It kind of feels like Nintendo is on cruise control a bit with the Switch now

[Imperfected]

What a ridiculous call considering how great the Switch year 1 library already is and we're only in February.

Click to shrink...

Nintendo front-loads everything toward launch: "Nintendo's on cruise control now that they've got my money!"

Nintendo spreads out releases in post-launch window: "Why would I ever buy a Nintendo console when they launch with nothing worth playing and the best games will just be cross-gen titles released after it's already dead?"

I think Nintendo made the absolutely right choice with the Switch, and I say that as someone who spent basically the entire Wii-U lifespan (I know, I know; all ten minutes) pissed off at Nintendo for how they handled it.

 

[Abrasion Test]

People are not buying a $300 handheld/hybrid console for indie game releases at those prices. I mean sure people are buying indie games on the switch, but they are not buying the system for those games.



It didn't have great first party in it's first year, but it had great third party and great indie games that were priced appropriately, not inflated like they are on the switch.

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The third party games were fairly forgettable until 2015 when we finally got games like Witcher 3. Up until then, Destiny, Shadow of War, Watch Dogs 1, Dragon Age Inquisition, The Evil Within, were all kind of bummers. 2014 wasn't a great year.

 

[Robbie Rampage]

I am not "in the know" and have no basis in fact on this, other than what was said in Famitsu by Atlus about it, but I most definitely do not expect it in 2018, even in Japan. They said it didn't start incredibly long ago (probably shortly before the Switch conference in January 2017).

https://personacentral.com/preliminary-shin-megami-tensei-v-information-famitsu-interview-leak/

According to this, they said "

• At this point, we can't even say it's "Coming Soon!" yet, so please wait a little while longer."

If I'm not mistaken, there was something else where various Japanese developers commented on what they were doing in 2018. Atlus said that SMTV was still a long way off. I don't expect this game to come out in Japan in 2018. We haven't even seen any gameplay yet. However we did get a localization announcement in November, one month after the trailer was shown and the title revealed to be SMTV. That's extremely fast for Atlus.

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Thank you for the response

 

[Dash Kappei]

Nintendo released the games for the only series they give a damn about now (Mario, Zelda, and soon to be Pokemon). What, you want them to actually use more of their IP instead of relegating it solely to Smash Bros. character picks and assist trophies?

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Yep.
Oh wait, also Splatoon.
And Arms.
And Bayonetta.
And Kirby.
And Fire Emblem.
And Metroid.
And Xenoblade.

 

[Rust]

For Sony, two actually. You forgot MLB The Show. Those two VR games and remake are a lot bigger deal then you seem to be giving them, and Detroit seems highly likely for May/June. That's compared to Nintendo releasing mostly ports of recent games, Kirby, and Mario Tennis, which is easy to see why it's not as good in comparison.

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You're right, I did forget MLB as I mentioned earlier, due to it barely existing throughout most of the world. I apologise. However, you have to wonder if you can truly call a yearly iterative game an 'original' title, but that's a discussion for another thread.

The VR games aren't going to make that much of a splash - Inpatient barely made a ripple. I'm not saying they're bad games by any means, but adding them to a 'console wars list' when a very small percentage of your console base will actually have the means to play them seems like artificially inflating the numbers.

If Nintendo were truly on cruise control, you'd be seeing a Zelda GOTY edition around now, and only have that as their monthly release. Instead, they're bringing good games over from a console for people who haven't played them. Especially since the last iterations of Kirby, Hyrule Warriors, Mario Tennis (3DS) all were million sellers - I find it odd to discount their existence entirely. Especially when it's been proven with Mario Kart and Pokken that sales of ports can go past the initial sales numbers of the original.

 

[Piston]

This is going to be Nintendo and releases in 2019... with us being the car and all of the car washing items being the games. At some point they will have Metroid Prime 4, Pokemon, Bayonetta 3, a Smash game, an Animal Crossing game, a 2D Mario game, Pikmin 4, and more all releasing and I think the majority of them will be in 2019 from the looks of the schedule.

That said 2018 is gonna be fine with what they have announced already and then adding either Smash or Pokemon and one lower tier game like a Pikmin 4:

February: Bayonetta 1 + 2
March: Kirby Star Allies
April: Labo, Hyrule Warriors
May: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Dark Souls Remastered
June: Mario Tennis Aces
TBD: Fire Emblem, Yoshi, Project Octopath Traveler, No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Back

If I had to guess, we might get a Pikmin 3 port this summer to prep for Pikmin 4 and another Labo release in the fall as well. The 3rd Party flood gates are about to open too. I think they will get about 50% of the major 3rd party releases this year like Madden, Call of Duty, FIFA, NBA 2k, and a few more ports from previously released games ala DOOM, Skyrim, and LA Noire.

 

[takriel]

I don't know how you guys can get excited about a Smash port. It's nearly 4 years old!

 

[Olinad]

This is going to be Nintendo and releases in 2019... with us being the car and all of the car washing items being the games. At some point they will have Metroid Prime 4, Pokemon, Bayonetta 3, a Smash game, an Animal Crossing game, a 2D Mario game, Pikmin 4, and more all releasing and I think the majority of them will be in 2019 from the looks of the schedule.

That said 2018 is gonna be fine with what they have announced already and then adding either Smash or Pokemon and one lower tier game like a Pikmin 4:

February: Bayonetta 1 + 2
March: Kirby Star Allies
April: Labo, Hyrule Warriors
May: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Dark Souls Remastered
June: Mario Tennis Aces
TBD: Fire Emblem, Yoshi, Project Octopath Traveler, No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Back

If I had to guess, we might get a Pikmin 3 port this summer to prep for Pikmin 4 and another Labo release in the fall as well.

Click to shrink...

I'm quite sure there's gonna be much more. And third parties are also coming on board - you forgot Dragon Quest Builders for example.

It's true that if you played EVERYTHING that came out in the last few years for EVERY console, there's not much new. But if you're a normal human being with average time to dedicate to gaming, you'll probably find at least 3 or 4 games, old or new, that you want to play. And you can take them anywhere.

So... yes, in terms of megatons Nintendo is in cruise control. But who isn't in February?

 

[Piston]

I don't know how you guys can get excited about a Smash port. It's nearly 4 years old!

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Who says it is going to be a port at this point? That said, a Melee remaster/port would likely end the internet.

 

[Mr.kookalamanza]

This is going to be Nintendo and releases in 2019... with us being the car and all of the car washing items being the games. At some point they will have Metroid Prime 4, Pokemon, Bayonetta 3, a Smash game, an Animal Crossing game, a 2D Mario game, Pikmin 4, and more all releasing and I think the majority of them will be in 2019 from the looks of the schedule.

That said 2018 is gonna be fine with what they have announced already and then adding either Smash or Pokemon and one lower tier game like a Pikmin 4:

February: Bayonetta 1 + 2
March: Kirby Star Allies
April: Labo, Hyrule Warriors
May: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Dark Souls Remastered
June: Mario Tennis Aces
TBD: Fire Emblem, Yoshi, Project Octopath Traveler, No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Back

If I had to guess, we might get a Pikmin 3 port this summer to prep for Pikmin 4 and another Labo release in the fall as well. The 3rd Party flood gates are about to open too. I think they will get about 50% of the major 3rd party releases this year like Madden, Call of Duty, FIFA, NBA 2k, and a few more ports from previously released games ala DOOM, Skyrim, and LA Noire.

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I was literally going to post 90% of this. (Everything except the meme, but I liked it)

I'd also add Wolfenstein 2 to the big hitters list.
Personally I'm happy with this list, especially when you add Dragon Quest Builders and Hollow Knight.

I'm expecting 1-2 surprise releases from Nintendo this year too.

 

[Deleted member 24540]

Well, you would be wrong because half a year ago Nintendo's lineup was really great.

I mean, I at least understand the skepticism and worry now, but half a year ago Nintendo was on fire.

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I'm talking about seeing it coming based on the lack of exciting announcements in the Directs after E3. The slow H1 2018 shows that I was right in thinking they were underwhelming.

 

[unicornKnight]

Reminds me of 3DS for large portions of 2012.

Hopefully Switch gets is 2013 moment next year.



wat

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Have never touched Dark Souls, afraid it will be too hard for me...

 

[Antony]

I don't know how you guys can get excited about a Smash port. It's nearly 4 years old!

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GTA V is older. Should we not be excited about a potential port for that either?

 

[PenultimateFantasy]

I think you are looking at the years as calendar years as opposed to Nintendo years - if you think the Switch came out in March and around that's time they produced that 'here's the games for the year ' infographic which was stellar. I think we should at least give them until March, the 1st anniversary to show what they have coming up this year before we say they are on cruise control

 

[takriel]

GTA V is older. Should we not be excited about a potential port for that either?

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Ugh please no.

 

[Top%Rattata]

Are they on cruise control?

Probably a little. At launch in March last year there would have been a lot of pressure to get it right after the Wii U. I mean, a LOT of pressure, if Switch hadn't been successful, things would look very different for Nintendo right now.

That said, Switch's first year went about as well as they could have reasonably hoped sales-wise. Furthermore, given a little breathing room from indies, 3rd parties and Wii U ports to get games on the system, I think Nintendo is under a little less pressure on the 1st party front at the moment.

I do think they need to have a solid E3 though, as we don't really know when the next flagship games are coming (if that's the right phrasing) -- even if we sort of know what they are; Fire Emblem, Metroid Prime 4, Pokemon & Bayonetta 3.

 

[unicornKnight]

Now, don't get me wrong- I am extremely excited for games like Dark Souls and The World Ends With You coming to the Switch (especially since I haven't ever played through either before, so they'd be brand new to me), and those games, as well as others like Kirby, Bayonetta, Yoshi, Ys, and so on, feel like Nintendo has taken the foot off the pedal for a bit.

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I agree that it feels like this currently. Also judging so far yeah one port in 2 months (Jan - Feb) is not great but we had a packed holiday.
But I'd say wait, I expect some good stuff on the next couple of directs.

 

[Shapes]

GTA V is older. Should we not be excited about a potential port for that either?

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Having played it on PC (actually also ps4pro), I would say no. And no, the whole "portable" factor doesn't really change that.

 

[Chea996]

Having played it on PC (actually also ps4pro), I would say no. And no, the whole "portable" factor doesn't really change that.

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I played it on my PS4 but I would totally double dip on a Switch version. Guess it depends on individuals.

 

[fauxcalin]

I don't know how you guys can get excited about a Smash port. It's nearly 4 years old!

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cuz its still a good game trapped on a system that no one owned ;)

 

[Terraforce]

You're right, I did forget MLB as I mentioned earlier, due to it barely existing throughout most of the world. I apologise. However, you have to wonder if you can truly call a yearly iterative game an 'original' title, but that's a discussion for another thread.

The VR games aren't going to make that much of a splash - Inpatient barely made a ripple. I'm not saying they're bad games by any means, but adding them to a 'console wars list' when a very small percentage of your console base will actually have the means to play them seems like artificially inflating the numbers.

If Nintendo were truly on cruise control, you'd be seeing a Zelda GOTY edition around now, and only have that as their monthly release. Instead, they're bringing good games over from a console for people who haven't played them. Especially since the last iterations of Kirby, Hyrule Warriors, Mario Tennis (3DS) all were million sellers - I find it odd to discount their existence entirely. Especially when it's been proven with Mario Kart and Pokken that sales of ports can go past the initial sales numbers of the original.

Click to shrink...

Since when were we arguing how much of a "splash" games would make? You're adding a lot of weird comments and arbitrary qualifications that don't make much sense. Games are games are games. Just because you personally don't like a game, arbitrarily disqualifying it doesn't help your argument. I find it ironic as hell that you defend ports and yet make excuses for why full games or a from the ground up remake "doesn't count."

And ports in themselves are part of the "cruise control mentality" idea. I'd argue straight ports are on the same level as GOTY editions. Ports sell, sure, but that's literally one of the points OP seemed to be making.

Personally, I think ports are fine. Even as a Wii U owner I bought Pokken and MK8. But it's the frequency of the ports which is annoying to some people. For the first half of the year 3/5 of Nintendo's titles are ports. It would be less of a burn if they at least spread them out a little instead of clumping them together.

 

[Rust]

Just because you personally don't like a game, arbitrarily disqualifying it doesn't help your argument. I find it ironic as hell that you defend ports and yet make excuses for why full games or a from the ground up remake "doesn't count."

Click to shrink...

Hang on, I haven't commented on my personal taste of any of these games, nor have I said that any of these games are bad or "don't count". I'm talking about sales momentum, and comparing first-party software during this time. Ports will help as a stopgap, and have a good chance to sell better than their original counterparts.

And that's not even mentioning the third party games and indies that will be coming out this half as well.

Is Nintendo going lower-key? Yes, undoubtedly - compared to Zelda/Mario, anything would be lower.
However I disagree that a port means that Nintendo is just coasting, especially ones that have extra content. Kirby and Mario Tennis are new games, DK and Hyrule Warriors have new content, and Bayo 1+2 was trying to build a base for when Bayo 3 comes out. While I understand it sucks if you've played these games before, a lot of Switch owners haven't. (I personally think that Kirby is going to surprise quite a few people - never underestimate the pink puffball!)

Regarding VR/Sony: Releasing a VR game will not really increase sales momentum, hence why you don't see Sony making a big fuss when one comes out, compared to SotC or God of War. They know that there is a extremely low sales ceiling to these games. That's not to say these games are bad in any way - it's just that there are only 2m PSVR units sold, and it's highly unlikely to see Inpatient or Bravo Team have more than a 15% attach rate. Even that number is being generous, although I'd love to be proven wrong. (And that's the last of my Sony derailing.)

 

[Hieroph]

cuz its still a good game trapped on a system that no one owned ;)

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Smash 4 sold over 9 million on 3DS.

 

[Adam_Roman]

Year one isn't even over yet.

 

[Papacheeks]

The third party games were fairly forgettable until 2015 when we finally got games like Witcher 3. Up until then, Destiny, Shadow of War, Watch Dogs 1, Dragon Age Inquisition, The Evil Within, were all kind of bummers. 2014 wasn't a great year.

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You're calling Destiny, Shadow of war, Dragon age, Guilty Gear, Battlefield 4, Advance warfare all bummers? Then following 2014 in January you had Dying Light among other big profile games.

 

[TheDinoman]

Who says it is going to be a port at this point?

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Emily Rogers and Ehoavash do.

Heard from a source that bandai namco is indeed making MP4

Smash 4 switch deluxe port is happening this year

And also NSMB U + port is actually a thing that's also happening lol

Year of ports baby qqq

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It's true that Ehoavash has not provided evidence to the Admins that they are in fact in a position to know what they claim to know. Therefore, the admin team can not verify that they are telling the truth.

However, based on what I know about this year, I have no reason to doubt Ehoavash's recent claims. It lines up with what I've personally heard about this year's software lineup.

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Yeah, I'm expecting Smash Bros to have a significant amount of new content. My expectations: New stages, new playable characters, possibly returning characters. Maybe we'll see some stages from the 3DS version recreated in HD.

I don't think Smash Bros will be a straight simple port. They will probably position this as the "Ultimate version of Smash Bros". Anyways, we won't have to wait too long to hear about it.

At the bare minimum, it will at least be around Mario Kart 8 Deluxe levels of new content.

MK8 Deluxe was not exactly a slouch in the content department: All of the Wii U DLC + 7 brand new playable characters + Brand New Battle Mode + Eight Switch exclusive new battle tracks.

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I can easily see it: Smash 4 Switch will be one of the big E3 reveals, and it will release a few months later in September to coincide with the launch of the Switch's online service.

 

[Deleted member 9584]

I fully expect the Switch smash to be a definitive version of the 3ds and Wii U games with its own slew of dlc levels and characters.

 

[fauxcalin]

Smash 4 sold over 9 million on 3DS.

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Smash 4 3DS and Smash 4 Wii U are two different SKUs and so different software, my point still stands

 

[MONSTER]

I don't know how you guys can get excited about a Smash port. It's nearly 4 years old!

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what if this Smash 4 port isn't just a port but includes new fighters, new stages, new modes and all the dlc included?

it'll be more than just a port

 

[Terraforce]

Hang on, I haven't commented on my personal taste of any of these games, nor have I said that any of these games are bad or "don't count". I'm talking about sales momentum, and comparing first-party software during this time. Ports will help as a stopgap, and have a good chance to sell better than their original counterparts.

And that's not even mentioning the third party games and indies that will be coming out this half as well.

Is Nintendo going lower-key? Yes, undoubtedly - compared to Zelda/Mario, anything would be lower.
However I disagree that a port means that Nintendo is just coasting, especially ones that have extra content. Kirby and Mario Tennis are new games, DK and Hyrule Warriors have new content, and Bayo 1+2 was trying to build a base for when Bayo 3 comes out. While I understand it sucks if you've played these games before, a lot of Switch owners haven't. (I personally think that Kirby is going to surprise quite a few people - never underestimate the pink puffball!)

Regarding VR/Sony: Releasing a VR game will not really increase sales momentum, hence why you don't see Sony making a big fuss when one comes out, compared to SotC or God of War. They know that there is a extremely low sales ceiling to these games. That's not to say these games are bad in any way - it's just that there are only 2m PSVR units sold, and it's highly unlikely to see Inpatient or Bravo Team have more than a 15% attach rate. Even that number is being generous, although I'd love to be proven wrong. (And that's the last of my Sony derailing.)

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You're inflating the "new content" up by a lot. HW is just two costumes, and Donkey Kong is a single new character which is essentially easy mode. I've seen GOTY editions that you looked down upon with more additions than that. Games that are relatively easy to push out by updating them graphically and adding one or two costumes is the epitome of coasting in the game industry.

I also said the idea of ports isn't my issue, it's the frequency. Last year we got four games between the two ports, but this year we get a port every other month and only Mario Tennis as a big name title outside of that. And don't forget that HW was on 3DS, and Bayo 1 was on PS3/360 so it's not like all of these games are exclusive to Wii U to begin with.

And again, sales are irrelevant for this discussion. Nintendo has released games that utterly flopped before (several last year on 3DS) but it's silly to just ignore them or to act as if they aren't newly developed games when they are. That's a very arbitrary qualification that undercuts their releases for no good reason.

 

[Black_Red]

I don't know how you guys can get excited about a Smash port. It's nearly 4 years old!

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Because I want to play smash on a console, I only played the 3DS version, that sold better than the wiiU version, so I'm alone on this.
Also, Mario Kart 8 was also a port and is a must have for switch owners.

And again, sales are irrelevant for this discussion. Nintendo has released games that utterly flopped before (several last year on 3DS) but it's silly to just ignore them or to act as if they aren't newly developed games when they are. That's a very arbitrary qualification that undercuts their releases for no good reason.

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It depends on WHY are those ports not as important as new games.
To me, usually I think ports are less important because I'll not "double dip" just because of some graphical improvements. In the switch case I always wanted to play Bayo 2, Mario Kart 8 and DK TF. (Because I loved Bayo 1, Mario Kart 7 and DKC:R) but I wouldnt buy a wiiU just to play them.
Now, they're releasing them on switch and while they're ports, I'm not rebuying these games, and they're just as good as new games to me.
If the game is old or new, it's kind of irrelevant to me if I didnt play the older version, the game doesnt feel dated and I dont have access to it on another platform.

 

[Rogue Agent]

If Kirby Star Allies is as good if not better than previous games such as Planet Robobot, Super Star Ultra, etc. then it will be just as valuable to me as BOTW and Mario Odyssey. I won't discount it from Nintendo's release schedule just because it's a 2D platformer. I'll probably be just as excited about it as Mario Tennis Aces. If I don't like Kirby, then it's fine. It's not for me. However, I'll still understand that it's an important part of the release schedule. In the end, the sales and critical reception will decide how good it is, regardless of the budget. I won't treat them as 'ghetto' games like some people do.

The same goes for Yoshi. Then the ports are a nice bonus for those who've never played them. What makes it even better is that going by Nintendo's 2017 habits, it's clear that this isn't all of 2018's line-up. Heck, a full year hasn't even passed yet.

 

[Hieroph]

Smash 4 3DS and Smash 4 Wii U are two different SKUs and so different software, my point still stands

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Smash 4 Wii U also sold over 5 million. It's not like "nobody played it".

 

[Pancracio17]

It didn't have great first party in it's first year, but it had great third party and great indie games that were priced appropriately, not inflated like they are on the switch.

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I mean, that "great third party" was also on last gen. It was literally in the same position the Switch is right now, except it didnt have a killer app in first party, like the switch now does.

 

[Hindl]

It's been less than a year

How do people keep forgetting what the early years of a console's life is like

 

[Bowser]

I get the same feeling but only for the first half of the year. Second half looks promising with online functions and hopefully Fire Emblem.

 

[Papacheeks]

I mean, that "great third party" was also on last gen. It was literally in the same position the Switch is right now, except it didnt have a killer app in first party, like the switch now does.

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Shadow of war looked like garbage on PS3, so did NBA2K, also did any other third party game from 2014 and on because most developers were prioritizing PS4.XBOX. My initial point was the killer lineup for switch is because most of the games came from Wii U. They were ported over with some new content, and games like Mario odyssey, ZELDA were started and close to completion on Wii U before they changed gears to release on switch. WIth out them sacrificing 2 years of the Wii U releases you would not have the lineup last year that we had.

I'm very confident Sony is going to be doing something similar for PS5 or whatever it's going to be called. But the difference will be all the games will release on both systems. Nintendo had this issue with the 3DS where they would have a amazing stellar year of releases, and a thinner release the next year.

This year will be thin unless something like Metroid Prime 4, or Pokemon get's released this year. MARIO Tennis, Yoshi, and Kirby are not giant games which is why Labo exists this year along with all the ports.

It's been less than a year

How do people keep forgetting what the early years of a console's life is like

Click to shrink...

We don't but without having third party Nintendo should have all developers from 3DS releasing versions of enhanced 3DS games on switch via the store with physical releases for some.

Issue is unless you want to pay more for indie games, and buy ports of games a lot of people bought on Wii U there isn't a lot this year like there was last year.
That's on Nintendo. I mean I guess this next direct that's coming soon will give us a better indication on what the rest of the year will shape up to be.

But my main point stand that since your not going to get every third party and only a select few, with some being developed exclusives you have to fill that void somehow to keep momentum going.
Sony had a rough 2014 year in terms of first party, but there were enough great third party games ontop of cheap indie games to make up for it in spades. There isn't a giant list of third party for Nintendo to rely on. ANd them still concentrating on 3DS when they said a while back all efforts would be on Switch with 3DS/Switch developers being under one roof, doesn't seem to have bared fruit.

Add in the delay for their service which they seem wishy washy on, and no talk of VC titles really makes 2018 not super great if you just recently bought a switch compared to last year.

 

[fauxcalin]

Smash 4 Wii U also sold over 5 million. It's not like "nobody played it".

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well considering the lifetime sales of the Wii U topping out at about 12 Mil, that's a pretty poor show for Smash of all things. Like that isn't even a 50% attach rate so <50% of Wii U owner's even played the game, it will sell more on Switch and that's a fact, it happened with MK8DX and its gonna happen again with DK:TF

 

[jorgejjvr]

Cruise control until we get their direct with the big games for the year, and E3.

I can't wait to see what the second half of the year looks like

 

[Lazrgatr]

Nintendo is definitely laying on the heat at Gamefreak to get pokemon out this year.

It's the only thing that could hope to match SMO and BOTW.

 

[Vadara]

Yep.
Oh wait, also Splatoon.
And Arms.
And Bayonetta.
And Kirby.
And Fire Emblem.
And Metroid.
And Xenoblade.

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That's nice but they're not F-Zero so I don't care.

 

[kickz]

I get the same feeling but only for the first half of the year. Second half looks promising with online functions and hopefully Fire Emblem.

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The worst part is the lack of communication, atleast last year by this time we knew XenoBlade and Mario were the Fall/Holiday combo and Splatoon was coming in the summer.

Nintendo needed to do a proper Direct for January or February

 

[saltybeagle]

This topic is garbage, and just leads to pointless console wars. I don't think anyone could argue that Switch has had a disappointing first-party showing in its first year. We will find out more about year two as we get closer to it.

 

[Vanillalite]

Indies are the console's saving grace. It's why I was so happy they dropped that PPC arch finally as it meant more mainstream engine support to get eShop content to fill in the gaps. We're on a great indie run so I'm happy currently.

That being said I haven't bought a Nintendo 1st party title since Mario and looking ahead I'm at a loss on the next one I'll buy as I'm not not really interested in rebuying my Wii U library.

 

[blacktout]

The worst part is the lack of communication, atleast last year by this time we knew XenoBlade and Mario were the Fall/Holiday combo and Splatoon was coming in the summer.

Nintendo needed to do a proper Direct for January or February

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My pet theory is that Nintendo is withholding information about their Summer/Fall/Winter releases in order to prevent all of their Q1 ports (and Kirby) from being overshadowed by bigger announcements. If they do an anniversary Direct in early March that gives all the smaller titles announced and/or dated in the Direct Mini time to accumulate buzz and preorders instead of just being lost in an ocean of "OMG SMASH IN SEPTEMBER! POKEMON BY CHRISTMAS!" hype.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

The worst part is the lack of communication, atleast last year by this time we knew XenoBlade and Mario were the Fall/Holiday combo and Splatoon was coming in the summer.

Nintendo needed to do a proper Direct for January or February

Click to shrink...

TBF, very few publishers have announced second half of 2018 games and the ones that are announced were weird.

Announced games for second half 2018:

Red Dead Redemption 2: Delayed an entire year from original release date
Battlefield 2018: Announced in financial briefing, no information
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Announced in tweet, no information
Spider-Man: Announced e3 2016
Days Gone: Announced e3 2016
Dreams: Announced in 2014
Kingdom Hearts 3: Announced back at fucking e3 2013
No More Heroes 3: Announced to build hype for Nintendo Switch reveal
Octopath Traveler: Announced to build hype for Switch reveal.
Fire Emblem 16: Announced to build hype for Switch reveal

The more "normal" announcements for 2H 2018 being:

Soulcalibur
Mega Man 11
Metro Exodus

Like, Ubisoft is probably releasing Watch Dogs 3 and The Division 2 this year and hasn't shown them. Warner Bros has like nothing scheduled for 2018 right now, Bethesda has little scheduled... Most publishers in general haven't announced their second half of 2018 games yet and the ones that were announced were announced because of weird circumstances.

 

[kickz]

My pet theory is that Nintendo is withholding information about their Summer/Fall/Winter releases in order to prevent all of their Q1 ports (and Kirby) from being overshadowed by bigger announcements. If they do an anniversary Direct in early March that gives all the smaller titles announced and/or dated in the Direct Mini time to accumulate buzz and preorders instead of just being lost in an ocean of "OMG SMASH IN SEPTEMBER! POKEMON BY CHRISTMAS!" hype.

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TBF, very few publishers have announced second half of 2018 games and the ones that are announced were weird.
Like, Ubisoft is probably releasing Watch Dogs 3 and The Division 2 this year and hasn't shown them. Warner Bros has like nothing scheduled for 2018 right now, Bethesda has little scheduled... Most publishers in general haven't announced their second half of 2018 games yet and the ones that were announced were announced because of weird circumstances.

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My thinking is, they had some big hitters planned for Spring/Summer that fell through.


So now its Ports parade and hoping Pokemon is ready for Fall/Holiday

 

[Akita One]

The year barely started. :v

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Nintendo doesn't announce games that early. They're not Square Enix.

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It's still February, a direct not happening every month doesn't equal cruise control.

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Bear in mind that Nintendo likes to announce games within relatively short windows of when they're released. They're not quite Sega Saturn "it's out now!!" (although sometimes they will do that for eShop games), but they don't like to make people wait too long. So there are no doubt several unannounced games coming out this year from Nintendo for Switch but we probably won't hear about some of them until E3.

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I agree with all these things. I'm shocked that Nintendo is being criticized for this...both Bayo games just came out, maybe the greatest Kirby game ever comes out next month...then what some call the greatest platformer of all time in May. Did people really expect a GOTY candidate every other month?

Take away SMO and BOTW...was 2017 really as amazing as you think it was?

 

[Bowser]

The worst part is the lack of communication, atleast last year by this time we knew XenoBlade and Mario were the Fall/Holiday combo and Splatoon was coming in the summer.

Nintendo needed to do a proper Direct for January or February

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I agree, but we knew about them only because of the Switch presentation. It would have been kinda lame to introduce the Switch and only show the games releasing before summer.

Most games shown at the Mini Direct have a spring release, I doubt games released in July or August will first be promoted a month before, so yeah, there should be a proper Direct any time soon.

 

[InsrtCoins]

I don't know how you guys can get excited about a Smash port. It's nearly 4 years old!

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I mean, I still get excited for Chrono Trigger ports, and that game's going on 23. If a game is truly great, it doesn't matter how old it is. I enjoy playing Smash 4. I would prefer being able to play Smash 4 on Switch rather than digging out the Wii U.