4 Reasons Why Nintendo Should Abandon Hardware

4 Reasons Why Nintendo Should Abandon Hardware

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2. Lack of substantial third-party support

The Division 4 Reasons Why Nintendo Should Abandon Hardware

One of the reasons why the Wii U failed was because of a lack of third-party support. The Wii U excelled on the first-party front, Nintendo always has, but it had no serious backing from developers outside their exclusive treehouse. Those studios that did take the plunge and support the console brought over ports of old games like Batman: Arkham City and Mass Effect 3, rewired to support the features of the Wii U – gimmicky features that nobody wanted. As a result, there was a dearth of games and the console quickly fell to the waste side.

When the reveal of the Switch came around, it looked like that was all about to change. Not only did we get a glimpse of Skyrim being played on the Switch, but Nintendo announced a slew of third-party studios that were bringing games to the system. The likes of Activision, Capcom, Epic Games and From Software were all being presented as Nintendo Switch ‘partners.’ Why is it then that the Nintendo Switch is launching with hardly any games of consequence? Here is a list of the games confirmed at for launch so far:

  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
  • 1-2-Switch (Nintendo)
  • Just Dance 2017 (Ubisoft)
  • Skylanders Imaginators (Activision)
  • Super Bomberman R (Konami)
  • The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ (Nicalis)
  • Human Resource Machine (Tomorrow Corporation)
  • I Am Setsuna (Tokyo RPG Factory)
  • Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation)
  • World of Goo (2D Boy)

10 games. Sure, the new Zelda will be a big seller and 1-2-Switch a neat experience that shows off the perks of the console, but Just Dance from Ubisoft, Skylanders from Activision and a new Bomberman from Konami – that’s it? That’s all you could pull from those top tier publishers? Why on earth is Skyrim, a game that released six years ago, not there straight out the gate and releasing in the fall instead? Rayman Legends and Steep from Ubisoft have no release date, once again games that are already out on other systems. Warner Bros. is bringing LEGO City Undercover to Switch in Spring 2017, it released in 2013. Fifa is coming to Switch but has no release date. Indie darlings Shovel Knight and Stardew Valley, two games that are perfect to play on the go, are coming at some point in the future. Human Resource Machine came out in 2015. Little Inferno came out in 2012. World of Goo came out in 2008! C’mon now, seriously? All that said, Square Enix are bringing a new Dragon Quest to the Switch and Namco Bandai are working on a new Tales game, but that third-party offering is still incredibly lackluster and filled with games people have already played. The fact there is nothing new, besides Zelda and 1-2 Switch, no new launch game from Ubisoft that utilises the features of the Joy Con controllers in some innovative way, implies that third-party developers do not believe in the Switch, and that is a huge problem. You only get one shot to launch a console and convince people to give a damn, and if there are no games, people aren’t going to fork over their cash. It’s just that simple.

NEXT: People care about their software

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An aspiring video games journalist in my third year of media studies that has a rather unhealthy obsession with a certain Caped Crusader. You can follow my nerdy shenanigans on Twitter @LevelUpLynch.
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