I'll keep this short and sweet, but Nintendo put up some good numbers with their new Switch system. Debuting at the start of March, it has performed beyond expectations. There are a few things that could be fixed from some people's complaints but overall, it's first month was good. The numbers are at 2.4 million sold worldwide, which is excellent considering releasing at this time of the year.
For as good as that is, I would still stay a little optimistic for now. There hasn't been too many titles, physically and digitally, despite the strong selling of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Other than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a few other titles that might come out the next two to three months, Switch owners are going to have to bear it until Splatoon 2 is released in July. This is going to be one of two tests to see if people will still be interested in the Switch. One is now when Mario Kart comes out at the end of this month until Splatoon 2. Then there is whatever else until whenever Super Mario Odyssey comes out. I'm expecting a November release, much like most of the main Mario games the last 10 years since Galaxy.
It could still go either way. People want to see Nintendo succeed, but also put up an effort. They are hitting on the right cylinders. Right now, they have to keep putting up a strong push to keep the Switch relevant until the heavy hitters come out. Mario Kart 8 will be the first true test to see if people will instantly go for it or stick to the Wii U version. Play the cards right, and Switch system numbers could be from 50 to 70 percent near the total numbers of Wii U systems.
Check out some of my previous Switch blogs:
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/nintendo-switch-last-hurrah-or-comeback.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/04/peta-and-virtual-cows.html
Showing posts with label breath of the wild. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breath of the wild. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Reviews: Taking them too seriously
Practically everything and anything will be reviewed. We judge mainstream stuff to see if people think there is a quality film, show, etc... or mediocre product. Sometimes, both sides will mostly agree or have different opinions and have a big number differential in the like/hate ratio. However, there are some people who take the reviews very seriously that they will be outraged about some change or how the majority felt about it.
When it comes to the movies, there will be that one reviewer that ruins it for people. That example is critic Armond White. He came to my attention back in the summer of 2010 when Toy Story 3 hit theaters. Like the first two films, it was unanimously well received and enjoyed a big run from mid-June until the end of the year. Not too long, White put up a negative review which dropped the percentage at Rotten Tomatoes from 100 to 99. Obviously it really angered people. To my understanding as time has gone on, he is one of those people who reviews bad films positively, and good films negatively. Around the same time with the new Toy Story, Jonah Hex hit theaters. White would give it a positive review as the film was panned and bombed at the box office.
Now, I don't mind liking a film that is considered bad. Everybody has their guilty pleasures, and the films that they enjoy despite their hatred from almost everyone. White is constantly doing that gimmick for a very long time and he gets the people right where he wants them. Right now, it's the film, Get Out. It has been a huge hit in its three weeks in theaters, making over 100 million dollars. Not only that, but it's gotten critical acclaim. Like Toy Story 3, White gave it a negative review and it dropped from 100 to 99. I simply don't get it. What is he trying to accomplish? Being different for the sake of being different is not always the best decision. I think he knows what he's doing and he's going to stick with it to keep getting people to berate him. Essentially, he's an old fart troll who will keep ruining things.
Recently, there has been some buzz going around with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. So far, it has been given a lot of praise and has one of the highest scores ever on Metacritic. That number was at 98. Now it's at 97. To keep this in mind, Zelda is a Nintendo franchise, and the on the internet, it is obsessively loved. A YouTube reviewer, Jim Sterling, gave the game a 7 out of 10. That is not a bad score. Unfortunately, it has not been the case for anyone that loves it. The fact that he got DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) on his website and petitions to cause harm shows the bad side of fanboys, especially Nintendo ones.
Personally, every company has its share of psycho and extremist fanboys. As far as video games go, every developer and publisher has those. I find the worse to be Nintendo and PC fanboys. Maybe RPG fanboys as well. However, I've never seen anyone go beyond obsession of a review until the last 24 hours. I visited a website that will remain unnamed. A user was really flipping out over the score and was creating topic after topic and posting anything regarding Sterling. I've never watched the guy and probably never will, but the amount of hate that was being put, you would of thought there was money at stake. Most of the user's posts and topics have since been deleted, and has been put on probation from the site for only a few days.
If it were any other franchise, it would have been a shrug from the shoulders. The thing is, there is a deep love religiously for Zelda and Nintendo. Anything that is shrouded in negativity and the rabid fanboys will go on a full front attack and say things that don't make sense. To be fair, it happens with a lot of other companies, but I feel it is way more common with the ones interested in this Japanese company. It's just a damn review. If you can justify your score and give your exact reasons, then most people will understand. Especially if it's a score that most will definitely not agree on and go after you for.
This age of Internet, social media, and other things have been pretty toxic. I'm guilty of saying certain things like everyone else has. However, I have never seen anything like this. All this over a review. As far as something like a movie, I think it's justified when it comes to someone like Armond White. For games, it's going to keep continuing with whatever the next universally praised game gets those same marks as Zelda. Maybe in a different generation, things will get better, but right now, it's as explosive as you can get and it's going to get more dangerous to be a reviewer.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Nintendo Switch: Last Hurrah or a Comeback?
I really do question what Nintendo thinks in their offices in Japan. For over 20 years, they have lost a lot of their home console audience due to bad decisions such as the Nintendo 64 using cartridges and a number of things from the GameCube. They rebounded a bit with the Wii, but stumbled heading out of it and failing miserably with the Wii U. Their handhelds, however, have been a consistent seller, even without much competition and the their biggest threat being the PlayStation Portable. All things considered, Nintendo is putting their eggs in one basket to bring in a unique way to play games. Coming March third is the Switch.
What Nintendo is trying to do is to combine the experience of playing on the go like people would with a 3DS, but also have the experience of playing it at home like any of their home consoles since 1983. Their aim is to focus on one system and one system only. The hope is for their to be no multiple versions of the same game like what happened to Super Smash Bros.. They seem to get the grasp somewhat on what needs to be done in order to succeed.
Regarding the Wii U, it was a big failure due to a lack of marketing, the name, pricing, and a bulky gamepad which contributed to the price, just to name a few of its mishaps. Nintendo seems like they understood the problems that plagued their predecessor and are trying to fix any damaged caused by it. I find the price to be a little high, but not a dealbreaker. Three hundred dollars is manageable. The controllers, named Joy-Con, looks to be something that will not add to the price. However, getting a set of two and a Pro Controller altogether is going to cost over a hundred dollars, which will hurt a little bit if you instantly want four player action.
You can't have a launch without having games. The lineup when Switch debuts is very small. Of course, the big one will be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It has been in development for a very long time and will also come out on the Wii U. Nintendo launched the Wii with Twilight Princess and it served as a strong launch game in 2006, so hopefully for the big N, they didn't anger a lot of their fanbase. That being said, the rest of their lineup as of now won't have as much of an impact like Zelda, but there is stuff that will keep some owners occupied. The next biggest franchises are Just Dance, which was still being made on the original Wii along with the newer consoles, and Skylanders, the toy based game that has been a seller since 2011. Other notable games include 1-2-Switch, Super Bomberman R, and I am Setsuna.
For the rest of 2017, Nintendo seems to understand to space the game releases over this first year to keep people interested in the Switch. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes out in April, but they hope its enough until Splatoon 2 releases in the summer. Then there is the Christmas season, which is when Super Mario Odyssey hits shelves. If Nintendo plays their cards right and advertises the system and the games, this could make people buy a lot of product and somewhat compete with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
A big problem with Nintendo is getting third party support. For now, it looks okay. A lot of companies are looking to test the waters with a game or two. Getting past the launch titles, some of the notables include Skyrim, Dragon Ball Z, and Sonic Mania. A lot of companies have been confirmed into making games for the Switch. It's just a matter of wondering if they come out and when. The first year of support for the Wii U had quite a bit of third parties, but by the end of 2013, it dwindled down very fast. Nintendo really needs to keep these companies and still give them a big reason to put their heavy hitters on their system.
One of the things that Nintendo has lagged at was online. The way they have been, they are trying to make up for lost time ever since they underestimated online back in the GameCube days. Now, they are going the Sony and Microsoft route of charging instead of it being free. Cost wise, it could potentially be around 17 to 26 dollars going by what the yen costs are going to be, but it will start the charging in the fall. That's not a bad price if that is what it's going to be throughout the world. Their online chat, on the other hand, requires a smartphone app, which is one of my issues regarding Nintendo. It seems like they move a step forward and then move two steps back. Without much information, it's hard to know if it's possible to do chat without a phone.
Then there is the free game with online. Nintendo hasn't really explained the reasoning, but similar to the Xbox systems, you get a game if you are using the paid online. Unfortunately, it's an NES or SNES game that is free for a month. I don't know if you can keep the game or you have to pay for it after a month, but if it's the latter, this could potentially fall flat on its face. I get that there is a wealth of games from the 80s and 90s that are loved, but it would have made more sense to look at the GameCube or Wii. Maybe even the Nintendo 64, but the way it is being done, this pales in comparison to what Microsoft does.
A big thing with the Switch is that it is a cartridge format. It should be obvious if anyone has played a 3DS or DS what the cart is going to look like. There's not much else Nintendo could have done. The memory size is still abysmal. Thirty two gigabytes is still not enough, and some will be forced to buy SD cards, especially if you are going digital. There is no backwards compatibility, which I don't see as a dealbreaker. It would be a nice option, but it won't be the end of the world.
My assessment on it before it launches is this. There is enough positives that will help the system sell. Nintendo is playing it smart with their releases. The big question will be how they market it and how often they will promote it. If it does well, they have to carry that momentum and give people more old and new franchises, provide some price cuts and put improvement into their online and show that they can still be a competitive company with a huge comeback. If it fails, who knows what will come next for Nintendo.
So overall, I would have a little optimism regarding the Switch, but I wouldn't be too scared of it once its library starts to pick up during the year. I somewhat expect this to do better than the GameCube and Wii U if things go well for it. Hopefully, Nintendo knows what works and what doesn't. There's a lot riding on what could be the last hurrah if things don't translate to success.
What Nintendo is trying to do is to combine the experience of playing on the go like people would with a 3DS, but also have the experience of playing it at home like any of their home consoles since 1983. Their aim is to focus on one system and one system only. The hope is for their to be no multiple versions of the same game like what happened to Super Smash Bros.. They seem to get the grasp somewhat on what needs to be done in order to succeed.
Regarding the Wii U, it was a big failure due to a lack of marketing, the name, pricing, and a bulky gamepad which contributed to the price, just to name a few of its mishaps. Nintendo seems like they understood the problems that plagued their predecessor and are trying to fix any damaged caused by it. I find the price to be a little high, but not a dealbreaker. Three hundred dollars is manageable. The controllers, named Joy-Con, looks to be something that will not add to the price. However, getting a set of two and a Pro Controller altogether is going to cost over a hundred dollars, which will hurt a little bit if you instantly want four player action.
You can't have a launch without having games. The lineup when Switch debuts is very small. Of course, the big one will be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It has been in development for a very long time and will also come out on the Wii U. Nintendo launched the Wii with Twilight Princess and it served as a strong launch game in 2006, so hopefully for the big N, they didn't anger a lot of their fanbase. That being said, the rest of their lineup as of now won't have as much of an impact like Zelda, but there is stuff that will keep some owners occupied. The next biggest franchises are Just Dance, which was still being made on the original Wii along with the newer consoles, and Skylanders, the toy based game that has been a seller since 2011. Other notable games include 1-2-Switch, Super Bomberman R, and I am Setsuna.
For the rest of 2017, Nintendo seems to understand to space the game releases over this first year to keep people interested in the Switch. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes out in April, but they hope its enough until Splatoon 2 releases in the summer. Then there is the Christmas season, which is when Super Mario Odyssey hits shelves. If Nintendo plays their cards right and advertises the system and the games, this could make people buy a lot of product and somewhat compete with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
A big problem with Nintendo is getting third party support. For now, it looks okay. A lot of companies are looking to test the waters with a game or two. Getting past the launch titles, some of the notables include Skyrim, Dragon Ball Z, and Sonic Mania. A lot of companies have been confirmed into making games for the Switch. It's just a matter of wondering if they come out and when. The first year of support for the Wii U had quite a bit of third parties, but by the end of 2013, it dwindled down very fast. Nintendo really needs to keep these companies and still give them a big reason to put their heavy hitters on their system.
One of the things that Nintendo has lagged at was online. The way they have been, they are trying to make up for lost time ever since they underestimated online back in the GameCube days. Now, they are going the Sony and Microsoft route of charging instead of it being free. Cost wise, it could potentially be around 17 to 26 dollars going by what the yen costs are going to be, but it will start the charging in the fall. That's not a bad price if that is what it's going to be throughout the world. Their online chat, on the other hand, requires a smartphone app, which is one of my issues regarding Nintendo. It seems like they move a step forward and then move two steps back. Without much information, it's hard to know if it's possible to do chat without a phone.
Then there is the free game with online. Nintendo hasn't really explained the reasoning, but similar to the Xbox systems, you get a game if you are using the paid online. Unfortunately, it's an NES or SNES game that is free for a month. I don't know if you can keep the game or you have to pay for it after a month, but if it's the latter, this could potentially fall flat on its face. I get that there is a wealth of games from the 80s and 90s that are loved, but it would have made more sense to look at the GameCube or Wii. Maybe even the Nintendo 64, but the way it is being done, this pales in comparison to what Microsoft does.
A big thing with the Switch is that it is a cartridge format. It should be obvious if anyone has played a 3DS or DS what the cart is going to look like. There's not much else Nintendo could have done. The memory size is still abysmal. Thirty two gigabytes is still not enough, and some will be forced to buy SD cards, especially if you are going digital. There is no backwards compatibility, which I don't see as a dealbreaker. It would be a nice option, but it won't be the end of the world.
My assessment on it before it launches is this. There is enough positives that will help the system sell. Nintendo is playing it smart with their releases. The big question will be how they market it and how often they will promote it. If it does well, they have to carry that momentum and give people more old and new franchises, provide some price cuts and put improvement into their online and show that they can still be a competitive company with a huge comeback. If it fails, who knows what will come next for Nintendo.
So overall, I would have a little optimism regarding the Switch, but I wouldn't be too scared of it once its library starts to pick up during the year. I somewhat expect this to do better than the GameCube and Wii U if things go well for it. Hopefully, Nintendo knows what works and what doesn't. There's a lot riding on what could be the last hurrah if things don't translate to success.
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