Switching Things Up

Hello my friends - it's time for change.

As I'm sure you're all aware, the Nintendo Switch was announced and it's thrown us for a bit of a loop! It's both a handheld and a console, which makes the whole forum organisation thing a little tough. Myself and Zero have put our heads together and come up with a plan.

What we're going to do is we're introducing a separate Switch subforum, exclusively for Switch-centric chat. It's seemingly designed to replace both the Wii U and 3DS - if this seems like it's not going to be the case, we'll amend this idea. But I think we need an exclusive forum for now.

Nothing else will change... for now. But when the Switch launches we're going to merge the Wii U and 3DS subforums because chat there will be winding down as we become focused on the Switch. Think of it like a "Last Gen" forum. We're still a little bit unsure as to where Nintendo mobile offerings can roll up for now, but we're thinking of including them with our Wii U and 3DS forum. I think as chat winds down for these consoles, concentrating said chat in one place will keep the forum ticking over nicely.

But yes! Change is coming! We're an open admin team, so let us know your thoughts. There's still time to switch things up again, after all.

A last gen forum sounds like a good idea, it's obviously way too soon to move 3ds and wiiU to retro. But I think we'll definitely need a mobile subforum alongside the switch one because it seems unlikely that Nintendo will just drop it.

I don't know if there'll be enough mobile chat for a sub-forum of its own.

As we get closer to the release of the Switch (Chris Scullion calls it as Friday March 10th, or #MAR10, as he put it!), the picture will be clearer... but I'm inclined to agree with Jay at this early stage. What are your thoughts, gang?

Personally I don't like the idea of smashing the 3DS and Wii U forums together. I think we've got a lot of threads between the 2 of them and it would be a shame to just bundle them under one category. To me handheld and consoles are seperate enough to warrant their own categories. To add to that, though nothing concrete, there is the interview going around saying this is the successor to the Wii U, the 3DS will get its own successor in a few years, so I think we might be counting chickens before they've hatched. For now it's hardly an issue anyway, so I guess just wait til there's more info?

Wii U already feels retro to me.

I did suggest the merging of the last gen systems but I feel the 3DS does has a lot more to talk about then the Wii U and may warrant it's own section still.

What is actually wrong leaving it how it is and one Section is Switch, one is Wii Brand and one is DS brand as who's going to see it part from us and does it matter in 6 months no one uses the Wii brand Section not like it's going to hurt anything.

On what Andy says it just seems really weird for them to maybe replace the 3DS lets says in 2 years it would be 8 years old almost and Nintendo when has a handheld that came out 2 years before on the market.

Why would eat into your own market and we knew the hybrid was coming when R&D and teams merged together then for them to them to split again  would be rather odd.

Just not sure what to do with Mobile Nintendo games unless they come to Switch,

masofdas wrote:

What is actually wrong leaving it how it is and one Section is Switch, one is Wii Brand and one is DS brand as who's going to see it part from us and does it matter in 6 months no one uses the Wii brand Section not like it's going to hurt anything.

I'd argue it would. What would you think if you were looking at the forum for the first time and saw a section with no posts for months? It's not a good look. It's why Nontendo was merged and Mobile was abolished.

Hmm I guess it's a real tricky one as I'm sort of Balla with his joke about Wii U feeling retro. It clearly isn't and can't go there but in 6 months time after we've played Yooka-Laylee and now playing MK8 on Switch, when will we go back to it.

Where I can see us going back to 3DS for at least another 12 months.

My rationale for this change is that when the Switch comes out - and as it seems, for now, to be replacing the Wii U and 3DS - the level of Wii U and 3DS chat will decline. Combining them both into one forum concentrates that chat and avoids one of the two forums being pretty dead.

Nothing's changing drastically for now though, but it's one to keep an eye on.

I don't see Switch replacing 3DS myself although I suppose that's a time will tell kind of situation.

At least not at the start anyway. Have I made a muck-up? Will it be a straight Wii U switch (ha) after all?

They said similar back with the GBA and DS which was going to be a 3rd pillar. The GBA got support after the DS was out but did get dropped as having two handhelds at the same time makes zero sense.

Also with the whole teams working together etc, I reckon it's more of when the Switch install base becomes rather big and people aren't buying 3DS games as there now buying switch games and playing them on the go, we will see the 3DS dry-up.

Mas is right. The 3DS line-up as it stands is a pretty obvious end of a console's life, and the "not replacing" quote was just them being cautious so as not to ruin Christmas sales. As Mas rightly points out, the same was said of the GBA/DS move.
The 3DS/2DS brand will hang around for a while as a cheaper alternative for young children, but there's no doubt in my mind the Switch will be the only meaningful Nintendo console this time next year.

I think this is so tough to call 100 percent seeing as Switch is quite clearly a different kind of system than we've had before, so I'm with Treesmurf on this one (not a 3ds replacement) purely because in the reveal it is shown being played at home first.

Perhaps Nintendo have done this to give themselves a bit of leeway if it doesn't go to plan?

I agree it's not a replacement but may come one by default like in the past with GBA & DS.

Now in March, when I have both a 3DS and Switch, if I do go somewhere I'm more likely to take the switch and when something like DQXI comes out then I'm going to go buy it on Switch over the 3DS version as both portable but why would I have it on 3DS when I can have DQXI on the go and at home.

Now I'm wondering on what version of DQXI will Switch get.

I think the picture will be a lot clearly come March. Besides, it's not like we have to send off a written request to change the forum that needs reviewed by Forumotion top brass.

Changes can, and will, be made!

I presume you gents have installed at least fifteen new levels of red tape since I quit the job? I'd expect nothing less.

Zero is currently filibustering a proposed change to the FAQ, the rogue.

JayMoyles wrote:

I think the picture will be a lot clearly come March. Besides, it's not like we have to send off a written request to change the forum that needs reviewed by Forumotion top brass.

Changes can, and will, be made!

I would say more March 2018 we will know then the install base will be X amount on the Switch and then we will be able to tell if the 3DS has dried up or not.

The last GBA game was about 2 years after the DS came out that it will be hard to tell and it was a decentish Spyro not Just Dance like now with Wii.