[Megathread] Nintendo Switch

[Northern Goblin]

Except the lighting looks like the remaster and not the original.

[Rennadrel]

Well its cartridge based. Is it possible that the cards are going to do more?

I don't mind cartridges personally. It's still the most ideal method for portable games, and load times would be a non issue for even the most robust games. And 3DS cartridges have a capacity of 4GB currently, so the odds are a new iteration will have double or triple that capacity.

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The original post of him mentioning the whole home console thing was:

'Also, why on earth are they positioning this as a "home console"? This is absolutely a handheld console that can function as a secondary home console. What the shit is even going on, Nintendo.'

He then elaborated by saying it isn't a home console because the power is shit, which I find a rubbish argument. Even if you measure the Switch with power, you'd find that, with Nintendo standards, it is a console, as its capabilities far exceed that of the 3DS and are above the Wii U. A new Nintendo handheld has never outclassed the home console of the previous generation. But as I said, bollocks reasoning.
I'm also not sure what he expected after Nintendo released the DS, the Wii, the 3DS and the Wii U, all of which are underpowered because of some gimmick...

Yes, because power clearly is the definition of a system seller, and is the reason why the DS and Wii both sold over 100 million units each...

[zito]

Except the lighting looks like the remaster and not the original.

and it would have to run at a min of 1080p for bethesda to even consider it being on the switch. It's highly likely it'll be 30 fps locked though but who knows. We don't really know how powerful this thing is (nintendo could surprise us)

[Danner]

It's not quite a handheld. I can't put this in my pocket and play it on the bus. Well, maybe I could play it on the bus, but I'd need a backpack to store it. And even then it is all down to battery life. The last console I ever had with a Tegra GPU on it was a PSP Go, and it had an abysmal battery life (as in: 3 hours as new, 20 minutes after a few years). Literally unusable without a permanent power supply. I ended up replacing it with a Nintendo DS, later 3DS, which I still enjoy during that bus ride.

It's not quite a console either. Never had a Wii U, but it sure looks like a Wii U tablet with gimmicky detachable controllers. If Nintendo wants to compete with PS4 or Xbox they need some powerful hardware, and you just can't fit that into a tablet with a limited battery life. Not that nintendo ever tried to compete with Sony or Microsoft - it's really their thing that they don't. But that means this is going to float or sink based exclusively on the nintendo-exclusive games. Which is really the part of Nintendo that truly know what they are doing IMO.

So basically: show me the games! Zelda is the only one I see right now.
Yet everyone is talking about skyrim. You can and should play that on the PC, just saying....

[Tech614]

Except the lighting looks like the remaster and not the original.

Looks nothing like it. Foilage is non existent, the icy areas are nothing but bland. If you played the 360 version you would know that shit looks identical to it.

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and it would have to run at a min of 1080p for bethesda to even consider it being on the switch. It's highly likely it'll be 30 fps locked though but who knows. We don't really know how powerful this thing is (nintendo could surprise us)

lol, 30 fps lock. It won't even reach that on the Xbox One and PS4, expect the remaster to drop the frames like it's hot.

Bethesda console ports = lol.

[Northern Goblin]

and it would have to run at a min of 1080p for bethesda to even consider it being on the switch. It's highly likely it'll be 30 fps locked though but who knows. We don't really know how powerful this thing is (nintendo could surprise us)

The rumour mill going round on twitter currently is 1080p @ 60 and 30 @ 4k when docked.

Hard to get any tangible sources as Ninty won't release tech specs.

Edit: http://pastebin.com/UD1Vx9rf

This is what everyone is going off. First criticism I'd have is the 32gb hard drive. Best have micro SD support.

[mehow2g]

To Xbox and PS fans of you guys care about power so much why the hell are you playing on mediocre PC's, get a PC and be done with it.

There is literally no point in arguing the matter if that's what you want, get a ds4 or Xbox pad hook PC to TV and be done with it.

[Tech614]

The rumour mill going round on twitter currently is 1080p @ 60 and 30 @ 4k when docked.

Hard to get any tangible sources as Ninty won't release tech specs.

The screen is in all likelihood 720p, not 1080p. 1080p screen on something that small = games looking significantly worse for the sake of reaching native res, or being below native res and looking like ass. Also the 1080p screen would require 20-30% more battery power, on a system that is probably already going to struggle for it. You can bet your ass it's a 720p screen(at best, don't rule out 540p either I mean we're talking about the company who released a 240p handheld in 2011).

The dock adds no power at all, but the system itself could potentially output 4k for video streaming and what not that doesn't take much horse power.

[Northern Goblin]

The small screen is likely 720 capped for power purpose but the machine can push 1080, so it'll show when docked.

It's not that docking adds power, more that it's not limited like the mobile version.

[Eats Compost]

The Switch's design is straightforward and clever, which is exactly what they needed. Instead of reinventing the wheel (or creating a gimmicky square wheel, ala Wii U) they're just consolidating their strengths. They're making a beefy handheld with flexible but consistent controls, throwing in an elegant way to hook it up to a TV, and calling it a day. Now they can boast that their handheld hardware is actually good, and they don't have to worry about one of their two hardware branches fighting for software and development time. Where third parties are concerned, they can finally do straight-up ports - no more pressure to implement waggle or second display stuff. Sure, they still might need to tweak resource consumption, but it's still easier than what they've been doing so far.

Now, it all depends on the guts. That thing is gonna be somewhere in the broad range of 720p/30fps and 1080p/60fps. The question is, where will it end up? I think they'd be wise to err on the side of slightly more expensive hardware to make sure that it's definitely, 100% not going to face Wii U-level irrelevance.

[SirBeef]

As said, rubbish argument is still rubbish.

Someone may not consider it worthy of a spot in their home, but that doesn't mean it's not a home console and such statement should be given zero attention.

I admit that I think the presentation is too smooth, too clean, too bright, too fake. There's a whole battalion of fake smiling people in there, but the core of the message remains. It elevates the platform to a full multifunctional hybrid party and family solution and that has always been Nintendo's strength. I think this concept will create sales and will keep selling.

If it's actually functioning as smoothly, including that seamless transition between handheld and console, as it conveys in the trailer.

The moment it turns out that the modular design breaks, or fails, or has incredible bugs, the system will flat out get dropped and will be Nintendo's biggest disaster ever. I pray that they focus on build quality.

People need to stop separating home and handheld when it comes to the switch and for that manner, any future Nintendo console. Their plan is to unify their software development, so it appears all their consoles will be both for the relative future.

[Eats Compost]

The small screen is likely 720 capped for power purpose but the machine can push 1080, so it'll show when docked.

It's not that docking adds power, more that it's not limited like the mobile version.

I'd be very surprised if they went with that angle specifically to save power, especially given that it brings up the whole "developing for two standards" thing that annoys third parties so much.

[Northern Goblin]

The switch will also appeal to a constantly more mobile society. Combine this with wifi being everywhere and the options range from keeping the kids quiet on the road to organising impromptu gaming sessions with friends at your local bar.

It's taking console gaming out of the static lounge environment and saying "go play anywhere, any time" which is how they've dominated the hand held market for decades. (Even with their 244fps handheld that outsells their rival at a rate of almost 15:1)

[Tech614]

The small screen is likely 720 capped for power purpose but the machine can push 1080, so it'll show when docked.

It's not that docking adds power, more that it's not limited like the mobile version.

Except for when you wake up out of the fantasy world and realize the issue with the power is not just battery consumption, but cooling.

Not saying it won't do 1080p native in select games(like the Wii U did) but it's not going to be common at all. Look at that aliasing in the splatoon they showed and talk to me about 1080p lmao. It looks lower res then the 720p Wii U version even.

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I'd be very surprised if they went with that angle specifically to save power, especially given that it brings up the whole "developing for two standards" thing that annoys third parties so much.

It's not developing for 2 standards, and if that's what he was thinking he's so off base.

Docking it 100% is not going to make a game 1080p, but a very low demanding game like say Smash could potentially run at 1080p native on it. It will just be downsampled on the screen itself, not 2 versions just the same game... like if you played a ps4 game on a 720p TV.

[Northern Goblin]

I'd be very surprised if they went with that angle specifically to save power, especially given that it brings up the whole "developing for two standards" thing that annoys third parties so much.

Unless they've found a way to deliver 1080p at mobile and not have the battery life of a game gear, I'm going to bank on a dynamic way to scale down.

[Tech614]

Unless they've found a way to deliver 1080p at mobile and not have the battery life of a game gear, I'm going to bank on a dynamic way to scale down.

There is not any scaling involved. The fact you keep throwing out the 1080p buzzword when that zelda footage looks worse then the Wii U version is mind boggling. 1080p if it happens at all on the system will be a rarity and only happening in a handful of low demanding games...

[Vespian]

There is not any scaling involved. The fact you keep throwing out the 1080p buzzword when that zelda footage looks worse then the Wii U version is mind boggling. 1080p if it happens at all on the system will be a rarity and only happening in a handful of low demanding games...

The fact that no one has any stats and yet you rely on something as subjective as your own interpretation of the trailer is equally 'buzz' as using stats that no one has yet. Just stop. You can't trashtalk a console before you know what it will actually be.

Well.. you can't say anything about it really, besides the functionality of the design and even that remains to be seen.

[Northern Goblin]

A tech demo looked less than flawless, colour me shocked.

Pretty sure the whole point of that 3 minute release trailer was to show off the console's concept not selling titles that haven't got a release date (or in case of third party titles actual confirmation)

It was to show off the dual mobile/console gameplay, the flexibility of the controllers and the list of third party support that dwarfs anything they've achieved before.

For now we've a rumoured tech spec list, Nvidia talking it up and a lot of third parties that wouldn't normally touch a Nintendo console.

Meanwhile you're going on what, a hunch because a 3 minute trailer for a console still 6 months from launch doesn't look polished? Would you have preferred a bunch of game clips taken from a PC interspersed with a "game footage expected to look this good" in a corner with small text?

For what we know, which is very little, it's pure speculation. Heck we don't even have a price yet.

[Eats Compost]

Unless they've found a way to deliver 1080p at mobile and not have the battery life of a game gear, I'm going to bank on a dynamic way to scale down.

The Tegra is meant to be energy-efficient mobile GPU, right? I can't imagine that it'll be a terribly different situation to how a lot of tablets already manage power, and they're designed to be off the power source during most of their usage.

Besides, I don't think they're really under a lot of pressure to get battery life far above, say, between 2 or 3 hours of continuous play. Especially if they're smart enough to let it charge via USB, for the sake of public areas that provide them.

[Northern Goblin]

The power cost isn't from running the GPU, it's keeping it cool.

If the rumoured specs are right and it does have USB ports then allowing USB charge should be a no brainer for them, especially with the affordability of external power supplies.