Nintendo’s new Switch Concierge Service has a particularly useful feature that should be included on all platforms and consoles in the future.
Nintendo recently announced its new Switch Concierge service, which will help new Switch owners get to know the console and, most importantly, which games to try. It’s not just a step-by-step tutorial, but a one-on-one virtual meeting with a Nintendo representative. It’s a nice touch and a great way to really learn about the console, by asking questions. Representatives can even recommend what to play next based on what you play and what accessories you have. It is a concept that other companies should adopt for their gaming platforms.
Obviously, this is a big question. Even Nintendo does not have unlimited resources to reach everyone, and there are waiting lists to participate. But it doesn’t have to be done the same way everywhere. A simple help line or a specific chat to use a platform like the PlayStation 5 would help customers a lot to set them up. However, this is not the most important feature; the personal recommendations would be.
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Many players today have huge libraries to play in, and while some have their accumulations organized in lists, others struggle to choose what to play next. Undecided, they will end up rolling around the library instead of throwing anything. Nintendo giving players personalized recommendations based on what they play, what is favorite, the most owned / played genres and even their own accessories is an extremely necessary feature for any gaming platform.
It wouldn’t be possible for all companies to offer this level of personalized service, but even Steam has something like that in the form of AI. The main library page for each Steam user has sections called shelves, one of which is called Play Next. It is a relatively new feature that came out of Steam Labs last year and creates a list of recommendations from your library. It works similarly to the Steam Store discovery queue, except that it learns from the types of games you’ve played recently and the number of hours of play for each game. Like Discovery Queue, Play Next requires some tweaking and learning to be really useful, and often games with shorter game times win, which can be a problem.
Other consoles need a feature like this, and an AI approach like Steam is just one solution – and there are ways to improve it. Adding an option to ignore certain game-based recommendations that you didn’t like would help improve those recommendations. Being able to get suggestions for a genre you haven’t played recently can also help players looking for something different.
A combination of AI and a questionnaire can also be implemented on the platforms. These questions can restrict games based on their level of action or duration. So, combining this information with an AI looking at previous game times, favorites and more can result in personalized recommendations. Between Steam’s underrated Play Next and the Nintendo Switch Concierge service, perhaps other companies will take note and create similar features for their audience.
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