Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

Yes and, also seamlessly transition to tilting L/R as needed in a Welcome Tour mini-game.

@rallydefault Sorry to butt in. I am at the car mechanic and bored. I bought the two way charging stand when they showed it charging the nes controllers in a past direct. Works well for me.

@Ryu_Niiyama
Yea, I think I'm just gonna have to get one of those. I don't really see any other way. I don't think the NES controllers have a usb port on them or anything.

This is true but also I think it's worth asking yourself whether or not you need to have your entire library downloaded and ready to go. Especially if you're in a position where your internet speeds have improved significantly over the years

Thinking about it, 10 years ago I was on an 8Mbps connection so a 10GB game was almost a 3 hour download, a 50GB game was almost 14 hours. Kinda made it impractical to swap stuff out and just redownload it. Now I'm on a 100Mbps connection and even more importantly Switch 2 can download at that rate, 50GB is an hour download and 10GB is around 15mins. Which isn't nothing but it changes it from "start it now so we can play it tomorrow" territory into "start it now and have some lunch or watch some TV for a bit while we wait"

And in a couple of months I get 500Mbps internet so now we're into like.... downloading it again is about as fast as copying it from an old portable HDD would've been. Like, if the internet I was getting in a couple of months was an SD card it would (just barely) meet Nintendo's minimum specification requirements for MicroSD cards on the original Switch. Certainly fast enough that if I needed more space I'd just delete something....

I'll certainly get a 500GB card eventually but..... I'm not sure I'll ever bother with much more than that

Anyone else notice that a massive majority of the backlash over Switch 2 related things is just stuff that Nintendo has been doing since the Switch 1 came out? Things like third party docks not being a viable option- or Nintendo banning systems from connecting online due to them connecting online while being hacked? It just feels like people are being alarmist just to be alarmist currently. Especially when there's larger issues with the system that get glanced over like the games that are backwards compatible still having issues- or Nintendo releasing their upgraded versions of games in an unacceptable quality (BOTW, TOTK looking horrible in handheld mode for example).

This has been my argument for the pricing issue, since the worst pricing choice Nintendo made is that they merged their handheld and console into one and yet forgot that half their games used to be cheaper than the other half of their games because they were handheld games and now most retail Nintendo games will be 60-70 dollars until the heat death of the universe while most of the other best games on Switch are cheaper and get way better sales.

@kkslider5552000
Doug Bowser got a whole bunch of crap for it when he pointed this out but bad PR or not it's true. At this point in time the Switch, and especially the Lite, IS the budget platform. Switch 2 is the premium home console SKU. Then in a few years they'll release a Switch 2 Lite and that'll become the budget SKU

In terms of games? Well Nintendo has made it pretty clear that they intend to continue making mid budget games. I see no reason why a lot of these games can't be on Switch also. And in any case, it's not like Switch 2 existing means all Switch software instantly evaporates from the eShop

The idea that Switch 2 deletes the budget line from Nintendo's lineup is a manufactured thing. Nothing has really changed at the budget end. They just added a new product on the top of the stack

So long as they're still making games for the Switch 1 - and we've got several lined up where we're just waiting for the date - it's all good.

Give it a couple more years though, and I'd think that we'd have to see something like a Switch 2 Lite to take over as the entry level device.

I'm just growing tired of the complaints at this point. It feels like ever-ending sensationalist drama. I know Nintendo isn't flawless, nor am I defending actual horrible business practices that they do end up doing (the patent trolling for example), but I feel like it's getting to a point where people are acting as if Nintendo is as bad as companies like Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, or Activision. It also feels like a majority of these people react before they even read an article- or react based off of the sensationalist headlines of said articles.

There was an article I saw earlier today that had a headline where it was basically saying the Nintendo CEO was telling people with kids that if their kids can't afford a switch 2, it's too bad. That they'll be able to experience their IP through movies and themeparks instead. While that was part of the statement, the article's headline is phrased in a way that ignores the last part of the statement. The fact that the CEO has said that he's opening to offering a cost-effective product or even lowering the price of the product down the line.

In short- I wish more people would read the articles, and I wish these articles would quit intentionally making headlines that misrepresents quotes in order to farm outrage clicks.

Ok, they can say they are making mid budget games, but that's not the same as selling them at mid budget prices. And while more often than not I understand Nintendo's pricing (as someone whose come around to TOTK being 70), they will absolutely sell a game at full price, sometimes pretty clearly exploiting the popularity of the brand (Pokemon BD/SP, DKC Returns HD), sometimes seemingly sabotaging what chances it had of success (Advance Wars 1+2, probably a decent chunk of last year's games tbh). And there's games I've personally avoided specifically because the price was too high, and keep hoping a cheaper version comes out.

Maybe some others exist, but off the top of my head the only Switch 1 games with retail releases that hit that handheld era pricing were the year late Cadence of Hyrule + DLC release, Metroid Prime: Remastered and Captain Toad (which is likely only because it was 40 on Wii U as well). And there were also barely any of those cheaper digital only games, especially compared to 3DS where there were quite a few (maybe that is coming back based on how there are two for Switch 2 already).

It seems like a missed opportunity, because if even I'm skipping a decent chunk of Nintendo's games because of pricing, I have to imagine people with less to spend on games who are less into less mainstream video games have NO interest in giving these 60 dollar games a shot.

And I think all of this is ultimately worse than Mario Kart being 80 tbh.

@VoidofLight
We are in the “end game” of internet culture, right before AI basically just takes over everything (half joking), and it’s just rule of thumb to trash anything new that comes out. Doesn’t matter what company, what product… unless it hits the increasingly evasive zeitgeist of the sweaty internet people, it’s gonna get trashed and dragged through the mud.

I just stay away. This is the only place I go lol

@VoidofLight
I agree, but i've learned to just tune it all out and not let it bother me. At the end of the day, the alarmists are not going to hinder the success of the system, so why do I even care. They can blather into the wind until their voice goes out as far as I'm concerned, or keep recycling alarmist content on youtube for the same echo chamber of an audience that clicks on anything taking a dig at Nintendo.

Like you said, they are definitely not perfect- you could probably write an entire book about all their shortcomings and foolish decisions and examples of greed... but you could do that for any company to be perfectly Blunt. And all things considered, I'd say nintendo is one of the better companies out there when it comes to things that really actually matter, like employee retention and pay raises and management taking pay cuts rather than laying off staff, and avoiding microtransactions, avoiding the industry standard 3 versions of a game at $70, $80 and $100+ and the higher priced versions always have at least some meaningful content so that you are definitely missing out if you just buy the standard priced version. They've charged $80 for one game on NSW2, and by all means criticize that if you feel it deserves it. Just don't keep quiet about the 80% of AAA games which are now cutting content out to sell 2 additional versions at $80 and $100+, sometimes releasing a game a few days early, which is really just releasing the $70 version a few days later. And let's not forget the $500 worth of meaningless DLC added in the game right after the review goes live. That's on top of the hundred dollar version you purchased, obviously.

So yeah, man, it is what it is. Anyone who is really that upset, I say, let them keep being upset. I'm just gonna enjoy my Switch 2. It's probably why I haven't noticed most of the complaining since launch- I've been too busy enjoying the system to hear the complaints, and even if I did I wouldn't care.

My hdr is working just fine. It's not blown out and the settings aren't wrong. I don't see any blur on my handheld screen. My 120fps and 4k and 1440p all work exactly as they should.

Oh, by the way, I discovered something the other day- you can map any button to any other button on the joycon 2. Like, you can map buttons even to the side buttons SL/SR, and the buttons you map can be from the other controller in the other hand. It popped up some warning saying I would need to use the grip if I mapped a button from the other joicon, but that's not true at all- it works just fine. So if you're playing with split joicon, you can map B to the upper side button on the left joycon and A to the upper side button on the right joycon. These are relatively easy to press with your middle finger, which wraps around the controller and naturally rests on those buttons anyways.

You can map to the bottom side buttons as well, but it's a little more awkward to use them with your pinky finger so I relegate the mappings to things that aren't needed during gameplay, like gamechat on one and screen capture on the other. But you could totally map X and Y so all four face buttons are mapped to the sides, so your right thumb would never have to remove itself from the stick. This is obviously why I like the rear buttons so much- there's usually only 2 actions out of the 4 face buttons that are used constantly so by mapping those to the rear grip buttons you can ensure your thumb doesn't need to be removed from the right analog most of the time, which is crucial for games like shooters. Being able to jump and dash in DOOM Eternal without taking my thumb off the analog is terrific. Just think of the possibilities! And I was really excited for the rear grip buttons on the pro controller and the charge grip, but now that I realize you can map to the side buttons and use for split joycon play, you don't even need to make an additional purchase (Pro Controller, Charge Grip) to take advantage of utilizing extra buttons. And if you're one of those people that hates clicking in the analog sticks, you could always map L3/R3 to the bottom side buttons, at the very least.

So much to talk about with this new system. So many games that run better now! Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle was capped at 30fps on NSW1 yet it somehow runs at a locked 60fps on NSW2?! I guess it used some double buffer method similar to Link's Awakening, it simply never hit the 60fps target so it was always at 30fps. But now with the extra power, it's always hitting the target so it stays locked at 60fps. That game was released in 2017. If that was done on purpose 8 yrs in advance, in anticipation of having the game run better on the next generation system, that would be the biggest flex in gaming history.

Resident Evil 5 runs native 1080p at a flawless 60fps with gyro aiming, but as SwitchUp points out, image quality actually looks sharper than 1080p due to some technique, they're using with the textures and AA and a bunch of other stuff, I didn't really understand. Bottom line, though, is, even though it's native 1080p, it looks sharper than that. And in handheld even though it's native 720p it looks sharper than that.

I've put over 20 hrs into Trials Rising on NSW2- it's one of those games that doesn't support cloud saves. And uh, since I lost my system that had beating all the tracks, I'm having to replay everything from the beginning, which means getting a gold medal on every track in the game in order to unlock Ninja Tracks (Think that's right? I don't remember getting a gold on all the extreme tracks, but maybe I did because I did unlock Ninja Tracks). The game was pretty low res on NSW1 especially with dynamic resolution, and the frame rate was always stuttering. But on NSW2 it looks nice and sharp. It's 720p both docked and handheld but without dynamic drops it holds that 720p constantly- I put hundreds of hours into the game on NSW1 where res would drop to 540p, even 480p in handheld...so seeing it in a locked 720p feels like a new experience, especially without framerate issues. Granted it is 30fps while other versions are 60fps, but this is the only version where you can play portably! Not even Steamdeck is an option- it's one of those incompatible games. So this really is THE way to play Trials Rising portably now. Nice that the new GameCube controller's analog shoulder buttons work for the game, too. They programmed that in so that if you had a gamecube, controller USB adapter for NSW you could use a Gqmecube controller and utilize the analog triggers instead of right stick- but because the new wireless controller registers as an actual GC controller and not a generic "pro controller" it works for the game. Its fantastic.

I better shut up now.Or this post will just keep getting longer and longer. one of the most exciting things though is trying out NSW1 games and seeing how they look and run now. .Particularly ones that had frame rate issues or unlocked frame rates or dynamic resolution.

I really thought Nintendo would clean up ehsop for the switch 2 gen. But it's still a mess of garbage to wade through. How is Nintendo ok with this still? It really leaves a terrible impression. Could you imagine Switch 2 being your first switch, the most expensive nintendo console + the most expensive game, $80 Mario Kart World, and seeing THIS eshop? It completely undercuts the perceived value of switch 2. It's not a good look.

@WoomyNNYes
What was that mean by clean up THIS eshop ?
The shady AI looking eshop games?

@Anti-Matter Yeah, the spammy AI games.

@WoomyNNYes They haven't cleaned up the games, but they have stopped highlighting the sus games and hidden them a little.

They stopped the 'new this week' articles entirely and they put new releases underneath a 'popular new releases' section you have to scroll past. They also changed 'great deals'/sales to be sorted by best sellers so you no longer have the garbage near the top.

That said, there have been 70-90 new releases a week every week, so the amount of spam has actually risen slightly since Switch 2 came out.

Hasn't this been the case for years, though? I bought my Switch 1 in 2021, and even back then the default sorting option for games on sale was "popularity", so you wouldn't see shovelware games unless you scrolled really far down the list or changed the sorting option.

@Polvasti
When you start the eShop on the Switch you're taken to highlights by default which is a curated list. The very next one down though is recent releases which is just a completely unfiltered list of all of the games sorted by newest release date

On Switch 2 you also go to highlights by default. The next item in the list is search which has a search bar, then a section showing games played recently by friends, then a section with genres you can search. The next item down is "For You" which is a once a week recommendations list. Then there's the Wishlist and Current offers which behave the same as they did on Switch. Charts which also behaves the same although is split into Switch 2 and Switch

.... you have to go down to the 7th item in the list before you see recent releases of which the first 8 are popular recent releases. Scroll past that list? Then you're in all releases sorted by release date

In other words, on Switch you open the eShop and tap once down on the analogue stick and you're in an unfiltered raw list of games sorted by release date. On Switch 2 you have to press down SEVEN times going through friend games, sales, recommendations, highlights before you get to recent releases. And even when you get there you have to scroll past 8 of the best selling of the newest releases (I think last two weeks) before you see the raw list of recent releases, where the AI slop lives

It's not gone but it is buried a bit and far less prominent. Which is a huge improvement

@skywake
Yes indeed. They can't stop these games from releasing... I suppose they could, but that would mean drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and that's how you miss out on unexpected viral hits, and you have to pay people to sort through everything and decide what's worth allowing and what's not, and that's hard to do, sometimes when it's an unfinished product, because something might look like crap in the beginning stages, but then suddenly it starts taking shape towards the end of development- deny them early and you just missed a classic, but wait til near the end of development to deny them, you screw them by stringing them along, letting them make the game until right before the finish line then saying "Nah, we're good. Go release it on Steam and mobile instead, but we don't want it on our store."

Maybe that developer.
It's just starting out but goes on to become a real talent- 5 or 10 years later they have a team together and release something really hyped up... do you think they won't remember Nintendo pulling the rug out from under their feet when they were starting out?

Its better to take the Steam/NSW approach. Ya, you get a lot of junk and shovelware, but you also become the premier destination for indies. Which two platforms are indies, most known for releasing on first or as exclusives or timed exclusives? It's Switch and Steam, baby. Has been for years.

Just look at Hades and Hades II. No deals were made for those titles. Steam is just naturally the most prime real estate, especially if you're doing things like early access. And after that, it's Switch. There really is a difference of preference among the gamership of the different platforms, and the Switch audience is more forgiving of "less than cutting edge graphics" as long as the gameplay is super fun.

Not to say Switch gamers don't care about graphics, visuals and presentation- that's a myth that often gets repeated and thrown around the internet, and it needs to stop. Nobody has ever claimed Nintendo fans "don't care about graphics". We absolutely care. It's simply not the only thing we care about, and in order of priority, falls underneath gameplay. So when somebody says Nintendo fans don't care about graphics that's what's really meant or implied. But people hear it and take it at face value, then have smart ass remarks whenever Switch gamers praise a game's graphics or admire how a game looks and runs.

A good example of the difference of priorities is going to be made most evident this coming generation. Most AAA titles on NSW2 will be using DLSS to hit 720p or 1080p in handheld, and 1080p or 1440p docked. Which offers a pretty noticeable benefit over NSW1 with handheld resolutions commonly hitting 540p and docked resolutions commonly hitting 720p (for most of 8th gen it was PS4>1080p 60fps, X1>900p 60fps, NSW>720p 30fps).

But once you get to 1080p handheld or 1440p on the TV, it starts becoming really difficult to notice the improvements. I saw Mario Odyssey or Captain Toad was increased to like 1800p or something like that, which is really close to 4k, and the honest truth is I couldn't tell much of a difference from the original versions running at 900p/1080p or whatever they were at. With a side by side comparison, I can definitely tell. But just starting the game up and playing, they looked like they always looked to me.

So I don't get excited when I hear numbers higher than 1440p. I definitely appreciate them and I'll take them for sure, but they're not exciting. Yet when I look across the aisle at PS5 and XS gamers, they lose their minds when a game increases from 1080p to 1800p. It's like they won the lottery or something. Not to say I don't appreciate those improvements also and I'm happy for them- glad to see them happy too. I can't say I understand the level of hype over such things.

To me its like, get me to 720p handheld and 1080p docked with a stable framerate and I'm happy. Get me 1080p handheld and 1440p docked with 60fps and I'm extremely satisfied. Get me anything beyond that and I kinda stop caring.

And yes, that means 120fps doesn't really do it for me. It doesn't excite me and tbh I'll probably just play in the 60fps modes with higher resolution or graphical fidelity. Excepting being this: if it has a noticeable impact on gyro and mouse aiming. Then I'll definitely start caring. But I never bothered with 120fps on PC cause I couldn't tell a difference from 60fps. So I set my PC up to 4k 60fps with VRR in the Nvidia panel and left it at that. And I'll probably take the same approach on NSW2- but that's TBD. We'll see how it feels once there's a good 120fps game released with mouse mode and/or gyro aiming I can mess around with.

Speaking of, are any games currently released that offer a 120fps mode?

Oh, if you get one of these armrest mousepads (little sacks weighed by beans drape down on each side to keep it stable) you can also use your 8" x 10" Seihoo firm mousepad as a plate to set up in tabletop mode. Just yet another option and another cheap accessory worth considering.

I also switched from velcro to magsafe magnets for my battery. The polarity is the same on all the rings so I ordered a metal pair figuring it has to attract to that, but the metal set also came with a magnetic set where the polarity matched my Switch, so I used that.

It's just strong enough to hold it without it falling. I can shake it lightly and it still won't come off. If I give a good medium shake it will fall off but that's not something you'd ever do in practice. Besides, the 200mm (7.8") right angle to right angle USB-C cable would catch it immediately anyways.

But ya, I love it with the magnet. You can feel if you've got it nice and centered cause the force will suddenly get a lot stronger. I'll keep an eye out for even stronger magsafe magnets with reverse polarity to use on my Nitecore battery, and will update if I find any. But this is a good reason why getting this 150g Nitecore battery is so crucial. An extra 15g weight may not have been able to hold! So it keeps the total weight down (530g NSW2 + 150g Nitecore = 680g total- for comparison the original Steamdeck was 670g- with 150g Nitecore and 10g Deckmate attachment I hit 830g- that's the absolute limit where I'd consider anything more "too heavy"... with the newer 640g Deck OLED, adding 150g Nitecore + 10g Deckmate attachment = 800g on the money). But it also enables you to use things like magsafe magnets to hold as opposed to velcro. Can always grab some Deckmate attachments and hold a 20,000 mAh Nitecore (291 grams which is only 141g more for the extra 10,000) but I'm not sure if those Deckmate attachments are too fat for docking. I should probably order some and test it out. They add 10g weight but if it can hold a 20,000 mAh Nitecore, which is 10g less than the 300g you'd expect doubling the 150g version anyways, the total weight would be 830g, which is exactly what my original Steamdeck was using a battery half that size.

Still think 10,000 mAh is sufficient though. It doubles the battery life, putting it in the ballpark of NSW OLED- 4.5 hrs minimum for even the heaviest games like Cyberpunk 2077. And it's lighter so you don't even notice it. Light enough for magnets in fact, which is super convenient.