Everybody.
Take a deep breath.
It will.
be.
ok.
Nintendo is gearing up to unveil what they have planned for Nintendo Switch Online ANY
day now & the general consensus seems to be that people are pretty down on it already.
As far as most people are concerned, Nintendo better nail this announcement.
If not, all hope for the service is dead.
I'm not personally in that camp, I'm somewhere in the middle of positive and negativebut,
I can definitely see where they're coming from.
Nintendo hasn't exactly nailed online play in the past thanks in large part to their
reluctance to really commit in the days where Xbox and later Sony doubled down on the implementation
of features on their platforms to facilitate and improve online play on console.
The last time I talked about Nintendo Switch Online I mentioned the fact that they've
flirted with online services in the past, DECADES before Xbox was even a twinkle in
Microsoft's eye.
Hell, Even about a decade before Windows 2000.
Nintendo's online experimentation spangs back to the Famicom WAAAY back in 1988 with
what they called the Famicom Net System or Famicom Modem Nintendo later used that experience
to incorporate an online service of some sort for every one of their systems then on SNES
with Satelliview, again with Nintendo 64's Randnet via 64DD, Gamecube… didn't have
a BRANDED service, but it did support online play.
Wii & Wii U had online play too, as we know & are reminded constantly.
None of these things were GREAT but, none of these things required an international
subscription model in a world where people have expectations for that market.
& of course, the people that have grown accustomed to these services on console aren't the only
people down on the potential of Nintendo Switch's service, you also have the PC players that
feel entitled to free online play, which, while I can see where they get that entitlement
being that PC gaming doesn't require a fee to play online, I also disagree with because
PC isn't 1:1 with console, money isn't funneled differently on that platform & no
one entity is responsible for a cohesive online experience across the board.
Paying to play online there would effectively kill that ecosystem because every publisher
would be charging for the service rather than a single OEM.
But, I digress.
The point is, if we're gonna pay for a service, it better be worth that dollar.
The question I have is, what will happen if it's not?
Will it effect Nintendo Switch's momentum?
Spoilers, but, keeping in mind Nintendo's history in mind, I can't really see Switch
Online having any real baring on where Nintendo Switch is headed in the future.
It being bad definitely wouldn't have the effect that many skeptics seem to think it
will.
The people that expect top notch online experiences with no lag, never-ending uptimes, & snappy
connections to any player at any given time are 1st of all live in a fantasy world and
2nd of all are unlikely to leave the vaunted ethernet cable clad fortresses that are Xbox
Live, Playstation Network and most definitely anybody gaming primarily on Steam.
The people that don't have those expectations won't be any the wiser at the end of the
day.
Just like they weren't on any other Nintendo platform.
Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Pokemon, Splatoon, & more are all games that people play online
on Nintendo platforms and while they're not perfect, they're certainly not this
unplayable mess people purport they are.
Of course, those services were free, but, with Switch Online in particular, what people
seem to be discounting altogether is the fact that Nintendo isn't hinging the value proposition
of Switch Online on the online play alone.
That's before considering the fact that, as it stands the games that are on offer will
either make most bite the bullet no matter how little they may want to (being Smash Bros,
Pokemon, and possibly even Fortnite.)
Most people won't think twice before shelling out the pocket change per month to play these
games.
OR ignore it altogether regardless of quality because they prefer to play the games that
Nintendo has prioritized up until now.
Most of Nintendo's current marquee titles are single player experiences so you'd be
hard pressed to see the majority of people even CONSIDERING Switch as is changing their
mind based on the Switch Online Service.
Hell, PlayStation & Xbox don't even reach all of their users with their online services
and the vast majority of the games being released or planned are some variation of games as
a service.
The most popular games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, Overwatch or even Red Dead Redemption
2 will have heavy integration with each of the current gen platform's online services.
Why would it all of a sudden be the case that Nintendo of all companies would be the one
platform that has online as a prerequisite to succeed?
Sure, we'll eventually get more of those games in an attempt to sell people on the
Online service, but, they won't dedicate ALL of their resources to it.
There will be single player games for people to play.
Regardless of how their service turns out, those games will still be system sellers.
If it IS bad, The people that do buy into the service will do so because less than $3
a month is impulse buy territory, low quality Smash Online is better than NO Smash Online,
or the other incentives that Nintendo will introduce alongside it.
In the last Switch Online video, I talked about Nintendo's desire to provide value.
Their service is not only a 3rd of the price of what the other guys charge they ALSO are
going to try to justify the price through other means.
For many, the ability to play the Nintendo Classics Library games would've been enough
to justify the $20 a year.
If they added 4 games a year that would easily justify the $20 price tag before the online
capabilities come into play.
I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more than that added to the library per month.
Hell, if they WANTED to, they could gate keep Classic games altogether.
Granted, I don't think they'll do that, but they could….
Something they will almost certainly do is have exclusive windows for these games, offers
for the games, maybe even better offers for their My Nintendo service.
I wouldn't be surprised to see them attempt to add more features that we have yet to hear
of directly to sweeten the deal as well.
There's been rumors of an achievement system.
I can't see them wanting to make it a copy and paste affair.
I'd imagine Nintendo wanting to give something more tangible for their achievements from
the outset.
Maybe that'll be their way to introduce stickers from Nintendo 3DS or the Stamps from
Wii U's Miiverse to Nintendo Switch?
Maybe more themes?
I can't imagine the themes we currently have are all they planned.
The naming convention that's in place sure implies otherwise.
Aside from that, what if cloud saving is tied to that service, I can't say for sure if
it's STILL a requirement elsewhere, but I do recall cloud saves being an incentive
for Playstation Plus and Xbox Live Gold, Switch Online using that as an incentive wouldn't
shock me.
Of course, a lot of this would likely be introduced to the OS whether you pay or not, but, Switch
Online will almost certainly give a better version of whatever they end up offering in
these areas.
Nintendo's plan is to try to justify the added expense to gamers, the games will be
a big part of their pitch to us, but, in the backend, that money will go to showing Nintendo
that improving what is being offered in Switch Online is important.
Stockholders wouldn't be happy to hear about how unhappy players are with a service that's
now an additional revenue stream for them.
Money will be their motivator.
Aside from that, Nintendo is a company that's very clearly interested in reinvesting in
their future.
Whether Switch Online is a rousing success, or a disastrous failure, Whatever money they
make from this service will undoubtedly go toward making it better.
In the meantime though, negative attention will go a long way to progress in the meantime.
That goes for the other complaints as well like Nintendo's voice chat solution, provided
they're as wide spread as a lot of gamers think.
It seems to me that most people will passively pay for the service regardless, but, if things
like Voice Chat being in an app ARE dealbreakers for the majority, they will make themselves
heard, stockholders will see the negative attention and the ensuing loss of revenue,
and they will pressure Nintendo to fix the problem.
Nintendo's entry into the mobile gaming market is a key example of this dynamic.
For YEARS Nintendo was vehemently against developing games for mobile devices.
Fast forward to now, after declining stocks, loss in profits, and a failed attempt at a
console they fixed the issue.
They were leaving money on the table.
Nintendo is now doubling down on mobile.
They went from being against it, to dipping their toe in utilizing it as a way to promote
their core gaming offerings, to now aiming to have several high earners in the space
per year - positioning them as another pillar of revenue.
1 billion dollar business for them.
That's a huge shift, in large part because of the taste they got after stockholder pressure.
The same will happen with paid online.
They'll dip their toe in, and adjust accordingly.
Displeased consumers & soon developers will funnel down to their stockholders which will
visibly affect their bottom line.
In the past, online services didn't have any promise of income, if anything they costed
them resources with little to no gain in return.
With all of that being said, I don't think Nintendo's service will suck.
I certainly don't think it will be perfect.
Literally nothing is the 1st time you try, well….
Unless you're Nintendo and you make one of if not THE best open world games of all
time on your first attempt, but, I digress.
Online gaming is a different animal.
Even games from online gaming vets like Activision suck for the 1st few days.
Time alone won't make Nintendo good at something they put no effort into until now.
Other company's R&D won't make them good at it either.
They need to figure out how to have a robust online service worth paying $60 a year for,
just like the other guys did.
I'm just happy we aren't being expected to pay $60 a year to them while they figure
it out….
Like I was for Xbox….
& PlayStation…..
BUT, those are MY thoughts what do YOU think?
Do you think Nintendo can make Switch Online worth the cost of admission at launch?
Do you think they announce any additional change to their online offering that we don't
know about yet?
? Let me know in the comments!
Like my ideas?
Like the video!
Share it with a friend that's wondering about Switch Online.
and/or thinks it will crash and burn.
AND make sure you subscribe & ring the bell if you haven't already to be notified of
new videos like this every Tuesday and Thursday at 4PM.
ALSO, if you wanna hear your comments (or discord questions.
Join our discord to be a part of the podcasts) discussed by my friend Logan & me, check out
our podcast every Saturday.
Also at 4PM.
Ok.
That's it for me.
See you next week.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét