A reader is deeply disappointed by the recent Nintendo Direct and suggests it’s part of a recurring theme of Nintendo making a minimum effort with the Switch 2.
I’ve been a gamer for the best part of 30 years now and for all that time Nintendo has been one of the few constants. Not in terms of success, as anyone who owned a GameCube or a Wii U can tell you, but in terms of quality, ambition, and a general sense that they’re trying to do their best and move the industry and artform forwards.
During the Wii U era is the only time where I’ve felt this attitude has wavered, although I don’t really understand anything about what they were doing with that console. My best guess is they realised it was a dud from the start and were just treading water till they could get the Switch ready to replace it. One of their darkest hours but they got through it.
Looking at the sales figures for the Switch 2 it is clearly the opposite of dead and arrival and yet that’s kind of how it feels to me. Neither of its big games have blown me away, the upcoming line-up is weak, and the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase this week was flat out pathetic.
Like many people, I started to have doubts as soon as the Switch 2 was revealed in April, when it had a bare minimum of reveals and really nothing in terms of surprises. Well, Kirby Air Riders was a surprise, but not in a good way. That Direct wasn’t a disaster like this week, but it was nowhere near as slick or exciting as I expected.
At first I thought it was just me being negative, but I saw lots of people saying the same thing online, that it seemed like Nintendo was caught unprepared and this was just the best they could do with short notice. Except that doesn’t make sense because they were under no rush at all. They’d had more than eight years to prepare, the PlayStation 6 and next gen Xbox were not imminent, and there was no reason for them to have to release the console in June if they weren’t ready.
I know one theory is that they were trying to avoid GTA 6, but they would’ve known, like all of us, that there was no guarantee of when it was coming out (I’m also not sure Rockstar wouldn’t simply have told them, if they asked) and in any case, better to delay to next year then get caught with your pants down.
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After all, they already had Metroid Prime 4 and Pokémon Legends: Z-A for Switch 1. Add in a few more remasters and they could’ve easily scrapped through till next March (and ironically still missed GTA 6).
We could go in circles forever trying to make sense of it but both Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza feel like they were missing six months or so of polish. Everything to do with Mario Kart’s open world is super weird, and they still haven’t talked about any DLC plans, while Donkey Kong is good, but that camera is rough and there are few minor bugs, which I do not expect from a Nintendo game.
As you can gather, I did buy a Switch 2 at launch and while I don’t necessarily regret it (I have issues with most things Nintendo has done this year but I have no complaints about the hardware itself) I am disappointed and confused.
I basically have no Switch 2-only games to look forward to this year, just Metroid Prime 4, and nothing at all for next year. And now I know that third party companies will not be picking up the slack. Even if I had been interested in anything shown during the Partner Showcase, which I definitely was not, hardly any of it is coming out this year anyway.
I worry that this is all the Nintendo version of what’s been going on at Sony this gen. It’s not as bad, because Nintendo isn’t interested in live service games, but it seems to be the result of games taking longer to make and being more expensive to produce.
It also, and I hate to say this, smacks of Nintendo getting a touch of the old Sony arrogance. This is definitely not the Nintendo of the Wii and Switch eras, where they were on the back foot and pushing themselves to put out their best stuff, because their very survival depended on it. This is a Nintendo that is feeling pretty comfortable with itself and no longer feels it has to go all out or work to win over fans.
Luckily for them, Nintendo’s bare minimum is well above most other company’s very best, but it’s still worrying to me. My first thought was to wonder when they’ll get over these launch butterflies but I then look at Sony and think maybe they never will. Maybe this is just how Nintendo is going to be now. And that’s not an encouraging thought.
By reader Granola
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