[Megathread] Nintendo Switch

[stellvia]

My assumption is there will be at least something to the "home dock" portion, even if its simply providing more memory. How feasible would it be to have more GDDR5 connected this way vs. soldered on-board? Sure, more system memory could be nice, but what you'd really look for is more GPU memory to push up post-processing and maybe resolution. Maybe even a secondary CPU in the dock to offload some stuff to? Guess we'll see.

There has to be some sort of gimmick, or Nintendo wouldn't bother IMHO. Otherwise its just a slightly more functional Vita in being able to hot-dock.

[Tech614]

My assumption is there will be at least something to the "home dock" portion, even if its simply providing more memory. How feasible would it be to have more GDDR5 connected this way vs. soldered on-board? Sure, more system memory could be nice, but what you'd really look for is more GPU memory to push up post-processing and maybe resolution. Maybe even a secondary CPU in the dock to offload some stuff to? Guess we'll see.

There has to be some sort of gimmick

The memory would be borderline worthless and significantly slower since it would not be directly connected to the apu itself like the rest of the memory.

As for the bold the leak said what the gimmick was... detachable controllers.

[draykorinee]

obviously wouldnt be that strong on the go, but this is a hybrid. its not JUST a handheld. its a handheld AND a console.

That idea sounds totally absurd to me personally, it sounds like a really hard sell and will confuse the hell out of people. They failed to market something as simple as the Wii U I find this a weird choice.

[Zenny]

It's possible to have 2 GPU chips, one for on the go and one in the dock. It won't be unheard of either the Parker SOC that is in the Nvidia Drive PX2 has two discreet Pascal GPU's.

[Remilia]

One possibility I can think of is having two chip. The handheld would be conservative and more battery efficient and when used on the dock, the handheld would then only be used to offload for things like AI and physics.
Random spec but just an idea.
Handheld - 4 core CPU SoC + GPU conservatively clocked to save on battery.
Dock - 6-8 core CPU + GPU clocked to the moon.

The only issue would be that it'd be a pain in the ass to program for when you give to metal access.

[draykorinee]

It's possible to have 2 GPU chips, one for on the go and one in the dock. It won't be unheard of either the Parker SOC that is in the Nvidia Drive PX2 has two discreet Pascal GPU's.

Yeah, but thats going to be an expensive piece of kit in a car, Nintendo won't be wanting an expensive console going by their recent history.

I find the idea that you would have an xbox one power console in a base unit and a shieldesque handheld for anywhere near a decent price.

[Stonecloak]

Tbh, I don't technically trust this reveal. I think it will be kind of like it, but what did we get here, some no-name journalists word, and a mock drawing? We have no real pictures, wasn't an official reveal.

[Edge-]

Tbh, I don't technically trust this reveal. I think it will be kind of like it, but what did we get here, some no-name journalists word, and a mock drawing? We have no real pictures, wasn't an official reveal.

Eurogamer and Digital Foundry are pretty major, trusted sources. This is not some random on Twitter who happens to get someone right every once in a while amongst a sea of things they get wrong nor is this someone with a wordpress blog.

I'm still a bit skeptical on it and I'm sure they're missing a lot of details, but the core of their reports are likely sound.

[Immitis]

That idea sounds totally absurd to me personally, it sounds like a really hard sell and will confuse the hell out of people. They failed to market something as simple as the Wii U I find this a weird choice.

i think you guys are making it out to be more complicated than it is. the main problem with the wiiu was its name. most people thought it was a controller addon for the wii for its first year of release.

a simple marketing ad kind of like the "wii want too play @_@" from the wii days.

have two lil japanese men come to peoples house all "wii want to play" and show them playing on the tv, then the dad or something comes home and the kids look sad then have the MUTHA FOCKIN BASS DROP @_@ and the lil japanese mens are like "WII CAN STILL PRAY ON NNNN EXXXXX A DESU @_@"

AND THEY UNHOOK THE MUTHA FOCKA AND THEY PLAYIN IT IN THE CAR ON THE CONTROLLER WHILE SOME SICK BEATS PLAYIN IN DA BACKZ @_@

[Jtbrig7390]

i think you guys are making it out to be more complicated than it is. the main problem with the wiiu was its name. most people thought it was a controller addon for the wii for its first year of release.

And that's called bad marketing. There was a lot wrong with the Wii-U. It lost 3rd party support due to lack of sells and poor hardware and none of that was helped with the shit marketing it got.

Nintendo makes awesome games but they NEED 3rd party sells. People are not going to spend $300 on a system with maybe a handful of games out in its first few years. The 3DS has a shit ton of first and 3rd party support and it sells like crazy. The wii-u lacked first party and had little 3rd party support for the first year of its life and in the 2rd it barely had any of both. Come year 3 it got much more first party support but lost near all 3rd party.

Like I said poor marketing,shit hardware and huge lack of first party titles in its first two years killed the system. If they are going to not have 3rd party support they need a fuck ton of first party titles and not wait 3 years to have them.

I don't know about you but I'm not paying $300 for a system where I mite get 2 games a year.

If the NX comes anywhere near the price of a XB1 or Ps4 I don't see it doing well IMO even more so if that is priced near the next version of those two systems.

[Immitis]

the nx will have the combined titles of the handheld and console devs. pokemon, 3d mario, 3d zelda. imagine if all the wiiu titles and 3ds games were on one system.

[Tech614]

the nx will have the combined titles of the handheld and console devs. pokemon, 3d mario, 3d zelda. imagine if all the wiiu titles and 3ds games were on one system.

This is somewhat true but overblown.

They couldn't have made all the titles they did on 3DS and Wii U on the Wii U for example(as it's the strongest comparison). Most of the 3DS games would have had to take on larger dev teams and budgets.

While it's true Nintendo's support will be stronger on a single system then on 2 it will not literally be double... Especially when half of those games can't be 240p with sub PS2 fidelity levels.

[Edge-]

Especially when half of those games can't be 240p with sub PS2 fidelity levels.

Well, I mean, they probably still can be : P

[Tech614]

Well, I mean, they probably still can be : P

Nah, if Nintendo is good at one thing it's making their art look decent for the resolution it's portrayed at. 3DS games look good on the 3DS screen and look like absolute dog shit if blown up with a capture card.

At min the screen on it will be 540p, which puts them at(minimum) Killzone Mercenary production levels to make games look good on it which is far beyond the vast majority of 3DS games.

[Wilian]

There's a difference between, "We can brute-force our way to insane graphical fidelity, efficiently maximizing the hardwares capabilities be damned!" which is what you're talking about on PC and "We have literally spent 5 years figuring out ways to use every single ounce of power that can be squeezed out of this hardware and have pushed it past what people thought it was capable of."

Yes, consoles do push the limits of their hardware better than PC does. PC has the edge in that it has constant hardware refreshes that allow it to brute force its way to far superior graphics, especially later in a consoles life cycle when it's running on comparatively ancient technology. But when you look at the graphical fidelity of games that came out at launch for last gen consoles and then those those that came out at the end of their life cycles, it should be pretty painfully clear that the hardware is being pushed to its limits. You're not going to get similar results out of 8+ year old hardware on PC's, period.

You should use current gen comparison really. Your point applies well to the past generations because each console had their own architechture that people mastered over time, some slower (PS3 CPU abomination) and some faster (Xbox 360 with it's more traditional approach).

Current generation however, you'll not see similiar leap because the optimization process simply won't be anywhere near as effective when the architecture of the systems itself is both identical with each others and with the standard PC shit. There isn't really much to learn to unlock last ounce of performance, you can just clean up the code to a point.

[Tech614]

Current generation however, you'll not see similiar leap .

Bullshit, we've already seen it. Uncharted 4 says hi.

Compare Uncharted 4 to Killzone Shadowfall. That's a damn leap by any definition of the word.

[Wilian]

Bullshit, we've already seen it. Uncharted 4 says hi.

Compare Uncharted 4 to Killzone Shadowfall. That's a damn leap by any definition of the word.

You are comparing pre-release practically tech demo stuff with release stuff. Fairer comparison would be The Order 1886

[Tech614]

You are comparing pre-release practically tech demo stuff with release stuff. Fairer comparison would be The Order 1886

The Order 1886 came 18 months after the PS4 release. Which just proves a jump was made then for it as well, GG on that.

Killzone Shadowfall was a full release exclusive to the system on launch day. Apparently that's a "pre release tech demo" now.

For the record The Order and Infamous Second Son both look great but neither are even close to Uncharted 4. Not even in the same ballpark, you didn't do much to try and prove your point. Hell there isn't even a game on PC that can stand up to Uncharted 4 in some aspects of it's fidelity.

Keep living in fantasy land if you think the PS4 hasn't already made an amazing jump from it's launch graphics. Have fun. Should I even tell you to look up Detroit and what it's looking like right now still long away from being released? Hint: it's looking even better then Uncharted 4. Don't look it up or you might cry as your failed point get's shattered into 500 small fragments of blind hope.

[draykorinee]

How would killzone be a tech demo??

I can see what tech wrote because you quoted him. He's right, there is a clear jump to where we are now with uncharted.

[Immitis]

i got 28k dollars sittin in the bank. so im ready for whatever tendo throws at us. gonna get the nx and whatever games look coolio

hope we get a splatoon port or a sequel soon