Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@DefHalan
If it has SD card expansion on the portable side and USB ports for HDD expansion on the home console side? I don't see what the issue is. 32GB is a perfectly reasonable amount of storage to come in the box.

What's that port on the bottom of the gamepad for, anyway?

@skywake I don't know. (Just guessing) Maybe the tablet lays horizontally on top of the console and is inserted like a cartridge? A ridge poking up on the back of the console that has a plug for the TV connector? That way the power, headphone and cartridge slot would be in the front of the system. Almost like the Neo Geo X, but without the lid. And I imagine the handheld to be the same width as the console itself. Maybe you can even place it upside-down? With the screen facing down if you are not using it at all.

@DefHalan Well the Halo 5 updates aren't even over, the next one is next week and I could see more updates appearing at least until Halo Wars 2 comes out (maybe even longer).

@skywake 32 GB isn't enough. Lets say Smash 4 was ported to the NX, that is 13GB at least. Then we look at a 3rd Party Wii U game like Watch_Dogs, which got no DLC, and that is 15 GB. that leaves you with 4 GB but most of that will probably be taken up by OS. So you got 2 games, maybe a 3rd smaller game. Even with 128 GB sd card expansion, we are looking at 4x more storage. So we get 12 games on our system. That isn't very much. An at home External Hard Drive won't mean anything for a portable system, so I am not even going to consider that as an option.

With this current rumor, should we expect 3G? Being able to access online features without being connected to Wi-Fi?

@DefHalan I hope not. Don't know if you remember but Sony tried that trick with the PS Vita, and then about a year later it was scrapped. Maybe even less.

@FragRed Cell networks and price have changed a lot since then, also as long as they don't limit you to just AT&T that should help lol

Lol dude you post on here more than me and a bunch of other people. Don't play the hero.

@DefHalan I don't think it was pricing or network that was the reason it was scrapped. I think it was the fact nobody cared. it upped the price of the PS Vita by a significant amount, likely as it required an additional port for the sim card.

But also remember who Nintendo are targeting the consoles at, at least as far as adverts go - children and families with children. I know most children have a phone but I don't think Nintendo are going to go down that route. It is going to be tough enough trying to sell an additional product to parents for their children or family, especially the idea of maybe having more than one as is often how they market handhelds, without the fact they may also have to pay an additional monthly fee.

@FragRed Agreed 100%. I'm not seeing it either.

@FragRed The whole reason why I brought up 3G features is an analysis I listened to about how Nintendo could be targeting tablet users (different than phone users) because this device is going to be big and portable in a similar way to tablets. The brought up the idea to detach the controllers and level them at home to play the NX with touchscreen only, touchscreen buttons if needed. This also brought up the idea of playing Nintendo mobile games too.

So if we take this tablet idea just a little further we can look at media streaming features. Media streaming on a portable without 3G is a bit of a waste. You would have to be connected to Wi-Fi but with a portable system, that isn't always guaranteed. It also made me think about that Share button. I don't know if many people use Miiverse on their 3DS but when you aren't connected to Wi-Fi it is a bit of a pain to share your posts, having 3G would fix that.

I also don't think Sim card tech is expensive and data plans can be cheap. (as was pointed out to me before in this thread) Also, people are already paying subscription fees on Xbox and PlayStation, which could be similar to this optional feature. I don't care for the feature one way or the other as this system is sounding absolutely terrible in my opinion, but with the features I see, 3G isn't out of the question

@DefHalan I would put money on any 3G version being tied to one network provider, like the Vita did, like Apple did with the launch of the iPhone (here in the UK at least) and that would see a pricey monthly subscription and that's probably done because it's easier to get one provider on board then having to have try and get everyone creating sims and contracts specifically for the new device, as well as the payback they receive from said provider.

As far as the NX being a tablet goes, it may have tablet features but again I don't see it becoming a proper tablet for several reasons. Firstly I don't know if you know this but the sales in tablets (and this includes the iPad) have fallen off a cliff in the past two or three years. Everyone has one and unlike phones, don't generally upgrade them until absolutely necessary. And they certainly aren't going to bother getting what ever Nintendo puts out.

Then on top of that, Nintendo say they want a simple marketing message. The more this thing does the more complex that message becomes - the casual customer gets bored incredibly quickly unless you have a snappy message. All they want is to know immediately what it is and how it works in seconds.

Yes Xbox and PlayStation have a subscription model, but that's because you are paying for the ability to play multiplayer, have voice/group chats, get monthly Xbox Gold and PS Plus games and probably a tonne of other features Nintendo don't come close to doing, and probably still won't with the NX. And the market they are both chasing are very different to that of Nintendo. I doubt many people will want to pay any kind of subscription to play Mario Kart or Splatoon online, even if it is in the form of a 3G sim card. Just not happening.

Locking it to one provider would be a bad move, and I don't think they would have to. I don't know the details in that business, but I think they could just release the device compatible with that and you would have to go through your choice of provider. Kinda like how you can buy an unlocked phone or whatever and use it with any provider.

Nintendo wouldn't be targeting a tablet market with the NX, but it could have light tablet features. It could be their goal to get casuals in to their system while appealing to gamers, which isn't that their plan?

This does not make their marketing message confusing. There are so many devices on the market that use data plans and have optional data plans, that people know how that stuff works. Kids might not but adults do. The only thing they would have to do is make sure people know the 3G features are optional, which would be easy.

This wouldn't be a subscription through Nintendo. I was just referencing the subscription compared to having a data plan. People are willing to pay for services. Being able to play games anywhere, especially online games, could be a great selling point. If I could play Mario Kart online while out and about, I would be playing Mario Kart more often. If their message with the NX is, "play anywhere" which it seems like that is what they are going for, then 3G seems to help with that, especially for online features.

But Nintendo could completely fail this still. Even with 3G it doesn't make the console guaranteed to sell well. To the people that have been listening to me for a while, they probably know that I am a big fan of optional features that people can pay for or upgrade to at anytime, like 3G or a streaming box to stream games from a system to a different TV. This was just a wild idea I threw out when I started to hear the tablet ideas.

I would guess that it is hard to find a mobile chipsets that don't support 3g so it shouldn't be a problem for Nintendo to add it. I think they should give the option.

WiFi only SKUs for tablets are far more popular than mobile SKUs. I've heard a few really good explanations why that's the case and I suspect the same would be true for portable gaming machines.

Reason 1: Tablets don't usually leave the house
In most western countries the vast majority of houses have a home internet connection. xDSL or fibre usually. Shared via WiFi across their devices. People buy tablets as a coffee table laptop. Their smartphone is the thing they put in their pocket/bag as they walk out the door in the morning.

Reason 2: Tethering exists
Every modern smartphone allows you to create a WiFi hotspot. It's a standard feature. And because your phone is always in your pocket? You don't need a second plan/sim for your tablet

Reason 3: Data
The main advantage of a tablet over your phone is the large screen. The ability to watch a movie or TV show from Netflix on something that's not a <5" screen. That's pretty much the reason they exist. With mobile data plans as they are? You're not doing those things on a mobile network. I don't know about elsewhere but here in Australia most mobile plans sit at around 5GB/mo. That's not enough for video streaming, the one major thing that tablets can do that phone fail at.

For the NX all of those would apply. For slightly different reasons.

On the other hand, adding the ability to use 4g would be pretty cheap if they are already using mobile chipset. It is never a bad thing to give people options. Being able to use certain games online on the go can be a plus for some.

Well sure, and I reckon some people would get that SKU. I just don't see how it makes any sense. I'm just thinking about it rationally here with the plans that are available to me. Maybe it's different in other regions but I'm not so sure. And I think most people if they looked at the numbers (and people will) would come to the same conclusion.

Just as an example. Say this NX mobile plan is the cheapest mobile data plan you can get. Because it's just for online games. You're not downloading huge files or getting patches, you do that when you get home. So you can probably get away with the cheapest plan possible. That plan where I live is $50 for 5GB or 1year, whatever you hit first. Another alternative is a $15/mo plan that gives you 1GB/mo. Unused data on both of those plans rolls over. Not bad.

But if I have an NX odds are I'm at least somewhat into gadgets. Especially if I'm getting a mobile plan for it. So I have a smartphone. One of the cheapest mobile plans from that same carrier? $30/mo which gives you 3GB/mo + unlimited texts and more than enough calls. So why would I bother getting a second plan when I could tether the NX to my phone? Hell, if I really wanted to spend an extra ~$10/mo? I could upgrade to the $40/mo plan that gives you 6GB/mo.

And sure I could get the same SIM, run them on the same plan. And that'd be cool. But why would I bother with that either when I could tether the thing to my phone? Save a little bit of money on the cost of the NX in the first place.

I like the idea of a console supporting 3G (while we're at it, why not 4G already), but I don't see myself using it. Data plans are a well-known rip-off around here, most people are on 500 MB/month phones, unless Nintendo negotiated exclusive rights with a carrier to get a decent price on a tailor-made plan, it would be too much just for some on the go online games for most people.

@Skywake
Well, we have another system. My provider gives me 12GB/month + free calls and SMS for 38 dollar a month. To this subscription I can add a second SIM for something like $5 dollar a month. If I pay 11 dollar more I can download 50GB a month. So it is starting to be compelling over here (Europe).