[Megathread] Nintendo Switch

[Tech614]

People are really taking the handheld politics serious. LUL.

It's as if you're all too young to remember when the DS launched and Nintendo insisting it wasn't replacing the GBA or ending the Gameboy line.

Nintendo is just leaving their options open if the Switch fails, nothing to see here. The fact the Switch is getting a Fire Emblem main line game in 2018 says it all, the gamecube and Wii Fire Emblems where straight up bombs and Nintendo would never develop a home console FE game again if it wasn't intended to be a handheld game as well.

Nintendo is still trying to manufacture and sell the N3DS, they're not going to admit the Switch means to replace it any time soon. Expecting them to is laughable.

[Truhan]

People are really taking the handheld politics serious. LUL.

It's as if you're all too young to remember when the DS launched and Nintendo insisting it wasn't replacing the GBA or ending the Gameboy line.

Nintendo is just leaving their options open if the Switch fails, nothing to see here. The fact the Switch is getting a Fire Emblem main line game in 2018 says it all, the gamecube and Wii Fire Emblems where straight up bombs and Nintendo would never develop a home console FE game again if it wasn't intended to be a handheld game as well.

Nintendo is still trying to manufacture and sell the N3DS, they're not going to admit the Switch means to replace it any time soon. Expecting them to is laughable.

I certainly hope you're right. And also, I fucking loved the Wii and Gamecube Fire Emblems.

[Tech614]

I certainly hope you're right. And also, I fucking loved the Wii and Gamecube Fire Emblems.

Path of Radiance was good, Radiant Dawn was trash. Both where massive commercial flops though and had the franchise spiraling down to defunct status until Awakening revived it.

[zito]

I certainly hope you're right.

they won't drop their money maker for a chance the switch might pull through until they know for sure it'll do well

[Immitis]

they even still released the gameboy micro post ds launch.

unless they actually announce something nobody should view this as anything other than posturing from tendo.

im sure in a year or so we will get a cheaper 2ds esque version of the switch thats smaller and more portable to better market towards handheld fans.

they should either call it the switch micro or the gameboy switch.

[johnhoftb]

Path of Radiance was good, Radiant Dawn was trash. Both where massive commercial flops though and had the franchise spiraling down to defunct status until Awakening revived it.

Radiant Dawn only sucked because you flipped between teams up in between chapters 1, 2, and 3, almost every other chapter later in chapter 3 and all of chapter 4 up until end game. That plus the lack of an actual easy mode in the international version made me want to use Homebrew to give me a level up everytime I got XP.

The best thing about Radiant Dawn is the ability to use the Wii remote as an actual remote as a selectable control scheme.

[stellvia]

What do you guys think about the FE heading to mobile? Stuff like Kancolle, Granblue, etc. are popular atm, think it will have some staying power?

[Tech614]

What do you guys think about the FE heading to mobile? Stuff like Kancolle, Granblue, etc. are popular atm, think it will have some staying power?

Much like SMR I expect nothing more then a cheap cash in using existing 3DS assets in a simplified game. Can't say I'm excited about it in the least(or any of Nintendo's mobile projects for that matter).

[Chickat]

Does developing games with the same graphics get cheaper over time? Like do ps4 games now and ps4 games 5 years from now cost the same to develop with equal graphics? The reason im asking this is because im wondering if Nintendo does weaker systems to make developing games cheaper?

[Remilia]

Does developing games with the same graphics get cheaper over time? Like do ps4 games now and ps4 games 5 years from now cost the same to develop with equal graphics? The reason im asking this is because im wondering if Nintendo does weaker systems to make developing games cheaper?

Nope. Software design is all man power. There is no yield rate or anything like hardware.

[Chickat]

Nope. Software design is all man power. There is no yield rate or anything like hardware.

So a Super nintendo game would cost the same to make today. Gotcha. Thats troubling. Games are going to get way too expensive to make very soon. We may see games staying at around this gen graphically unless they are Super big budget AAA games.

[Remilia]

So a Super nintendo game would cost the same to make today. Gotcha. Thats troubling. Games are going to get way too expensive to make very soon. We may see games staying at around this gen graphically unless they are Super big budget AAA games.

If we're making a SNES game 1:1 with the same limitations and all, then it's probably going to be harder cause people have to learn to use assembly again, and fuck that. Graphics isn't really the end all of development cost. It's only a portion of it. It's not even just the individual aspects that matter. It's when you start putting everything together and see what explodes and what doesn't that starts to add a lot of time and cost.

[Usagi Senshi]

It really all depends on what this dedicated handheld is going to be. Will it be a smaller version of the tablet with the JoyCons built in? Will it be weaker than the Switch?

Nintendo is right now making sure they leave the option open for a 3DS successor just in case the Switch fails or at the very least doesn't live up to expectations.

You can almost guarantee that there will be a handheld only version of the Switch in 2018/19 with a smaller screen (480p-540p to save more battery life maybe) non-detachable controllers. I'd bet a winning lottery ticket on it! The way some things were stated when Iwata was still alive, implied multiple devices that played the same games.

Creating a different machine that didn't use the same game cards would be extremely stupid and just cannibalizing their potential sales overall.

Time will tell. /shrug

[Poppincaps]

So a Super nintendo game would cost the same to make today. Gotcha. Thats troubling. Games are going to get way too expensive to make very soon. We may see games staying at around this gen graphically unless they are Super big budget AAA games.

While Remilia's answer isn't completely wrong, it was a very simple answer to a complicated question. Improvements in software will cut down on dev time which in turn will either lower the amount the dev has to pay each individual or it means they have to hire less people overall. Also potential advances in programming languages would speed things up as well.

In addition, Nintendo tends to focus on a good looking art style over hyper realistic textures. Look at the textures on Mario in Super Mario Odyssey and then look at the textures on Ratchet and Clank on the PS4. Neither are crazy textures but Ratchet clearly has more going on. Talking about the SNES example, there's software that assists you in creating pixel art as well as animating it (which is very time consuming and costly).

If you're comparing Dragon Age: Inquisition to Mass Effect: Andromeda then yeah they probably cost about the same amount to make. But yeah, I'd say Nintendo's games certainly cost less to make on average than Sony's first party games.

[fangless]

Bout to freeze myself like Cartman did waiting for the original Wii

[Truhan]

Some thoughts from the guy that took that Wii U/N3DS/Switch comparison picture.

[Immitis]

things so far are looking very good for nintendo

[Truhan]

things so far are looking very good for nintendo

Would be more useful to have a chart for this Monday, after Super Bowl LI airs. I expect that red line to be even higher. I must say, getting a Super Bowl ad is probably going to be like giving them a second holiday season for sales. Of course, what really matters is how it sells in May/June. There's no doubt the Switch will have an incredible first two months at this point, what's important is if it can keep that momentum despite having a game library as desolate as a real life library.

[Chickat]

things so far are looking very good for nintendo

Where did you get that data? How many preorders does it have?

[Immitis]

Where did you get that data? How many preorders does it have?

its people who searched to preorder a switch. not hard evidence of actual preorders but it shows how many people are googling the switch compared to other consoles