The build up and anticipation is part of the journey. I remember being super excited for the Nintendo 64 back in the day, digesting every little morsel from the magazines. Same for the GameCube and even the DS. As internet conversations began to popularize, hype building for the Wii was next level. 3DS hype lived solely off possibilities, but those possibilities felt exciting.
Then came the Wii U. I was hyped. The unprecedented partnership with EA. Nintendo's first HD console. The possibility of dual screen play with a TV. It felt good... right up until the E3 before it came out.
That's when it all halted. Nintendo's E3 was trying to hype us up for... New Super Mario Bros. U - at that point like the 4th iteration of a DS/Wii series... and Nintendo Land. Now in hindsight, Nintendo Land was amazing. Truly, a real gem. But at the time we still didn't really know what it was and it was such a weird way to end E3. They had this whole celebration thing going on like this is the greatest thing ever and everyone watching was like what is Nintendo doing?
The hype for Wii U basically died that day. And considering that the 3DS hype was solely based on trying out glasses free 3D, then massively underdelivering with *checks notes* STEEL DIVER being the big launch game... it was back to back underwhelming system launches that really didn't deliver heading into and through launch. And then each system went on their own respective journeys.
Not knocking that generation - so many amazing games. But the hype up to reveal and launch just... wasn't great save a few moments.
Then Switch. I remember Nintendo announcing the code name and we're going okay... so Wii U bombed... what's this going to be?
Then they delayed Breath of the Wild. Rumors started to swirl this next big Zelda game was pushed to be a launch title for NX. Okay... well what we knew and saw of Breath of the Wild was very little at the time, but there was a buzz around it being the first truly open world Zelda game since Zelda 2. Nintendo hadn't made a 3D open world game... really ever? Closest was Xenoblade and such on Wii... which was more open Zone.
Fast forward and rumors and patents swirling in 2016 about it maybe being a hybrid system, but also maybe not. April hits and despite not having any idea what this system is, they tell us it's coming out March 2017. Okay, so in less than a year they are launching their next system. Weird. We don't even know what it is. We start speculating that E3 2016 will assuredly be the reveal because it's coming out 9 months later. Nintendo then pre-announces that E3 is ONLY about Breath of the Wild and their next system won't be there. Strange, but as a Zelda guy I was like whelp I am going to E3 to try out Breath of the Wild at least.
E3 comes, and setting aside my hands on experience - it was glorious. Many argue Nintendo somehow won E3, despite really only promoting one big game. They also confirmed at E3, that breath of the wild is THE launch game for the new system, but would still be day 1 on Wii U. They also at this time announced that Wii U production was coming to an end soon. Weird.
But Breath of the Wild made all the weirdness not matter. It was the best game of the show across all platforms, and it was blowing people's minds. The hype truly ramped to 100%, simply knowing this was a launch game.
However, we got to play it on Wii U. Why do we need to get a new system to play something that is playable on Wii U? Then you think back to the Twilight Princess launch and what they did, was a month delay plus flipping the world - and ultimately the best version of TP was really on GameCube. So you start to think well, maybe it's that again, but they have some hidden gem like Wii Sports they are saving for reveal that will be the real mover.
Get to October. System is revealed. It hits you like a brick the moment the guy gets off the couch to take his dog on a walk. That's it. That's why this being day 1 on Switch makes it the defacto system seller. We have never, ever, been able to take a massive open world game like this, and just play it on the go while doing other things without having a beefy gaming laptop.
Oh they revealed other games. 1 2 Switch and it's rooftop parties - Mario Odyssey - though people debated fervently online if that was "fake footage and not a real game" (totally was a real game), NBA 2K, Skyrim, and more. The perfect reveal trailer. Hype busted through the roof. I didn't care that I already had a Wii U, I knew that day I was getting a Switch.
I camped out the night before pre-orders opened up at my local GameStop because I was told they would be sold out quickly. I had my Wii U in hand, and traded it and all my Wii U games in to pay for my day one Nintendo Switch. Then as more gets revealed I get Breath of the Wild and all the launch games pre-ordered. I pre-order all the new amiibo. A Switch Pro Controller.
The hype never stopped post October. Even though Nintendo stayed silent until the January event, that reveal trailer gave us so much it was insane. I still wasn't a youtuber yet either.
I started my journey as Nintendo Prime on April 30th, 2017. After Switch launched.
The only thing missing in all these launches for my hype, was a community to be hyped with me. I had next to no friends hyped with me. No family. Just me.
Now i have this giant community on my channel. My hype for switch 2 is through the roof and it's not even revealed yet! Some have some fatigue and get tired of rumors and all that - not me - this is truly all part of the journey!
