Nintendo Switch Has Gaming Fans Both Excited and Nervous
by Logan Guenther for Walkersville High School Lion’s Pride
On October 20th, Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch, their contribution to the next console generation. While Nintendo has always been a little ahead or behind the curve when it comes to console releases, Sony and Microsoft have put Nintendo in a sort of superposition. Sony and Microsoft launched the PS4 Pro and Slim models and the Xbox One S respectively, with Project Scorpio yet to be revealed. These models are simply improvements to their respective line-ups as opposed to direct successors, and is only about three years into the life cycle of the PS4 and Xbox one. The console market is seemingly in between console generations, so was it a good move for Nintendo to release so early?
In 1985, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES.) Thus began the long era of the console wars, where there was only Nintendo and Sega (and to a lesser degree Atari.) The NES was advanced at the time, compared to systems like the Atari 5200 and the Intellivision, which had only come out a couple years before. It was a financial and commercial success, with it paving the landscape for gaming as a whole. In 1990, the Super NES (SNES) was released to even greater acclaim.
Sega’s big break into the industry was the Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive in regions outside of North America, which released in 1989, and closely coincided with the release of the SNES. Sega had beat Nintendo to the punch for about a year, and released the first 16-bit console. For the first time, Nintendo had a threatening competitor.
For a while, Sega usually had a leg up over Nintendo in some capacity. They marketed the Genesis as the console for teens and adults, while painting the SNES as a kid’s console. The original Mortal Kombat on SNES had all blood and fatalities removed, so that it could have a wider demographic and face less backlash. On the Genesis, nothing was cut, which made censorship on the SNES version backfire, as the violent aspects of the game garnered a larger audience. Next, Sega released the Sega CD, an add-on for the Genesis. It allowed for the development of CD-ROMs, technically making the Genesis the first 32-bit console as well. Later, the 32X, another add-on for the Genesis, allowed for the development of 32-bit cartridges, but was made so late in the life cycle of the Genesis that it sold poorly. Nearly everything from here goes downhill.
At E3 in 1994, Sega reps went on stage and revealed their next console, the Sega Saturn. They also announced that it would hit shelves… now. Sony was just about to release the Playstation, and Sega was scared. The original Playstation was born from the remnants of a collaboration between Sega and Sony, but Sega backed out, leaving Sony with the ashes of the project. The Playstation was serious competition in tandem with the release of the Nintendo 64, so Sega felt the need to release months ahead of schedule. The consequences of this were severe, because there was no time for marketing, no time to build hype, and no time to build a following. Thus, the Saturn did poorly compared to its competitors.
The final nail in the coffin was the Dreamcast. Released after the failure of the Saturn, the Dreamcast was Sega’s final attempt in the console market. As a console, it was way ahead of its time, featuring downloadable games, built in peripherals and critically acclaimed titles in its library. However, Sega had been almost completely out of the game for an entire console generation; in addition, some of the system’s features were still too foreign for consumers to catch on, and the console lost a lot of traction. Microsoft had also turned its head towards the console market as well, releasing the original Xbox, creating even more competition than the last generation. Commercially, the console failed, but in terms of the evolution of the console market, it was either very integral or very clairvoyant.
Thus ended Sega’s lineage in the console market. Sega is still around today, but they are only a third party developer. With the Genesis, Sega continued to try and extend the lifespan of the console, instead of simply moving on to the next generation like their competitors. The Saturn was released far too early, not allowing for any marketing or advertisement. The Dreamcast failed because it was simply too ahead of its time and that not much of a recovery could have been made after their earlier failed attempts. Unfortunately, this may be an impending fate for Nintendo.
Nintendo’s last ‘safe’ console was the Gamecube, which followed in the steps of systems like the Playstation by adopting optical media and changing to the twin stick controller layout. The console was a step towards modern gaming; however their next console, the Wii, took a huge risk and was one of the first to implement motion controls in a major release. While the game library of the Wii was lackluster and was oversaturated with shovelware, what made it successful was its casual appeal to every demographic. Wii Sports, the systems bundled launch title, is still the second best selling game of all time, selling over 82 million copies, beating Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V, only to be outclassed by Tetris. While it was very risky, it was extremely innovative and convinced developers that motion controls were commercially viable.
The Wii U was the successor to the original Wii, and boasted innovation by adding a tablet component as the main controller, while also being compatible with previous Wii controllers. However, the Wii U was one of Nintendo’s worst selling consoles. The marketing was unclear as to whether it was a new console or a peripheral for the Wii, which caused confusion for consumers. The gamepad had a short battery life, and its functionality was often tacked-on to games rather than integrated into the game’s mechanics. The consoles library contained considerably less shovelware than the original Wii, but still didn’t have enough standout titles to convince many gamers to purchase it. By now, the console has basically been dead for long over a year.
Since the Switch is both a home and portable console, Nintendo won’t be releasing a follow-up to the success of the 3DS, so Nintendo is putting all their eggs in one basket here. That’s why the Nintendo Switch is a very scary prospect for Nintendo fans. This could either spell the death of Nintendo as a superpower in the console wars, or it could lead to a new golden age for the company.
Nintendo’s stock hit a peak at $70,500 in late 2007, about a year after the launch of the Wii, and has never even come close since; with the price recently fluctuating around the 15,000 to 25,000 mark. Nintendo stock rose 120% with the release of Pokémon Go over the summer, so the cards are stacked in Nintendo’s favor to make a huge comeback. Yet when the Switch was announced, stock in Nintendo fell 20%, so investors may feel worried about the outcome of the new release.
Students do seem to have some faith in the console though. “I think it’s going to be amazing because I can take good console games where I want with them,” said sophomore Joe Hansen. “I think it’ll be interesting because it’ll be a new [type of] platform, especially with the way they’ve done it but I think there will be complications… from what the commercials look like, you can plug it into your TV and then take it out like a PSP; and I’m wondering how they’ll do that,” said Brian Thebau.
At this point, it could really go either way. Not enough information has been released by Nintendo to make a sound judgement on the consoles value. Nintendo is in limbo now as a company and could cease being a household name with the release of the Switch.
Sources-
http://www.polygon.com/2016/10/20/13351094/nintendo-s-switch-announcement-improved
http://www.connectedly.com/10-best-selling-video-games-all-time#slide10
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=nintendo%20stock
