Nintendo has done a lot right with the Switch, which is why the console has been such a huge success. They learned from the failures of the Wii U, and put out a compelling product the market wants. That’s a good thing, right?
Well, the one area where they have failed to meet their own standard is with online functionality and services, which has long been the company’s Achilles’ heel. Their online functionality on the Switch is hobbled (which lacks, for example, messaging, game independent parties, and requires a smartphone for voice chat).
Speaking at the Geekwire Summit (via Ars Technica), Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime tried to explain why the company resorted to doing this. I say “tried”, because in my opinion, he failed at doing so spectacularly.
“Nintendo’s approach is to do things differently,” he said, and this is where you should know that you are probably not going to get a real answer. “We have a much different suite of experiences than our competitors offer, and we do that in a different way. This creates a sort of yin and yang for our consumers. They’re excited about cloud saves and legacy content but wish we might deliver voice chat a different way, for example.
”What we see is a situation where we know that Nintendo Switch is being played in the open, at a park, on a metro bus. We believe the easiest way for you to connect and have a peer-to-peer experience with voice chat is with your mobile phone. It’s always there, it’s always with you.”
Hey, Nintendo, you know what else I will always have with me when I am playing online on my Switch? My Switch. I literally do not understand how that is an explanation for this at all.
