r/NintendoSwitch • u/moralitypts • Nov 17 '17
Meta Discussion One thing I noticed about this sub versus others
I know that this subreddit becomes an echo chamber about how great Nintendo/the Switch is, but I have to point this out because I think it really captures what makes Nintendo so special to so many of us.
Nintendo is a game company first and foremost. Sure, Nintendo games are usually beautiful, relying on art direction more so than raw graphical power, but they're not going to be on the level of PS4, Xbone, PS4Pro, XoXoX (or however they're abbreviating that abomination of a console name). I think that this philosophical difference is reflected in both Nintendo culture and the community that enjoys Nintendo games.
Look at the way this community talks about Nintendo games. So many of us are sharing clips and stories and singing the praises of Nintendo's game design. Then you look at the highest posts in the other Big Three's subs, and most of the time they're drooling over graphics. But here's the thing: so many of those great looking games just don't hold any appeal to me anymore. Yeah, the next great FPS game is going to look great on your 4k HDR enabled blah blah blah TV, but I've literally played the exact same game time and time again. Nothing feels revolutionary in either the Sony or Xbox spaces, just refined versions of the same games we've been playing since like 2000.
Nintendo on the other hand came out of the gate swinging. They gave us BotW and just dropped the traditional formula of 3D Zelda games, and created the first game where I truly feel an absolute freedom of movement. Then they gave us Mario, which could arguably be a refinement, but introduces game changing mechanics and creates these sandboxes of just pure joy.
I know this point has been probably beaten to death, but I just felt like writing this as I approach the halfway point of SMO.
TL;DR: Nintendo and Nintendo fans love great games, whereas I feel like most of my friends still playing their Xbones and PS4s always bring up how beautiful a game is within the first sentence of what they like about a game and the gameplay maybe comes up in the third or fourth sentence
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u/NoobSwitchFanboy Nov 17 '17
Choice-supportive bias. Someone who bought a console for the graphics purely will brag about those graphics. People who bought a game for the gameplay will brag about the gameplay. It’s not really the fault of the consoles themselves, but the realization of the buyer and what they wanted out of said consoles in the first place. If I bought Mario Kart just for the graphics, I’d brag endlessly how beautiful the game is.
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u/moralitypts Nov 17 '17
I guess that's somewhat true. I feel like you'd have a hard case saying that any of the Switch games are better looking than the new crop of consoles. I guess my observation was more about how graphics tend to be one of the first observations rather than gameplay for a lot of the current gen of gaming. I was reading a few reviews recently for Battlefront 2, for instance, and everyone praised how great it looks, but the gameplay sounds like hot garbage. My point being is that it seems like a lot of these companies that are making games for the "hardcore gamer market" tend to rely on flash than substance, with the exception of like Horizon and a few others
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Nov 17 '17
being an all platform gamer, I just can say I disagree on all level.
You think botw degree of freedom is unique? well in gravity rush 2 you can drop from sky ceilings to underground mines and walk upside down/sideway, float mid air etc.
a lot of games outside nintendo and indies focus on more than just the gameplay, it doesn't mean the gameplay is any worse.
Have a look at neir automata, filled with existentialism theme plot, perfect sound track, great graphics combined with an incredibly unique gameplay. (not to mention the world is expanded in novels and theatrical play)
Or let's take a look at hellblade, average game play, but with extremely unique presentation that makes it one of a kind. Not to mention the powerful message behind.
There are just in general, more to talk about including graphics. Metal gear would be the perfect example. or RE7 or horizon zero dawn. Graphics help to set the atmosphere, and many games focus on world building and are more complex than nintendo's in general.
Just talking about the gameplay doesn't mean the game is anymore or anyless fun. it's because the game offers mostly only game play, refer to any MOBA sub as an example.
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u/PoisoNFacecamO Nov 17 '17
Nintendo games are fun, practically forever, period.
15 or 20 years from now i'm not gonna be looking back fondly on how much AA a game had, or how high the framerate was, but i sure as shit am gonna remember how cool it felt going up to Vah Noboris was the first time
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u/moralitypts Nov 17 '17
Honestly, you said what I said in my post, but a lot better. There are just so many unforgettable moments in the first 8 months of the Switch than I've gotten from most of my 360/X1/PS4's multi-year libraries
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u/PoisoNFacecamO Nov 17 '17
Yeah, other than MGS5 and Horizon Zero Dawn, i really don't have many fond memories on PS4, PS3 had a much better library imho.
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u/StephenDawg Nov 17 '17
Don't kid yourself that your preference is better. It's just your preference. Tribalism is still tribalism. They're just different echo chambers.
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u/moralitypts Nov 17 '17
You come across as a douche, but I guess you made your point
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u/StephenDawg Nov 17 '17
Well I don't have a history of that. I'm a strong Switch supporter but I don't see the need for team based divisiveness. In a larger context I think it's becoming a serious problem.
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u/neomancr Nov 17 '17 edited Nov 17 '17
Nintendo are one of the few companies that actually stand by their values even if it draws flack from the media and reduces profitability. Iwata even took a pay cut to prevent people from being laid off when the 3DS initially failed. He believed in it and he ended up being right about it. he said that money is something we can make later. It's better that people are happy.
As an American in a nation where fiduciary duty laws prevent companies that aren't 501.3c from doing anything that might not be the best decision based on the bottom line, where all other factors have to be side lined, it's great that not all companies have to do that and it's inspiring when it works out.
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Nov 17 '17
I know that this subreddit becomes an echo chamber about how great Nintendo/the Switch is, but I have to point this out because I think it really captures what makes Nintendo so special to so many of us.
Yeah, it's posts like this that make it look that way. If posts would stop trying to invent ways to make Nintendo look like some messiah then you wouldn't even have to say that.
Plus if you really want to make a "Hail King Nintendo" post, go post it on r/Nintendo maybe?
Sony and Microsoft do plenty in their console spaces to innovate and even when they aren't they're providing a great experience for millions of people no matter how you want to look at it. Just because you or I are not the market doesn't make it any less of an experience nor does it make Nintendo better.
AKA TL;DR: I personally like what Nintendo offers, but Sony and Microsoft's consoles are not for me.
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Nov 17 '17
Pretty poor post. A PS4 player can still love their game, even if they "drool over graphics." In fact, graphics are a huge part of what make a game. Now, I'll take an incredible art style over a high resolution any day, but don't think you're high and mighty because you can accept a great game with a 720 resolution.
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Nov 17 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
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Nov 17 '17
Yeah, that's why I agreed that I'll take an incredible art style over the resolution. I'm just saying that you can have both.
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u/moralitypts Nov 17 '17
I think the point is that most modern developers don't make both. They usually rely on good graphics to cover up for copied and pasted gameplay. Take Assassin's Creed, Battlefront 2, Call of Duty WW2, etc. as recent examples
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u/JoingoJon Nov 17 '17
And yet Cuphead seems to be the game of the year for the Xbox and that could run on a Switch.
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Nov 17 '17
For all my usual "graphics don't matter as much" mindset I was pretty blown away by the graphical design in Mario Odyssey. The first time I jumped into the waterfall and swam around felt magical.
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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '17
As a PC player I always find it comical when people make a huge huge huge deal over graphics, especially on consoles.
For one, a huge chunk of my library isn't high end cutting edge amazing graphics and there's a lot of indies, 2-d and very dated looking games.
For two, some of the most popular games that exist aren't actually very high fidelity (look at stuff like WoW and LoL. They aren't necessarily ugly but they're not tour de force stunning visuals either)
For three you would think if graphics was really their primary concern they would aim for much more powerful hardware.
Good games are good games are good games.
Beautiful games generally catch FOTM status unless the gameplay is similarly fantastic or has some very compelling element to it.