If I had a nickel for every leak...
 |
| It has been several months since the last Direct, high time for another |
I had another post planned for this weekend but some megaton rumors came out yesterday. First, a reliable insider, the same person who leaked L.A. Noire for Switch, leaked a Direct for this Wednesday. While this is a bit short notice, I find this highly plausible. Twilight Princess HD was revealed in a Thursday Direct which was announced that Monday. I’ve been expecting Nintendo to show a Direct that fills out the first half of 2018’s release schedule for a while- having a road map for the future makes the Switch a much more appealing product. It also keeps Nintendo fans in the loop, something that the big N failed to do with the Wii U. With Metroid being revived this Friday, and both Fire Emblem Warriors and Super Mario Odyssey coming in October, combined with Nintendo’s interest in game specific Directs to drum up hype, that is just more evidence to the leak’s legitimacy. Either way, we won’t have to wait long to find out if the leak is true.
 |
| Nintendo's mobile games already utilize achievements |
That rumor wasn’t what piqued my interest however, as it is inevitable that we’ll get another Direct. The much more interesting piece is the pseudo-confirmation of an achievement system for Nintendo Switch. In an ask-me-anything session on Reddit.com, a Lichtspeer developer let it slip that Nintendo is working on said system. This doesn’t come as a surprise to me- actually, the surprise was the lack of an achievement system to begin with. Pre-launch, I would have bet my bottom dollar that Nintendo would put out some kind of achievement system on Switch. It just made logical sense considering both Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes feature My Nintendo Missions, which are essentially just achievements. It seemed unfathomable that Nintendo’s mobile games would get this treatment, but not their full fledged console releases. However, between the Switch’s bare bones UI and Online ecosystem, the pieces are beginning to fall into place.
 |
| I love Uncharted 4, but never felt the need to collect all of its trophies |
It seems to me that Nintendo launched the Switch as soon as possible, forgoing extras for the sake of releasing, with features such as achievements planned for down the road. There is no doubt in my mind that this rumor is true, and I think that the achievement system will launch alongside Nintendo’s full online suite early next year. Nintendo already has plans to overhaul the Switch’s online functionality, and achievements would be a great step towards reaching parity with Sony and Microsoft's offerings. As an owner of all three companies’ consoles, I’ve never been that interested in trophy/achievement hunting on either console. There just is no tangible reason outside of bragging rights to collect trophies, so I’ve never bothered. On the other hand, Nintendo is in a great position to offer real rewards for collecting their achievements, and the groundwork has already been set.
 |
| Just think about all the wacky achievements that could be associated with Super Mario Odyssey |
My Nintendo is nothing short of a mess. I, and many others, have hundreds of points accumulated with nothing to spend them on. I've accrued over $200 dollars of points, and to be honest, that kind of brand loyalty probably deserves a bit more than 30% off Mario Kart 64. But, I digress. There has always been a little section teasing us, coming soon for the past six months, and that is the Nintendo Switch Rewards. I always figured that it would simply be an extension of the pre-existing service, but now I have another theory. What if the achievement system introduces a third type of Switch exclusive currency that can be spent on My Nintendo for things such as in-game items and Switch home themes: earned by way of achievements. Say you’re playing Super Mario Odyssey, and you get an achievement for stomping on 100 enemies. It pops, notifies you of your accomplishment, and awards you ten points. Those points could then be spent on a new hat for Mario, or saved for a more expensive home theme. Nintendo already utilizes this type of program, so it doesn’t seem at all out of the question for such a system to be implemented. This would then create the incentive that is lacking from other console systems, a meta, meta-game of sorts. Yet, the most interesting element of prospective achievements is one I didn’t even think of: Virtual Console.
 |
| Imagine if defeating Bowser here rewarded you with an achievement |
It really is a genius idea. I, and pretty much the whole Nintendo community, said we aren’t going to be re-buying titles we already own on past consoles. However, in this hypothetical achievement-laden world, I’d certainly go back on my word and pay $5 for an achievement enabled version of Super Mario Bros. I’d venture to guess that many others would too. So, where is the Virtual Console? Right where the achievement system is. I think that Nintendo’s online service will bring both of these features to the Switch early next year. If this is true, Nintendo is really pushing the concept of being an ‘early adopter’. When considering how light the Switch’s on-board elements are right now it’s a bit frustrating that these features weren’t ready sooner. Yet, if they really come next year and I’m playing Super Mario Bros. with achievements, I can’t complain.
Comments
Post a Comment