re: Switch looking more and more appealing: virtual console not available at launch

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Waverace

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That game was so damn fun

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Nintendo has a history of poor launch titles with it pretty much being one Mario or Zelda title and a bunch of shovelware alongside it.

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Look at their history, specifically since the Gamecube.

3rd Parties have often pitted titles against Nintendo at launch...and they lose. That or they often create really bad ports (see most of WiiU's titles outside of ZombiU). Nintendo fans will almost always purchase a first game before a third party game. That's a big big problem (Consider Sony's launch where Killzone is outsold by a handful of 3rd Party Game).

Wii U specifically didn't release a major Nintendo release on release because 3rd Parties complained about this very factor. Well, they released half-made ports, they held the ONE game that would have sold like gangubsters (Rayman) JUST to release it on every console on release (it was actually created for the Wii U), etc. This happened with the Wii (Madden Wii was stupid), and even the Gamecube with a launch window Melee.

So rather than a bunch of Nintendo Titles - Luigi's Mansion, Melee, etc. they are releasing it with one titanic launch title and hoping 3rd parties actually come through. Nintendo fans will buy the Switch and it will sell out for a few months, while they roll out the other releases over time.

One time, the Gamecube, they released a bunch of First-Party titles alongside it, and it didn't do well. Another, they let 3rd Parties support the Wii U, and that didn't work. Maybe this represents the middle ground to see how it works?

The Wii is an outlier for sure, just built on Wii Sports and public consumption.