8 Major Worries For The Nintendo Switch In 2018
So, Nintendo Switch Online... what are we paying for again?
As if straight from a fairy tale, the Switch took the world by storm last year, far surpassing its predecessor's lifetime sales in a matter of months. Nintendo had saved itself from further embarrassment, lost faith had been restored and Ninty fans could once more enjoy the pleasures of owning a successful - and well-supported - piece of Nintendo-brand hardware.
So, one year on, what's the sit-rep now the honeymoon period that goes hand-in-hand with shiny new hardware has expired? The Switch is a huge, deserved success, but a potential storm is brewing and Nintendo would do well to curb its danger before the floods come and wash away all of its hard work.
Streaming apps, Virtual Console, cloud saves: these are the sorts of standard features that shouldn't still be missing a year after launch, nor should a lack of transparency in regards to the Switch's paid online service.
It Ninty can answer these queries, deliver on missing features in due time and avoid repeating mistakes of the past, then our worries will subside along with the dark clouds hanging over its future, but as of now, there's still work to be done.
The Switch is a success, let's hope it stays that way.
8. The "Switch Tax" Problem
As far as hardware prices go, the Switch's modest price tag is a welcome and justified alternative to the figures that Sony and Microsoft's products demand, but that value depreciates sharply when the price of the console's software is taken into account.
A definitive answer for why multi-platform titles cost more on Switch remains absent, but several outlets have posited that the link comes down to the expense of manufacturing the Switch's diddy cartridges, a figure that, per some reports, costs publishers $20 for each unit. Who ultimately ends up paying for that surplus charge? Why the consumer does, of course.
Rockstar's re-release of L.A. Noire on Switch, for example, goes for considerably more at retail than its Xbox One or PS4 counterparts, presumably for this reason. Rime developer Tequila Games opted to include a download code for the game's soundtrack ($10) for the Switch version to account for that extra cost - a commendable but non-standard gesture that publishers are by no means obliged (nor should they be) to replicate.
No, the onus here rests squarely on the Big N's shoulders.
If the use of custom media necessitates a larger price tag than CDs, then Nintendo should foot the bill, not the publisher.