Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Looks like there's a rumour that Switch is the Wii U replacement with a 3DS replacement coming much later.

I guess I haven't yet given my opinion on how successful I think this will be, so even though it may be a little early to tell, here are my thoughts:

I think this thing is such a great idea. Although it may depend on what kind of drawbacks it has, I confidently predict that its going to be hugely popular, especially with the causal market. I know its currently marketed towards a more serious crowd based on the trailer, but this is probably the first time a game console has properly competed with phones and tablets by being both on-the-go and multiplayer through a single device, while being hardware-heavy. It may actually be a serious contender to smartphone/tablet games by capturing one of the main appeals of those devices.

That's not to say it will completely overrun that market, cuz smartphone and tablet games have the appeal of simply being on something you already own. But I'm sure there's a big desire for a relatively powerful Nintendo device with the same convenience as your tablet. Convenience is a big factor in today's world.

It may be possible that there's a good chunk of casual gamers my age out there that played Nintendo games as a kid, and may be willing to take the plunge with a convenient device that's a little more hardcore than their phone or tablet. Especially when they see how much more adult and professional the device looks.

But boy, I just really hope the battery is at least a little better than what the rumors are saying. That might be the one thing that kills it with casual gamers, in my opinion.

About the Switch competing with tablets...
Watch smart device companies try to popularize detachacle controllers for their tablets pretty soon.
Of course they won't have the IPs or hardware that is optimal for power+affordability like Nintendo has with NS.

Keep in mind that the rumored battery life is for the dev kit. That's not necessarily representative of the retail product. I'd expect 3-5 hours though depending on the game. Battery technology just hasn't advanced very quickly, and can't keep up with processors.

Anyone notice SuperMetalDave64 and HappyNintendoFan have gone totally silent. Lol

@skywake Are there any estimates of the physical dimensions of the tablet? Because when I first watched the video it looked to me like the same size as the gamepad... And if it is really that big I'm not sure it will be able to replace a handheld. I mean, compare a regular 3DS with the tablet+joy-con

@nintykid The screen is the same size as the Wii U GamePad; however, the GamePad is quite bulky and is more plastic than screen. So it's a little bigger than a 3DSXL, but smaller than the Wii U GamePad. With the Joy-Cons attached, the width is almost the same as the Wii U GamePad.

@kobashi100 well david apologized on twitter but yeah clearly he isnt taking being wrong too well.

I mean for me ballpak means enough power to have those mumtiplatform games, it doesnt have to be xbox one at all, some behind might be enough considering what this unit might end up being

@Kobashi100 wrote "Anyone notice SuperMetalDave64 and HappyNintendoFan have gone totally silent. Lol

I did notice that. Probably because he was discrediting the Nvidia rumor along with Eurogamer soo bad that he feels like he doesnt want to show himself. He's been humiliated. LMFAO

P.S. At least Player Essence owned up to being wrong.

@Bluefiregamer yeah he and hnf were being real punks about it.

What if they releases their biggest Wii U multiplayer games with upgrades at launch day? And if you already own that game on the WIi U, there would be a special upgrade system for €10/15? That way you don't have to pay full price, but you do get all the added bells and whistles of the upgraded Switch versions.

I'm looking at Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros., Splatoon and Super Mario Maker for its community aspect. Think of added online options, courses, levels, characters, modes and visual upgrades.

We've gotta get our rumors straight here, people. Because I just watched a Cinemassacre video where they stated the Switch is rumored to be pretty much spot-on with Xbox One in terms of power. I've also heard/read that in a few other places.

So which is it?

Edit: I also could swear that I read something or watched something about the Tegra chip being very custom, but definitely of the newest breed (forget the name, but not Maxwell. The one after Maxwell.) So that's all good in terms of potential power.

AMD must be thrilled with seemingly losing one of its 3 main semicustom partners.

You can see with the headphone jack it's about as thick as a closed 3DSXL. For the other dimentions this is from arstechnica's approximations which I've rounded to the nearest 5mm:

Tablet: 180x105mm
Tablet + Joycons: 250x105mm

For comparison:
3DS: 134x74mm
3DS XL: 156x93mm
2DS: 144x127mm
GamePad: 259x135mm
PSVita: 182x83mm

edit:
To be frank the size isn't the thing that makes me hesitant about carrying it around. I take my 3DSXL with me almost everywhere I go and it's got a pretty bulky carrying case. But the difference is that the 3DS is a ~$250AU product with a clamshell design. This thing will be a ~$400AU device (that's abot what the Wii U cost at launc) with a large exposed screen. It'll also be both of my Nintendo devices in one. It's a bit different.

Tbh Switch is probably Tegra's last shot at gaming apps/

yeah clamshell design would have been better for a handheld. but my standart 3ds had marks on the topscreen because the bumpers werent good enough. so even a clamshell design wont protect screens if there is a design flaw

Its called pascal and the arch itself isnt that important

It could be using pascal but a 1050, while being Maxwell and using a 980ti, the idea of using a newer arch instead of powerful one is better energy efficiency + the ability of downclock to keep temps in check.

PS4Pro is doing thw same, full polaris 10 (RX 480) but downclocked to oblivion making it even less powerful than the RX470, While Scorpio is suuposedly using AMD next gen "Vega" but underclocked to full RX480 performance

@Faruko i know but tegra is nvidias mobile soc line, which has kind of been doing bad lately.

Wow, the switch is a lot smaller than I thought! The nerdy side of me felt compelled to cut out a model out of paper towels. I drew the buttons way too small, but you get the idea.

There's actually a slim chance it could awkwardly fit in my pocket, even!