[ad_1]
A while back we shared a conversation between a few members of Team NL on the topic “what is a” game “developer? It was a nice little back-and-forth format where we were chatting over a virtual cup of tea – or virtually but with real cups of tea and coffee … you get the idea. We’ve decided to revisit the format for a quick note on the Nintendo Switch OLED model, now that the dust has settled and many will have decided whether to chase pre-orders.
For that discussion, we have Gavin Lane, Kate Gray, and Tom Whitehead talking semi-seriously about Nintendo’s latest Switch iteration. What do we think? Who will buy it? Does it look like a stormtrooper?
Let’s get right to the point.
Gavin: I should preface everything I’m going to say with the fact that I’m the guy who bought four 3DS. I am this idiot. I traded in my original Aqua and later Red XL for an upgrade, but have since recovered them. I may have a problem. How many 3DSssss have you purchased?
Kate: Two, technically, but I traded one for the New Nintendo 3DS… XL… more ??? I technically owned three switches: one was an impulse buy (from director NL Ant, four years ago); one was an impulse buy as it came with a ton of supermarket loyalty points (which I spent on a fancy toothbrush), but I immediately felt guilty and sold it; the third is the one I got for work because the first is Drift Central. I shouldn’t be allowed to have a credit card.
To M: I had the original, which I then traded for an XL, then I got the little New 3DS “ambassador” which gives me cramps in my hands but has Xenoblade skid plates and colored buttons, so the cramps are worth it.
Gavin: Okay, so varying degrees of idiocy … sorry, enthusiasm for Nintendo products, then! First off, after all the rumors and hype, what did you think when the “new” console was finally revealed?
To M: Actually, I was expecting an “XL”, as anything related to new chipsets is banned this year for practical reasons, so I was not “disappointed”. I just thought “oh my gosh this won’t be okay”.
Kate: Most of the time, I just thought, “Oh no, everyone is going to be so mad.” And I was right, at least!
But personally I fair I have a new Switch so I’m good at the moment. Hope the basic switches are cheaper now?
Gavin: I think the main obstacle to reducing the price on the “base” model at the moment is that from a business point of view there is no reason for Nintendo to reduce the price – Switch is still selling huge amounts. The material itself is getting pretty long in the tooth, but there is still a huge demand so I don’t see an overall reduction in the near future. However, we may see bigger discounts and bigger deals on the regular version during Black Friday and the holiday season.
I bought the “Slightly Better Drums” switch on the pretext that my mom could buy me my old one to play Animal Crossing. Cheap, I am not a monster.
My first thought upon seeing it was “ooo, sexy new dock”, actually.
To M: Funny you noticed the dock, because the OLED is truly a portable game. As someone who plays laptop 90% of the time, it’s hard not to consider a trade-in upgrade, but if you’re playing on a TV, there’s no point. It is a nice dock though.
Gavin: I play maybe 75% docked… which makes the OLED Switch even less logical for me! As stated above, however, I have a problem. I bought the “Slightly Better Drums” switch on the pretext that my mom could buy me my old one to play Animal Crossing. Cheap, I am not a monster.
Kate: I’m also 90% portable, but as you might have read in my article on burn-in… I’m a little too scared of burn-in. I know a lot of people have said it’s okay, but I don’t want to worry about it!
To M: No Tik-Tok on Switch, everything will be fine!
Gavin: I fully understand this anxiety. I’ve had an OLED TV for a few years now and I’m pretty active when it comes to changing channels and running the built-in pixel shift program. Sometimes I feel like I have to take care of the technology. Worth it, however. I am always amazed when it shows black and you can’t tell if the screen is on or not.
What are our feelings on the price?
Kate: I already forgot what the price was. $ 50 more? It seems reasonable to me; it’s a new model with some minor but much needed updates. I’m especially relieved to see that grille at the top have more fins, it was the bane of my life.
I have a theory that Nintendo was going to announce this during E3, as a minor upgrade that helps them meet the demand for Switch, and then they saw the hype, and just… completely backed off.
To M: I think the price is fair for what should be a good screen upgrade (although, predictably, there is a “surprise” that Nintendo makes a profit on each unit), as it’s a bit bigger, better and combined with other small improvements. It will be interesting to see how sales go, especially if Nintendo has Black Friday deals and game pack promotions with the original model. Maybe the OLED will be the “premium” which will ultimately make fewer numbers because of that extra $ 50. I doubt Nintendo is phasing out the original in any way, for example.
Kate: I have a theory that Nintendo was going to announce this during E3, as a minor upgrade that helps them meet the demand for Switch, and then they saw the hype, and just… completely backed off. I feel a little bad for them because they could never have been up to it.
To M: Yes, it seems very possible. Especially when you see those white Joy-Cons, almost a very deliberate Metroid Dread tie that would have slipped into the Direct’s finale. But speculation on the Internet may have ruined everything.
Gavin: It’s a bit too much when you see some people blaming the poor performance of third-party games on Nintendo for not delivering the extra juice of a “Pro” Switch that the developers apparently “relied” on!
Kate: I wonder if they are now jostling to do the Pro… 👀
To M: Internet chatter won’t significantly affect hardware development and strategy, in my opinion. Sales of the system are still massive, so online “noise” represents a small percentage of the actual world market. There will likely be an upgrade over the next couple of years as the Switch ages, but I firmly believe the chat online will have had little impact on the final product, it will be more about what people want. main partners, what the research says will be successful, etc.
Gavin: Agreed. I don’t see Nintendo getting nervous or pissed off by the hopes and dreams of the internet, or the reports that confuse this SKU with anything in the works. Certainly not as long as huge wads of cash keep pouring in from the current console, anyway.
And that’s really what Switch OLED is: the current console with a slightly larger screen. My first reaction upon seeing the Neon Red / Blue Joy-Con version was “Who the hell is going to buy this version? ”, Forgetting that there are still plenty of people who don’t own a Switch, people who may well buy one in the next couple of years. Nobody I know, but millions of people.
Kate: I was like, “who the hell would buy a Fortnite console?” and the answer is me, for work. There is always someone.
To M: These Joy-Con colors are cool, mind you!
Kate: I am not conquered by white, personally… on console, that’s fine; on a LAPTOP, it will get fat. I know the people in the comments are always upset enough that I am suggesting that they are all dirty beings, but humans are fat! It’s just natural! Of course, you can take good care of it, or wear gloves, but who knows what will happen. It might turn yellow in the sun (it probably won’t).
To M: At least the console is still black, and when the Joy-Con sticks after eight months, we’ll buy different colors anyway …
Gavin: Ha, sad as it is, cooling off Joy-Cons is one of the big attractions for me. I gave my mom my slightly better battery switches with my old console (you see I told you I’m not a freak!) Slightly better room. I’m paranoid that my gaming stuff spills out of the office and invades the whole apartment. I saw a photo with the white PS5 and the Xbox… * think * Series S! They were a great trio. I don’t own either of these consoles yet, but I like the idea.
Kate: I wonder if people who do custom paint jobs are happy to have a white Switch, which probably makes a much better canvas …
To M: Oddly, that was the one thing that almost turned me off, because all the other boxes and gadgets in my living room are black. Then I thought the dock would look nice and stand out, like a rebellious comeback hitting us with some exciting new things like an ethernet entry.
Kate: Looks like a stormtrooper. It is the opposite of rebel!
To M: Oh no, now you’re pushing me away again!
Gavin: For a while watching the trailer, I thought the Switch logo on the front was lighting up!
To M: Pro functionality confirmed!
Gavin: So, the billion dollar question (s): will you get one, and why?
Kate: Nope. If I still had my Original Launch Switch ™, I would consider a minor upgrade; like that, I’m fine. I might get the Joy-Cons if they sell them separately because my drift on the old Switch is so bad I can’t play games at all. I tried to fix it, but it just changed the direction of the drift
To M: Phew, that’s not good. I will, but it only makes sense to do it with an exchange to lower the price. Like I said earlier, I play almost exclusively on a handheld. In fact, my dock has only been used for the first time in ages when capturing anchored screenshots for a review. So with that in mind, I have a few favorite games that I would love to play on a better / bigger screen, plus Metroid Dread of course!
Gavin: Oooh, Dread … Well, having established my idiocy from the start, of course, I’m going to have one. For me, as a package including new Joy-Cons, a sexy new display, and a second dock (which I wanted for my desktop for years), it delivers fair sufficient. Of course Nintendo knows what they’re doing by injecting this slightly premium version into the market, and I’m sure I won’t be the only dad looking at the new SKU and using the kids as an excuse to splash in October. They can have the old one, I’ll upgrade it!
My kids are a little young and I have a few 3DS lying around, but you know. Any excuse.
These are some of our thoughts on OLED, but where are you at? Are you planning to get one? Do you think it will sell well? Does it look like a stormtrooper? Let us know in the comments.
[ad_2]
Source link