Ten Things The Switch Can Do To Keep Momentum In 2018

The Nintendo Switch had an amazing first year! Almost 15 million units sold surpassing the WiiU in consoles sold in less than year. With over 100 games available we are seeing an entirely different ecosystem compared to the WiiU. Third parties are back, Nindies have strong numbers week after week and triple A titles and ports are sprinkled in as well. I hear time and time again people would rather own a title on their Switch when it’s available. I am in that camp, but for that to be the case on future games Nintendo needs to address some of the areas of the Switch that fall short and keep the same momentum it had in 2017. Nintendo pulled out all the stops for 2017.  Zelda, Mario, and Mario Kart were all top sellers. What does Nintendo need to do to keep the momentum in 2018?

Voice Chat

The lack of voice chat for online games is a hurdle that Nintendo needs to overcome this year. The voice chat app and crazy wire configuration headset aren’t a great solution. I’m hopeful we will see a better solution since it seems that they have basically abandon the app with all other games. With the Switch’s 4.0 firmware update usb wireless headphones work while docked or undocked with the Switch. Is there a chance we will see a Nintendo headset in the near future? Plugging in a USB receiver while docked and a USB C receiver while handheld could be the solution we see. No wires and the potential for voice chat sign me up. I played about 4 hours of Doom last night and we used discord to chat but the amount of wires and mix amps I am using to make that happen is crazy. A game like Rocket League would greatly benefit from voice chat, PayDay coming later this month needs voice chat to pull off heists. I feel that if Nintendo wants to be taken seriously by the competitive crowd a solution has to be offered, and offered soon. Even those of us not in the competitive scene like to make callouts or even just chat.

A Top 10 Twitch Game

If Nintendo could put out a game that stayed in the top ten on Twitch it would be huge. A big factor in that happening is luck. Did anyone know Fortnite would be as huge as it is? Battle royal games are hot right now and I would love to see Nintendo jump on the band wagon. What does Nintendo’s version of a BR game look like? It could take a Smash approach as far as characters and you find weapons like Samus’s armor and blasters, Link’s sword, boomerang, bombs, bow, or how about a Fire Flower or Super Star. Maybe Nintendo has Ubisoft take all the assets from Mario + Rabbids and commissions them to make BR style game with all those crazy guns. It could be a new IP all together that offers a short campaign and BR style arena for multiplayer, Retro I am looking at you. There’s a rumor that Halo 6 will have a BR mode, whether thats true or not it seems to be a trend that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. For a game to succeed like this on Twitch it needs to have a skill gap, high level play is entertaining to watch. Watching people pull off crazy kills or maneuvers is vital, having the ability to make a clutch play needs be there. Games like Overwatch, League of Legends and Fortnite are what I am hoping we see from Nintendo this year, not clones but something similar with Nintendo’s creativity behind it.

Smash Bros

Speaking of competitive gaming there are rumors of Smash coming out this year and I believe if it happens it will definitely keep the momentum up for the Switch. Smash is where you find Nintendo’s most competitive crowd, tournaments draw large crowds on Twitch because of the high level of play. Smash bros is a console mover, and with Nintendo wanting to hit that twenty million mark this year I think Smash will find its way to the Switch library. Do we see Smash 4 DX or Smash 5? Honestly I’m fine with either I just want it on the system! I do hope we see some quality of life improvements when it comes to the game. I would love to see a mode that would allow a lobby of players to gather, chat and spectate as two fighters go head to head. Winner keeps fighting whoever’s next in line and if we could all be a party chat it would really have a classic arcade feel to it. A little trash talking or hearing everyone go crazy when someone pulls off an incredible move would be great. All these things would be an improvement to the current party system in Smash 4.

Virtual Console

One thing the Switch has done is brought people back to Nintendo.  I regularly hear people say that that this is the first Nintendo Console they’ve bought since the 64 or GameCube and some of them would like to play those old games again. I think the loudest cry I hear for VC is GameCube games, people want to play Mario Sunshine again or Melee. The Switch has the potential to have games from every generation, the WiiU was closest we’ve seen even including DS games, which can be played on a single screen. The Joycons should be able to handle the motion control games of the Wii, so we could see Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword and even WiiSports on the system. Thankfully when the WiiU Virtual Console came out any of your eshop purchases from the Wii were greatly discounted in the WiiU eshop, hopefully that will be the case with Switch VC. We do know that some classic games are coming when the online service is available in September and those title are getting some kind of online capabilities. I would be all for VC titles getting some updates and online capabilities, Super Mario Kart with up to 8 players online, yes please.

More Multimedia Apps

Hulu has been the Lone Ranger when it comes to streaming services on the Switch. Where are Netflix, Amazon Video, Youtube or Twitch? This may not be the main system you would watch them on,  but having the option is nice. For someone trying to decide what their next main system is it could be a deal breaker for them. Also with the Switch being the perfect traveling system, being able to hook it up in a hotel room to watch Netflix or your favorite streamer would be nice. The more the Switch can be the all in one the device the better it is in my mind.

Streaming Capabilities

This may be a stretch due to system limitations, but to be able to stream from the system would give Nintendo more of a presence online. Streaming is free advertising for their games and those that choose to put their games exclusively on the Switch. Streaming games has become a real time commercial for game publishers, viewers can ask questions and become informed about a game immediately. At least ten people that I know of bought Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after watching me stream it. I am not sure Nintendo sees it as the resource it is, so I don’t know that they would even try and implement it.

Improved UI

I have been a fan of the minimalist UI design of the Switch from the start, you turn it on and you are into your game almost immediately. Looking through your game library isn’t too bad but folders might be nice to navigate it a little quicker. What about themes? I loved customizing my 3DS with classic Mario art and hearing the music from old games! One area that feels very outdated is the friends list. It feels like nothing more than a list. Being able to send messages would be great or having the ability to see your friends latest screen capture, let’s make it more social. Having party chat and the ability to invite people to games needs to be there. Lastly lets talk eshop. Having as many games as it does is awesome, trying to navigate it, not so much. We need need filters for pricing and tags for the type of game we are looking for. Navigating right now can be a bit of chore and at one point I wasn’t even sure how to check out the entire game library. (hint: it’s at the bottom of recent releases) If a game doesn’t make top seller after its first week its basically buried out of site. Having  a star rating system wouldn’t be a bad idea either, so we could search highest rated games. I have a feeling we will see a UI update at E3 2018, fingers crossed we won’t have to wait much longer than that.

Ports, New AAA’s and Indies

Nintendo in 2017 kept a steady stream of games flowing all year, a good number of triple A titles with WiiU ports and Nindies mixed in. This year seems to be starting off just as strong, we know a handful of triple A titles from Nintendo, like Yoshi, Kirby and Mario Tennis Aces. We are seeing third party titles like Dragon Quest Builders and Dark Souls later this year, and Nindies are hot right now with games like Celeste. Nintendo laid out a six month plan for game releases right up to E3. In years past Mario Tennis games were announced at E3, but we got it in a direct in January. My prediction is Nintendo will pull out the big guns by announcing a new Animal Crossing game and Smash Bros, with WiiU ports of Mario Maker, Pikmin 3 and Mario 3D world. We should get more info for Metroid and Pokemon as well. If Nintendo keeps the pace it did in 2017 with game releases and 3rd parties become more and more prevalent we will see more games this year on the Switch.

Collectors Edition Switches

Collectors editions of Switches is a sure fire way to move more consoles. If we see a Smash Bros Switch or Animal Crossing Switch I would be weak and buy more consoles. Collectors can’t resist and fans of the series love seeing the special editions. Up to this point all we have seen is special colors of Joycons, but if they step it up with custom docks, tablets and Joycons they will move consoles. We may start seeing more bundles this year as well, something like a Mario bundle that comes with Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart and Mario Tennis. What about a special edition Switch that has Joycons that look like NES or SNES controllers. With the power of nostalgia Nintendo can get people to open their wallets.

Better Storage Options For Saves

A better way to save our saves needs to be figured out asap. We are hearing more and more stories of people losing their save files from sending in their Switch for repairs and in 2018 it needs to be remedied. With the Switch being portable there’s a much greater likelihood that it could get damaged and need to be sent off for repairs, because of that it would be nice if at the very least our saves were on the microSD card. You remove the card and ship the system off for repairs, new system arrives put your SD in and you’re back to 86 shrines found. (I still have a few more to find) Many people are asking for cloud saves and some are hopeful that it will be included in Nintendo’s online service rolling out in September. I am not holding my breath for that one and I’m not expecting much from their online plan at launch. One because of price. Two because of Nintendo’s track record with online. The bottom line is we need a solution for our save files.

Now I want to hear from you guys. Do you agree with my ten things the Switch can do to keep momentum in 2018? What else do you think it needs to do? Let me know in the comments below.