My Feelings For the Switch Have.... Switched

I've been a proud Switch owner since I bought one at launch last year.  Up until this point, I'd have strongly recommended this cool little hybrid console/handheld machine to anyone looking to get into gaming.  I still feel that way, but not as strong as I used to.  Now, instead of a resounding "BUY A SWITCH!", it's more like, "well, there is the Switch...."  Hell, I think I bought more games for the Switch last year than any single year of gaming (maybe aside from the PS2) and it wasn't even a full year.  I LOVED the Switch.  But now, I just like it.

If you've read my blogs, you know I have a complicated relationship with Nintendo.  I love them, but I'm also much more critical of them than I am with Microsoft and Sony.  And these past several years with Nintendo have caused me to be more critical of them than I've ever been in the past.  It's also because Nintendo has done so well last year that makes this year all the more frustrating.  My desire to play the Switch every waking moment is starting to wane.  So what changed?

I believe it's the major disappointment in Nintendo's decision not to bring over the Virtual Console to the Switch.  Instead, we're getting a selection of classic NES titles with online gameplay added as incentive to buy into Nintendo's paid online subscription service.  Half the internet is warding off people pissed by the Virtual Console not coming by saying, "We're still getting classic games, just not under the Virtual Console banner!"  Are we?  Are we really?

*sigh*

So, we're expected to endure another agonizing drip feed of classic games as was experienced with the DS/3DS, Wii and Wii U?  Does ANYONE feel that this is a proper trade off for a unified Virtual Console catalog?  If anyone does, I don't understand the justification.  I just don't get it.  Not being able to have the games you purchased via Virtual Console that were available on other systems on the Switch just because there will be a small smattering of selected titles with online play is a bum deal if you ask me.  I'm incredibly frustrated by this because since the Switch was announced, ALL I wanted to do was play one game on the Switch that I purchased on the Wii U.  It was this game:

I LOVED this game.  I still do. I've never been able to find anyone good enough to play it with me.  Not sure I ever will now. Maybe in the future, Nintendo will be gracious enough to select this title and put it on their Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online (what a dumb platform name by the way) so I can play it online.  That would be cool... but to be honest, I'd just rather import it over to the Switch and play it locally.  Hell, I'd even buy it again so I could own it for life on the Switch versus continuing to have to pay a sub in order to keep my access to it.

And that's the major problem with this new service.  Sure, 20 dollars a year is a lot cheaper than buying all the classic games a la cart, so I get how it's appealing to people who enjoy sub-based services like Gamepass.  But again.... it's having to continue to pay for the service for access.  What if you never game online and just want to buy Super Dodge Ball for five bucks?  Well, I'd guess you could pay four dollars for a month and you'd be able to play it for a buck cheaper than owning it... BUT you'd lose access to it after a month so if you want to play it again, you'd just have to pay more money!

I'm actually excited about the idea of playing old NES games online, because that's never been done before.  Then, I remember I'm not that big of an online gamer, so I'd probably try them a few times and never play them again.  So then I'd just sit on my Switch, waiting for something good to come out again, wondering why I'm throwing money down the drain.  "20 dollars is nothing!"  Yeah, I heard that comment, but then it's 20 dollars for nothing.  We're also giving up our rights to ownership by trading the Virtual Console for a sub-based service.  We can get into semantics of ownership if you want, but once you buy a game digitally on your device, that is YOURS and you have access to it so long as your machine works.

Nintendo Switch Online ain't going to be around forever.  Nintendo's been known to kill their online services when their machines become obsolete, which makes perfects business sense, and they killed off Miitomo after only a couple years!  All those poor schmucks that spent money to try to get costumes and whatnot are shit out of luck.  Those who want classic games on their Switch won't have an option to OWN them on their Switch.  They'll need to keep the sub going.  Are there only 10 NES games you love to play all the time?  Well, instead of being able to put them on the Switch for 50 bucks (5 a pop), you'll need to spend 100 bucks to continue to have access to them for five years.... Do you see the problem now?

"But you're not just getting access to classic NES games!  There's cloud saves and..." Don't need them. "...online play and..." Don't play online nearly enough.  Outside of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, I really have no reason to take my Switch online.  Splatoon 2 couldn't even get me to keep gaming online. "... access to the Switch Online App!"  ... Are you FUCKING kidding me?!  That stupid ass app is the worse thing to come out for the Switch.  I could just call my friend ON MY OWN PHONE instead of having to jump through hoops through some stupid app.  If I wanted to chat with multiple gamers, there's Discord for that.  All the app shows is Nintendo's continued ineptness to stay with the current times.  No fucking way in hell am I paying ANYTHING for access to that shit. I'm not going to pay for Nintendo Switch Online at all.

"So, you hate the Switch now because of Nintendo Switch Online?"  Who said I hate the Switch?  I still love the thing.  I'm just done singing Nintendo's praises.  They're fucking the whole thing up.  For them to charge for online play, I'm actually cool with that.  I'm surprised they've held out that long considering MS started charging for online play 12 years ago.  I also consider it a very good deal if you play Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon 2 online frequently, but I don't so it's not a good deal for me.  I get online enhanced NES games as an incentive, but I've never adopted a subscription-based game service and I have no intention of starting now.  If they wanted to enhance a selection of games with online play, cool. Make it an accessible feature for those who want to pay for the service.  Just give the rest of us who don't the damned Virtual Console!

I'm just so fucking sick of Nintendo not listening to us.  Not a single one of those execs hasn't heard who knows how many fans scream for the Virtual Console on the Switch.  It's the perfect fit.  But Nintendo being Nintendo, they have to fuck with formulas and come out with some shit like Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online (GOD, what a stupid platform name!)

But you know, my criticism doesn't just stop with their latest decision to not give customers what they want in the form of Virtual Console.  It also comes from not giving customers what they want in terms of powerful hardware.  "But graphics don't make the games!"  Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one countless times too, and fuck that.  Yes, graphics don't make the games, but graphics make great games better!  Having a more powerful machine also makes it more attractive to third-party developers, a problem Nintendo's been having since the 64.  I've ranted enough about this before... so I'm not going to go into it again.  All I'll say is that I'm done with the gimmicks.  Yes, the Wii was cool.  Yes, the Wii U was cool, but horribly marketed.  Yes, the Switch is uber cool... but god dammit, now that I have a 4K TV, I want the next Nintendo system to be 4K as well. Who the hell doesn't want a pretty as fuck Zelda game?  Sure, Breath of the Wild is gorgeous on an artistic level, but it cannot compete with most newer games on the other two systems.  And you know what?  That's a crying shame.

Then, we have the drip feed of strong first party titles.  Granted, Nintendo makes really good games, if and when they ever release.  2017 was killer with Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey.  Yes, they're also managing to come out with at least one first party title every month, but some of them aren't that strong (ARMS, Fire Emblem Warriors, which technically isn't first-party) and others have been Wii U rereleases to fill in the gaps.  I get not that many people played the Wii U, so Nintendo's trying to recoup some of that lost revenue, but at the expense of brand new titles.  I'd gladly take a Mario Kart 9 or a new Donkey Kong Country instead of the Wii U titles being brought over.  Ugh... they'll bring all these Wii U games back over to the Switch but not the Wii U's Virtual Console?!  ARRRGHHH!!! *pulls hair out*

I'm sure there are Wii coffers filled to the brim that Nintendo hasn't even cracked open yet.  Nintendo needs to step it up a notch and open a few more studios to make games to fill in all these gaps.  Where the the fuck is a new F-Zero for example? Star Fox? (heard the next one is a racing game... WTF?) PilotWings? And then there's the 3DS... That's still going strong so of course they'd still support it, but the Switch is in a position to benefit from both console and handheld markets so they should really kill the 3DS soon in order for more games to made for the Switch.  This is in part to what killed the Wii U.  The Wii U was parched for games but the 3DS strayed Nintendo's focus.  I don't want this to happen to the Switch, so the 3DS needs to go next year, if not sooner.  It's time, Nintendo.  It's just time.

Also, I may be making this blog a bit prematurely because E3 is less than a month, and they could present us with something that could make me eat my words.... but then I remember, this is Nintendo we're talking about.  Their "big surprises" are usually letdowns.  Megaton anyone?