You mean the motion control gimmick, the same kind of controls that many PS VR games now use? Or the touch screen gimmick in 2005, over two years before the first iPhone and over three years before the first Android phone? That's a long time before touch screen mobile phone gaming took off.

Nintendo pioneered both of those technologies in gaming, how are those things gimmicks and PS VR isn't?

It depends on how you count the Prime games and if you count mechanized versions, too.
One could argue that PSVR is using the technology in a useful, applied manner, whereas Nintendo is including it just for the hell of it.

(And the Switch would never be powerful enough for VR without changing it entirely.)

I am surprised to see a console-related thread on Good Old Games, but on topic...
... I was taken aback when I saw the Switch's launch line-up. I thought I traveled back to 1994 or something, because this legitimately looks like a SNES game line-up.

I am not saying that like it's a bad thing. Quite the opposite, to be honest! Console gaming and most modern games in general have left me wanting, so seeing games like Bomberman and Tetris being released as full retail games is just super exciting to me. And like OP mentioned, the small internal storage capacity suggests that Nintendo WANTS you to buy these games at a retail store rather than download them digitally. That's great imo, but I completely understand why modern players wouldn't be in favor of this.

I don't know, I can't help but be excited for it; in fact, I tried pre-ordering the system yesterday, but it was unfortunately sold out everywhere in my area already. I am glad Nintendo is sponsoring the development of new games in old franchises, which might hopefully steer gaming back on track. It happened on PC already, PC games are pretty much going back to their roots, and that's awesome! I hope consoles can be brought back to their own roots too, and I think the Switch is looking like a really good step forward.

I also think the price is reasonable. I don't see why you need a 70 dollar pro-controller right off the bat, and the online subscription service is optional and also free until 2018's Summer season. After that one-year period, I'll be able to decide if the service is worth it or not (probably not). 300 dollars plus a 60 dollar game seems like a good deal in today's market, considering the PS4 was a disaster on launch and launched for 400 without a game, and Xbox One sold for 500 without a game. Now THAT's a rip-off.

Not sure what you mean by "to their roots", but we can probably thank the Indie devs.

It's true that the XB1 and PS4 costed more at launch, but you can buy either for about the price of a Switch or less now, so it's something to at least consider.

I just don't get it. Everybody was so excited for it. Not really me because I am not really a portable gamer. I play my 3ds on the couch... They show another press conference which basicly shows the same thing but with some cool little games and some big games that might be awesome and for some reason everybody thinks it's bad now....

Nothing changed all that much since the first reveal. That's what I don't get. The price seems right to me. Cheaper is always better but the price seems realistic. Sure the add on stuff is way too expensive but there will be 3rd party stuff really fast for half the price that will be at least as good. The wii and wii U third party accessories were a lot of the times better then the nintendo stuff anyway...

It just comes across as the majority of people (not everyone) thought wow a new shiny thing! I want it now and give it to me for free... Some time passes (weeks) and it's "o I actually have to pay for it?, don't really care anymore I have moved on to the next shiny thing already..."

Just manage your expectations already. From the moment they annnounced the switch I knew what it's pro's and con's would be because they all make sense given the hybrid nature of the device, and given the company who made it....

A: The SNES was in it's sunset years by 1994. Rewind the clock a few years to about 1990/91, and you'll see the SNES had an actual launch lineup. SimCity, Super Mario World, Actraiser, F-Zero, Pilotwings, Gradius III, and more within the months. And unlike the Switch, they actually bothered to put at least one of those listed games into the box.

B: Bomberman by KONAMI, fine purveyors of pachinko machines, and Puyo Puyo Tetris which happens to be a two year old game.

C: "Steer gaming back on track?" You're trusting Nintendo of all companies who decided in spite of three failed gimmicks, that more gimmick is what the crowds wanted? Also, I heard no news of money hats, so I'm not sure who you're assuming to be tossing around dosh. Roots are great, but I don't want to eat tubers all day long. There has to be some variety in this garden. And in a world where the Switch is trying to be basic while at the same time a clown juggling chainsaws, I can't help but feel something will go wrong. Not only is this act old, but in such a competitive world, such a dangerous act isn't worth the liability/1950s makeup.

D: The Nintendo Switch itself is in essence, the Nvidia Shield tablet with all the good ideas taken out and replaced with expensive bad ideas. So we're talking about a 200 dollar device, inflated to 300 dollars because just like with Star Fox Zero, someone insisted that they bat for three on expensive gimmicks that nobody will ever used, much to the detriment of the final product.

What's worse, is that unlike the 3DS's 3D or the anchor of the Wii-U, whatever the central gimmick of the Switch (because they threw in more than one this time) can't be advertised easily, mainly because they're marketing it under a stupid name.

The problem with a 300 dollar launch is that Nintendo is not only launching against two well established consoles, but there's also the matter of the accessory price, or the fact that you need to pony up 70 dollars for a controller made for human hands with some semblance of human ergonomics. But also, these two well established consoles are now cheaper than the Switch, and have credibility to their online systems. Nintendo has so much to prove and come off as mighty arrogant with their lineup.

Think about it. Would a product this close to launch have so many questions still around it, if it were being directed by a competent company? We know so little about important details like the UI, the account system and online, and yet we are fast approaching under 30 days to go.

I did. I came up with Metroid, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 3 and Super Metroid. Unless you're counting repeat appearances in the same game I only see 4.

Someone had to do it first, I'm not sure how you can generalise the entire Wii as having motion controls "just for the hell of it". Yes there were some shit uses of the Wiimote, I'm not disputing that. But how can you write off things like Skyward Sword as being "just for the hell of it" when the entire game is built around very well implemented motion controls?

You just come across as someone who wrote off motion controls as a gimmick in 2007 and even though your opinion on them has changed as they have become mainstream (i.e. PS Move controllers), your ego is too delicate to admit you were wrong and so it leads you into hypocritical situations such as this.
Huh?

Repeat battles of course count. Zero Mission adds another notch to that number.

I owned Skyward Sword and then I threw the game down not because the controls were clunky (They were a bit.), but because the story was awful and filled with plot fissures. And because of Fi. But they certainly could have done the controls far better to make the game less of a frustrating slog.. I'd happily take Revengance Style controls over Skyward Controls.

Star Fox Zero is a game which many say is ruined by the control choice that were allegedly forced by one Shegeru Miyamoto. We also haven't had a new F-Zero because he couldn't think of a new concept for the series, apparently. In as such, to make a comparison, I feel at least one part of the Switch was strongarmed by a similarly high ranking executive, once again to the detriment to the overall experience.

Summary: I feel the Switch was ruined by the same sort of bad decision that ruined Star Fox Zero.

I'm not really interested in the Nintendo Switch. I have no need for mobile gaming. Even if I had some interest in mobile gaming, 3 hours mobile playtime is definitely too short and the mobile device seems to be too tall for putting it in your pants pocket. So target missed.

If you are interested in the Switch anyway I would wait some time and would't buy the first generation of the console. When I learned something from buying consoles, then that. The first generation of a console ist often plaqued by several problems. After some time an improved version will be released, maybe with a better battery in the mobile device or less energy consumption ...

I like it. Nintendo Switch is the same thing I do with my laptop: play not-mobile games everywhere, but I paid 1500€ for my 2kg,15'', nvidia 650m laptop in 2013 (it is an ultra-portable laptop).
Sure I love my laptop (and I love pc-gaming since I love drm-free, and games like pillars of eternity, deus ex etc...), but I think Switch is great for 329€, and it is not 2kg.
I don't understand why buy extras like a new SD (you can always move games to a external drive), or gamepad pro (since the default seem fine).

Believe it or not, I want to play Skyrim on Switch... Sure it's a 2011 game that I can play on my laptop, but I think it would be awesome in a really portable device. Also the new Zelda. And Mario Kart of course (I love to play Mario Kart for N64 with my friends... I think this is the perfect device to play it again with a console designed for local multiplayer and portability).

Right now I'm still not sure I want to buy it (I cannot stand a digital purchause tied to the console instead of the account... and 3ds and wii u used to do that sort of things. I still don't know what Switch will do), but it is also the only console that I'm interested in.

Zero Mission only has one appearance of Ridley, the (spoiler alert) last boss is not Ridley. Also you did say killed not defeated, assuming he is in fact killed in his final appearance in each game, it is to therefore be assumed that he wasn't killed in any earlier appearances in that game. So I count one in Metroid (Zero Mission or original, but you can't have both obviously), one in Prime, one in Prime 3 and one in Super Metroid (he isn't remotely defeated in his earlier appearance, let alone killed).

Fi was indeed awful, but I'm not sure what you would have wanted from Skyward Sword's controls - Link's sword follows the trajectory of your hand adding a much higher degree of strategy to sword fights than previously seen in a Zelda game. The aiming of projectile weapons was excellent (as it has been in most 3D Zelda games since). What problems did you have with them?

I have played Star Fox Zero, and despite being very worried about the controls I actually found them to be fine if you bother to look in the options menu. You can for all intents and purposes disable the motion controls if you want, the number of reviewers that seemed to miss this is staggering. Did you play the game yourself?

Not 100%. Your purchases are registered on your NNID account so if your console explodes then there is a way to get your games back - it's just not as simple as logging in on a new console (presumably they wanted to stop groups of friends sharing the same NNID around). As I understand it, you contact support and give them the serial number on your new console. It's a faff, but you don't lose all your games which is what it sounds like you think.

DS and wii actually had purpose for the time when they launched. Nintendo is out of touch beyond repair at this point. Had hopes for a badass new handheld but this is pretty unimpressive compared to when I heard of the DS at first. Makes one wonder if sega never left the hardware market? I think they would've been a lot better off then nintendo at this point.

If nintedo fails with hardware could this mean computer only gaming in a few years? Xbox is pretty much a full pc in the future, and sony is kinda bland.

I love handheld gaming, but I think the switch may just be to large for that purpose. I doubt I could fit it into the pocket of my jacket. And I'm not going to carry a bag around for my portable gaming.

Nintendo on the other hand is sitting on so much cash, that they could mess up five more console launches and still be flush. So they can keep on trying till they eventually get it right.