Why hating on the Nintendo Switch is stupid

I normally don't rise in defense of any corporate product (believing that the companies themselves must do that with their policies), but this time I will make an exception as I don't really understand all the hate and saltiness that has been going on ever since the Nintendo's presentation of the Switch. So today, I am going to shoot down some misconceptions about Nintendo's new console that the trolls and haters are using to discredit the whole platform before it even begins. Be aware that I am not going to bash on arguments that are solid (there are a few of them out there), but the misconceptions that are just plain silly.

Now we are ready, so let's do this!

-Misconception #1:
The Switch is under-powered omg lulz...

Status: Wrong!
It may not be as powerful as the PS4 or Xbox One, but games still look quite good and while it will lose graphical power when on handheld mode, the size of the screen will make up for it. Besides, games like Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade 2 have a lot of detail on them, details that are been neglected in order to have something to rant about. If you thought that for the price you would be getting a portable PS4/Xbox One then you have lost touch with reality. Now talking about pricing...

-Misconception #2:
The price of the Switch is outrageous, it's the end of the world!

Status: Wrong!
The pricing while it is not the cheapest expected (which was $250), It is quite fair for what it's been offered. This hybrid console does a lot and promises a lot in terms of games so its value will increase really quick after it is launched. By the way, the gaming industry pundits that have been saying it should had been a $200 dollars price tag are maybe living on Jupiter or something because we all know that Nintendo never sells at a loss.

Another thing to take into account that the PSP and PSVITA at their respective launch days costed from 250 to 300 dollars which roughly translates to $300 or more of today's money. All of this makes this complaint to be nothing more than a simple pout because they wanted it cheaper. Underestimating the value of a product based on cheapness is not a professional thing to do.

-Misconception #3:
Paying for an online service? *sobs* we will die... Nintendo is the devil!

Status: Wrong!
The Nintendo online service becoming a paid one reminds me of that moment when Sony decided to do the same thing and everybody was moaning and complaining. Guess what? Now everybody is paying up their PS+ service nicely and it has become a lot more stable when compared to the times when it was free. Here's a tip: When you are devoid of facts then silence becomes a virtue.


-Misconception #4:
The free games on Nintendo's online service will only be available for a month, we are doomed!

Status: Debatable
How can some people use this statement when we don't even know the price that the service will have? We will have it for free until fall, so wait until they reveal more information before starting a pout fest about it.

Remember when all we had for the N64 were these 2 games? We were kids and nobody complained.

-Misconception #5:
The Switch starting lineup is just too small in terms of big games, yuck.

Status: Wrong!
Did people who said this ever thought back to the PS4 and Xbox One launch days? Big games could be counted with the fingers on one of your hands (I still remember all the jokes about it). If we go back to the past the Nintendo 64 launched with only 2 games, The Dreamcast had 4, The Saturn had 4, The Game Cube had 3, The PS2 while official lists have more than 10, we mostly had Fantavision on all stores along with Ridge Racer and Kessen for a long time. Bottom line been that a slow start doesn't mean a bad platform, get your facts straight before complaining.


-Misconception #6:
The switch library is poor, I rather play an Ngage trolololo...

Status: Wrong!
I know variety in gaming taste is a thing, but I cannot help but feel that this complaint is entirely empty and just serves as a tool for trolling. We have one of the most beautiful Legend of Zelda games ever made, we have Mario returning to its Mario 64 roots, a new Xenoblade game, Splatoon been a sequel rather than a simple port, new cool projects from Atlus and Square Enix, a cool classic Street Fighter to take on the go, Bomberman is coming back and can now take Skyrim and even Sonic Mania on the go too and this is all bad? I know some of us are dying for a new Metroid and Fzero game, but let the console run its course before talking trash, because the Switch game library is not bad, it is actually quite excellent.

-Misconception #7:
The new Mario game is a rip off of Sonic Adventure hur hur hur *burp*

Status: Wrong!
So let me see if I understand. People saying this are mostly old schoolers who want some of the old stuff coming back (I am a Sega fan myself) so now when a game comes that borrows from the style we know and love we complain about it? It doesn't make sense at all, it's ironic and kind of dumb if you ask me. Let me clarify something before I press on. If you take this from a good point of view and see it as a curiosity rather than something to complain about then this one is not for you.


-Misconception #8:
Nintendo is still for kids hue hue hue...

Status: Wrong!
Yeah well if Nintendo is still for kids I want you to give a Xenoblade game to a kid and see him go through it. When Super Mario Odyssey releases give it to a kid and see how far he/she goes without something holding his/her hand this time. Go ahead and recommend the expected No More Heroes game for Switch to a kid and see how well you do and while you are at it give some infant the Project Octopath game and see how he/she understands the game's story and battle systems. The Nintendo is for kids joke died with the Wii, get on with the times.

Wrapping things up:
I know I look like some sort of Nintendo fanboy, but believe me I am not. I wrote this article not in defense of Nintendo itself, but in defense of the optimism we need in order to see good things happen in the industry. I am all for bringing back the enthusiasm of the days of old, when gamers had a lot more cohesion, hope and illusion around new releases rather than the current sand storms and pouting festivals. I hope I cleared some points by shooting down these misconceptions for all of those who are confused by the trolls and haters. Thanks for reading and keep on gaming!

Nintendo on mobile? They should, but not as you may be thinking.

There has been a lot of comments going on about the Nintendo executives and investors throwing tantrums over if the company should enter the mobile market or not. First of all let me get this out of the way. No, Nintendo should never let their franchises to go mobile because that would be the equivalent of creating a black hole in the middle of the company and it will consume it from the inside bringing a slow and painful death. As they are right now Nintendo is one of the few companies that is still (almost) pristine in their ways and unsullied from any business dirt that comes from selling out... Well, maybe except for the Mercedes-Benz thing in Mario Kart 8, but that's just one separate incident as Nintendo runs most of their business by themselves most of the time and this uniqueness is what keeps them afloat, even on tough times.

A mock picture of how a Nintendo "master app" could look like.

The thing is that Nintendo could make cool stuff for mobile without selling out their souls to mobile platforms just for a couple of extra bucks. Something like this should be no problem for the big N because mobile app development doesn't require big development teams or high budgets as it would only take a handful of resources and a relatively small development cycle. The best thing about this is that with content creators are brilliant as the ones they have, a great deal of interesting mobile applications can be created and unleashed to the public, giving Nintendo products some extra value without losing themselves in the process.

So a fan had to come and do what Nintendon't.

There are many possibilities about the mobile software they could make in order to support their consoles instead of attempting to replace them. For example, they could develop a support app for Mario Kart 8, sort of like the one someone actually made and was featured in Kotaku a couple days ago. They could also make official apps that give help in some games with mini guides and/or tips or even some sort of Nintendo World App (or something like that) that syncs with the Wii U and lets the user do all sorts of things like buying games, enter the Miiverse, add friends and that kind of stuff while on the go.

Imagine yourself using a smart phone to help a friend in the upcoming Star Fox game for the Wii U.

Other way of seen this is to go a little farther than plain game support apps. Good imaginative things like apps that lets you help or attack somebody within a game (sort of like the Watchdogs app) could make up for really fun situations if they do it with the right games. They could also make an app that features augmented reality games for the Amiibos that can generate coins or some kind of reward to be used on games or even the e-shop itself. The possibilities are endless if they take mobile approach from the sidelines and come up with interesting and fun materials that add up to the overall experience.

If they are planning to go "pay to win", they better reconsider before they spoil the whole thing.

Even though all this mobile approach looks interesting, there are many ways it can backfire if they do the wrong things. For example if they get too greedy with their services it will not work. If they turn their mobile environment into a "pay to win" they also run the risk of botching the whole operation. They would have to be quite sensible about the users because this is something they had never tried before so it can go bad if they give the wrong impression. This is especially true on this day and age, where the simplest of complaints spreads like wildfire through the net and can have devastating consequences for a product (ask Microsoft).

Relax Mario, you don't have to jump to mobile devices to be good.

Wrapping it up

Nintendo can definitely go mobile, but they have to do it in a way that adds up to what they already have without having to replace anything. What they have been doing in these past months have been great and there should be no reason to make any drastic decisions, so all they need to do is to keep on building up until they reach a point where they can convince the non-believers and become an industry powerhouse once again. If that is what their higher ups are thinking then the mobile environment is a great untapped place for them to continue their efforts.