Nintendo Switch

Being one of the launch titles probably helped it a lot.

Let’s see. A sequel to 1 2 Switch was rumored to have been cancelled for quality reasons. The game is being randomly announced less than a month before release. There is no trailer and only a vague product description (yet they want people to pre-order). The game is only $30, which is admittedly better than being full priced like the original. Yeah this game is gonna be a disaster and I’m pretty confident in saying that Nintendo is aware of that and just burning it off hoping to recoup at least some of its development costs. The lack of a trailer and random announcement initially made me think it was a troll impersonating Nintendo until I saw it was Nintendo’s actual Twitter.

I love that the Twitter announcement doesn't even have an exclamation point.

Its like even Nintendo knows there's no point in pretending its an exciting reveal.

The kicker is that not even half an hour after announcing Everybody 1-2-Switch! they made another tweet announcing pastel color Joy-Cons.

Currently, the Joy-Con announcement has nearly 10k more retweets and almost 50k more likes.

This game feels more like a contract obligation to release than anything else.

Nintendo's Twitter yesterday was: "Our friends at Atlus are releasing an Etrian Odyssey collection soon, so be sure to pick that up! Hope you Splatoon fans dig the new season! Immerse yourself in Hyrule with all this The Legend of Zelda content! We have a new 1, 2 Switch game coming at the end of the month. We've got some brand-new pastel Joy-Cons coming soon! Hope you love them!

Edited by RacattackForce on Jun 2nd 2023 at 10:45:45 AM

I mean, them dropping bombshells like this isn't new. They announced Origami King and Game Builder Garage the same way. The only difference is that those still got trailers.

I admit it's weird they're willing to release this game despite their little faith and yet they were hesitant to release Star Fox 2 (whose only pretext to not be released was its late arrival to the SNES) for 20 years.

Edited by MyFinalEdits on Jun 2nd 2023 at 11:30:04 AM

The only time I ever played 1,2 Switch was when the Switch had just come out and somebody else I know had bought one. It was an adequate tech demo.

Very generous of you to refer to this as a "bombshell."

I mean, it surprised people, that counts as a bombshell, right?

Jokes aside, while I never played the original 1-2-Switch and therefore know nothing about it, the reputation of the game is something I have heard a bit about. With that in mind, I can only hope that the sequel is a major improvement and that the devs took the constructive criticisms of the first game to heart.

It's probably not a game I'd buy, as I'm not that big a fan of party games, but I do hope that those who do buy the sequel end up having fun with it.

Kit and Krista (former Nintendo of America employees) put out a video saying the announcement of Everybody's 1-2 Switch and the pastel colored Joy Cons are exactly what Nintendo usually does during the end years of a console, especially with Everybody's 1-2 Switch since the devs (in this case EPD 4) would have moved into new hardware already.

Krista mentions that everyone was uninterested in the original 1-2 Switch at launch and Kit says the main issue with the twilight years of a system is audience engagement to get people looking at the next system.

Edited by tclittle on Jun 2nd 2023 at 4:40:01 AM

Crossposted from the KOTOR thread: Aspyr is cancelling the Restored Content DLC for Knights of the Old Republic II for Switch and is offering a free key for the Switch version of any of the old ported Star Wars Games or KOTOR II on Steam.

Edited by tclittle on Jun 2nd 2023 at 12:40:52 PM

Not sure if this was mentioned already, but the delevopers behind various Nintendo games, Vanpool, closed its doors.

Worked on multiple successful Kirby games just to shut down a little bit after that? What?

It was mentioned before on the General Thread, but yeah, Vanpool shut down. No reason was given, but the assumption is that they might have had one or more big projects outside of Nintendo in development that didn't work out and screwed them over financially. I assume HAL (and maybe Nintendo EPD) will poach some of that talent due to the studios' long-standing relationship, ala AlphaDream.

EDIT: Nvm.

Edited by RacattackForce on Jun 3rd 2023 at 8:34:03 AM

I'm not sure about that. They've only worked with Nintendo for the last decade, and there's no news of them being in financial trouble or having gone bankrupt. Their farewell message just says they disbanded, in a way that sounds like a decision rather than something they were forced to do.

The speculation I can find from Japanese gamers is that maybe the staff just lost their interest or reason to stay together since the team's founder left the company several years ago and they haven't had a chance to make original games in a while.

Also while looking up info on them, I found out Vanpool and AlphaDream were both started by former Square staff that worked on Super Mario RPG. Interesting.

I guess this means Metroid Prime 4 will be a launch title for the next console.

Metroid Prime 4 is a myth.

It is really strange how people have been obsessing over Nintendo's next console for years despite how crazy successful the Switch has been. It's like people next year demanding to know when Sony will announce the PS 6.

The only reason I can think is that the Switch was already underpowered compared to the then-ongoing PS4 and XB1, and those people felt that Nintendo should have released a stronger model ASAP (or even think that the Switch itself should have been more powerful from the get-go). This obviously disregards the true appeal that made the Switch sell so much, but that's more like the console equivalent of What Does She See in Him?

Edited by MyFinalEdits on Jun 4th 2023 at 12:56:10 PM

I think a part of it was also that Nintendo is no stranger to more powerful hardware revisions even before Sony and Microsoft started doing the same. With the DSi and New 3DS as precedent, it isn't too surprising that some took the stance of "if I wait long enough, Nintendo is guaranteed to release a 'Switch Pro' upgrade".

As for those who believed that Nintendo could have fit a PS4 in a jacket pocket in 2017 for $300... yeah, what said.

Edited by RacattackForce on Jun 4th 2023 at 2:55:00 PM

If they can figure out how to drop a Playstation in their pockets, more power to them.

Edited by kkhohoho on Jun 4th 2023 at 1:53:13 PM

At the start of the Switch's lifespan, I don't think most people wanted a more powerful Switch just yet, maybe the folks who deluded themselves into thinking the Switch would be a PS 4, XB 1 power system, but at the time it was mostly just people expecting it since three of four of Nintendo's previous handheld had a more powerful option.

It wasn't until 2020 with the two biggest Nintendo games of that year started struggling with framerate did most people actively start wanting a more powerful Switch. And when the OLED turned out to not be more powerful, the thirst became real.

Now, it's back to expectations as everyone can feel the Switch is in its twilight years.

This has of course been remarked on before, but the fact that they're still releasing a series as big a deal as Zelda on Switch demonstrates how confident they still are in it, even at the point most consoles start winding down as the hype for the next one builds.

Maybe they'll port it to the next console, too, just so that game's sales don't die down completely.