Success

All posts tagged Success

Could The Switch 2 Fail?

Posted by Karl Weller on January 15, 2025

Posted in: Feature. Tagged: Fail, Games, Gaming, Life, Mario, Nintendo, Release, Success, Switch 2. Leave a comment

As the gaming industry braces for the imminent announcement of the Switch successor, the tentatively titled Switch 2. Nintendo fans continue to speculate on the specifications of the hybrid console, with some commentators determining that the rumoured power of the console achieving the equivalent of a PS4, as being a detriment to the console’s success. Now anyone suggesting that power and graphical superiority equates to success, retains little knowledge of Nintendo’s values and storied history. As a perennial Nintendo gamer since I was old enough to recollect such things, as well as a firm advocate for their strategy in focusing on software as opposed to hardware, I can only foresee the Switch 2 as being an overwhelmingly successful machine. One that may dictate the future of console gaming.

Of course much of this success will hinder on a number of variables. With the sales disappointment of the “Wii U” still a lingering concern for any potential hardware release, Nintendo will be keen to avoid a similar disaster that afflicted them after the monumental success of the “Wii”. So to begin with calling it the Switch 2 will avoid any potential confusion that inhibits the Wii U’s success. Affordability is always an incentive, particularly for those with families that may feel an upgrade isn’t a necessity. So it’s important that Nintendo compliments its new hardware with desirable software that will entice consumers to upgrade. Thankfully this is traditionally where Nintendo has been very astute. The Switch launched with the humble little title called “Zelda: Breath Of The Wild”, accompanied by the likes of “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe”, “Arms” and “Splatoon 2” soon after. And if rumors are to be believed, the Switch 2 could be looking to launch with an even more impressive catalogue. Though it will probably just be a new Mario Kart.

With all that being said, the innovation in graphics isn’t the impressive leap that it once was. I’d go so far as to say that graphics have plateaued over the decades. Everyone of age remembers the distinct graphical superiority when consoles went from 2-d to 3-d. The same could be said between the PS1 to the PS2. Those were true generational leaps. That simply isn’t the case now, or perhaps just not that important. And really, how much more polish do games like Mario and Animal Crossing really need? These kind of games would lose a certain sense of identity if they were graphically motivated or framerate focused. Not to mention expensive and time consuming to develop. Ultimately what will drive the Switch 2 ‘s success will be what has made Nintendo the industry stalwarts they are; games. And with new content in development, coupled with supposed backwards compatibility and a back catalogue that Nintendo is proud to utilize, there may be more than a few looking to upgrade, myself included.

The Nintendo Switch’s Success Isn’t A Shock.

Posted by Karl Weller on July 31, 2024

Posted in: Feature. Tagged: Animal Crossing, Mario, Nintendo, Success, Switch, Wii U, Zelda. Leave a comment

The staggering longevity of the Nintendo Switch is only really a surprise to the rare few that haven’t owned one. Having recently surpassed the original NES as the longest running Nintendo console without being replaced, it speaks volumes about what many casual gamers want from a console. Something that will endure way beyond the expected expiration of the technology running it. Nintendo have found themselves in a unique position when it comes to their software too. Super Mario, Animal Crossing, The Legend Of Zelda, Pokémon. Fans continually demand follow-ups or aberrations to these long running series. And Nintendo complies. They understand the value of their properties and just how adored they are by the community. Games that aren’t stunted by a staunch compliance to what has come before, but liberated by the rigours of creativity.

Could you imagine the uproar if Sony announced another Uncharted game? Despite the series reaching a natural conclusion in ‘A Thieves End”. Or the ridicule directed at Microsoft for releasing another Halo? There would be outrage about creative stagnation and repetition. But Nintendo seems immune to this kind of criticism. They have proved with the success of the Switch, that a console that possesses the capacity for superior frame rates and powerful graphics aren’t requisite components for a successful console. Its versatility as a hybrid console was always going to be a triumphant successor to the much maligned Wii U. But even on its own merit, it was a stroke of genius to design a console that appealed to a discerning fanbase that diversified its time between traditional console gaming and handheld. By consolidating your market into one composite device, you can manufacture the same console to potential consumers to whatever preferences. But despite this generational eminence, the Switch does create an interesting conundrum for Nintendo.

Because they have committed to a hybrid console, that operates as more accessible Wii U, Nintendo have now backed themselves into a creative cul-de-sac. It’s conceivable that they could make handheld and home console separate again, but having enjoyed a console that compliments both demographics in one affordable device? It would be almost impossible for a Pokémon game that can be played both on the television and on handheld, to revert back to the traditional handheld only device?! Can you imagine that with any of Nintendo’s most profitable series. Why would Nintendo want to create console exclusive content on two seperate devices, when they can do it on one? The Switch will be Nintendo’s greatest gift, but perhaps in time, it’s greatest curse too.

The Phenomenal Longevity Of Pokémon.

Posted by Karl Weller on June 19, 2024

Posted in: Feature. Tagged: Adult, Gaming, Life, Longevity, Nintendo, Pokemon, Success. Leave a comment

It’s crazy to me as an adult that something as intrinsically linked to my youth like Pokémon was, is still capable of being the enduring phenomenon that it is today. How a twisted concept, predicated on ensnaring creatures into tiny spherical prisons, and forcing them to engage in brutal battles with other captured animals, until one is rendered unconscious has maintained such a lasting legacy? Other culturally significant 90’s amusements such as Pogs, Furbies and Mr Blobby have all been consigned to the compactor of regrettable adolescent novelties. Yet Pokémon has not only endured, but thrived. With the video games, trading cards and the obscene number of animated derivatives, generating huge financial profits, the sheer volume of merchandising opportunities afforded by these cuddly creatures is frankly astronomical. But how has Pokémon remained such a generationally adored property?

Most children that experienced the initial popularity of Pokémon in the late 1900’s have grown up and had children of their own. Perhaps some have been exposed to the world of pocket monsters in some form or another by their parents insistence, the way some wish to impart or indeed enforce their childhood on their own progeny. Certainly the release of Pokémon Go played its part in consolidating this property’s broad global appeal, across a varied age demographic. Maybe the animations that seemed to diversify the regions and creatures in accordance with the games has provided some marked influence? Or perhaps the trading cards that seem to be in perennial circulation since the 90’s. Personally I believe all of these elements have had a significant effect on the sustained legacy of Pokémon, but none have been quite so integral as the games themselves.

People often forget that this phenomenon originated from the RPG games on the Gameboy, not the animation or trading cards. To this day the series, in all of its diversifying tangents has sold an estimated 480 million units! It’s also purported to regularly outsell Mario. Mario!? The Pokémon franchise has a revenue of around $30 billion. And it’s reported that it is not only the biggest gaming franchise, but also the highest grossing media franchise in general. With it’s licensed merchandise having grossed somewhere in the region of $100 billion. And what’s more, these games, despite some criticism, have remained consistently good. Though the franchise is in a desperate state of transition since Nintendo decided on amalgamating it’s consoles into a duel handheld/home console, these games are still as popular as they have ever been. Maybe more so. And I think that’s why it remains such a culturally robust series. It effortlessly glides from 1 generation to next, to the point that it almost unifies different ages. Everyone has their own “first” in the series. The one that got them into it. Many have that one “last” game too, that soured their experience. But at some point, curiosity gets the better of you and you once again delve back into the absurd world of Pokémon.

Why I Should Have Trusted My Instincts With The Switch.

Posted by Karl Weller on November 1, 2017

Posted in: Feature. Tagged: Game, Gaming, Microsoft, Nintendo, Review, Sony, Success, Super Mario Odyssey, Switch. 8 Comments

The buyer’s remorse is something we’ve all subjected ourselves to at some point. An affliction expedited by a powerful and corrupting desire of indulgence that we are either resistant too or eventually succumb too. The convenience of online retailers and auction sites only compounds the issue, with muted goading or pre-emptive marketing that interprets your buying needs through your personal online consumer habits. It can be tough to resist the urge not to purchase something instinctively rather than evaluate a composed appraisal that determines whether you really need that new ironing board cover or not. Bidding on an item comes with its own specific criteria for inciting this intuitive demand for ownership too, by introducing a pathological fear of losing an item you don’t actually own. Before long you’re so consumed with the idea of ownership that you’re left justifying to your spouse that an NES Classic, costing in excess of £150 is actually a lucrative investment. But I have to wonder whether “Non-buyers” remorse can be considered a legitimate failing?

When the Nintendo Switch was unveiled I was intrigued. Sure there was some apprehension concerning this composite hardware considering the Wii U’s abject failure to distinguish itself from its pervasive forbear, but Nintendo have never been one to simply apply greater accentuation to its power and compete directly with Microsoft and Sony, but rather innovate their hardware with creative flourishes that are identifiably Nintendo, if not always ostensibly aware of its functionality limitations, like the GameCube’s compromised software capacity. Yet there is something unequivocally exciting about Nintendo and their endemic influence over gamers, with the Switch demonstrating an infrastructure with incredible potential.

I immediately thought of the practical applications that could be applied to an exclusively portable series like Pokémon. How a full-fledged RPG Pokémon game, compartmentalized into a composite device, that’s both a traditional stationary console as well as portable one is a dream merger the industry desperately needs, even if we don’t realise it. Then there’s Super Mario Odyssey, a resplendent and infectious addition to the already bloated Mario series, that looks like an achievement God could have created instead of the heavens and the earth if he/she had a greater ambition and more time. You observe the Switch success knowing that your initial appraisal was vindicated, yet feel crucially dejected because you didn’t have enough conviction to actually buy it when you had the chance.

“Amazon UK here, resolving all of the pertinent questions concerning the Switch.”

I’d considered pre-ordering the Switch, but opted instead for cautious optimism, that meant waiting until after launch to assess whether or not it was in fact a viable alternative to my preferred console, the PS4. A wise and thoroughly mature decision I’m sure you’d agree….yet now I’m not so sure. Perhaps that impulse could have been a cathartic validation for its purchase? A big part of me regrets not getting it when I knew I could have saved for it. To have been part of a now growing community that has once again embraced Nintendo’s idealistic sensibilities, that has seen Nintendo endure as the industries most recognisable brand for over 30 years. I’m sure this feeling of exclusion will pass, in time, but the advent of Super Mario Odyssey has only ratified a potential notion that has steadily propagated since the Switches critically venerated release: that the Switch is the single most important device Nintendo has ever created. And I’m missing it!