Topic: Do you feel like the Switch is going to be a let down?

I honestly think it depends on how you use the device. If it's your only gaming machine, it has the potential to be a letdown at least initially with the soft launch lineup. However, I feel like most of us already have a handheld or another console so we can jump in and out of the experience.

For me personally, I'm going to have to hold back so I don't beat Zelda within the first week and then don't have anything to play until Mario Cart.

@Bigj0110
"All I'm saying again is a lot of people consider Nintendo consoles to be weaker. Also people that I know at least consider games that are realistic, and gritty looking etc to be considered hardcore games. They consider Nintendo more for kids or old school gamers."

Honestly, the people who think like that are going to be too close minded to buy Nintendo console no matter how powerful it is. Because if they think a game is automatically less fun or can't entertain them sufficiently simply because it's running on less powerful hardware than an arbitrary standard set by another console, then they're probably going to be of a mind to stick with what's "popular" or "cool" anyways. I don't recall anyone avoiding PS2 for being the weakest console of its generation. Because power was never an issue. It just became a convenient excuse for these people once PlayStation became the most powerful console, and then all of a sudden anything less powerful was not worth their time (even though they had no problems with PS being the graphically inferior console the generation prior).

And whether or not it includes storage is kind of a irrelevant. I remember PS3 and 360 had 12gb HDD models. You simply bought a larger one and expanded. It's no different here, it's just a different approach is all. It doesn't matter if it includes a lot of storage or if you buy external storage yourself, as long as it has the capacity for it. With the other two consoles, installations are mandatory. I had to upgrade my 500gb PS4 in the first 6 months. And then my 2TB capped out after a year and a half. That doesn't seem any different than Switch. And if you buy physical games you'll probably get more mileage out of a Switch with microSD than you will a PS4 with upgraded internal drive.

And as far as the hardware goes, Switch is the most powerful handheld ever created... that's not dated. That's cutting-edge. The reason they likely did not include 1080p screen it's because that would mean games would have to run at a higher resolution which would require even more processing power which would tank the battery life even further, and short of selling a device with one and a half hours battery life or jacking it up to $350, they made the reasonable compromise at 720p which looks basically as good as 1080p when you're holding it in front of your face, and it allows the battery life to at least be reasonable.

You sound like you're of the mindset, or at least the people you know are, that the only thing that matters is power and having the most of it. But games are about so much more than that. We've reached a point in the progress of technology where games can look absolutely beautiful without having to push the extreme limits- although I would argue Switch is pushing the limits quite a bit given the size of the unit and the fact it's in between a Wii U and Xbox One- it's a marvel of modern engineering.

And as far as those big AAA games go, they just don't sell as well on Nintendo. It's a matter of lack of demand, not lack of sufficiently capable hardware. It sounds to me (and forgive me for making this assumption) like you might be in an environment such as a high school or college where a lot of people don't think for themselves. Trust me when I say it's a big world out there and a lot of people do think for themselves and a lot of people do care about more than just having the most powerful console. They care about power only to the extent the games look good (which they do) and they also care about battery life, and they also care about functionality, and they also care about versatility, and are open minded to games that are fun and having a console with a wide berth of tools to provide a varied lineup of experiences (you won't see Arms or Pikmin on any other console, because they're just not capable of providing that kind of experience).

There's always going to be a market for those big AAA games and for the people who care about nothing other than a specs race... but those people were never even under consideration. This is for the rest of the world who cares about all the other stuff

@JaxonH when I read posts like this I really feel the need for a like-button! I wholeheartedly agree with you.

Do I feel the Switch is going to be a let down?, it all depends on what your perception of the Switch is. If you look at is as just a home console then compared to the PS4 & Xbox 1 it is under powered and Nintendo haven't competed in the graphical arms race since the GameCube and it's quite clear that they have no intention of competing with Sony and Microsoft in that respect. Also would another console that's similar to the PS4 and Xbox 1 sell any better than the GameCube or Wii U?

If you look at it as just a portable console, then it's the most powerful portable console ever with controllers that detach for local multiplayer. Nintendo are experts in the portable market and know how to keep the games coming and to be honest the battery life is the best you can expect.

If you look at the Switch as what it is a hybrid console then you realise that Nintendo are trying to give you the both of best worlds a home console that also enables you to play it's games where ever you want. It's a neat idea and I'm hoping it catches on.

I know some expectations were to be nearly as powerful as the Xbox, but in such a small from factor as a portable there would have been overheating issues i suspect, the battery life would be abysmal and the price astronomical.

I expect Nintendo to fully support the Switch with their own games, I suspect we will get the franchises that are on the 3DS come across to the Switch (Fire Emblem already confirmed). Some AAA third party support near the end of the year just to test the waters as it were. It supports modern game engines which is a bonus. It won't get all AAA third party games but i suspect the games it does get will be fun and hopefully make the Switch an enjoyable experience.

It's clear the market audience the Nintendo Switch was targeted towards is the Japanese, which makes sense as they're showing to be the most interested. Living in the UK, all I'll ever hear is DOOM articles and hatred towards Nintendo. Different markets look at systems with different viewpoints.

@JaxonH
Excellent post.

I look at it this way, simply: YES, the "power" argument has been a thing in video game since the beginning. But in 2017, games have reached such a high level of graphical fidelity (very close to realistic) that the ceiling is now only a few feet away. And once you reach photo-realism? Where do you go from there? What more could you possibly want?

Personally, I find more enjoyment in art direction rather than pure power. Sometimes that means lots of power IS needed, admittedly, but more often it means it doesn't. Some of my fondest gaming memories are from games that didn't exactly push the power envelope (FF Tactics, Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley, Overwatch, Nintendo's stuff, etc.). I know those "pure power" graphic games will always be out there on my PC if I want them, but I think the Switch represents the future of where entertainment in general is going: not being chained to a specific location or screen.

It's going to take a LONG time to break through to those gamers who stubbornly insist they NEED an Xbox or PS-brand machine to do "real" gaming. It's going to take them being on buses, trains, and planes seeing other people playing awesome games on the Switch. It's going to take them seeing friends having fun with Splatoon or Mario Kart to realize that they're not "kiddie" games just because people aren't dying on the screen every moment. It's going to take stellar reviews of Zelda for them to realize that Nintendo can and does create "deep" and engrossing experiences.

Perfect phrase to descrive what gaming should be (and is to me too). Gaming is about love for experiences, feelings, imagination. Gaming is NOT about tech numbers

@Therad But they could at least make it full HD 1080P, because I read not all games are going to be full HD. I mean, I wish they would make it 4K, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I don't think it will be a letdown. As long as there are enough great GAMES for it. That's what matters

@Bigj0110
4k for consoles is STILL a ways off, even with Microsoft's Scorpio. That will be the only console CAPABLE of natively processing a game in 4k, but already people are point out things like frame rate. Sure, Scorpio can "do" 4k, but at what cost? Are you going to be playing Gears 16 in 4k at 20 fps? Beautiful, but like flipping through a scrapbook? No thanks.

PS4 Pro and MOST games that will come out on Scorpio won't be native 4k - they'll be upscaled as best as the developers can make happen, but in all practicality, we're still talking only HD with these consoles.

And yes, maybe Switch's launch titles won't run in full 1080p, but I have no doubt future titles will when developers learn the architecture inside and out. There is less room for squeezing power these days, but there is still room.

You do realize many games on the other consoles doesn't do 1080p. Why would Nintendo hold a higher standard than the competition? If people are so concerned by resolution* they should stop being cheapskates and only buy gaming PC's.

It also would solve most of the complaints console buyers have, such as backwards compatibility, bad online services, too few games etc.

Higher resolution isn't even the best way to increase graphics. It just happens to be a hard metric which is easy to compare.

Right now, I think I would enjoy the Switch more than I ever have my Wii U. What Nintendo currently has set up for 2017 looks far better than any single year the Wii U saw, so I do feel optimistic in that regard. My concern is how Nintendo will develop for the Switch outside of what we know now and the frequency of their releases. I also wonder if they truly view the Switch as the successor to both the Wii U AND 3DS, as they did advertise the Switch as the culmination of their console and handheld lines in that big presentation in January yet apparently they're still considering a 3DS successor that isn't the Switch so that has me a little concerned. What I expect from the Switch is for it to be the system where I go for all Nintendo gaming, with the exception of mobile releases, for at least the next 4-5 years, and if it is treated by Nintendo as that centralized platform, it'll be very hard for the Switch to be a let down as it should end up quite stacked in terms of quality, 1st party offerings alone.

As of right now, I'd say the Switch is going to be a success based on the buzz. I think it has the potential to be as big as the Wii, but I'm not confident in Nintendo to get it there.

You're expecting UHD resolution from a USD$300 device that's also designed to work as a portable? Get outta here. Yes, it is likely to be possible one of these years, but this is not it. PS4/Bone games were still struggling to get games running natively at 1080p. Since UHD resolution is exactly four times greater than Full HD (3840x2160 vs. 1920x1080), developers will be able to pass off 1080p games as "4K" simply by upsampling the 1080p image by four exactly without increasing the detail/quality of the image (unlike the transition from 720p to 1080p or SD to HD, some distortion of the image would occur whilst upscaling a lower resolution image; with 1080p to 2160p, the image can be upscaled simply by multiplying each pixel by 4).

I imagine that they'll use the same scummy practice that the major studios are using with their Ultra HD Blu-ray releases, where 2K intermediates are upscaled and passed off as "4K", with relatively few of these overpriced discs containing footage that has been natively transferred at the advertised resolution.

The games will deliver as usual, Nintendos own games i mean. So from that perspective it won't be a let down for me personally.

It can be a let down from the hardware side, if it's unreliable, like joycons break easily, screen dies and so on.

@Guovssohas I don't think you need to worry about that.Nintendo have a good history of making their hardware durable and long lasting.Yes there's been some instances I can think of like the Wii not reading Smash Bros Brawl and needing to be sent in to be cleaned (that could technically be blamed on me for smoking in the same room) ,or N64 analogue sticks not being so durable and I'm sure there will be some who have just been unlucky and bought defect hardware.But considering how long Nintendo have been in the business and how many consoles they've put out,their record is pretty amazing especially when compared to the competitions.

@OorWullie
I remember the good ol' Gameboy in the toilet experiment lol

Nintendo's hardware hasn't been terribly robust for a few generations now. My Wii stopped reading discs after a few years. Had problems with a Wii U GamePad. Multiple hinge, trigger, and button issues with various NDS/3DS models.

Compare that to my PS Vita, which has had zero durability issues since 2013.

With that said, hardware problems are always a potential risk, so there's no sense in worrying about them. Just make sure everything works right when you get your machine, hold on to your receipt, and be careful not to drop it.

@Ralizah
That's all anecdotal, though. To continue the trend, I've had zero issues with my launch-day Wii U. Battery is fine, gamepad has held up remarkably through bumps and bruises. Connections and ports all work just like the day I bought it (wish I could say the same about my HDTV... grrrrr).

My Xbox One power source failed after just about three years.
I had a PS2 that fell, I kid you not, roughly 1 foot onto the floor when a cord got yanked. Thing was busted up like a Mack truck ran over it. Had to buy an entirely new one.
Same thing happened to my 360 (I guess I'm terrible at putting things on shelves ha), but it took the hit like a trooper and worked just fine.

Different for everyone.

It will be a letdown for Nintendo if they really do think it'll reach Wii levels of success.

For me? It'll do what it's supposed to, play the couple of Nintendo games per year that I buy while I do the majority of my gaming on PS4/PC. At least until we can hack it, then it'll get more use from me.

So Nah, it'll do exactly what I expect it to: put out a handful of fun games over its 4 or 5 year life.