Nintendo finally announced their answer to the ongoing fierce battle between Microsoft and Sony, with a two-in-one console that is simultaneously a handheld and a home console. For Nintendo and their biggest market in Japan, this approach seemed to be the best way out for them since the Nintendo 3DS and its other iterations have been selling gangbusters in that specific market. The Nintendo Switch had a troubling reveal as demonstrated by the mixed reactions from consumers and investors. Nintendo can learn from the mistakes Microsoft made when it comes to features and resolution.
Barring all the unnecessary negativity surrounding the reveal last week, the Nintendo Switch has received a lot of criticism lately because it’s powered by a 720p display, an NVIDIA Tegra processor and just 32 GB of storage. In a time where everyone is obsessed with 1080p and beyond, this makes the hybrid underpowered for a 2017 machine. It’s closer to an iPad—a device which dominates the market. This also makes it underpowered even against the 2013 Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Just looking at all the problems resolution caused the Xbox One should’ve been a cautionary tale for the company. Now, you might say that resolution doesn’t matter for Nintendo’s games. I agree but when I woke up this morning there were dozens of stories all over social media and gaming websites which talked about how Breath of the Wild ran at 900p when docked. When was the last time you saw this much obsession over resolution when it came to Nintendo? Never. This is only going to get worse when third-party games are revealed. Rumors are already going around that the Skyrim port on Nintendo Switch is the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version. Nintendo should’ve realized that power means everything now. You can have the best exclusives out there but unless they run at 1080p they’re going to get bashed because that’s how the gaming media works nowadays. Remember Sunset Overdrive? I saw more stories about how it didn’t run at 1080p than I did talking about the gameplay or story.
Now let’s talk about the price. The Nintendo 3DS was popular for the main reason that it allowed you to play your favorite games on the go with a device that practically fit inside your pocket. The 3DS will run you around $150 on Amazon right now if you want one of the older models. The Switch is demanding over $300 if you include the cost of games, online and accessories. Microsoft priced the Xbox One too high and that greatly impacted sales. It also created this sense among gamers that the console was just too expensive even though that hasn’t been the case for a long time. Price is everything and again, Nintendo could’ve learned from what Microsoft did wrong. It’s competing against the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 when it comes to price.
Breath of the Wild is an interesting exclusive and a great launch title but it seems that apart from the new Mario, there really isn’t much coming to the console. Zelda is also available for Wii U so that will also limit console sales. I have a Wii U and I’ll be buying that game on my old machine. Just take a look at what’s going on with Microsoft right now. After Scalebound was cancelled, gamers are questioning the Xbox One’s lineup. Whenever you launch a console you need strong games that appeal to a wide variety of people. Other titles looked like 3DS games instead of ones that utilized the Switch in a unique way. It seems that the console appeals to a niche audience with its games so far and they need to show more diversity and third-party support. It’s the same problem the Xbox One has right now.
Nintendo has been down after their Wii U failed to garner the same market that the Wii managed to get earlier, and have tried and failed to sell their motion-controlled games and accessories alongside their consoles. Microsoft saw the same problem when they had a massive run of success when they launched the Kinect with the Xbox 360, but then thought it would garner them the same success when they forced it along with the Xbox One. I don’t know how popular the motion-controlled games will be but I see a similar backlash against them. Instead of focusing on Kinect, Microsoft should’ve catered to the hardcore gaming audience for its reveal. It seemed as though Nintendo did the same. Most of their presentation was about eating invisible sandwiches or milking cows. I may sound like a broken record but just looking at what happened to Microsoft with Kinect should’ve been enough.
I’ve discussed a lot of lessons Nintendo could’ve learned from Microsoft but the biggest has to be brand image. These issues will result in the gaming media and YouTube celebrities bashing the console. It’s bound to happen. We all know what bad blood in the gaming community can do to a brand, just take Xbox One in 2013 as an example.
Steve Jobs once famously said that Microsoft was trying to force both a fridge and a microwave together when they launched the touch-only Windows 8 operating system, and in my opinion Nintendo has taken this insult in stride even if it wasn’t aimed at them. In a resolution and power-obsessed gaming world, Nintendo should have tried to build a powerful console that could stand up against the best out there, and build a dedicated mobile gaming system that could sync seamlessly with the console portion. Nintendo is one of my favorite brands and it breaks my heart to see them going the same route Microsoft did. The Xbox One reveal should’ve been the biggest lesson on what not to do. It seems that Nintendo just ignored it while Sony learned from it.
Gaming has evolved, and buying a console that only plays a few games, over a device that plays the majority of them, has become something of a no-go today. Gamers increasingly ignore exclusive franchises and opt for the more mainstream multiplatform titles and this is where Nintendo need to focus. The Switch is a nice idea, but I worry that gamers just want more power and more Call of Duty now.
Dreyer was a regular ICXM contributor between 2016–2017, publishing 139 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @dreyer_smit.