Latest news with #NintendoMinute
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
As fans reject Switch 2 game-key cards, former Nintendo marketing leads say it's unlikely that physical games will ever "100% go away," because "they realize the importance of that"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In the buildup to the launch of the Switch 2, not everyone has been filled with pure, unadulterated hype. A lot of people are seriously unhappy about the new game-key cards – a strange blend of physical and digital games that are being offered as the physical version of many (but not all) upcoming Switch 2 games, which former Nintendo marketing leads Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang have been discussing in their latest video. Game-key cards give users a full download of a game rather than allowing them to simply play it right out of the box, which has prompted concerns about game preservation, and generally hasn't been met particularly warmly by those who value physical media. Former Nintendo Minute hosts Ellis and Yang – who previously served as Nintendo of America's former director of social media marketing and original content and senior manager of creator relations and original content, respectively – have now shared their own thoughts on game-key cards, and offered some extra insight into Nintendo's potential thought process (below). To do so, they also spoke to another former Nintendo employee, who's not named in the video, but is apparently someone who worked on the company's retail team – specifically on the program that saw full game download codes sold on eShop gift cards in physical stores. Game-key cards, Ellis points out, can be seen as an "extension" to this idea. "What they had to say was, you know, even going back to the [gift] cards that you can get now, Nintendo really wanted a physical representation of a digital product in a retail store," Ellis explains. "Which makes sense, because Nintendo really values the retail channels, more so than a lot of other gaming companies." Furthermore, he mentions that the original game download gift card idea "was really widely adopted within the company, nobody was really questioning it, it was like 'Yeah this this seems like a great idea for us to kind of have it both ways.'" Yang notes that "they make so much more money off of the digital games," so "of course they're going to be looking at other solutions to kind of fill that gap, or even try to transition people over to an all-digital world." Interestingly, Ellis notes that "nobody really had very high expectations" for the gift card games, "but it went on to become a very popular program," and it certainly wasn't rejected by consumers. "That obviously gave them the confidence of like, 'Alright, something like this, this is actually maybe more in line with how people are getting things now, want to buy things, want to use things, than maybe we thought.'" But if game-key cards do sell well, what could this mean for the future? Well, the former employee Ellis and Yang spoke to says we shouldn't rule out the idea that some first-party Nintendo games could eventually get the same game-key card treatment, rather than getting regular physical cartridges. However, one key point that the three ex-Nintendo staff agree on is that it's highly unlikely the company is looking to phase out physical games entirely. "This person was also very clear in saying like there is going to be some form of physical," Yang adds. "The physical nature of video games is not something that's going away, and Nintendo is not going to take that away. They realize the importance of that." Ellis later adds, "I can't see the physical games vanishing completely," while Yang says we'll have to "see this initial batch of sales" and how they might "inform the future decisions," but "I don't think that physical is ever going to 100% go away, I don't think Nintendo will ever do that. "Talk about someone that knows their audience, they absolutely understand the audience, that their most dedicated audiences that just want this because they have this emotional tie to their brand, and they want to cultivate that. So I don't think that they're going to go out of their way to, you know, sever that bond." Looking for more Nintendo Switch 2 news? Be sure to check out our roundup of Nintendo Switch 2 launch games, too.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nintendo "won't know" if the Switch 2 eShop will crash on launch day as everyone rushes to download Mario Kart World, former marketing leads warn, but "they're prepared"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Switch 2's launch is finally upon us this week, and there are understandably a few concerns from fans wondering if the Nintendo eShop will be able to withstand the surge of people rushing to download Mario Kart World as soon as its metaphorical doors are opened. According to two of the company's former marketing leads, that's not something Nintendo will know in advance, but it will be "prepared" to fix any problems. Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang – once the hosts of Nintendo Minute, and respectively the former director of social media marketing and original content and senior manager of creator relations and original content at Nintendo of America – have released a new video (further below) discussing what the company is likely to be busy with behind the scenes in the run-up to the console's launch on June 5. Ellis mentions the worries from players that the eShop could potentially "burst into flames," noting that all those who've purchased the Mario Kart World console bundle will be receiving a download code that they must redeem in order to play it. That's in addition to other things like the Switch system transfers, and returning fans redownloading their Switch libraries, that are likely to keep Nintendo's servers busy. Addressing this, Ellis notes that not only is the new console's launch thankfully staggered worldwide thanks to time zone differences, but "there are a lot of people right now who are planning for this, have probably been talking about this for weeks if not months." Specifically, he says these employees will have been discussing "what can we do, how can we stay in touch," pointing out that Nintendo of America will likely want to hear how things go in Japan, where the console will be launching a few hours sooner. "'Please give us your updates, is there anything that you did, is there anything that you saw that you didn't expect so that we can be ready,'" he says, giving an example of a conversation likely to be happening very soon. "This game of like Telephone and, you know, collective planning is happening in a big way right now." Yang notes that this process is called "triaging," and it's something that only happens "during really, really big things like big launches like this." It requires those involved to "be on a call about every two hours or so," even into the night, to give updates on the current situation – good or bad. The communications team is on hand to potentially "communicate out to the general public, like 'hey we recognize that there's an issue happening, here's the fixes that are coming" if things start to go awry, giving indications of when things might be back online and what's being done to fix it. She notes that Nintendo won't "know 100% what is going to happen, it's a wait and see," while Ellis agrees: "They won't know until the thing actually happens." Although this could sound a little bit concerning, Yang reassures: "Yes, but they're prepared in terms of like having a team that can either fix it, or work on a fix, and communicate that out to people." Yang adds that a team will be "on call," with Ellis saying that he can "remember many Christmas days where we had these calls scheduled, like 'Oh the eShop has died, and here's what's happening.'" On the other hand, however, launches that Nintendo had "been nervous" about, like Fortnite's Switch release, ended up going without a hitch. Here's hoping that issues are minimal when the new console's launch actually rolls around on Thursday. If you're keeping up with Nintendo Switch 2 news, also be sure to check out our roundup of upcoming Switch 2 games.
