The 7 launch games that convinced me to buy a console – Reader’s Feature
A reader reveals the killer app games that were so good he bought the console to play them on, from the Mega Drive and SNES to the original Xbox and Wii.
A reader reveals the killer app games that were so good he bought the console to play them on, from the Mega Drive and SNES to the original Xbox and Wii.
As we get closer to more news on the Nintendo Switch 2, I thought I’d take a look back at some of the consoles I’ve had and the launch titles that helped convince me to get that console
Mega Drive – Revenge Of ShinobiMy Mega Drive came packed with Altered Beast and, frankly, the less said about that the better. Yeah, it was a competent port of the arcade game, but it was a lacklustre and repetitive title to begin with.
I wouldn’t go as far to say Revenge Of Shinobi was a killer app but it did shine a light on the potential of the machine. Strong and fluid gameplay, varied stages, and fantastic music combined to make a solid launch title. Plus, Spider-Man and Godzilla, what’s not to like?!
Super Nintendo – Super Mario WorldNow this is a killer app. I’d not played a Mario game before, much of my platforming experience was from Spectrum games such as Jet Set Willy and Pyjamarama. It’s safe to say this was on another level. Several levels in fact.
A huge 96 areas, some of which were secret, extremely tight but predictable controls and movement, banging tunes, pop out graphics, and superior gameplay. Plus, F-Zero was also a launch title. Double bubble!
PlayStation – WipEoutWhen you’re launching a new console, particularly if you as a company are new to the market, you need to show off what your machine can do straight out of the gate. Yeah, you can do it with a snazzy T-Rex demo, free with the system, but you’d need full games to really get people’s attention.
WipEout was fast, bombastic, smooth, playable, but no pushover. The marketing for the game gets the headlines now but the game beneath was still excellent. It wanted to attract the more mature gamer (oxymoron? joking!) and it’s difficult to argue against that. And if you were a fast-paced racing fan, a near arcade perfect Ridge Racer was also available at launch.
Nintendo 64 – Super Mario 64When you’re promising a move to 3D, what better way to do it than with your mascot character and throwing everything at it. I’d argue this is more of a killer app than Super Mario World, as it was doing something totally new, rather than polishing an already proven formula to near perfection.
This was certainly a risk on Nintendo’s part, as introducing 3D needed a dynamic camera system and a new type of controller, so no doubt it went through countless iterations to get the feel just right. And get it right it certainly did.
The sheer variety of levels, ways of getting stars, movement of Mario, and the genius of revisiting levels to achieve new objectives combined to make one of the greatest, and most influential, games ever. And if that wasn’t enough, Pilotwings 64 was ready to give you a super chill experience too. Top banana.
Xbox – Halo: Combat EvolvedLike with Sony’s machine, Microsoft knew they needed a title on day one to grab the attention of the masses. I’d argue Halo was more important to them than WipEout or Ridge Racer was to PlayStation in isolation, given Sony already had a strong hold on the US market by the time the OG Xbox launched.
And what a fantastic first person shooter Halo was. It was probably the biggest leap in what a first person shooter could be since Doom first became shareware nearly a decade earlier, and many of the tropes we see in the genre today borrow heavily from it.
Wii – Wii SportsWhen the USP on your new console is motion control, what better way to show it than a series of mini-games that every farmer and their mum could play. And in turn, basing those mini0games on actual pastimes that everyone is familiar with, such as tenpin bowling and tennis.
Motion controls can be quite a difficult concept to articulate but showing gran swinging a piece of plastic in the exact same way you’d swing a tennis racquet and then showing her avatar on screen doing the same thing, was all that was needed. Yes, it wasn’t the deepest of games, but when you’ve got pick up and play gameplay like this, and you’re trying to sell a new machine with a weird name, it’s all you need.
Plus, Zelda: Twilight Princess, which wasn’t bad either.
Nintendo Switch – Zelda: Breath Of The WildOK I’m biased here, even after eight years of distance between its launch and now, so a considerable amount of reflection, I still consider Breath Of The WIld to be the best game I’ve played. Tears Of The Kingdom is the better game, but it’s forebearer is the better experience, if that makes sense.
Again, a risk for Nintendo as they took a much-loved formula, turned it open world, sidelined dungeons, and introduced a slew of changes such as degrading weapons; even the most ardent detractors cannot say it didn’t work, at least from a commercial point of view, if they can’t get behind the artistic vision. A masterpiece.
So my takeaway? Nintendo certainly has got a very good track record of launching with strong titles, sometimes taking a risk or two, so let’s hope the upcoming one is no exception.
By reader TheTruthSoul (PSN ID)
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild – the game that sold the Switch (Nintendo)The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
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