Live data from Hacker News

Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History

time.com

11–20 of 151 posts

Re: Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History

#12
Good to see Nintendo back in the game. They have been a different breed of gaming company for quite some time now. I really missed the known gaming faces. I mean Zelda, Mario, Kirby, Metroid etc. are like the EPIC franchises and what I was getting on XBOX or PS4 was nothing but alternatives. With switch I can totally see Sony or Microsoft taking up a page in their next console.

Re: Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History

#13
post #9

I'd argue this statistic is easy to manufacture when Nintendo console sales are generally artificially limited by their production rate. Is it that the Switch is the most immediately desirable system in Nintendo's history, or just that it's the most quickly produced one in history?

Possibly it's that the last Wii was such a dumpster fire, and people are desperate for a Nintendo console that is close to modern capabilities.

The fact that you called it "the last Wii" is a testament to how poorly it was marketed.

Re: Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History

#15

As the article alludes to this is in large part due to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Which has a higher than 100% attach rate on the Switch, which is simply amazing.

If you are not interested in Zelda though, there is almost zero reason to spend the money on a Switch right now.

That's my concern for the Christmas period.

A lot of Nintendo fans are early adopters, that's why they're buying a console with one significant game in March. For the general public they need to have more on offer than that.

Here are new AAA games which we are assured will be out by Christmas: Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Skylanders, NBA 2K18, Arms, Splatoon 2.

There's tons of indie names (e.g. Shovel Knight) or older games (e.g. Skyrim) but those aren't "system movers" as they're already out on every other major platform. Meaning people won't be buying a Switch to play those.

No doubt you're moaning about me leaving out Super Mario Odyssey, but at the time of writing SMO has no set release date only a vague "TBD, Holiday 2017." As does Project Sonic 2017. Nintendo games overrun their release date as much as other publishers, therefore one cannot be assured SMO will ship before the big holiday period.

If you look beyond 2017, it remains pretty slim pickings for the Switch. Likely until at least summer 2018 we won't see more than perhaps half a dozen exclusive AAA games on the console. We still have no assurance that the mainstream Pokemon franchise will be developed for the console.

The Wii U also sold fairly well early in its life, but sales dried up and never recovered with publishers avoiding it due its poor sales performance. The key thing for the Switch to do is to consistently sell, to give publishers enough confidence that when they target the platform that the effort will pay for itself.

It all remains to be seen. I'll be paying close attention to Christmas 2017 sales figures because it might be the life or death of the Switch.

Re: Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History

#16

As the article alludes to this is in large part due to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Which has a higher than 100% attach rate on the Switch, which is simply amazing.

The new Zelda is amazing. Not only the best Zelda game ever made, I think it's just one of the best 3rd person open-world adventure games ever made, for any system, period. Definitely a system seller.

I'm interested in nothing else right now though - the rest of the available games seem like Indie shovel-ware or re-releases. Shovel Knight. Come on, that's like 2 years old by now.

I'll still buy every Nintendo game they make for this, but highly unlikely I'll end up with a sizable 3rd party collection on it. Got a PS4 Pro for that.

Re: Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are not interested in Zelda though, there is almost zero reason to spend the money on a Switch right now.

This is the boat I'm in. BOTW is the only triple-A game on the platform right now. Even their eshop has a dearth of content available, much of it ridiculously overpriced.

This.

However, I am having a lot of fun with Graceful Explosion Machine and Fast RMX. They don't have the depth of BOTW, but they are good games that are worth the price tag. If there can be more games like those, the Switch could do well in the long run.

Re: Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History

#19

As the article alludes to this is in large part due to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Which has a higher than 100% attach rate on the Switch, which is simply amazing.

The new Zelda is amazing. Not only the best Zelda game ever made, I think it's just one of the best 3rd person open-world adventure games ever made, for any system, period. Definitely a system seller. I'm interested in nothing else right now though - the rest of the available games seem like Indie shovel-ware or re-releases. Shovel Knight. Come on, that's like 2 years old by now. I'll still buy every Nintendo game th…

I was ready to throw money at it until a friend of mine told me I had to farm some sticks to get weapons because it wears out. Can you confirm ?

Re: Switch Is Nintendo's 'Fastest Selling' System in History

#20
The Switch is a huge hit among Nintendo fans, but it's no surprise they turned out for the best Zelda game in years. The real test of the Switch is if Nintendo can keep it stocked with more first- and third-party games than the Wii U had. If the Switch has a robust library in a year, then it'll be a real contender.
Post reply on HN