Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@cwong15
I'll say it again, I was pretty convinced that the NX would be a portable. It made quite a lot of sense at the time. However as soon as they announced that the new Zelda is coming to it? And even more recently that the game would run better on the NX? I think it's all but confirmed the NX is a traditional home console.

Now what exact form it takes, what its specs are and what the selling point is are all up for debate. But at this point you're kidding yourself if you're not ruling out a whole bunch of stuff. Portables, microconsoles, HDMI dongles and so on.

@skywake When did they say Zelda would run better on NX?

I don't remember them saying the nx version would run better or indicating it. I do remember someone posting a video of popin, detail missing sometimes and assuming that this was the wii U stretched to its limits while nx would probably be better.

However, I do not think it's reasonable to suggest that the new system will have in any way an inferior experience to the old system. That would be silly for their own business.

I get the reasoning there. I do think NX is more hardware agnostic though, from a platform / architecture point, where hardware will slowly scale up and improve in shorter iterations until you end up with some newer stuff being incompatible for your hardware. That would make it home system now, portable after, and move with technology over time.

One game library, multiple form factors is still my bet. But the nx as far as we know it now indicates a system that improves upon the wii U in a way significant enough to make it some form of home system.

I'll say just this one more thing about the NES Classic: remember all that speculation about the NX going with cartridge media, based on a supplier getting a big order of ROM chips? Well, maybe those ROM chips are for this NES Classic to hold those 30 games. Another rumor bites the dust?

I do think it would be cool to have the NX go with solid state media, though.

It is interesting what the NES mini does to some of those earlier rumors. Like the one about something from nintendo selling a ridiculous amount. Forgot what it was, like 290 million by the end of the fiscal year or something? Perhaps the Mini was the subject of that forecast

I've lost track of the main rumours left but the main one that comes to mind is Ubisoft saying the NX will bring the casuals back.

@Grumblevolcano
Honestly I don't remember where I heard it but it's hard to imagine it not being the case. I can't imagine why they'd bother to put the big Wii U game on the NX only for the NX to end up being a portable system. Doesn't really make a lot of sense if you ask me.

@skywake yeah plus the portable would have to be pretty powerful to run the game.

@Project_Dolphin they want a short reveal and release window Like the rest of the world does nowadays.

@Project_Dolphin in fact a handheld would make that statement about imitation make even less sense. They're the only one in the dedicated handheld space now, no one to really copy them. Tbh I think that was just a proof excuse to not show it yet.

@Project_Dolphin I do think they will give us a reveal date next week for the financial thing. I mean if it's really coming out in March final devkits need to be out before September. They're probably out now as we speak. Games should be ready for a September reveal. 6 months is enough time.

@BiasedSonyFan
The question I'd ask is what advantage to they get out of announcing it early? It's not like it takes a long time for information to spread these days. I mean think about it, this thing is launching early next year. What do they lose if they choose not to announce it until October/November? Do you think people won't know what it is?

See the reason in the past they used to have a long gap between announcement and release was because that's the speed information travelled. You'd have to wait for retailers to get wind and then put out catalogues telling people to pre-order. You'd have to have the thing in every gaming magazine. You had to have that one fanboy in a friend/family circle who read the right sites telling people about it.

Even maybe ten years ago when the Wii was announced. I first heard about it as a kind of rumour thing from someone who was a bigger fanboy than I was. Then I saw it was going to be called the "Wii". Then I watched the E3 2006 press conference and learnt about the motion controls. Then even half a year after that when I got one? It was a hit and all of my friends were hyped about it. But none of my family knew it even existed. It was a word of mouth thing.

These days Nintendo puts out a tweet saying "NES Mini, 30 games, 11 November, $59US RRP" and just about everyone knows about it. Within maybe a few hours or something. These days if something like the Wii was announced it would be all over facebook and twitter.

I still want and think it should be shown soon. If it's really out in March games should be almost ready to show.

@BiasedSonyFan do they need to tell the public what it is yet? Can they not wait to tell them?

@BiasedSonyFan That didn't really address my qustion. Why does Nintendo need to tell the public what it is yet?

@BiasedSonyFan It's PR speak. If their next platform brings something new to the table then they would be selling themselves short calling it a home console, because everyone has preconceived views of what this is. Last thing they want is for people to think Nintendo are releasing a Playbox 360 with gamepad and they get a Puu X with wibblyvibrator.

Another thing is there will be less hype built up over the NX if revealed later. This allows the Wii U to have one last holiday season with the last remaining titles being released for it. If NX had a full reveal to the public now, the WiiU would have a worse Holiday than it would now. It was enough for them to tell us March.

That is my point

I think the next system will benefit from a "short engagement" so to speak. Nintendo doesn't have the presence nor the conceptual simplicity (not since the Wii) it once did to be able to put a year or more between hardware reveal and hardware sale. Mainstream awareness just has shorter memory for Nintendo these days because 1. The sheer amount of devices that can now play a video game in modern times, 2. The gaming industry no longer produces the kind of content that is by and large comparable to Nintendo's own output, nor is compatible with Nintendo's most consistently successful hardware, even today: handhelds.

@DefHalan they have to show us the darn thing someday.

I swear I think you guys want the thing to be delayed.