Topic: Switch Discussion Thread (Year 3: But where are the folders??!?!)

[Lemonade]

whats on top next to the game card slot?

Looks like the fan vent to me

[supermario2k]

There's too many discussions going on at once so I will put this here.
I was watching the video NWR did last night, they made many good points but I am not convinced there has to be a successor to the 3DS, I am pretty sure this is it.

A couple of things I realized. If this is going to work it has to be ONE machine with a single library. If all it turns out to be is just Wii U 2.0 then it's already DOA, nobody wants another Wii U. If that is their plan then it means the only lesson they learned from Wii U was the bad name and lack of focus, that wasn't the only lesson they needed to learn.

They confirmed the guts are in the tablet, which means they can sell those separately for kids who want just the Switch. It does look slightly larger than a 3DS XL but it doesn't look any larger than a typical iPad mini which parents do buy for their kids as gaming machines. For that to work it needs at the very minimum the media Apps, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and maybe a couple music apps like Pandora and/or Spotify, or even Amazon Music, whatever. It needs a functional web browser that supports flash and that is about it for apps, the games sell themselves.

BUT if there is a separate machine, a 3DS Switch or something that has its own library or target price to kids, then this is worthless it defeats the whole purpose. Because in order to entice them to buy that machine over this they once again need to make exclusive games for that machine.

It needs to be ONE machine you buy. There should be a bundle that includes the dock for the console gamers and a separate bundle Tablet only for the portable market. It looks like that is technically doable since that is what they showed off. OR at the least they could release a Switch Mini ala 2DS for kids, it plays the exact same games, but is smaller form factor with the buttons built in for the kiddos. If its an entirely separate machine with its own library of games this thing is useless outside just another Nintendo console that will have a big splash at launch and fade into obscurity as time goes on.

[KeyBilly]

I completely agree with you.  This is the new 3DS and the new Wii U.  If we see a successor to either of those in another form, it will mean that the NS has failed.

[Stratos]

They can easily sell the same device as two skus. One marketed as a console/hybrid, and another marketed for the Angry Birds/Pokemon demographic. Both are the same hardware, but bundle different games and accessories with it. Console sku has the dock and pro controller. The 'handheld' sku is just the tablet and two 'joy sticks' (I see what they did there).

[KeyBilly]

Different SkUs make sense.  If the dock is truly just a charge stand with some ports, though, it shouldn't add much to the cost.  If it turns out to be more, then a bundle without it would be more useful.

[Caterkiller]

Anyone else really happy this looks like a modern electronics device an not something that might resemble something more along the lines of a toy? Even the really dark grey controller pieces give it a more sophisticated look than something that would be totally black. Of course I personally still want one thats Spice Orange or DK Brown.

As for gaming prices being discussed earlier I know for a fact Iwata touched on this before his death. Some games will sell for a premium and some will not. When something like Bust A Move or Meteos rolls around I expect $20 releases with 2D Yoshi's/Kirby's in the $30-$40 range and the biguns of course $50 and $60.

I'm cool with this. Especially since it means all of Nintendo's output on one device. If Skyrim actually does make it I'm going to get it as well and see what all the hubbub is about.

[Oedo]

Not a lot of new information from Nintendo today (they confirmed to Famtisu that Wii U discs and 3DS cartridges won't be backwards compatible), but there are some new rumours today. According to the same person who hit on the "split d-pad" rumour a while ago, one of her sources at Ubisoft is saying the portable component of the Nintendo Switch has a maximum battery life of three hours. I really hope that isn't the case. The fact that these rumours about middling battery life are floating around among insiders is probably what's leading them to speculate that the 3DS will have its own portable successor. It's basically a guarantee that Nintendo will put out an upgraded version of the main unit at some point though, so I don't see why they couldn't address the battery life issue there. I'm inclined to think that if the Nintendo Switch catches there will be no "separate" 3DS successor, but who really knows at this point.

Other information she's put out there today is that she's confident in a multi-touch screen (though touch controls will not be a focus of gameplay) and that she's heard the dock will provide additional processing (games run better when docked, but she's not sure about a jump in resolution).

[KeyBilly]

The 3DS has terrible battery life in practice, so I doubt they are very worried about it.  With that said, it seems unlikely that anyone leaking information has final hardware that would give a good battery life estimate.

I think the best we can hope for is good battery pack accessories.

[Mop it up]

They'll probably just sell you a larger battery like they did with Wii U.

[Lemonade]

Anyone else really happy this looks like a modern electronics device an not something that might resemble something more along the lines of a toy?

Yes, it looks really nice and refined.
The Pro Controller looks like a prototype to me though. It doesnt look anywhere near as nice as the Joy Cons.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

looks like there is a 3rd shoulder button on the Joy cons, possibly to unlock it from the base.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

Neo, Morpheus and now Switch?





 


The Matrix is all around us.

[ThePerm]

woah woah woah

I didn't realize it, but I made a pretty good mockup



I was looking for this picture

[Ian Sane]

So as expected this all dropped while I was out of town.

I'm actually quite impressed!  The rumours all sounded terrible but this somehow brought together all the rumoured ideas and presented them in a product that looks really good.  I'm trying to think of how to do a hybrid and this just seems like the way you would do it.

I like how this isn't using the Wii name and frankly looks very hip and marketable.  The video they made does a great job of selling the concept and they use a similar approach for their marketing.  What I feel like is it doesn't come across like it's pushing some half-baked gimmick.  It's pushing functionality, not novelty.  The unique aspects of it are all for the practical purpose of offering both a console and portable in one product.  Nintendo will have no reason to push wacky controls to "prove the concept".  They can just concentrate on making great games.  The hook of the Switch is entirely in what it is.  The games can just be games without having to adhere to some specialized template.

Now I'm not going to act like I'm not concerned about the specs and if that will affect third party support.  At the very least we might see the Switch versions of games constantly be the worst ones, though the public might accept that as as tradeoff for the portability.  Still if third party games are what you're most interested in and you primarily play at home the other consoles will be your preference.  Though one thing that does give me hope is that the sort of games you would expect to show up on a 3DS successor will probably show up here.  That alone would vastly improve the situation.

And what's with this lack of further news until 2017?  Come on, Nintendo, isn't this supposed to come out in March?  You're going to give us solid info like price and the launch lineup a mere three months before release?  I can't help but fear a delay.  And, damn it, I want some info on this new Mario game that looks to be a return to the SM64 style!

The most positive thing from this is that it looks like a product that will sell.  The Wii U never looked like that.  It's different from the competition but in a way that seems worthwhile, instead of just arbitrarily.  I am just utterly shocked that Nintendo didn't completely screw the pooch and outright reveal the Wii 3 here.  Though I see one way they could totally **** this up - reveal a separate 3DS successor.

[ThePerm]

There has been no specs released, just rumored specs. I think the specs are going to be based on whatever the price point is. If it's a $200 console expect it to be a little better than the nvidia shield which is a step between wii u and ps4. If it's a $300 console I expect it to be almost as good or equal to ps4 and xbox one. If it's $350 to $400(gah) I expect it to be more powerful than either.

It's hard to say. Price is a factor, but also nvidia as a partner is a factor. If I were betting I would imagine in terms of power it might be the equivelent of Gamecube vs Xbox but in current gen lenses. On the other hand nvidia might give Nintendo the deal of a lifetime to outcompete AMD. It seems over the years AMD is starting to eclipse nvidia and nvidia can't have that. I also imagine Sony dropping nvidia support hurt their bottom line big. One might think that part of the reason for creating Shield was to compete with ps4 in some way.

also lets note. Nintendo's Stocks went down on Friday, but nvidias went up

As far as news go if there is a Nintendo direct as late as early February, that'll be enough to keep the hype train going.

When has Nintendo historically had it's Nintendo directs?

edit: I looked it up.

Historically, they have had one in November, and then another one in early February, and early March.

I expect there to be one in November that is all 3ds and wii u stuff, and then one in February that is all Switch stuff. Then another in March that is Switch and 3ds stuff.

so I predict February 3rd 2017 will be a massive dropping of information.

[rygar]

I expect there to be one in November that is all 3ds and wii u stuff...

I think they announced a mini-direct for November 2 based on the Animal Crossing New Leaf amiibo functionality and potentially Animal Crossing mobile.

[Shaymin]

also lets note. Nintendo's Stocks went down on Friday, but nvidias went up

A combination of profit-taking after it went up on Thursday pre-video and the standard "buy on the rumor, sell on the news" rule.

As far as news go if there is a Nintendo direct as late as early February, that'll be enough to keep the hype train going.

When has Nintendo historically had it's Nintendo directs?

edit: I looked it up.

Historically, they have had one in November, and then another one in early February, and early March.

I expect there to be one in November that is all 3ds and wii u stuff, and then one in February that is all Switch stuff. Then another in March that is Switch and 3ds stuff.

so I predict February 3rd 2017 will be a massive dropping of information.

The last few console launches (going back to at least the Wii) have had a blowout of information two months before that serves as a psuedo-Direct and also gives the press hands-on time. This is also where Nintendo reveals the price and pack-in software (where applicable), which lets preorders go up.

So I don't think we'll be that far into January before we get Switch info.

[MagicCow64]

I don't think folks should get their hopes up about the Switch being on the same level as PS4 or Xbone. Maybe if it was only on AC power, but the games have to run portable as well. Like, if it didn't have to run away from the dock, I'm thinking it might be like PS2-->Gamecube/Xbox, but with that requirement it's probably more like Dreamcast-->Gamecube/Xbox.

Probably we don't have an exact analogue for the power gap, though I think it's possible Switch could run "PC low-settings" versions of some multiplatform stuff, should the publishers feel inclined to make those ports.

[Stratos]

I hope that the Wii U Pro Controllers are compatible. Those were expensive and I'd like to get a lot more use out of them.

[ThePerm]

What if the curve ball the Switch throws at Sony and Microsoft is there isn't just one level of power?

What if there is several levels of power and depending on how much you want to pay, that's what you get?

What if Nintendo is aiming to go after EVERYONE? The switch might equally be going after the android market as well.

@Shaymin
Nintendo usually releases something around my birthday. March 27th. Traditionally Nintendo has released a console in the US on the third Sunday of November. I think Nintendo usually releases software on a Tuesday. So, likely They'll release the info on Feb 3rd, and release the system on  March 29th, which pretty much follows your two month rule. That's still 54 days for everyone to get hyped up.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

I don't think folks should get their hopes up about the Switch being on the same level as PS4 or Xbone. Maybe if it was only on AC power, but the games have to run portable as well. Like, if it didn't have to run away from the dock, I'm thinking it might be like PS2-->Gamecube/Xbox, but with that requirement it's probably more like Dreamcast-->Gamecube/Xbox.

Probably we don't have an exact analogue for the power gap, though I think it's possible Switch could run "PC low-settings" versions of some multiplatform stuff, should the publishers feel inclined to make those ports.

I'd bet this is running on Nvidia Pascal, because they(Nintendo) would have to actively fight for this to be a custom Tegra k1/X1 since that tech is fairly old and Nvidia needs this enough to take a a cut on the price. Especially when Nintendo expects to sell 10million of these in the first 18months.


For example here are the Nvidia Shield Specs at @ $199.99
PROCESSOR   NVIDIA^® Tegra^® K1 192 core Kepler GPU
2.2 GHz ARM Cortex A15 CPU with 2 GB RAM
DISPLAY   8-inch 1920x1200 multi-touch Full-HD display
VIDEO FEATURES   4K Ultra-HD Ready
AUDIO   Front facing stereo speakers with built-in microphone
STORAGE*   16 GB
*Portion of storage occupied by system software.
WIRELESS   802.11n 2x2 MIMO 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS / GLONASS
INTERFACES   Mini-HDMI with HDCP 1.4 output, Micro-USB 2.0, MicroSD slot
3.5 mm stereo headphone jack with microphone support
MOTION SENSORS   3-axis gyro, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis compass

These stats are outdated and the NX will have better by a  quite a bit. Not Apples to Apples but  Pascal is a pretty solid chip in comparison to even whats in the XB1/PS4 . Say the NX is $299.99 in March, you should be able to come pretty close to an XboxOne.

My expectation is the NX will have Active and Passive RAM based on it being docked. To elaborate: even if the dock is only housing  for usb, hdmi, cooling fan power and Wifi, the fact that it will have AC power that will allow the system to run at full power thereby increases performance. This thing needs 6 maybe 8 GB of ram so lets say when its undocked it uses half so either 3 or 4GB of ram and running on a 720p screen. Docked you get 1080p 8GB ram. You create the game with Max Settings and let the situation (home or go) throttle it down.

The screen is probably 1080p but games run at 720p and Netflix and other things run at 1080p. THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL NINTENDO IS GOING TO BLOW-UP A 720p SOURCE ONTO A MINIMUM 1080p (in some cases 4K) in 2017. They can't be that daft.  Plus this is a modular system and we don't even know about the so called SCD.

[ThePerm]

I wouldn't have a problem with 720p.The Wii U's screen resolution is an unusual 854x480. I don't have any problem with it. I think it looks fine. The only thing I want is 16:9 and everything is clear and readable. 720p(1280×720) would be more than acceptable to me as well.  I heard rumors of 900p(1600x900). Which might be the cost to resolution ratio they went for. If 720p good, if 900p better. Either one works for me.

I imagine if Nintendo lowers the screen resolution, and takes advantage of it manufacturing contacts it could probably reduce costs by a whole lot. Add $100 shield,and they could probably do Pascal/parker.

there is probably 2gb on the doc, and its 8gb and 720/900pabroadand 1080p with 4k video at home.

If Nintendo and nVidia do it right, it might not just be a disruptive technology for the consoles, it might be a disruptive technology for PCs and Tablets too.

[oohhboy]

It probably has Pascal or Pascal like tech in it. The entire point of the 10xx series was to expand the space in where Nvidia competes in by bringing in tech that is very scalable. The proof in this is that there is no "Laptop/M" version of the chip, the chip in a laptop is full fat, no cut cores, no downclock, the chip has very high bang per watt.

The reason MS and Sony's SoC is AMD isn't because AMD was super great, it's because Nvidia didn't have a presence there at all until recently. Nvidia has been for quite a while a discrete solution provider and this has worked quite well as it dominates in card sales across the board. But as they say diversity or die, so Nvidia has spent years getting tech to do that collimating in Pascal.

Where Nintendo uses Pascal is unknown as the timing is a little tight and consoles have about a year's lead time to market and you can't just swap out chips, the PCB is for that chip and that chip only, nothing like the PS4 RAM upgrade.

I don't think it will quite against the current consoles as it still is a mobile device with all the draw backs that entails. It might have a hybrid passive/active cooling which would be pretty interesting.

I hopes it comes with eye tracking 3D tech, I rather enjoyed the 3D display on the 3DS as limited as it were.

I personally wouldn't buy it as it doesn't have what I want, but if an Advanced Wars came out, I would be awfully tempted.

[ThePerm]

Nintendo might not even do pascal and might do a "might as well be pascal", Nintendo chips are usually custom. Ican imagine Nintendo throwing along some ideas that end up in future nvidia chips.

[oohhboy]

Nintendo will pick a couple of features they will like, but these days getting a full/half custom chip done is not worth the trouble, ie WiiU.

It hasn't been said, but this will break backwards compatibility. Bloody good thing too as the tech is 15 years old, expired with the Wii and the technical debt bit in hard with the WiiU.