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Nintendo Switch Presentation - January 12th

Ok, take the fanboy out of it. Third party wise what is realistic in or around launch?:

- A musou title
- family games like Lego, Just Dance, possibly skylanders
- sports games (mandated by their contracts, regardless if the software companies want to port or not)
- a big third party shooter of some sort
- an action adventure game (batman, mordor 2 rumor)
- a zombie game
- western this party game (Skyrim)
- Japanese centric game (hatsune Miku,)
- something to appeal to women
- Minecraft style game (Minecraft or DQ builders)
- platformer?
- jrpg?
- racing (MK8 or Dirt?)
- telltale game?
- esports


Please add or take off anything missing.
 
Splatoon was lead by Eguchi who is basically the tip of the spear of Iwata's initiatives. Remember the 2008 E3 that everyone hated where they made a very obvious attempt to establish Eguchi as Nintendo's new generation of celebrity developers?
 
I really would like to see Lego City 2. Though this being a japanese presentation, I doubt they would show it, even if one was in development. Maybe E3 would suit it better.
 
I don't think Playtonic honestly cares about Donkey Kong. I think they've got their new IP and they said they want to make games to further flesh out the characters of Yooka-Laylee.

I think DK is in the past for them and they're going to do their own thing now.
 
I really would like to see Lego City 2. Though this being a japanese presentation, I doubt they would show it, even if one was in development. Maybe E3 would suit it better.
It's an international presentation, which is a problem, because it creates the problem you describe.

Let's say you're Ubisoft. Nintendo says, hey, you have a new AC this year, want to just show it at our conference? And after you finish laughing, think about it. Is Japan, at a time focused for Japan, a good place to debut that game? That doesn't really benefit you at all.

So what does Nintendo focus on? Probably their own games with international appeal, but third parties generally don't have those same international appeal games.

Not really a big problem, but interesting to think about it.
 
This is why I said I don't expect Retros game for a full reveal because it takes place in Japan. Japan is so different to the west.

I was thinking how weird it would be to see Ubisoft in Japan to even announce games. I expect Square, Capcom, Atlus and other Japanese devs to be there for sure.

Any significant western titles probably won't be made so big (especially if it's not a launch game) and saved more for E3.
 
It's an international presentation, which is a problem, because it creates the problem you describe.

Let's say you're Ubisoft. Nintendo says, hey, you have a new AC this year, want to just show it at our conference? And after you finish laughing, think about it. Is Japan, at a time focused for Japan, a good place to debut that game? That doesn't really benefit you at all.

So what does Nintendo focus on? Probably their own games with international appeal, but third parties generally don't have those same international appeal games.

Not really a big problem, but interesting to think about it.

This is where I'm confused. I have heard contradicting things. Yes the meeting is in Japan. But I read some where NOA and NOE are having conferences the same day.

Do we know if there is any truth to that?
 
I am trying to think of the last time Nintendo actually announced a big game in the way we traditionally think of announcements.

Zelda was mentioned in January 2013 as starting development and we got the single field and teaser introduced bu Aonuma dressed as Yu Narukami in 2014. Then nothing until the game awards, then nothing again until the trailer in 2016.

Splatoon was part of the 2014 E3 Direct, where it enjoyed some praise. Can't really think of much else.
 
It's an international presentation, which is a problem, because it creates the problem you describe.

Let's say you're Ubisoft. Nintendo says, hey, you have a new AC this year, want to just show it at our conference? And after you finish laughing, think about it. Is Japan, at a time focused for Japan, a good place to debut that game? That doesn't really benefit you at all.

So what does Nintendo focus on? Probably their own games with international appeal, but third parties generally don't have those same international appeal games.

Not really a big problem, but interesting to think about it.

To be honest I'm not sure how big an impact the choice to hold the presentation in Japan will have on the material shown. The audience (whether live-streamed or viewed afterwards on YouTube) will be just as international as if it were held in New York or London or anywhere else, and I imagine they would try to cover all their bases in terms of game reveals at the event.

I also wouldn't actually be 100% surprised to see a teaser for Assassin's Creed (or similar) at the presentation. As it's being held in January it's past the point where third parties would be worried about detracting attention from their holiday 2016 games, and Ubisoft is definitely the most friendly western third-party to Nintendo.
 
I'm hoping we get a Lego City Undercover 2 game. I loved the first one and it was a great launch window game. The developer is listed and there really isn't any talk of any other upcoming Lego games from what I remember outside of Lego Worlds for PC and that's assuming that's still being released. This being an international presentation and with the Lego games being released in Japan as well it wouldn't be strange for it a appear if it exist.
 
I had a Wii U, still have it, in fact. I'm simply not as optimistic as you about support from companies that have been burned in the past.

Was it the other companies being burned, or was it Nintendo being burned?
Because I feel like it was split both ways when it came to the Wii U...
 
Was it the other companies being burned, or was it Nintendo being burned?
Because I feel like it was split both ways when it came to the Wii U...

I think it all finally came to a tipping point. But I would say it was Nintebdos management s fault far more than third party.
 
Was it the other companies being burned, or was it Nintendo being burned?
Because I feel like it was split both ways when it came to the Wii U...

It makes little difference to the end consumer
yeshrug.png
 
I'm hoping we get a Lego City Undercover 2 game. I loved the first one and it was a great launch window game. The developer is listed and there really isn't any talk of any other upcoming Lego games from what I remember outside of Lego Worlds for PC and that's assuming that's still being released. This being an international presentation and with the Lego games being released in Japan as well it wouldn't be strange for it a appear if it exist.

Holy shit, you're right, we have like NO known Lego movie games coming right now do we? I guess they're all-in on Dimensions (I'm 100 certain that will happen on Switch, just makes sense because of it). Lego Worlds on Switch if it does have touch controls and IR on the Right Joy-Con controller could be amazing.

But I 100% agree, we need Nintendo and TT Games back together for Lego City Undercover 2 on Switch! Bring on a remaster on Switch also. Such a gem needs a second chance!
 
I'm holding off the PS4 version of Dragon Quest Builders at this point. I want it on Switch. Square Enix plz.

I'm doing the same, although I have so many other games to play at the moment that I don't really need it taking up my time, anyway, and if it never comes to Switch at least it'll be cheaper on PS4 by the time we find that out.
 
Is this going to be in English or Japanese?

Nothing has been said yet, but good question... Since it's held in Toyko, I'd guess Japanese? Maybe a live spoken translation or an on-screen text translation? Hmm...
 
I'm holding off the PS4 version of Dragon Quest Builders at this point. I want it on Switch. Square Enix plz.

Same with FFXV. Wanted to buy a PS4 just to play it but I'm gonna wait till Switch get's fully revealed to see if Square brings XV to Switch...
 
Holy shit, you're right, we have like NO known Lego movie games coming right now do we? I guess they're all-in on Dimensions (I'm 100 certain that will happen on Switch, just makes sense because of it). Lego Worlds on Switch if it does have touch controls and IR on the Right Joy-Con controller could be amazing.

But I 100% agree, we need Nintendo and TT Games back together for Lego City Undercover 2 on Switch! Bring on a remaster on Switch also. Such a gem needs a second chance!
We could get a Lego Guardians of the Galaxy game next year as a result of Guardians Vol. 2 coming next May (as they were noticeably absent from Lego Avengers......Fox characters aside), so there's that.
 
The Wii and DS weren't risk-averse. Also Splatoon was under Iwata's watch, and the Switch will be mostly his child for good or ill. .

Eh... as far as the hardware gimmicks, fair. With respect to many of the broader aspects of NCL's strategic direction over the past decade and a half - continued dismantlement of NoA/NoE's autonomy, diminished focus on new IP, backwards approach to online functionality - they very much were. Those sorts of broader strategic problems are precisely why they weren't able to sustain those platforms' success, and why they've ended up in their current position in the market.

It's absolutely true that Switch and some of the other new initiatives were started by Iwata, but it's also true that that strategic shift only came about in response to the Wii U disaster. NCL's main cultural and structural problems - excessive conservatism, Japan-centrism, overall insularity - had been very apparent to outside observers for a long time, and yet Iwata utterly failed at addressing them until his back was against the wall; in fact, as far as Japan-centrism goes, it appears he bore a large share of responsibility for making that considerably worse.

We could get a Lego Guardians of the Galaxy game next year as a result of Guardians Vol. 2 coming next May (as they were noticeably absent from Lego Avengers......Fox characters aside), so there's that.

Yeah, Lego GotG is almost certainly happening next spring. I don't know why else they'd have been left out of Avengers.
 
I am trying to think of the last time Nintendo actually announced a big game in the way we traditionally think of announcements.

Zelda was mentioned in January 2013 as starting development and we got the single field and teaser introduced bu Aonuma dressed as Yu Narukami in 2014. Then nothing until the game awards, then nothing again until the trailer in 2016.

Splatoon was part of the 2014 E3 Direct, where it enjoyed some praise. Can't really think of much else.
Hmmmmm... Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze made their debut at E3 2013 only six months before their scheduled releases. DK eventually got delayed though.

But nothing huge.
 
Splatoon was lead by Eguchi who is basically the tip of the spear of Iwata's initiatives. Remember the 2008 E3 that everyone hated where they made a very obvious attempt to establish Eguchi as Nintendo's new generation of celebrity developers?

What are you trying to say here?
 
Yeah, Lego GotG is almost certainly happening next spring. I don't know why else they'd have been left out of Avengers.
It may not even be next Spring, remember that Lego Avengers didn't launch alongside Age of Ultron or Ant-Man. Though concerning Lego GotG, they can easily fill the roster with other Guardians & general Cosmic Marvel characters (Adam Warlock, Nova & Kid Nova, Phyla-Vell, Moondragon, Annililus, Ego the Living Planet, Mar-Vell, Captain Marvel, Jack Flag, Wendell Vaughn, Mantis, Thanos, The Supreme Intelligence, The Phalanx, The Universal Church of Truth, etc.). The likes of Super-Skrull, Galactus, & Silver Surfer may get dicey, but perhaps the improving Marvel-Fox relations could help end the supposed X-Men/F4 game embargo.
........please?
 
I kinda doubt that... If the Switch fails a new DS product will probably not help Nintendo, they'd need some sort of drastic measure. Such as going all-in on mobile. Ugh I do not want that to happen.

The best part of the Switch for me is the ability to play BotW (and similar games) in bed. My wife likes to go to sleep early so if I can play Zelda in bed I get a lot of play time out of that.

But too many games to play will be the best problem we can have with the Switch.

Ah, good point. Hopefully they wouldn't go all-in on mobile, though... maybe I'm being naïve but I would hope another console would come in some form.

And yeah, playing console games beyond the range of the TV is an amazing feature.

From a first party perspective, that's true. I'm honestly not expecting a huge third party launch lineup though, so overall, I'd say it'd be a bit lighter than normal.

(I could be totally wrong about third parties though. Maybe a bunch will show up at release)

Interesting! I had no idea.

Yeah, 3DS launch was a strange one for sure.

As to the launch line-up, I see what you're saying. I probably only care about Nintendo's games at launch so I was selfishly only thinking of their output, heh.

Do you guys think we'll finally hear about Retro's project on January 12th?

It would be worrying if we didn't.

Would hope so, but as we discussed a few pages ago, Nintendo could hold it back just to have something at E3.

At the very least I hope we can get a teaser for the January presentation, then they could do a big blowout at E3.

Agreed. I'd expect we see Retro's game by E3 at the absolute latest. They might want to save it as a more Western-focused game for later, but as discussed in the posts above me, it's hard to gauge what's going to make the most sense for this presentation in terms of Japanese vs. Western-focused games.

Although it's mathematically possible, I think we've all seen enough press conferences at this point to know that we'll get between 2 and 5 notable new game announcements.

I didn't just mean in the mathematical sense, though. Several Nintendo Directs have announced far more than 2-5 notable new game announcements while also having sizzle reels for other games (usually indies, but this could apply to third parties as well). Nintendo has also had plenty of E3 presentations where they announced more than 2-5 games.

However, I definitely take your point insofar as (a) it's probably harder to have a flurry of sequenced video announcements in a press conference vs. a pre-recorded Direct, so presumably there's less time for announcements in that respect, (b) full third party companies vs. indies are going to be potentially less keen to have a reveal take place in a sizzle reel, and (c) it's probably just wisest to expect as few announcements as possible and then be happily surprised if there are more than that. For all we know, a large portion of the conference (which is who knows how long anyway) could be devoted to the system and its features rather than games, or a larger portion could be devoted to either first or third party games, at the expense of the less-featured one.

I guess my underlying point is that Nintendo's batting average for game announcements (big and small, that is) at recent events is far above the 2-5 game threshold. Though again, I can't argue against the point that press conferences are something Nintendo has steered clear of for a while and that's allowed them to make announcements more plentifully and efficiently. But be that as it may, their E3 and other press conferences generally, prior to doing Digital Events more exclusively, did usually (or almost always? I'd have to check) include more than the 2-5 game threshold noted.

So therefore, I think if we included the word "Nintendo" in your statement above, it would no longer be accurate, which is a boon to them, but doesn't reflect terribly well on other game publishers and perhaps speaks to the datedness of the press conference model (and why I'm personally iffy on Nintendo going back to it.)

FWIW, I can see better now why you did balk at that list of games we were originally discussing, insofar as all of those games being revealed at a press conference. I don't think as many of them would have to be cut for a Direct presentation, but for a press conference, surely you're right that many would have to be cut for time (and realistically, for better or for worse, in either format some would have to be cut to avoid revealing everything at once and thusly not having enough to reveal later, and possibly to avoid consumer information overload as well).

Think Nintendo will release Remastered 3DS games like Luigis Mansion 2 or other 3DS games on Switch?

Hopefully high. I'd love a LM1-2 HD pack. Same with Kid Icarus: Uprising. Not nearly enough people have played it. Though it's going to be difficult perhaps to adjust the control scheme.

What you suggest would be amazing, but Playtonic themselves denied that they were working on a Switch port last month. I still believe a port will happen, but I'm not so sure it will be there for lauch.

Ah, dang. I was really hoping they could make a Switch splash with that game. Hopefully they can bring it not long after. If it ends up coming out in March and we're inundated with playing BOTW I'd be glad to wait for a Switch port if it's out within a few months or so (or more, depending how long Zelda takes).

I don't think Playtonic honestly cares about Donkey Kong. I think they've got their new IP and they said they want to make games to further flesh out the characters of Yooka-Laylee.

I think DK is in the past for them and they're going to do their own thing now.

I think you're probably right, as awesome as that would've been. I do hope to see more DKC/3D DK/DKR projects on Switch, though.

I am probably in the minority, but I want a 3D Donkey Kong game on Switch.

Or a Diddy Kong Racing on Switch.

Yes, please. I'd be thrilled with this. I just wrote a lengthy post extolling DKR's virtues earlier today.
 
Hmmmmm... Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze made their debut at E3 2013 only six months before their scheduled releases. DK eventually got delayed though.

But nothing huge.

Neither one gained traction until like a month before release when they got the trailers they deserved.

The best trailers you could make for those games.

Those have to be at reveal.
 
Splatoon was lead by Eguchi who is basically the tip of the spear of Iwata's initiatives. Remember the 2008 E3 that everyone hated where they made a very obvious attempt to establish Eguchi as Nintendo's new generation of celebrity developers?

Then again at E3 2012 with the Nintendo Land demo.
 
Neither one gained traction until like a month before release when they got the trailers they deserved.

The best trailers you could make for those games.

Those have to be at reveal.

Nintendo likes surprises. Almost too much I'm afraid. This bit them in the butt with that first 3D world trailer. They held back a bit too much and all people could gather was it was 3D land with 4 player co-op. It just wasn't exciting at all. They should have shown much more of what was new early on in that first trailer.
 
Nintendo likes surprises. Almost too much I'm afraid. This bit them in the butt with that first 3D world trailer. They held back a bit too much and all people could gather was it was 3D land with 4 player co-op. It just wasn't exciting at all. They should have shown much more of what was new early on in that first trailer.

I think it really depends on the game. They had people going crazy about Zelda in 2014 with nothing but a pretty looking grassy field and an enemy encounter. I appreciate it when they don't show too much in the initial reveal trailer personally. Leave some stuff up to the imagination.

3D World, a sequel to the handheld 3D Land, just isn't a very exciting concept in general. The cat suit and multiple characters/multiplayer were the main hooks and were shown in the reveal. The stuff they showed later was mostly one-off stuff from individual levels. I don't think that if they showed the October trailer at E3 it would've generated Mario Galaxy levels of hype. Would've been better, sure, but not meaningfully so.

Still a great game, but it doesn't have that next-gen aura to it that gets people talking. Heck even the 6 seconds of Mario Switch we got has less of a disappointed feeling surrounding it, but I guess that's partly becuase it was an unexpected reveal.
 
I'm hoping we get a Lego City Undercover 2 game. I loved the first one and it was a great launch window game. The developer is listed and there really isn't any talk of any other upcoming Lego games from what I remember outside of Lego Worlds for PC and that's assuming that's still being released. This being an international presentation and with the Lego games being released in Japan as well it wouldn't be strange for it a appear if it exist.

I would buy a Switch just for Lego City Undercover 2.
 
Still a great game, but it doesn't have that next-gen aura to it that gets people talking.

The next gen aura solely came from a proper 3D-esque Mario platformer in HD, for that alone it felt next-gen to me with all the visual effects they implemented along with how many ideas every level contained.

The new one will probably top it easily though as far as those 6 seconds may imply.
 
3D World and DKCTF likely don't have trailers that show well. The camera not being dynamic make it seem considerably less impressive so hopefully the new camera from the short clips seen indicate that there's a new camera in place. Would help with the reveal of the new 3D Mario.
I'd imagine the presentation isn't going to be as bad as some people are thinking.
It's the reveal of their launch lineup and games for the future, don't see it being something dry like the DeNA partnership announcement.
 
For all the jokes, DKC:TF really is a good encapsulation of some of the worst tendencies of Iwata-era NCL, namely short-term risk aversion at the expense of long-term strategy. Yes, DKCR sold very well on Wii, and thus on paper I'm sure a sequel looked like a much safer bet than, say, a new Western-oriented IP (let alone Metroid Prime 4), but it did absolutely nothing to broaden Wii U's appeal beyond the Mario audience, and any number of Nintendo's Japanese partner studios could have made more or less the same game.

It's obviously too early to evaluate the whole of Switch's first-party lineup, but there are already some encouraging signs in this regard, at least (Splatoon's success, BotW's drastic reinvention of the Zelda franchise, 3D Mario Switch appearing to step back from the bland NSMB-inspired gameplay and aesthetics of recent entries).

You act like Iwata held Retro hostage and told them to make another Donkey Kong game against their will when maybe Retro Studios just wanted to work with the franchise some more.
 
You act like Iwata held Retro hostage and told them to make another Donkey Kong game against their will when maybe Retro Studios just wanted to work with the franchise some more.


DKC:TF being a risk-averse, strategically unsound use of Retro's talent early in Wii U's lifespan isn't contingent on how much or how little they wanted to do it internally.

And even if you take that Kelbaugh quote at face value and not as PR, which I'm not sure you should, he said they chose it over MP4, which implies that NCL didn't present them with any other options beyond the two Nintendo IP they'd previously worked on.
 
I'm holding off the PS4 version of Dragon Quest Builders at this point. I want it on Switch. Square Enix plz.

I did the same with World of Final Fantasy after I saw how terrible the Vita demo ran compared to the PS4 version.

I want that shit portable and the Vita isn't good enough anymore.
 
If you really expect Switch to get more than a handful of ports of AAA PS4/XB1/PC games, if that, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Don't do it.
 
If you really expect Switch to get more than a handful of ports of AAA PS4/XB1/PC games, if that, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Don't do it.
Not expecting a lot actually.

She's not saying that's what the Switch will only get. Stop taking everything so literal and exact....
But that's not what I said. It will get some ports (as said by Emily), but what's the point? Seems like a waste.
 
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