{"id":18622,"date":"2018-02-02T12:14:33","date_gmt":"2018-02-02T17:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=18622"},"modified":"2018-02-02T12:14:33","modified_gmt":"2018-02-02T17:14:33","slug":"a-surprising-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2018\/02\/02\/a-surprising-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"A Surprising Switch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0Early in 2017 the world was set to receive the next console from Nintendo, the Switch, and predictions for its sales were grim. Yet a year later the console\/handheld hybrid is breaking records.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The Nintendo company has been around since the late 1800s, originally making playing cards for a Japanese card game called Hanafuda. Nintendo didn\u2019t switch to video games until the early 1970s, and their first gaming console to come to the U.S., the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), didn\u2019t arrive until 1986.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Including the Switch, Nintendo has released seven home consoles and multiple portable gaming systems in the U.S., with the Wii holding the record for their best selling console. The Switch is on track to beat that record. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Just a few days into the new year Nintendo announced the Switch \u201chas become the fastest-selling home video game system in U.S. history.\u201d In the first 10 months it has sold more than 4.8 million units in the U.S., and over 10 million worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nintendo_Switch_Flickr\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Playstation 4 is the only console to sell faster worldwide in the first year, with almost 20 million units sold.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Before the new system launched analytics firm SuperData predicted the Switch would only sell five million units worldwide by the end of the year. Other critics also gave mixed early reviews, primarily citing that it felt \u201cunder-cooked,\u201d and that it had a meagre launch line-up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Nintendo is known for not following the crowd. Instead of focusing on being the most powerful, or having the best graphics like the other gaming companies, they tend to strive for innovation in the way we play video games.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Their first system to truly break the mold was the Wii, which was marketed as the most family-friendly system rather than for the hard-core gaming crowd. And its motion controls, although not without some issues, were widely accepted as a step into the future of gaming.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The motion controls for the Wii lead to the other systems adopting similar ideas, such as Playstation\u2019s PS Move and XBox\u2019s Kinect. With motion controls making gaming feel more realistic the gaming industry looked for more ways to draw players in, so now we have VR systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"2017032101285600-F1C11A22FAEE3B82F21B330E1B786A39\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0After the Wii\u2019s success Nintendo continued to try new innovations. The Wii U attempted to bring a new experience with its tablet-like controller that allowed you to play some games on its small screen, or use it for additional functions. Unfortunately it was not well received, and has only sold about 13.5 million units since its release in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Nintendo\u2019s stock took a major dive after the Wii U was released, and stayed low until they shook things up with their smartphone AR game, Pokemon Go, released in 2016. Nintendo\u2019s stocks quickly rose after this, but there was still a lot of doubt that they could compete in the console market again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Even when Nintendo officially unveiled the details of the Switch their stock took a fairly significant dip, with many analysts worried they were making the same mistakes as they did with the Wii U. \u00a0A lot of them were concerned that it was just going to be another gimmick.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The Switch, like the original Wii, is marketed towards a larger audience. They do this through the ability to use it either as a console when connected to a TV through its dock, or as a portable system you can take with you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nintendo_Switch_Portable_from_wikimedia_commons\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0One complaint is that to be able to do both they had to sacrifice some power to make it small enough. However, even with less power than the other current-gen systems it can still play many of the top titles out today.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The Switch was released with a fairly small amount of launch titles, yet it still sold out quickly. Even pre-orders were all taken well before the launch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The biggest game released at the same time was \u201cZelda: Breath of the Wild,\u201d which won game of the year from The Game Awards 2017 along with multiple other awards. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0For the holiday season last year Nintendo released another award winning game for the Switch, \u201cSuper Mario Odyssey,\u201d which took best family game of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0Although both of these games are AAA titles, they are 1st party games, and one of the big complaints for the Wii U was that it didn\u2019t have 3rd party support. Critics have been worried that the Switch would follow in its predecessors footsteps, and only get scaled down versions of any top 3rd party titles that are ported to the system.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The majority of games brought to the Switch from other companies has either been simple indie games, or older titles such as \u201cSkyrim,\u201d the fifth game of the Elder Scrolls series. Most of these have sold very well, but it wasn\u2019t until the new \u201cDoom\u201d game was ported that it was really tested.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cDoom\u201d is scaled down from the other versions to work with the switch, yet it still plays well, with very minor drops in frames per second. The next big 3rd party game coming to the Switch soon is \u201cWolfenstein II: The New Colossus.\u201d This game will probably show the true extent of the power of the Switch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Even if the bigger 3rd party titles are few and far between, the Switch already has a large number of other titles slated for release throughout this year. There are many rumors of other games as well, with the release of the new Pokemon RPG at the top of the list.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0The new Pokemon game has been confirmed as coming to the Switch, but there is no release date for it yet. Nintendo has said it is possible to come out sometime later this year, but there is no guarantee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0During E3 2017, the biggest gaming convention in the U.S., Nintendo also showed a teaser for \u201cMetroid Prime 4.\u201d It is the eagerly anticipated sequel to \u201cMetroid Prime 3: Corruption\u201d which was released more than a decade ago in 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Nintendo is also releasing other games from some of their well known franchises such as Kirby and Yoshi. For cheaper titles, the eShop on the Switch already has hundreds of indie games starting at a couple dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0With the amount of choices gamers already have, along with the big titles set to release throughout the year, the Switch is anticipated to continue selling well. And if it keeps up the pace it could potentially beat out the Playstation 2 as the best selling console of all time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Daniel Riley<\/strong>
\nManaging Editor<\/p>\n

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