“I am most concerned about the target group of the device: who else but die-hard Nintendo fans will buy the Switch? The Switch lacks a killer feature, and I think it will be very difficult for Nintendo to win back the casual gamers that are mostly on mobile now.” — Analyst Dr. Serkan Toto is sceptical about the Switch’s potential for success.
QUOTE | “It’s not the game, it’s the gun.” — Doom designer John Romero counters those who try to blame violence in the US on video games.
STAT | 50,000 — The number of PSVR headsets sold in Japan in its first four days of availability.
STAT | Over 140,000 — The number of HTC Vive headsets has reportedly sold worldwide since that device launched in April.
QUOTE | “We don’t need as broad of an adoption in VR for it to sustain a AAA ecosystem.” — Survios head of studio Chris Hewish says high quality games can be made in VR without breaking the bank. The company’s co-op shooter Raw Data grossed more than $US1 million in its first month on sale.
QUOTE | “Believe your players when they say they’re not enjoying your game. Don’t believe them when they tell you how to fix it.” — Ex-Failbetter Games head Alexis Kennedy offers advice on how indies can deal with their player communities.
QUOTE | “Any strike would not only deny SAG-AFTRA’s membership work, but this would also give their competitors, who do not engage union talent, a leg up while any strike would be in place.” — A lawyer for a coalition of game publishers, in a press release claiming the voice actor union has violated agreements surrounding negotiations and is harming its members.
STAT | 48 per cent — The percentage of American gamers who are unwilling to spend on microtransactions because the benefits they receive aren’t worth it, according to an NPD survey.
QUOTE | “What we see now — even in the movies — is that female main characters are more and more present. There are not as many questions. We have more freedom now.” — Dontnod CEO Oskar Guilbert, noting that his studio’s breakthrough hit Life is Strange is just part of a larger trend in entertainment.
QUOTE | “I believe in generations. Generations are a good thing. So, philosophically, we believe in them. We believe they continue, and this is a mid-generation release.” — Sony’s Mark Cerny suggests that even if PS4 Pro and Project Scorpio seem like similar strategies, Sony and Microsoft have different visions of the future.
QUOTE | “This could easily lead to a situation where the regulatory barriers and legal uncertainty would quickly crush the emerging field of augmented reality based technology, business and art in Europe.” — European Games Developer Federation’s Jari-Pekka Kaleva explains how different EU member state laws regarding whether you can take photos or use images of buildings and art in public space could impact game developers.
Comments
28 responses to “This Week In The Business: Who’s Going To Switch?”
Unfortunately it’s a catch 22, I won’t buy a Switch until I’m certain it is selling well and will recieve good third party support but the problem is that everyone else that isn’t a die hard will be in the same boat and the devs will also be doing the same after the initial glut of launch titles.
Isn’t the killer feature it being a portable/home console?
I don’t think adding a HDMI output to a handheld is really that much of a killer feature. It didn’t help the Nvidia shield.
This thing will live or die by the games that it gets.
Yes but the shield was an obscure piece of tech that didn’t have an existing console brand behind it.
Nintendo has learned their lesson with the Wii U and 3DS. they need a strong and consistent release of first party titles to drive the console sales.
The 3DS floundered until they released Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart. If we assume the games shown in the clips from the Switch video are going to be launch titles then we’ll have a new Mario game, Mario Kart, Zelda and Splatoon right out the gate without including whatever 3rd party titles are also in development to be released in a launch window.
I personally will buy one on launch day because I always buy Nintendo consoles but I didn’t play the 3DS much until there were actual games worth playing.
Except the ability of everything it does over the other consoles… and this is coming from someone who didn’t like the Wii or the Wii U and owns a PS4 and a PC. The Switch looks pretty goddamn nifty.
It will be less portable than my phone and less powerful than my console. It combines the two and becomes worse at both.
I don’t think it’s meant to be a pocket thing, it’s more a ‘you can at least take it out if you want to’. No doubt there will be carry cases etc. I mean, I for one love the idea of the car mount and so does my kid. We’re travelling down the east coast of Aus next year from Bris to Melbourne and back by car, that car mount looks great for my dashboard tbh. Coupled with a carcharger, no doubt it’ll be solid gold to keep my boy entertained for 20+ hours each way as I drive straight through with no stops.
I don’t have any issues carting around my ipad or laptop. Get a grip man
And no doubt a laptop would have more features, longer battery life and be better at playing games. It’s look kinda neat in a gimmicky way but like tablet’s it just sits in spot for me where it’s completely outclassed in both directions
lol are you responding to the right person? I’m literally saying I think it’s portable.
sorry, troutmonkey, though I do get his gripe I guess. The battery on this thing will be brutal methinks
Yeah indeed, I reckon it will be too. Hence needing a car charger IF we do get one lol
Oh look, they’re bagging Nintendo again. I have never seen this before. /s
He’s an analyst expressing a valid concern. Hardly “bagging”.
Maybe I’m just a bit sick of it, y’know? I love me wiiU, it gets used everyday. It’s downfall is a lack of games. But all I’ve heard since the wii is Nintendo sucks. Nintendo’s going to die. etc.
Also, not sure if it can be a valid concern if it’s wrong. The switch has a feature, it’s portability.
Mate, an analyst’s complaints have nothing to do with the quality of a platform or its games. It’s all just about business. The WiiU proved, to me anyway, that a console with a small audience is viable.
There’s no reason at all to feel bad about being hyped for the Switch as long as you’re confident you’ll enjoy it and won’t regret the purchase. And you should feel that way while also accepting the criticisms of Nintendo’s business model.
I am hyped and I know I’ll enjoy it. I understand that Nintendo is considered the underdog. Its just that I don’t hear about how the xbox and the PS4 are killing their respective companies.
But if you consider that it’s more of a handheld with a dock, then it’s not really a feature at all. If it was as powerful as, say, a PS4 with that portability you’d be right but I suspect it’ll be nowhere near that.
I highly doubt that a PS4 would ever be that portable. I don’t mind sacrificing graphics for the portability. I don’t care if there’s less enemies visible on screen.
Dr. Serkan Toto, the guy who said on the 20th that we won’t find out about the NX until next week. Didn’t news hit the next day on the 21st?
You know, like if it was a portable home console. Now that’d be a killer feature!
It’s more of a TV-ready handheld, but whatever.
It’s got the power of a home console though.
Not of the current gen if the leaked specs are correct.
Heck, I’m going to get one (already been saving) because it will have Nintendo games on it. This just solidifies it further. New 3D looking Mario game, new/updated Splatoon game, Mario Kart 9 (this is already a given though) and of course Zelda. Also the perfect device for an Animal Crossing game, it’s bound to get one.
My Switch pre-order has been made, though you could call me a die hard Nintendo fan I guess.
I travel a lot and have two small kids. So, i’d be very surprised if by this time next year there aren’t 3 Switches in my household. If it gets the content seen on the 3DS and WiiU together, as well as a sprinkling of 3d party stuff……then it’ll succeed.
Day one purchase for me.