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Nintendo Switch (Nx) Reveal (10/20/16)

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Yeah, I've been having a chat with my buddies. This product leaves for a lot of potential, but also a lot of questions:

- Did they finally get rid of motion controls?
- Will there be any form of backwards compatibility (or cross-compatibility with current 3DS games?)
- Assuming there will be a virtual console, will they finally have a way to import your purchases that are on your Nintendo account to another console so you don't have to buy Super Mario Bros (for example) for the 7th time?
- Along those lines, will they finally have a good online system?
- Battery Life?

The side controllers look interesting to play with, but look tiny in the hands of a person when trying to use it as a standalone controller (holding it like a wiimote)

I wonder what the launch lineup will be outside of Zelda: BotW
 
I wonder what the launch lineup will be outside of Zelda: BotW

What does their lineup have to be besides that?! :D Honestly there are a few that you can probably expect (Smash Bros, Mario Kart etc) but with the departure from flagship games that we saw in the Wii U even those arent a certainty. Id like to see another Metroid title myself. Perhaps another Fzero?

I kind of feel like Nintendo has to really come through with this console or they are reaching EOL status. They will obviously generate revenue just from BotW (which keeps getting pushed back.... 6 months ago they said December 2016!) but a 1 game console is slightly :nuts:
 
This makes me happy after the power they stuffed into the Shield K1.

I think this makes it a certainty that the Switch/NX/whatever it is will be poorly developed for -atleast at launch time. The hardware is capable enough, but ARM typically (IMHO) is just missing something from the familiar experience of a desktop or console. While that was refreshing at first, I find myself wishing for that missing and familiar "it quality" from the other types of system.

That is not all though; Ive been reading about the NX for about a year and a half now (sporadically Ill admit, but Im as curious as any other Nintendo fan) and havent seen any indication of the headlione featuers like the tablet or detachable sides of the gamepad. This in and of itself isnt damning, but the speed of ARM development kind of is. There are improvements being made in ARM SoC seemingly on a daily basis. I havent looked into the specs for this particular SOC but I will bet it is younger than the idea for the NX/Switch. In my mind this says that there was years of development that went into a different console/games and then Nintendo dumped that project and ported their games over to this newer/younger SOC. This doesnt neccesarily mean doom for the NX/Switch as a console, but I think it might be the reason for pushing back BotW and perhaps other games might be playing catchup as well.

The upside is that we may see a potentially larger ppol of developers for an ARM based platform? Just spitballing folks :)
 
I think this makes it a certainty that the Switch/NX/whatever it is will be poorly developed for -atleast at launch time. The hardware is capable enough, but ARM typically (IMHO) is just missing something from the familiar experience of a desktop or console. While that was refreshing at first, I find myself wishing for that missing and familiar "it quality" from the other types of system.

That is not all though; Ive been reading about the NX for about a year and a half now (sporadically Ill admit, but Im as curious as any other Nintendo fan) and havent seen any indication of the headlione featuers like the tablet or detachable sides of the gamepad. This in and of itself isnt damning, but the speed of ARM development kind of is. There are improvements being made in ARM SoC seemingly on a daily basis. I havent looked into the specs for this particular SOC but I will bet it is younger than the idea for the NX/Switch. In my mind this says that there was years of development that went into a different console/games and then Nintendo dumped that project and ported their games over to this newer/younger SOC. This doesnt neccesarily mean doom for the NX/Switch as a console, but I think it might be the reason for pushing back BotW and perhaps other games might be playing catchup as well.

The upside is that we may see a potentially larger ppol of developers for an ARM based platform? Just spitballing folks :)

Having seen what a K1 can do... this Switch will be fast.
 


And the current 3rd parties that are developing for the Switch (granted, I imagine the list was similar for the WiiU and plummeted off due to poor sales, so a grain of salt is needed here:)

ZYuutZR.jpg
 
the list was similar for the WiiU and plummeted off due to poor sales,

This is kind of what I was trying to get at with my earlier post. Development for this console is older (presumably) than the SoC, then the most popular games were likely ported to the new architecture (speculation). It just has the feel that development is being moved to a more "on the fly" setting and I don't like what that could mean. What this is going to mean in the future is more less original development and more ports of "guaranteed money making" games.
 
Rather than comparing it against the AMD/x86 consoles/PCs, it might be better seen as a higher end mobile gaming device. As others have said, the K1 tablet has a fair bit of punch behind it and I got one myself earlier this year. I'm impressed what you can get out of it. Don't try to compare it to x86 architecture but look at the results. The biggest concern I have is I read somewhere it uses a new nvidia API. Would this put developers off that they have to learn yet another interface? How much could they leverage off existing mobile platform programming experience?

Personally I'd love to see 3DS compatibility in some form. As much as I like the 3DS games I have, I feel that system sorely needs a resolution refresh even if just upsampled for older games.

On this being make or break for Nintendo, I think at worst if it flops they would get out of the hardware side and can still continue as a software only company.
 
Rather than comparing it against the AMD/x86 consoles/PCs, it might be better seen as a higher end mobile gaming device. As others have said, the K1 tablet has a fair bit of punch behind it and I got one myself earlier this year. I'm impressed what you can get out of it. Don't try to compare it to x86 architecture but look at the results. The biggest concern I have is I read somewhere it uses a new nvidia API. Would this put developers off that they have to learn yet another interface? How much could they leverage off existing mobile platform programming experience?

Personally I'd love to see 3DS compatibility in some form. As much as I like the 3DS games I have, I feel that system sorely needs a resolution refresh even if just upsampled for older games.

On this being make or break for Nintendo, I think at worst if it flops they would get out of the hardware side and can still continue as a software only company.

From what I have watched/read. The slot that is on the tablet/console part where the game slides in is a different size than a normal 3DS cart, so unless there was a wonky adapter or something it wouldn't work. The device also doesn't do two-screen functionality thus not allowing for proper functions of a 3DS/2DS. And we also have 0 clue if the screen is a touch screen.


http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/what-we-now-know-about-the-nintendo-switch/


"The dock is not the main console unit of Nintendo Switch": Nintendo confirmed to IGN that "the main unit of Nintendo Switch is the unit that has the LCD screen." The dock's main functions are TV output and power/charging, Nintendo said, which suggests the dock won't actually have much in the way of additional hardware to enable higher-fidelity play on an HDTV.

The Switch can't play physical 3DS or Wii U games: This Destructoid translation of a Japanese Famitsu story confirms that the Switch will not play physical games from Nintendo's most recent consoles. We're not holding our breath that downloadable 3DS or Wii U titles will be supported, either, due to the internal architecture changes to the system's processor. Older, downloadable Virtual Console titles aren't out of the question, though.

Switch comes with two Joy-Con controllers (left and right) to snap onto that LCD screen, according to that Famitsu translation. Nintendo wouldn't comment on whether the TV dock or Joy-Con "grip" handles come in the standard package, which strongly suggests that there could be lower-priced bundles that don't include these "optional" accessories.

Skyrim and NBA 2K are not actually confirmed for the system: Despite being the only third-party titles to feature heavily in the Switch trailer, Bethesda and 2K Games both told Polygon they couldn't confirm whether either title was actually in development for the Switch. That's especially odd, since developers like Ubisoft and Square Enix have already announced their intentions to make specific games for the system.

Switch will support Unreal Engine 4: This isn't a huge surprise, since Epic Games was listed as a partner in yesterday's trailer, but it's still nice to get direct confirmation via tweet. While we're at it, the system has Unity game engine support as well (much like pretty much every other device with a microprocessor).

Switch will support Nintendo Amiibo figures: Nintendo tells IGN that your figures will be recognized by compatible games on the new console.
 
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this article lists launch at March of next year, as does Nintendo Home Page. I just thought Id say it straight out for anyone who missed it. What I want to know is if anyone has run across the possible price for system/games/system + games? I was planning on picking up a Wii U later this year, but if prices will be anywhere near competitive I may have to wait for the Switch.
 
I would imagine the price of the system to be at/around $300 ($299.99). Maybe $349, but seeing how the vast majority of their systems were almost always $199 and they jumped the WiiU up to $300 at launch, I can't see them going above that marker. I'm wondering (and doubting) if the 'Switch Pro Controller' comes with the system (the one that looks like a 360 controller).
 
That price would make the decision difficult to make actually, but you also bring up a fair point about the peripherals. Remember when these decisions were simple? Snes or Sega? :)
 
That price would make the decision difficult to make actually, but you also bring up a fair point about the peripherals. Remember when these decisions were simple? Snes or Sega? :)

Oh so true....

IDK Ill probably have a peak at it as it develops, but I have not purchased an nintendo product since my original Wii the year after it came out.
 
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