The screen is tiny, and the controllers look like they’re made for ants at that point. If these configurations are more obnoxious than useful, some of the key selling points of the system will be damaged.
Photo: Nintendo
5. How Useful is The Mobility Gimmick, Really?
On the surface, I understand how the Switch appeals to a certain segment of the population, depending on your living situation. It’s great for commuters on buses, trains or airplanes, that’s pretty clear. It’s great for families with kids who can be occupied by the system, and even play multiplayer. But…who else?
I’m sorry but I can’t buy some of the situations that Nintendo presented in the original trailer, like bringing the Switch to a rooftop dinner party, or busting out a pair of them after a basketball game so you can play…more basketball on the device. Also, I didn’t really understand the use of a Splatoon eSports league, as you would almost always just be using an actual TV or monitor in a professional setting, not a tiny six-inch screen as you sit on the floor somewhere.
For someone like me, I’m having trouble picturing when I would actually be using this mobile functionality. When I’m commuting, I’m the one driving, and I don’t fly often, and I don’t have kids. I guess I’d use the mobility component to play games if my wife is watching something on TV, but that’s…exactly what you could do on the Wii U. For me and others like me, I just don’t know how important this kind of mobility really is, and that’s a problem considering it is the selling point of the system from a gameplay perspective.
I am curious to have all these questions answered. Some are ones Nintendo needs to comment on directly, others may not be resolved until we get our hands on the hardware ourselves. I believe in the potential of the Switch, but I also think it’s pretty far from a sure thing with so many unknowns at play.
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