Polygon: Nintendo is already repeating the Wii U's mistakes with Switch

Nintendo is already repeating the Wii U's mistakes with Switch

Two weeks from launch and I still have so many questions

by Christopher Grant@chrisgrant Feb 17, 2017

When Nintendo launched the Wii U in 2012, there were a lot of promises about what the platform meant. Now, less than five years later, the Wii U is an unmitigated failure, not just commercially but creatively, and Nintendo is going to take another crack at a tablet-based home console platform with the Nintendo Switch. And while Nintendo has a lot of ‘splaining to do in general, there is no better litmus test for Nintendo’s future success than how well it handles the console’s online functionality.

It’s not going great so far.

Nintendo held a Wii U reveal event in New York City in Sep. 2012, some 17 months after revealing the project and just two months before its release. And despite the years of inadequate online support for the Wii, Nintendo came equipped to that 2012 event with ... not a lot of detail on the Wii U’s online capabilities. “While there were many things missing from Nintendo's showing yesterday,” I wrote at the time, “there is one omission whose absence stands in such stark contrast to the rest of the industry, and even to Nintendo's own messaging today, that it's the obvious place to start: an online service.”

History has a way of repeating itself. It’s been 703 days since Nintendo revealed plans to succeed the flagging Wii U with a new console, the Nintendo Switch (then-codenamed NX), and it had a Switch reveal event in New York City last month, roughly two months before the console’s planned March release.

Nearly everything I detailed that was absent from the Wii U reveal event is absent now with just 14 days to go before the Switch is in customers’ homes.

We didn't see the console's menu system; we have no idea if the much-hated "friends code" system will make a return; in the absence of any kind of unifying "account" with Nintendo, we don't know if future digital purchases will be tied to that profile or to the hardware (as it is currently); and we don't know how the eShop will work which, you'll recall, failed to launch alongside the 3DS just last year.

We do have some clarity into the account system. Nintendo’s initial reveal statement for the Switch (neé NX) promised a new “membership service” thanks to a partnership with Japanese mobile gaming giant DeNA.

Nintendo, together with DeNA, will jointly develop a new membership service which encompasses the existing Nintendo 3DS and Wii U systems, the new hardware system with a brand-new concept, NX, and smart devices and PCs, and Nintendo will be the primary party to operate this new membership service.

It’s notable that the very first acknowledgement of the Switch was also an acknowledgement of the importance of a consistent online identity for Nintendo’s products and an acknowledgement that Nintendo could not do this by itself.

That service — the successor to the Nintendo Network ID — ended up being called, simply, Nintendo Account, and it was launched in North America in February of last year, in advance of the release of Miitomo and the new My Nintendo rewards program. While both the 3DS and Wii U have been updated to support the new Nintendo Account system, the Switch is the first new piece of hardware built with Nintendo Account in mind.

The most obvious answer as to why Nintendo is being so cagey about its online functionality or, really, the entire software platform outside of the games that run on it, is because ... it isn’t done yet. You may not recall, but when the Wii U launched it required a massive day one patch that took, for many, literal hours to download and install. That patch included all of the console’s online functionality which, even when delivered, wasn’t competitive with its peers from Microsoft and Sony. That patch came in so hot, reviewers were waiting until it was made available on launch day to test the Wii U’s online functionality.

So it’s actually heartening to hear that Nintendo has partnered with DeNA to work on one of its core deficiencies, and even more heartening that Nintendo admitted as much over 700 days ago. What’s worrisome is that, on the heels of the Wii U’s disastrous rollout and even more disastrous execution, Nintendo doesn’t recognize the need to convince would-be consumers that this time, finally, it has it figured out and your money will be well invested in the Switch. If consumer expectations — newly transformed by the introduction of smartphones, Kindles and more — confounded Nintendo in 2012 ... well, I’ve got bad news for Nintendo in 2017.

Let’s not forget, despite only selling some 13.5 million units — a far cry from the 100 million some at the company thought it would sell — that Nintendo still managed to convince roughly that many of its faithful fans to purchase a colossal blunder that most others could see coming a mile away. After all, how clairvoyant do you have to be to recognize that Nintendo’s failure to deliver an actual online strategy — amongst other red flags! — in 2012 would be problematic?

Sure, the Wii U was always going to be limited in that regard, with its strange tablet-that’s-not-really-a-tablet hardware, but the Switch is an honest-to-goodness tablet! There is, in fact, a whole technology market for tablets. People like the things! But, lest you think Nintendo realizes the enormity of this opportunity — Apple sold more than 13 million iPads last quarter and even that represented a nearly 20 precent drop in sales from a year ago — the Switch doesn’t appear to be gunning for tablet dominance.

To start, it won’t have Netflix, or any other streaming video apps, at launch and future support isn’t even guaranteed, but rather is “being considered.” Similarly, the Switch won’t even have a web browser — “Since all of our efforts have gone toward making Switch an amazing dedicated video game platform, it will not support it, at least at launch,” Nintendo president and CEO Tatsumi Kimishima told Time earlier this month. These absences are perhaps due less to Nintendo’s vision or planning and more to a lack of support from those app developers, but it’s troubling nevertheless.

http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/17/14260808/nintendo-switch-online-platform-worries

Disclaimer: I'm buying a Switch at launch for Zelda.

That said, Switch is definitely not the system I had hoped "NX" would be. I think Switch would've made an awesome secondary Nintendo platform, with the main one being a powerful, dedicated home console with high-end graphics, attracting western 3rd parties.

Anyway, I certainly hope Switch sells well enough (at least 30+ million lifetime, worldwide) that Nintendo does not hesitate to put out another console platform in the early 2020s. I hope whatever that future system might be, is already in the early stages of R&D.

Switch is everything and more i had hoped for. A hybrid that does a bunch of other stuff. Pretty sweet.

We didn't see the console's menu system; we have no idea if the much-hated "friends code" system will make a return; in the absence of any kind of unifying "account" with Nintendo, we don't know if future digital purchases will be tied to that profile or to the hardware (as it is currently); and we don't know how the eShop will work which, you'll recall, failed to launch alongside the 3DS just last year.

Hmm. We know what the menu looks like. We know no friends code cause Nintendo said so. And we know the account system is unified. We also know the eShop will let us purchase digital games, DLC, etc day one.

Sound like case closed to me.

Yeah, I saw that article earlier today. It's a pretty shitty, ill informed article. That said, Polygon has never hesitated to call doom on Nintendo. Remember when Mario Kart 8 was going to sell only 2 million copies lifetime? Fast forward two years later and it's the highest selling exclusive of the generation.

If anything, Polygon proletysing doom on this thing should be all the proof one needs it'll be successful.

This is polygon we're speaking of.

@Gaming-Planet: @charizard1605: It's all more like “Wah, Nintendo is not telling us all the information of its online plans.”

Now, why would Nintendo not do that? Naughty Nintendo!

Some unneeded hyperbole aside, the underlying complaint about Nintendo doing a poor job of explaining its online plans/goals is accurate. It's not so much a concern that they're doing a poor job communicating their plans, but that those plans and their online aspirations are extremely conservative and not integral to the system and user experience - it comes off as though online is still an afterthought for Nintendo.

More ill informed nonsense.

Why the f*ck do you look at Polygon? they offer nothing to nobody.

Isn't information regarding the online service and accounts pouring in now? I'm sure I read something to that effect just yesterday, but I may be mistaken.

Then again, I'm not too concerned either way. The system's online component is the one I'd use the least.

Heh!..mostly secondary stuff..that I don't care about/will never use. :P

Lolygon

Yeah, this.

I agree that it was a mistake to not add Netflix, Hulu and other applications to the Switch was a big mistake. You're just cornering yourself and tighting your audience and consumer when you do that. If Nintendo implemented a hub like console with applications in Netflix and showed some aspect of it in the Super Bowl add it would been a homerun for Nintendo but Nintendo keeps alienating their audience and marketing the Switch as videogame console only which is backwards in this day and age of hardware where every single hardware has applications to do besides playing cartdrige games.

People still take Polygon seriously? Now that's funny.

As it currently sits Nintendo Switch is not a "[hybrid] that does a bunch of other stuff". From what I have seen or Nintendo hinted is that it's a videogame console/portable not a multimedia device that can stream Netflix, Hulu and other applications or even browse the net. It has touchscreen capabilities so I don't understand why Nintendo doesn't have applications in their system yet. Imagine if could run applications and showed a guy waking up to play Zelda showing off the home console and portable capabilities then showed the guy watching something on Netflix or some football application on the SuperBowl add instead of just marketing as a videogame console hybrid. It would of appealed more to the casual gamer and would of gotten more attention to the general public, hell even add the capabilities to play mobile games and show off Candy Crush in the commercial too.

Maybe Nintendo his holding off until the Switch releases or a month or two after it releases. Hopefully it won't be a shit service because if it is it would greatly put me off. I want to play Smash online with minimal to zero lag.

These guys are getting payed for that shitty article?

The Switch is everything I thought Nintendo would do. Gimmicks and under powered.

Can you point out a more powerful portable system?

you know what.

yesterday we had a big storm and the power went out.

i couldnt play my wiiu, my wii, xbox360, PC....nothing

you know what i could play? my 3DS and i was playing it wishing the switch was out so i could have been playing zelda while the power was out.

-------------

anyway... about the article.

it says switch is very shady about it's features. and this lack of explanation will cause it to fail like the wiiu.

i don't think so. there is a lot more hype for switch and hype sells more.....nintendo just needs to keep the games and marketing coming.

Never take Polygon seriously. Especially relating to Nintendo since they bashed Bayonetta 2 with their personal politics over the most important thing... GAMEPLAY!

Thats not what i meant. Its a Hybrid because it can play at home on big TV and on the go at the park. It does more then i had thought, has two controllers, HD Rumble, motion control, multi-touch, multiple ways to play, etc.

@charizard1605: Please not that argument again. If that helps you sleep at night then go for it.

I mean, even if you want to consider it a console, the console's entire specs are contained within that tablet. If you can point out a more powerful tablet or portable form factor system, I will concede the point. But you can't, because there isn't one.

Reads topic title: I agree with polygon.

Sees what they actually have to say: Man Polygon are being really stupid.

I read Polygon for the same reason I read The Onion. Except for that Polygon are actually serious.

That makes them even funnier.

None of this changes the fact that is the weakest console on the market as is weaker than systems released nearly 4 years ago.

Yes, portable systems often tend to be weaker than stationary systems, due to mobile and portable tech trailing full scale tech by a few years.

Thats all irrelevant. Its supposed to also be a home console and its weaker than the two major platforms. It already made itself obsolete for all third part games. Secondary consoles is not a viable market.

Absolutely, it can be marketed as a home console, and it will be a weak as hell home console. But the limitation derives from the portable system form factor, and as a portable system, it is the most advanced and sophisticated system ever made. You also forget that as of right now, all the support that was on the 3DS and Vita has nowhere to go but the Switch. And while 'secondary consoles' may not be a viable market (unsubstantiated claim, but not one I care to contest), having a portable system alongside a home system is absolutely a profitable, if diminished from the DS days, market, and one that the Switch is more than capable of servicing.

Same way why I can't trust Engadget with their dumb review of Horizon: Zero Dawn, as the Author spent her time being in Lesbians with the protagonist and not talk about gameplay. Now I'm starting to understand your beef with Morgan Webb regarding Metroid: Other M, even though I still don't like that game.

The switch isn't that portable, if you need a bag to carry it around then you can use the same bag to store a laptop which can be way more powerful.

Well, even if you don't like Other M (and I can respect that, though I enjoyed it, I never found it great), it's cool that you can see why people (not just me) HATED that review. In fact, their "constantly shows her ass" complaint is all the more laughable as, in that same year, Mass Effect 2 came out and there were FAR more ass shots out of Miranda Lawson than there was Samus in Other M. Yet X-Play totally ignored that and gave it a 5/5.

Name one tablet that you can carry around in your pocket.

Okay. But I specify tablet form factor. So I'm not sure what your point here is.

To say nothing of the fact that tablets are portable.

@smearygoose1768: Do you honestly think Nintendo isn't going to add Netflix and other video apps to the Switch later? May I remind you that the 3DS didn't launch with those things too? Hell, it didn't even have an eShop at launch. It's very obvious the Switch is being rushed out the door at Launch just to get the Wii U in it's grave as fast as possible. Nintendo can be grossly incompetent at times, but they're not stupid. They know Netflix and other apps are important to have, they just didn't get them ready for launch.

I hope so it would be a huge mistake if they don't include apps early on or later on. It has touchscreen capabilities so I think Nintendo might make use of them with apps like Netflix.

The Switch's settings menu already implies that media apps and functionality is coming. I wouldn't worry.

Its a under powered piece of crap that the sheep are killing themselves trying to hype. Its getting none of the big third party games, and its online is going to be shit. Have fun sheep, you should just get shaved so i can wear you as a sweater. YEP!!!

You're a well adjusted individual

People are disregarding the article because it's from Lolygon but it is true that we don't know much about the Switch online. What are they waiting for?

That said, WiiU main mistake is that people thought it was a add on to the Wii. They were not clear enough about the hardware. It was not about the online.

Yes, people attacking Polygon because they can't argue against what they're saying. Typical.

The truth is, the gist of the article is accurate. Nintendo's lack of transparency has been less than desirable and two weeks out from retail people are still in the dark as to things that would be relevant to their decision to purchase. I don't support Nintendo, but even if I did, I'd not get the Switch on release because there are questions unanswered and that raises red flags considering Nintendo's history and past policies. Their opaqueness is a problem, and Polygon's calling them out on it, as they should.

They're not wrong about Nintendo lacking or waiting too long on giving us more information on everything. Hell, that NeoGAF user that got the Switch early and showed off it's UI is doing what Nintendo SHOULD have done earlier considering the Switch isn't that far off from launching.

That being said, I'm not going to act all doom and gloom about the Switch's fate over this.

A bit melodramatic. But I am angry that in two weeks I'll have the console but still know nothing about the eShop.

That article is so silly. They are criticizing Nintendo for something they don't know about yet. Even if Nintendo's online system is bad at first, that doesn't mean it's doomed. The Wiiu's online was bad based on what it ended up being. Besides, online functionality was the least of the Wiiu's problems. Many even liked the WiiU's online for at least being free.

I would say that Polygon is trash, but it's kind of a mute point posting here at gamespot. Gamespot has largely become a joke (Much like Polygon) in the gaming world. Calling Polygon bad here is kind of a pot meet kettle kinda thing.

Most gaming sites are trashy....

If you want proper information you typically go to specific forums/sites/chat boards or even youtube stars that are critical of the games they review... that offer 1 hour + reviews with gameplay and discuss the good and the bad.

Honestly.. I dont know how half of these sites justify a pay check... outdated in every sense of the word.

Look at the Gamespot home page right now:

For Honour Review - 6 minutes long, 3 word document pages write up.

FF7 images - a retweet basically.

Early nintendo switch systems stolen and illegally resold nintendo says - whoa amazing.... thanks for sharing.

Walking dead s7 - Stop trying to be IGN ... nobody cares about your half assed breaking away from purely games.. you barely do games well enoug has it is.

2 more TV/Film posts.

ugh... drivel.

Switch is Nintendo selling you $150 hardware at the special Low price of $300.

Only Nintendo can get away with it because no one can replicate the game play of Nintendo games. So if you want to play some of the best games each gen has to offer you, you have to pay exorbitant prices for hardware made by Nintendo.

babyjoker1221 (660 posts) - 8 hours, 46 minutes ago

"I would say that Polygon is trash, but it's kind of a mute point posting here at gamespot. Gamespot has largely become a joke (Much like Polygon) in the gaming world. Calling Polygon bad here is kind of a pot meet kettle kinda thing."

Why is Polygon trash??

I've never seen an article on there that would make me say it's trash.

GunSmith1_basic (10369 posts) - 8 hours, 54 minutes ago

"That article is so silly. They are criticizing Nintendo for something they don't know about yet. Even if Nintendo's online system is bad at first, that doesn't mean it's doomed. The Wiiu's online was bad based on what it ended up being. Besides, online functionality was the least of the Wiiu's problems. Many even liked the WiiU's online for at least being free."

That's kind of the point of the article. Everyone should already know what the Switch is going to be by now. Nintendo isn't getting the message out there well enough and there are too many unknowns. Nintendo should have spoken about a New Online system by now just to show they're taking online serious this time.

Problem with the Wii U is that Nintendo consoles have horrible third party support, mostly because the Sony and MS go for those big budget western AAA games because they have the hardware, the online infrastructure, and the audience for those games, and Japanese developers are more focused on handhelds, like the 3DS and Vita. I don't see the making the same mistakes, mostly because you can pretty much write off western AAA games on the Switch. What the Switch is going to be getting that the Wii U didn't is a ton of third party Japanese support, because it's a handheld as far as they're concerned. There's no competing Sony device either. Plus Nintendo has no follow up to the 3DS, except the Switch, so yeah, Switch is going to be the system to own if you're into Japanese games.

@DJ-Lafleur: I could be wrong but I don't remember seeing the Xbone/PS4 interface before launch either.

They are right about the unknown stuff and that it has a tablet again but the tablet is the system.