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The Verge: Why the Nintendo Switch is the most innovative console in years

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The Verge has posted a pretty cool video explaining where Nintendo was coming from with the Switch, and why its success has been as impressive as it has been. Overall, the video focuses on some key points:

  • The Switch's innovation not in necessarily doing anything new, but in taking the best ideas from previous hardware, and incorporating them all into one seamless and slick package
  • How the Switch's inherent appeal means that even the shortcomings it does have are easily forgiven
  • The context of Nintendo's failing console market which has been reinvigorated by the Switch
  • The early encouraging signs of support from indie, Japanese, and even AAA third parties
  • Nintendo's decision to launch Mario and Zelda to instantly associate appeal with the Switch
  • The Switch's success with 10 million units sold, which gives Nintendo cachet to keep games flowing on the system thanks to third parties, while it works on bringing more of its own titles over

I don't actually care much for the title, but the video itself is a cool retrospective on the first year of the Switch, and what the coming year might hold for it.
 
Bandage

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It's the easiest and most convenient system ever made.
Actually makes me want to play games knowing even if I have to go somewhere I can play them at any time.
 
hwarang

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Oct 27, 2017
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Nintendo deserves respect for consistently making an effort to be innovative in ways other video game companies has failed to do via continuously engaging in high-risk business moves.
Unlocking demand isn't as easy as it sounds.
 
Skittzo

Skittzo

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Oct 25, 2017
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Can't watch the video yet, but for me it just makes it so much easier to have the time to play the games I want to play. It's that simple.
 
DecoReturns

DecoReturns

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Best thing about it?

I can actually finish most games now. Don't have the luxury of gaming on TV often and when I do I'm just not invested like I am on a handheld.
 

Dark Cloud

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Oct 27, 2017
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It's Nintendo's third best system ever in terms of what it means for them and the industry. I think Wii and NES are the other two. Switch belongs with those two.
 
PogiJones

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I was never much of a handheld gamer; I bought a GBA as a kid, but that was it. Borrowed a 3DS for Kid Icarus: Uprising and such.

But I find myself using handheld mode for Switch way more often than I would have thought.

Even Xenoblade 2, which everyone else seems to hate in handheld mode, is perfectly fine for me. Sure, during big story moments I take it to the TV, but for random quests and whatnot, I think handheld mode is great.
 

Figgles

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Oct 30, 2017
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It's my favorite console, and I haven't even been blown away by a game yet (I haven't played mario). For some reason, it has just lit a fire in me. From here on out, I will always buy the switch version when given the choice.
 
魑魅魍魎

魑魅魍魎

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Switch is pretty awesome. Even though I like my vita i do like that the switch is primarily a gaming console rather than try to be a movie player, internet browser, netflix device, etc.
 
Platy

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Not sure about the nintendoomed feel he passes with the WiiU era... nintendo has plenty of money from the DS/Wii days.

Also, if the only problem you have with it is that the online is still free and it is hard to get it because everyone wants it than wow!
 
cardboardboxer

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Oct 28, 2017
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Honestly it is less about innovation and more about bravery.

Nintendo R&D didn't make the Switch SoC. It would have happened completely without Nintendo thanks to the mobile device revolution that has happened the last ten years. HD Rumble was in the iPhone 7 first. We saw full gyro with the Wii Motion Plus and in smartphones and countless Chinese companies have tried to make controller setups that you bolt onto tablets for years. Almost nothing in the Switch was new or innovative.

The magic of the Switch is Nintendo made the bold leap to leverage all this innovation created elsewhere into a single package and have the bravery to consolidate the two console lines they have had since the NES era into one. They realized that by this generation mobile hardware had advanced so much it could be sold as a genuine improvement to the Wii U, so they made the choice to sell it that way.

The Switch is more a victory for their marketing and their supply chain teams than the R&D people at Nintendo.
 
TheMisterManGuy

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The Switch is appealing because it hits a number of targets at once. It's a simplified home console for casual gamers coming from mobile who had been put off by them before. It's a core-gamer friendly console as it lets you take some of the best AAA and indie games on the go, and even with compromises, it can still deliver the full experience. And it's a great family and party machine thanks to its built-in multiplayer and kickstand, making it a party system you can really take with you. While the Switch doesn't necessarily do anything new, it executes all of its core ideas in such unique and surprising ways that it makes it a joy to play on for nearly any game. The Switch is a very special console, it solves so many problems with, and addresses so many holes in the market with just a few swift strikes.
 
lordlad

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with the switch, actually yearn for more RPGs now..

unlike the days of yore where i have plenty of time to sit at my room, grinding hours away to max out a character in a rpg, i can't do that now as an adult due to commitments. (I still have FF15 and Horizon ZD unfinished to my everlasting shame and other non-rpg games were victims too)

The switch actually let me finished games due to its portable nature. I finished Mario Odyssey in a week and look set to finish zelda too by this year as i set to travel on the xmas week.
 
Phendrift

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User Warned: Unnecessary and inflammatory comments.
It's the first innovative console since the Wii.

Even the most hardcore sony and Microsoft fanboys can't deny that their consoles are very iterative, which isn't a bad thing. Don't fix what isn't broken.
 
tiebreaker

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I wish I like Switch hardware as much as OP. I just don't like the joy cons. It's like 3DS's controller but worse because of the added size and weight.
 
Mindlog

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Oct 25, 2017
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A shield with incomplete software. I disagree with the hardware assessment.
The games are excellent.

Upon further review. I can't disagree simply because of previously existing hardware. That hardware had never been introduced to the console space. Low bar to clear though.
 
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Deleted member 33116

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I fucking hated my Wii U. Like yeah the games were good but the gamepad sucked and the UI was slow. The switch is comfortable to play and hold and the UI is greatly improved. Plus it has heaps of amazing games.

Probably one of my favourite systems so far.
 
AETOS

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Great video that highlights many of the Switch's attributes. It really is the culmination of 30+ years of Nintendo hardware innovation in one sleek package.
 

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Lovin mine it's now my main gamin machine it was playstation before normally, but with all these games and indies in the palm of my hands i have no tjme anymore for my ps4.

Also it got the best launch year ever imo or well wich i experienced. Normally i regret launch buys till year 2 or only have a handfull of games. I have 25+ games already in total.

Honestly a nintendo handheld/console hybrid is something i always wanted or well 1 hardware piece for all ninty games instead of 2.

So yeah quite happy with mine :P
 
HeisenbergWW62

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Oct 25, 2017
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A hybrid console definitely is a great idea and has lots of convienece to it

That said, for myself, I don't like handheld/portable gaming. So the Switch to me isn't innovative, just an underpowered home console that I love anyway due to the quality of Nintendo games and some really awesome upcoming 3rd party Japanese exclusives (Octopath/SMTV/Bayo3 hype!), but I understand the portable nature is a much bigger deal to others. I still can't help but roll my eyes at all the "Switch changed my life and ruined other games for me" posts
 
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Watershed

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Oct 26, 2017
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Easily the most innovative console since the Wii. Credit to Nintendo for continuing to experiment with hardware and, in this case, making a great piece of hardware that feels like a really strong culmination of multiple design philosophies. Motion controls, easy local multiplayer, portable and console experiences all in one.
 
mario_O

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He is forgetting some obvious flaws that the system has. The Switch is an underpowered home console and a too-big handheld. It doesn't do anything particularly well. I think it's too early to say if the system has been a success. Third parties could abandon the system soon if subpar ports dont sell or if the system is just not capable of running the games. And Nintendo is yet to prove that it can maintain a steady release of AAA first party titles to keep the console going. ¿How many AAA first party titles from Nintendo are coming in 2018?
 
Yabberwocky

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It's a handsome little console, I'm really looking forward to picking one up, especially with the portability of it. What an incredible first year the Switch has had in regards to games, too. I just need Wind Waker HD and Tropical Freeze on the Switch, and I'll be delighted to see the back of my Wii U. I'm over the moon (shush) about the Bayonetta ports and Bayonetta 3. Yaaaas.
 
qrac

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Nov 13, 2017
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I agree with them. Not since the Wii have we seen a console go above and beyond what consumers expect a console to do. I love it!

As I always said. Nintendo is Apple's counterpart in the console sphere. May not be the newest or the bet technology but they sure damn know how to package it in a way that satisfies consumers and with great services aka games on Nintendo's case.
 
The Adder

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There is quite a bit of speculative or just plain incorrect information contained within the first 3 minutes of this video. There's no evidence, for example, that Odyssey was ever a Wii U title.
 
Lotus

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I love the Switch so much. With other stuff, it's just... this is what I use to play games. With the Switch on the other hand, the device itself is so nice to look at, I actually enjoy holding it in my hand unlike the Wii U. First console I've owned where a big part of the appeal is the device itself. Only portable devices really ever had any chance of making me feel this way, but the difference with the Switch is that it isn't limited to what we'd normally associate with being "handheld games". Which is what basically pushes it over the top for me I guess. The versatility of it being a hybrid device (Tabletop mode <3) just makes everything accessible now, really bodes well for its future, as well as my own convenience.

Though it's partly because this has been a very great year as far as games go, the Switch just kind of makes me look at basically every new release, and think "Maybe I should get that..." When beforehand, I was definitely a lot more strict as far as what games I would tend to buy for myself. I don't buy every single Switch game or anything, not even close, but just the fact that it makes me consider stepping outside my comfort zone at all is pretty incredible to me.

But yea, owning a new console is usually whatever, but the Switch is the first time where I totally get why people gush over it.
 
Doskoi Panda

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Keldroc said:
No, but that's the new agreed upon narrative to prop up the portability aspect of the Switch as though it makes up for the system being woefully, hilariously underpowered for something released in 2017.
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I don't think that it is. I think that you're overstating the number of people who would agree with that sentiment because that would support a narrative of your own.
 
Vilix

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I remember when the Wii came out. A British magazine had a picture of the Wii controller on the cover with the title "Those Who Dare Win". The Switch reminds me of that.
 
OP
OP

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The Adder said:
There is quite a bit of speculative or just plain incorrect information contained within the first 3 minutes of this video. There's no evidence, for example, that Odyssey was ever a Wii U title.
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Development on it was confirmed to have started in 2014, at that point it couldn't have been anything but a Wii U game.

Keldroc said:
No, but that's the new agreed upon narrative to prop up the portability aspect of the Switch as though it makes up for the system being woefully, hilariously underpowered for something released in 2017.
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I feel like you are projecting narratives to support your own.
 
Wowfunhappy

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cardboardboxer said:
Honestly it is less about innovation and more about bravery.

Nintendo R&D didn't make the Switch SoC. It would have happened completely without Nintendo thanks to the mobile device revolution that has happened the last ten years. HD Rumble was in the iPhone 7 first. We saw full gyro with the Wii Motion Plus and in smartphones and countless Chinese companies have tried to make controller setups that you bolt onto tablets for years. Almost nothing in the Switch was new or innovative.

The magic of the Switch is Nintendo made the bold leap to leverage all this innovation created elsewhere into a single package and have the bravery to consolidate the two console lines they have had since the NES era into one. They realized that by this generation mobile hardware had advanced so much it could be sold as a genuine improvement to the Wii U, so they made the choice to sell it that way.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is actually par for the course for Nintendo though. They don't really develop new technologies, they find clever ways to leverage existing ones. Touch screens existed well before the DS. IR cameras existed before the Wii Remote. The game boy line sure as heck wasn't the first portable console, and it was in fact one of the last to get a color screen.

In a way, you could say that Nintendo approaches hardware in the same way most approach game design. It's not about new technology, it's about seeing what's out there and experimenting to find what feels satisfying.
 
strata

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Phantom Thief said:
But they cost like a thousand bucks lol.
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The price is somewhat irrelevant, any mobile chip is going to be cheaper than the chips in other consoles anyway, because the die size is so much smaller.

But the Switch used the most powerful mobile tech available at the time. It makes no sense to call it "underpowered" just because current chips are faster.
 
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