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[MoonFrog]

So only about 33%.

67% for US and Japan.

Was my point that Japan isn't a bigger deal for Nintendo than Sony, or that Sony doesn't have a greater diversification in focus than Nintendo?

No.

It was that it is quite strange to me to think that 20 million customers in Japan have no interest in Switch and that 20 million customers elsewhere, excluding America, also don't.

 

[Fredrik]

Sony is totally dominating the generation world-wide, Nintendo is the one who should be in worry-mode.

 

[frankie_baby]

the switch has none of the functionality of an iPad, tho. No one is gonna carry around a second iPad/iPad-mini-like device just to play games, along w/ their phone. xD

honestly, Nintendo should have just partnered w/ a smartphone manufacturer and just released a Nintendo branded phone, complete with a Nintendo OS and online store with all their DS games available.

90% of people use ipads to web browse and video stream, both of which the switch should do

 

[Fredrik]

90% of people use ipads to web browse and video stream, both of which the switch should do

I'm guessing that web/videos isn't their primary reason for carrying their iPad's around though, they probably use it at work or school. Switch's short battery life and no App/Google store will mean that it'll likely be a secondary portable device for most people, and Switch's big size will mean that it might soon be left at home, especially if an iPad is the primary device which is kind of big too.

 

[Malakai]

As someone that carries a 3DS XL, a Surface Pro 3, X250 Thinkpad, wireless mouse and a Kindle Paperwhite with textbooks, notebooks, paper pens and pencils. I'm not buying those "if someone have iPad why would they carry the Switch" arguments. If anyone is carrying an iPad they are most likely bring it in a bag. Unless the bag is super small or solely build to only to accommodate an iPad.

 

[Principate]

I'm guessing that web/videos isn't their primary reason for carrying their iPad's around though, they probably use it at work or school. Switch's short battery life and no App/Google store will mean that it'll likely be a secondary portable device for most people, and Switch's big size will mean that it might soon be left at home, especially if an iPad is the primary device which is kind of big too.

Even at work/school most people only use it for pdf's as there's normally an actual pc/mac available.

 

[takriel]

As someone that carries a 3DS XL, a Surface Pro 3, X250 Thinkpad, wireless mouse and a Kindle Paperwhite with textbooks, notebooks, paper pens and pencils. I'm not buying those "if someone have iPad why would they carry the Switch" arguments. If anyone is carrying an iPad they are most likely bring it in a bag. Unless the bag is super small or solely build to only to accommodate an iPad.

You carry all these things with you at once?

 

[KtSlime]

As someone that carries a 3DS XL, a Surface Pro 3, X250 Thinkpad, wireless mouse and a Kindle Paperwhite with textbooks, notebooks, paper pens and pencils. I'm not buying those "if someone have iPad why would they carry the Switch" arguments. If anyone is carrying an iPad they are most likely bring it in a bag. Unless the bag is super small or solely build to only to accommodate an iPad.

In Japan, unless you are carrying a bag people give you funny looks. Many people, especially students will bring 2 or 3 bags including their bag for lunch. Too big to be portable is an argument made by people who don't understand the Japanese market.

 

[Shengar]

Both Sony and Nintendo should be worried since Japan is now wasteland of a market. Switch probably gonna outsold PS4 depends on the price and titles of the first year, but its sales will never reach even 3DS level because that just how dead the market is.

 

[Epcott]

Switch will do great in Japan IF they can fix that rumored 3 hour charge time.

 

[Rodin]

Sony is totally dominating the generation world-wide, Nintendo is the one who should be in worry-mode.

Must've missed sony's domination in Japan against a dead console and a ~6 years old one.

Switch will do great in Japan IF they can fix that rumored 3 hour charge time.

Last rumor is 5-8 hours.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Obviously, its not the sole reason and most probably not even close to the biggest but its a factor that gets little acknowledgement.

I don't know - if that were the case DS and GBA wouldn't have been sustainable formats for publishers to target their games on. 3DS is different of course, but even then NCL makes a proactive effort to highlight third party content and market it, compared with NoE and NoA, who tend not to care unless they are distributing or publishing the games themselves (this is particularly the case with NoE).

It's also worth noting that with 3DS, Iwata specifically wanted third parties to carry the system, though the poorly timed launch (was moved forward six months) meant that most the best third party content just wasn't ready, and the system lost momentum. It's telling that most of the big budget 3DS titles in their early days never saw followups.

I'd definitely make your point in relation to Wii though, it's telling that few third party publishers supported the Wii U despite Wii's relative success. In Japan it always felt like there wasn't much of a market for third party software on Wii.

 

[Principate]

Must've missed sony's domination in Japan against a dead console and a ~6 years old one.


Last rumor is 5-8 hours.

Pretty sure world wide sales matter more than Japan only sales and Nintendo would agree.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Not, he's right. People work their asses off in Japan for 6 or 7 days a week and when work is done, they hit the tachinomiya. In between, there is the smart phone. And smart phones have solved a ton of problems for the population that used to involve compromises on commutes for what to carry but not anymore. Read books in the subway? Solved. Texing? Solved. News? Solved? Games? Solved. Music? Solved.

And then you fold the cover over the screen, put it away in your jacket pocket or purse and go back to work. For families, a Switch would be a great home appliance, but you're just not going to get the market penetration an iPhone or Galaxy will. They're a super device that takes up no space and everybody has one so then of course everybody else wants one.

Yeah, this is what I was going to respond with too, I was thinking about the working lifestyle which eats away time for home console gaming. And of course smartphones, already being in peoples' hands (particularly iOS devices) are competition on top of that and solve a problem that marginalises other types of devices too.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Both Sony and Nintendo should be worried since Japan is now wasteland of a market. Switch probably gonna outsold PS4 depends on the price and titles of the first year, but its sales will never reach even 3DS level because that just how dead the market is.

Japan accounts for 6% of PS4 sales. Sony are cruising. Meanwhile, Japan accounts for something like 25-30% of Nintendo's hardware sales.

 

[Rodin]

Pretty sure world wide sales matter more than Japan only sales and Nintendo would agree.

Of course, and nobody is denying that. If he meant aggregated sales from every market he's right.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Was my point that Japan isn't a bigger deal for Nintendo than Sony, or that Sony doesn't have a greater diversification in focus than Nintendo?

No.

It was that it is quite strange to me to think that 20 million customers in Japan have no interest in Switch and that 20 million customers elsewhere, excluding America, also don't.

80 million Wii owners had no interest in Wii U.

 

[MoonFrog]

80 million Wii owners had no interest in Wii U.

Did I say anything about high retention?

No.

Please look at the post that started this. I'm arguing against the ridiculous hyperbole that no one wants a Switch if they aren't an American.

 

[CrispyBoar]

Exactly, it might come as a shock to American gamers, but nobody cares about the switch.

Wanna bet on that?

 

[Herb Alpert]

In Japan, unless you are carrying a bag people give you funny looks. Many people, especially students will bring 2 or 3 bags including their bag for lunch. Too big to be portable is an argument made by people who don't understand the Japanese market.

Isn't it because japanese people have small hands?

Spoiler

/s

 

[pretty done]

Any reason why the Switch *won't* dominate Japan? Pt. II

 

[pswii60]

80 million Wii owners had no interest in Wii U.

80 million Wii owners didn't even have any interest in the Wii by around 2010/11. But Switch isn't a Wii. Although I just don't know who Switch is aimed at.

Only the most hardcore of hardcore gamers care about playing their console games on the go, but those gamers are going to be difficult to pull away from the PS4 or XBO, already well established with a ton of support.

 

[MoonFrog]

Reasons for Switch to dominate Japan:

-Historically, for two generations now, Nintendo has dominated Japan
-Switch is fully portable. Historically, portables have dominated Japan
-Switch will inherit Nintendo's 3DS and Wii U support. It will have all the Pokemon, all the Mario Kart, all the 2D Mario, all the Splatoon, etc.
-PS4 has not set Japan on fire and looks to approach PS3 sales rather than PS2 sales in that country
-Vita looks unlikely to have a successor.

Reasons why Switch might not dominate Japan:

-Mobile is more mature than it was at the launch of 3DS. Nintendo very much needs to prove that an install base 0, catalog minimal handheld can find a path to success in the new mobile environment.
-Feeding into this concerns are concerns about its particular portable profile, i.e. concerns about battery life, size, etc.

This is also, and here's where we get to this thread, a unique opportunity for Nintendo. They can put out a system that dominates Japan and can accept PS2 PlayStation legacy support. No longer is the Nintendo handheld a system that is awkward to port to from the Japanese system that does best worldwide. This is a huge opportunity to Japanese third parties interested in greater domestic sales. Suddenly, doing DQXI is very much within reach. It is a smaller opportunity for deeply niche products, like many Vita games, and more ambitious products, like FFXV. It is a big opportunity for medium sized games in the Japanese market.

Now, why is this in particular so big a chance for Nintendo? Because under Iwata Nintendo pivoted away from the western strategies that buoyed N64 and started trying to win back Japan. They went Wii/DS trying to reopen the Japanese frontier, abandoning NOA plans to put out a GCN more like OG XBox. Nintendo has boxed themselves into a corner where Japan is the lowest hanging fruit and they finally have a device that could win back Japanese development support. They need to leverage as much support as they can to keep Japan humming as long as possible and to reach out to the rest of the world.

Now, why is this not particularly damaging or threatening to Sony? Firstly, Switch is not going to replace PS4 as the go-to console to have your game out world-wide. Secondly, Switch is going to encourage multiplatforn, insofar as it succeeds in Japan, not Switch exclusivity. Said multiplatform could even benefit Sony. Suddenly, say SMTV is releasing on a system in porting distance of PS4. Why not put it on PS4 too?

Edit: Moreover, if the Switch starts rolling and it gathers support, the reasons for it to dominate multiply. We can also hope that Nintendo has learned a bit about gathering companions as opposed to leading by example, or that Japanese companies see the opportunity themselves and are willing to fight for it.

 

[shawnbuddy]

The Switch is just a little too big to take over the handheld market. If Nintendo doesn't make a new handheld that'll be ceded to mobile phones.

 

[Oregano]

I don't know - if that were the case DS and GBA wouldn't have been sustainable formats for publishers to target their games on. 3DS is different of course, but even then NCL makes a proactive effort to highlight third party content and market it, compared with NoE and NoA, who tend not to care unless they are distributing or publishing the games themselves (this is particularly the case with NoE).

It's also worth noting that with 3DS, Iwata specifically wanted third parties to carry the system, though the poorly timed launch (was moved forward six months) meant that most the best third party content just wasn't ready, and the system lost momentum. It's telling that most of the big budget 3DS titles in their early days never saw followups.

I'd definitely make your point in relation to Wii though, it's telling that few third party publishers supported the Wii U despite Wii's relative success. In Japan it always felt like there wasn't much of a market for third party software on Wii.

That's not exactly my point. Consider this, the PS4 only outsold the Wii U in Japan in September. Now the Wii U is a year older but it's also only supported by Nintendo. Nintendo's software is almost as good at selling hardware as every third party publisher combined.

The DS/3DS is what happens when third parties and Nintendo support the same system and even they didn't have third parties full support.

EDIT:

Now, why is this not particularly damaging or threatening to Sony? Firstly, Switch is not going to replace PS4 as the go-to console to have your game out world-wide. Secondly, Switch is going to encourage multiplatforn, insofar as it succeeds in Japan, not Switch exclusivity. Said multiplatform could even benefit Sony. Suddenly, say SMTV is releasing on a system in porting distance of PS4. Why not put it on PS4 too?

I'm not sure I agree with this bit. Sony is definitely somewhat concerned and has definitely taken steps to keep software on their side exclusively. The PS ecosystem being a thing is a testament to that. Sony has been really aggressive about securing support for their platforms and quite masterfully convinced third parties that PS4 was the natural transition destination for Vita software.

I'd also say that Sony has a lot more to lose and Nintendo has a lot more to gain in a situation where they share the vast majority of software. To use your example I don't think they'd ever want to trade SMTV for Persona 6.

 

[MoonFrog]

That's not exactly my point. Consider this, the PS4 only outsold the Wii U in Japan in September. Now the Wii U is a year older but it's also only supported by Nintendo. Nintendo's software is almost as good at selling hardware as every third party publisher combined.

The DS/3DS is what happens when third parties and Nintendo support the same system and even they didn't have third parties full support.

EDIT:

I'm not sure I agree with this bit. Sony is definitely somewhat concerned and has definitely taken steps to keep software on their side exclusively. The PS ecosystem being a thing is a testament to that. Sony has been really aggressive about securing support for their platforms and quite masterfully convinced third parties that PS4 was the natural transition destination for Vita software.

I'd also say that Sony has a lot more to lose and Nintendo has a lot more to gain in a situation where they share the vast majority of software. To use your example I don't think they'd ever want to trade SMTV for Persona 6.

I do think you are right that Sony might perceive it as a threat. Sony is resting on their PS2 laurels to this day and they have no reason to re-open conflict in Japan. Japan being dead is perfectly fine for Sony. Nintendo wants it alive. There is tension there. But conflict in Japan does not hurt them, so long as it encourages multiplatform, rather than Switch exclusivity. The thing is that perhaps even multiplatform threatens Sony's proposition worldwide going forward if Switch does well in the west or Switch 2 looks like it will have momentum going in. I can see Sony trying to stem that.

But purely against PS4, Switch poses limited threat. I don't think Switch can do anything to it this generation really, outside Japan.

...

Also, yes, Nintendo has a lot more to gain than Sony.

 

[Oregano]

I do think you are right that Sony might perceive it as a threat. Sony is resting on their PS2 laurels to this day and they have no reason to re-open conflict in Japan. Japan being dead is perfectly fine for Sony. Nintendo wants it alive. There is tension there. But conflict in Japan does not hurt them, so long as it encourages multiplatform, rather than Switch exclusivity. The thing is that perhaps even multiplatform threatens Sony's proposition worldwide going forward if Switch does well in the west or Switch 2 looks like it will have momentum going in. I can see Sony trying to stem that.

But purely against PS4, Switch poses limited threat. I don't think Switch can do anything to it this generation really, outside Japan.

...

Also, yes, Nintendo has a lot more to gain than Sony.

I think that's a pretty fair assessment. The PS4 is well established by now, and so is the type of software its receiving. I think that's where Sony showed a lot of foresight because I would say that they could have been at risk of losing some software altogether. In particular convincing Bandai Namco and Koei Tecmo to take God Eater and Toukiden to PS4 was a great move because now they almost have an obligation to the fanbase to continue releases there.

 

[De_Legend]

That thread title, 😂

 

[Datschge]

Japan being dead is perfectly fine for Sony.

That's also why SIE/Playstation headquarters are in San Mateo, California since January, with London and Tokyo being considered mere regional headquarters. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/corporate/about/

On the other hand Nintendo never cared to publicly play along with the rest of the Japanese games industry as part of CESA with its TGS. Will Nintendo change that with the positioning of Switch?

 

[Principate]

I think that's a pretty fair assessment. The PS4 is well established by now, and so is the type of software its receiving. I think that's where Sony showed a lot of foresight because I would say that they could have been at risk of losing some software altogether. In particular convincing Bandai Namco and Koei Tecmo to take God Eater and Toukiden to PS4 was a great move because now they almost have an obligation to the fanbase to continue releases there.

Pretty much the switch is from every aspects a blood steming stop gap console for Nintendo's dwindling userbase. Sony has nothing to fear in any market from it. The only uncertainity is the generation after the switch because like the XB360 showed all you need is a blunder and good proposition to win a market. I imagine Sony is very mindful of that going into the next generation.

 

[Bastables]

90% of people use ipads to web browse and video stream, both of which the switch should do

No one rally cared when the Vita was capable of browsing, email, and streaming(youtube, crunch roll etc).

 

[Little Mons†er]

Sony is totally dominating the generation world-wide, Nintendo is the one who should be in worry-mode.

SlayTendo aren't scared at all

 

[orthodoxy1095]

SlayTendo aren't scared at all

PopGAF is that direction ------>

 

[Principate]

No one rally cared when the Vita was capable of browsing, email, and streaming(youtube, crunch roll etc).

The vita's not a tablet and not like someone would want it replace one either. The switch could have been since the average consumer doesn't use their tablets for all that much anyway but it's unlikely.

 

[Terrell]

I do think you are right that Sony might perceive it as a threat. Sony is resting on their PS2 laurels to this day and they have no reason to re-open conflict in Japan. Japan being dead is perfectly fine for Sony. Nintendo wants it alive. There is tension there. But conflict in Japan does not hurt them, so long as it encourages multiplatform, rather than Switch exclusivity. The thing is that perhaps even multiplatform threatens Sony's proposition worldwide going forward if Switch does well in the west or Switch 2 looks like it will have momentum going in. I can see Sony trying to stem that.

But purely against PS4, Switch poses limited threat. I don't think Switch can do anything to it this generation really, outside Japan.

...

Also, yes, Nintendo has a lot more to gain than Sony.

You're not wrong here. Japan may be "dead", but Sony still enjoys an undisputed foothold in the market there, by virtue of its incidental monopoly on Japanese 3rd-party games. Sales are still sales, and anything that threatens their comfortable easy win in Japan's software and hardware market by virtue of being "a Sony console in Japan" is still something they will want to maintain.

-----

There's also another key point in this discussion that I haven't seen much mention of... how this will impact Sony's attempt at entering and capitalizing on the Chinese market.

At this moment, Sony has had a single mass-market product in that region, PS4. PS4's Chinese launch was considered a modest success, with one of its main hurdles being that many people who wanted one had imported it when it launched in the US or Japan.

It has been debated that those that buy a PS4 in China have been mainly bought games produced in Japan, due to something that is more culturally familiar to them (thought that's speculative) and a lot of Western and Sony 1st-party content not meeting China's content standards, thus being barred from release there. Sony clearly capitalizes on their tight hold on Japanese 3rd-party content being de-facto exclusive to still have a place in the Chinese market.

If Switch is a success in maintaining itself as a multi-platform release option for Japanese games, this could compromise their future success there, and while Japan is a "dying" market, China is being pegged as a growing market. And potentially losing ground to Nintendo in China is not something they'll be ready to take lying down.

 

[MoonFrog]

That's also why SIE/Playstation headquarters are in San Mateo, California since January, with London and Tokyo being considered mere regional headquarters. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/corporate/about/

On the other hand Nintendo never cared to publicly play along with the rest of the Japanese games industry as part of CESA with its TGS. Will Nintendo change that with the positioning of Switch?

The more 'alive' Japan is, the less 'gear your games to the west, the ship is sinking' is the operating narrative of Japanese companies seeking more than a small niche, and that puts stress on Sony using Japanese games to compete against XBox in the west.

Take the MH5 rumors. That is exactly what Sony would like big Japanese games to do, give westerners a game with some Japanese style points that is more palatable to their general tastes. When Japan isn't doing this, they are exacerbating differences in how the west and Japan play, differences that make things awkward for Sony as it pivots west, while trying to retain the mantle of 'core system with the Japanese games.'

Moreover, the more 'alive' Japan is, the less targeting a small otaku niche looks like the way to survive on consoles, which threatens, say, Vita-style support, which is another distinguishing feature of the PS ecosystem (less so as that expands to PC, but against Nintendo/Xbox...).

...

I think a huge factor in the Switch's future is how Nintendo navigates relationships with Japanese third parties. I really hope they abandon the 'we lead by example from the front' mantra, and try and be more inclusive in their vision in the future. January 12th will be a huge sign as to how they are doing with this. Switch can be successful with stodgy, stubborn, my way or the highway Nintendo, but it won't live up to its full potential with respect to Japan, unless they change some things up.

You're not wrong here. Japan may be "dead", but Sony still enjoys an undisputed foothold in the market there, by virtue of its incidental monopoly on Japanese 3rd-party games. Sales are still sales, and anything that threatens their comfortable easy win in Japan's software and hardware market by virtue of being "a Sony console in Japan" is still something they will want to maintain.

-----

There's also another key point in this discussion that I haven't seen much mention of... how this will impact Sony's attempt at entering and capitalizing on the Chinese market.

At this moment, Sony has had a single mass-market product in that region, PS4. PS4's Chinese launch was considered a modest success, with one of its main hurdles being that many people who wanted one had imported it when it launched in the US or Japan.

It has been debated that those that buy a PS4 in China have been mainly bought games produced in Japan, due to something that is more culturally familiar to them (thought that's speculative) and a lot of Western and Sony 1st-party content not meeting China's content standards, thus being barred from release there. Sony clearly capitalizes on their tight hold on Japanese 3rd-party content being de-facto exclusive to still have a place in the Chinese market.

If Switch is a success in maintaining itself as a multi-platform release option for Japanese games, this could compromise their future success there, and while Japan is a "dying" market, China is being pegged as a growing market. And potentially losing ground to Nintendo in China is not something they'll be ready to take lying down.

Yeah, I guess my assumption is that Nintendo is not equipped to compete in China atm. If that's wrong and Nintendo is gearing for a big Switch push in China, then this is much more contentious.

 

[Datschge]

I think a huge factor in the Switch's future is how Nintendo navigates relationships with Japanese third parties. I really hope they abandon the 'we lead by example from the front' mantra, and try and be more inclusive in their vision in the future. January 12th will be a huge sign as to how they are doing with this. Switch can be successful with stodgy, stubborn, my way or the highway Nintendo, but it won't live up to its full potential with respect to Japan, unless they change some things up.

I agree. Trying to reset how they position themselves toward 3rd party in Japan may also well be the reason the generic Western trailer is all they have shown even in Japan. Another thing is for some time there has been an interesting increasing discrepancy in how independent developers are treated by NoA and NoE compared to NCL. Such a reset may allow to take the conclusions from that and put such efforts under a unified word wide umbrella.

 

[Oregano]

I agree. Trying to reset how they position themselves toward 3rd party in Japan may also well be the reason the generic Western trailer is all they have shown even in Japan. Another thing is for some time there has been an interesting increasing discrepancy in how independent developers are treated by NoA and NoE compared to NCL. Such a reset may allow to take the conclusions from that and put such efforts under a unified word wide umbrella.

I think when they redid their dev portal they standardized everything across regions. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong though.

Pretty much the switch is from every aspects a blood steming stop gap console for Nintendo's dwindling userbase. Sony has nothing to fear in any market from it. The only uncertainity is the generation after the switch because like the XB360 showed all you need is a blunder and good proposition to win a market. I imagine Sony is very mindful of that going into the next generation.

Ehh, whilst Nintendo obviously got hit harder on a worldwide basis it's important to note that Sony is also going to lose at least 50 million sales this generation. This is especially important when discussing Japan because the PSP was a PS2 level system there and even Vita has been a solid performer. Sony has lost a product line in an even more abrupt fashion than Nintendo and that could have been messy, but so far it looks like they've handled it well.

I think people might also forget that the 3DS is the second most successful console of all time in Japan and if the Switch were to decline 50% from it(bigger decline than DS to 3DS) it would still be about as successful as Wii.

 

[Terrell]

Yeah, I guess my assumption is that Nintendo is not equipped to compete in China atm. If that's wrong and Nintendo is gearing for a big Switch push in China, then this is much more contentious.

Well, Nintendo hasn't really made any public moves on that front, but omission isn't evidence of anything.

All we do know is:

- Nintendo consolidated all of its non-mainland operations to Nintendo Hong Kong, closing the Taiwan branch Nintendo Phuten

- iQue, the Chinese brand that has essentially sold the DS/3DS line in the mainland, hasn't really seen much activity in a while

- Nintendo will have a very slight head-start on Sony in getting their brand into the mobile gaming space in China

- Nintendo has intimated a desire to enter the Chinese market in a way that mirrors their US, Japanese and European operations, as per a response in the 74th General Meeting of Shareholders. Clearly, Wii U and 3DS were not the devices to make that happen with

What their plan is for China is exceptionally unclear, but I'm sure we'll see what's in store in good time. It's unlikely that Nintendo will leave that market alone, though, that much we can be assured of. (as a side note, it puts the Wii U ports on Switch into perspective when you realize that Wii U wasn't released in all regions like 3DS or its console predecessors, such as China and Korea)

So losing their de-facto 3rd-party exclusives would be a major blow to Sony's position of strength in the Chinese market, with Nintendo potentially having 3rd-party titles and a healthier 1st-party lineup containing more titles that are likely to pass through the Chinese government's approval system and make it to a store shelf.

 

[Oregano]

On the China note Pokémon Sun and Moon just launched day and date(and before Europe) in both simplified and traditional Chinese. I believe that's correct anyway.

 

[Terrell]

On the China note Pokémon Sun and Moon just launched day and date(and before Europe) in both simplified and traditional Chinese. I believe that's correct anyway.

You are correct.

No "official" release of it in the mainland under the iQue brand to my knowledge, but Nintendo Hong Kong released it day and date with the US and Japan, with both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, playable in iQue devices in mainland China.

There was actually an uproar about consolidating translation of this game to a single translation, as China, Taiwan and Hong Kong previously experienced 3 different regional translation variants that Sun and Moon's translation opted not to preserve, in favour of a single translation for all regions.

Korea also got it, in full Korean translation, on the same day.

I wouldn't consider it a sign of anything, but it does lend the tiniest bit of credence to my theory that Nintendo will begin operating all of its Chinese-language operations out of its Hong Kong branch and kill the iQue brand when Switch is released in the region.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Is there any reason the Switch won't dominate Japan?

Probably that they play on their phones already and won't carry multiple devices. This could be a huge issue I would assume.

 

[Datschge]

Probably that they play on their phones already and won't carry multiple devices. This could be a huge issue I would assume.

That's likely why one doesn't hear as much about adapting games to handhelds anymore. Playing home console grade games on a handheld is now turning into a differentiation from mobile gaming.

 

[z0m3le]

OP, you are looking at it as an either or, but the reality is that this is the first time Nintendo and Sony have ever had the same development pipelines, Switch doesn't simply take development from PS4, it bridges the gap between Japan and the world, it's a solution to the problem, a game made for switch will run on ps4 so developers in Japan can target their domestic market through switch and the world through ps4 with one device.

Switch doesn't steal developers, it just gains support. There is no reason outside of being paid, that a developer would create an exclusive for either console, especially in Japan as no matter how successful switch is, ps4 will likely sell 100m in its life time, to ignore that market when your product can be shipped on it without extra work is daft in a way that would make any publisher embarrassed.

I'm a PC and Nintendo gamer but it is absolutely obvious which way Japan's development will go, the real question is if they will bother with xb1 anymore, Microsoft might have to open that platform even further to allow future PC games to work directly on it, not impossible but that is off topic.

 

[Sylverstone14]

Get Splatoon, Dragon Quest, and Monster Hunter on that thing and the Japanese will flock to Switch like moths to a flame.

 

[Dabi]

More competition = Sony ups their game.

We all win.

 

[LaNaranja]

Is there any reason the Switch won't dominate Japan?

A shit battery would prevent it from ever getting off the ground.

 

[Astral Dog]

This sounds like a threat, a Wii U level one or something more?

 

[Toadthemushroom]

That's not exactly my point. Consider this, the PS4 only outsold the Wii U in Japan in September. Now the Wii U is a year older but it's also only supported by Nintendo. Nintendo's software is almost as good at selling hardware as every third party publisher combined.

The DS/3DS is what happens when third parties and Nintendo support the same system and even they didn't have third parties full support.

Ah....got it. I interpreted your post as the usual "third party titles don't sell on Nintendo platforms" argument, of which there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise.

I think with DS it also helped that while Nintendo did release a lot of software for it, most of it was paving the way for new markets for new types of software to exist in their own. It was also nice that a large proportion of DS software was developed in partnership with third parties like Sandlot, iNiS, CiNG, etc.

I can only hope that Nintendo capitalises on its third party support with Switch. Signs point to the device being very easy to target for ports so at the very least publishers will be making that kind of commitment. NoE and NoA need to do their bit. NCL at least shows an ability to care - Nintendo Topics is a great PS Blog-style format for highlighting third party content, and they've always pushed their biggest third party games hard.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Secondly, Switch is going to encourage multiplatforn, insofar as it succeeds in Japan, not Switch exclusivity. Said multiplatform could even benefit Sony. Suddenly, say SMTV is releasing on a system in porting distance of PS4. Why not put it on PS4 too?

Well, SMTIV didn't go to Vita. The advantage PS4 will have over Vita is bigger access to the western market, but that's not the biggest concern for every series. If it were, we'd probably see things like Persona also releasing on Xbox.