Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

I imagine that mainly applied to third parties. I suspect first party has had kits for a year now, just to be sure they have enough titles for launch day and first year. Let the leaks begin.

hmm, I still can't see how this would work. Not in the way people seem to want it to work anyway. Three ways I can see this going....

1. This rumour is accurate but it's a portable system with an optional TV streaming accessory. Thing. The TV box is therefore relatively cheap and doesn't do much on its own.

2. The rumour is accurate and it is a home console but the portable system is almost like a modern version of the VMU. Only powerful enough for some VC titles and maybe a few simple games. Possibly something along the lines of streetpass and some other functions. But not an actual "portable system" in the sense we know it now.

3. The rumour is wrong and/or the sources they're talking to don't actually know and are just speculating. I'm putting my money on there being a lot of speculation given how the actual source of this reads.

Possibly 1, if they really use Zen(x86)/K12(ARM) + Arctic Islands (GPU) they could also do this:
-portable system with 5 Watt APU (as powerful as the Wii U, 1280 x 720 resolution)
-home system with 35 Watt APU (the same power consumption as the Wii U, could be as powerful as the XBox One, maybe even better if the new GPU architecture is more efficient)

The OS, CPU and GPU in both systems would share the architecture so games don't have to be recompiled with additional costs

@Mister_Wu:
I would reduce my expectations if I was you, such a device would be very expensive. No way that's going to happen.

They would be 2 devices, sold separately. First the 5 W handheld, then the 35 W home console system.

So what I have been saying all this time about the NX being offered in home and portable configurations, with the same technical capabilities and the same software finally seems to be exactly the reality, according to Nintendo Life:

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/10/sources_suggest_nint...

And, apparently, it's going to be a bit more powerful than expected.

After reading that rumour my prediction is that the NX will be:

-A hybrid home console/handheld.
-Equivalent in power to the PS4 when used as a home console.
-Similar style as the Wii U, in that it'll have a "gamepad" type device, giving it backward compatibility. This will be beneficial given how many skipped the Wii U and might want to try some of its games, it'll be beneficial for the big budget games for the Wii U like Xenoblade and Zelda that were clearly looking for bigger install bases. It might also be what they meant by "the NX isn't replacing the Wii U" because it'll mean more Wii U games could still be developed.
-The gamepad will be entirely detachable as a purely handheld device that will run games roughly equivalent to the Vita's capabilities.
-Developers will have the option of developing a game for both handheld and home console (with the console version offering graphical improvements), for just the handheld or for just the home console.

I think this will be positive in that it will unify their userbase so they have enough people capable of playing their bigger games to justify the kinds of budgets needed for games like Zelda U. The main negatives would be that it would once again be slightly confusing for casuals, who tend to need a kind of plug-and-play experience. There would also be a bit of redundancy in terms of the hardware as I assume the home console part will need to be entirely self-contained in terms of computing power. So people who are mostly interested in either just the console half or the handheld half will be facing a higher cost than they otherwise would.

Thoughts? Criticisms and any potential flaws?

As said above, I see 2 devices sharing the same OS, CPU and GPU architecture. The developer will just have to target the 2 devices in the games, with a "low quality" (720p resolution, lower quality AA and so on) mode when played on the handheld device and a high quality (1080p resolution, higher quality AA and so on) mode when played on the home console. This would simplify development enormously and it's already done on PC in an even more complex way.

Regarding backward compatibility, the Wii U uses a peculiar IBM CPU architecture, I would at most see the original Wii U processor added to the home console and used in a Wii U mode in the same way as the Wii mode is used on the Wii U.

@skywake: To me it sounds like ''people familiar with the matter'' are expecting Nintendo to be handing out dev kits at this point, because they expect the NX to launch next year. There's no evidence provided at all. The author of the article might as well have started the article with ''My uncle who works at Nintendo...''

With the new info I'm guessing it's somekind of gaming karaoke device, the mobile units are clearly microphones.

This is the one bit of that article people are reading into, just so it's very clear what was and wasn't said. And by who. Just before you all get too excited about what hasn't actually been said....

The exact shape of the NX hardware isn’t yet clear. People familiar with the development plans said Nintendo would likely include both a console and at least one mobile unit that could either be used in conjunction with the console or taken on the road for separate use. They also said Nintendo would aim to put industry-leading chips in the NX devices, after criticism that the Wii U’s capabilities didn’t match those of competitors.

1. The "exact shape" isn't clear
2. They were talking to "people familiar with", this was second hand information
3. They qualified what they said by saying what was "likely" and what they would "aim" for

This is a hint of what it is, possibly. It could also be a wild goose chase. But the one thing I'll add is that even if this is all 100% accurate? That doesn't mean they're going to go down your wishlists. There's quite a lot of wiggle room in what is being said here. I wouldn't pencil anything in until we get some leaks which involve prototype systems or internal trailers featuring the hardware.

Yes.

I made a blog with a silly guess on the NX...I'll post it here eventually. But long story short, it's going to be super expensive and what everyone wanted in a Nintendo system. Obviously it won't happen, but I kinda wished it did...(mainly to teach the whiners a lesson)
EDIT: Here ya go, have fun. lol
"Probably won't happen, but I want it to be like this so everyone will shut up about Nintendo and let them do their own thing. lol

NX will be a powerhouse, matching or exceeding the power of One or PS4. It'll be super expensive and even have a Deluxe version like with the Wii U, controllers and accessories will be expensive and will most likely require an external hard drive for some stupid reason. (Nintendo brand, also expensive, lol)

There will be little to no first party games since they'll be focusing completely on 3rd party, no backwards compatibility with Wii U games be needing to be repurchased through the NX eShop (requires subscription....also expensive). Also, BluRay drive and 4K and 3D support.

So yeah, no more cheap Nintendo who's always behind the times...it's what everyone has always wanted.

P.S: MAKE A FREAKIN' HOME CONSOLE MONSTER HUNTER CAPCOM!!!! Wii U or NX, I don't care at this point. Also, make it expensive. (...please don't, lol)"

NX is gonna be powerful.... wipes tear Might even be a powerful hybrid console... wipes another tear LET'S GOOOOOO!!!!

That actually sounds pretty fantastic. Not even joking. Backwards compatibility has never and will never be a selling point for me. It was never a "thing" for the better-selling home consoles until the PS2, and for someone as old as me, my PS2 was already my 5th or 6th home console - in other words, I was used to not having it, and it was purely a luxury that, quite honestly, I rarely ever made use of.

Your "argument" about "little to no first party games" due to a focus on third-party enticement is pretty funny; it reveals how naïve you are.

"So yeah, no more cheap Nintendo who's always behind the times...it's what everyone has always wanted." Yea, it is what I've wanted for the last decade or so, and I'm willing to bet (based on sales numbers of the Wii U and the middling/poor software attachment rate of the Wii) that it's what quite a lot of other people want, as well.

You also don't seem to know much about external hard drives.

According to rumors the NX devkits suggest that it's more powerful than ps4 and xbone

Apparently one of the software demos included is so heavy on polygons that even current-gen Intel CPU are struggling to run it at 60 frames per second.

Let's do this, Nintendo!!!!!!

Sources???

There are no real sources for any of this. it is all just rumor and wishes. lol