Topic: A year in review: The Nintendo Switch

@NEStalgia Yeah, it is an extra option I hadn‘t enabled yet. I must say, I do like the fact that they give the option to enable and disable certain aspects of the console. Being given this is always better than being forced to one way or another, though, I have no idea why one wouldn‘t enable the option to suspend the game. I mean, what other reason is there for a Rest Mode? Sure, if you wanted to close the software either way but then, you just close the game manually via a simple button press.

I will say, I hope we never say anything again about how a console needs X to succeed. Beyond good/popular games, good marketing and being a product that a large audience wants, of course. Nintendo Switch did not need, literally any non-gaming function, achievements or Call of Duty. That doesn't mean they wouldn't help, but they are not required to succeed. And for that first thing in particular, thank god. The idea that gaming alone can't sell a console is stupid.

@kkslider5552000 I'm feeling so weird right now, because I agree with you and also disagree with you at the same time. The fact is, I think what you say is right, I understand why it is right and I agree that is important that it will always be true, but at the same time I want multimedia apps so much.
Take the Switch for example, I love it so much, it is so good that I love it even if it does not have multimedia functions, but at the same time I hate it for not having those functions. I think that the fact I love it even without them is really important and it really shows how good it is, and that's the only thing that should matters, but at the same time I can't help but "hate" it too
Or at least I hate Nintendo that forces me to feel this way

(No that's not true I love Nintendo. Mostly)

It has been one of the best consoles launches I've experienced. Usually, there's very little to play for early adopters and I must say I am very impressed by the amount of titles Nintendo themselves have managed to push in the first year of the system, not to mention the quality of those titles as well. In addition, I am also quite impressed with the amount of third party developers Nintendo have gotten to jump on the Switch bandwagon. I never expected to see titles like Wolfenstein II, DOOM or Dark Souls get revealed for a Nintendo handheld(/hybrid), and it has been fantastic to see even if they're ports.

Overall, a very good year for me even though I feel as if the pace has slowed down a little now towards the end.

Hopefully Nintendo can keep up the pace with more high quality releases, 3rd party collaborations and 3rd party titles in the coming year.

@GoldenGamer88 Especially when it was one of the launch announcement big ticket features of the console...and then they waited to release it later, and then XBox beat them to implementing it (in beta), and then they finally added it as a hidden patch release note with no fanfare.....and apparently leave it disabled by default

The other points of rest mode are controller charging (you can set the timer for how long to run the USB ports), leaving the system able to download firmware updates in the background, letting it download games and patches while in rest mode (PS+ only I think allows pushing game downloads from the website while in rest.), and being able to turn it on remotely for Remote Play. So there's reasons. But none of that really is a reason to not ALSO suspend the game....

The only reason I can think of is if you do intend to push games to download. Switch warns you that if a game is running internet performance will be slower. However I've found it doesn't matter if a game is running or not: It's dismal either way. PS4 doesn't warn you, however I've found that rest or live mode, if no game is running or suspended, you can download from PSN at between 50-150Mb/s, WITH a game running or suspended it downloads at best at around 2-8Mb/s. So on a fast connection that's a difference of a big download taking 35 minutes versus taking about 8 hours. If planning to download a colossal game you NEED available in a short time, often, MAYBE you wouldn't turn on game suspends? Other than that, yeah I can't think of a reason.

I do LOVE that feature. I was super excited when the announced it. Super bummed when it wasn't at launch, and very bummed when it seemed to vanish. But, I have to say Switch spoiled me ridiculously. INSTANT on and off is just so much nicer than waiting for power up hibernation restore. I sometimes turn Switch on and off 3 times in 5 minutes if I'm trying to cram in some play. And it doesn't care. Try that with PS4... That alone is the tiny feature that makes Switch revolutionize what a console is and how you can use it.

@NEStalgia Huh, I have two PS4 controllers, one to charge and one to play, so I always have one fully charged. Downloading in the background does make sense, yeah, but having to leave the damn thing plugged in and have it show a light 'Hey, I‘m still on, you know?'. I too prefer Switch‘s Sleep Mode. You can leave it unplugged and it doesn‘t care, left it in Sleep Mode without a charge for two days and it only had lost a few percent. No way on earth is PS4 ever gonna do that. And the best part of it all? How I moaned and whined about it less than a year ago and now leave it in Sleep Mode pretty much 24/7.

I got a Switch for Christmas and I am enjoying it but it did not take over as my primary console as the PS4 PRO holds that candle. Maybe it's because I don't game on the go as much as everyone else or maybe because I'm a huge graphics junky.
The things I like about the Switch:
True rest mode: You hit the button it comes on and your back in the game... PS4 Rest mode can take up to 30 seconds to turn off and about 10-15 to resume. Why call that rest mode.
Undocking/dock is seamless: Sony failed at this with the Vita and I believe the Switch is what they were trying to do.
Wishlist in Store: I have been asking for this from Sony for the longest. But I'm stuck with the Playstation app.
Controller battery life: These controller's don't die.
My dislikes:
Nintendo app: Steaming pile of poo that nobody uses and you have to do the chat through it? This is UNSAT.
Overpriced E-shop games: I can get any multiplatform game at a fraction of the cost on the other systems. Portability isn't enough for me to spend 10 extra bucks.
Game download Speeds: Holy crap this is the slowest speed I've ever seen. I have my dock hooked to Ethernet and my DL is 1 Gig.
Overpriced peripherals: Just to get a whole replacement controller you can spend over 100 bucks.

Well these are my inputs and I want to be excited for the next year of Switch but Overpriced Tropical Freeze, Yoshi, Mario Tennis, and Kirby aren't doing it for me.... we need something more.

@GoldenGamer88 Well with the DS4, you NEED 2 controllers, just to get it to last a play session. People have griped about Switch's battery life, which is running an HD display, the whole console itself and TWO controllers 3-6 hours. The DualShock 4 is running only a controller and an obnoxious light bulb and cant make it to 4 hours.

LOL, I forgot you were the one that always wanted to turn off your Switch! That DOES bring a great irony right in the spirit of this thread

Yeah it really changes how I can play games overall. It does on the PS4, too, but not close to the level of Switch. Oh, and PS4 on Rest (at least the old 'Phat' model, not sure about Slim) it still runs the fan, PERMANENTLY. You know, I haven't checked my Pro....but I think it does NOT run the fan, so the Slim might not either. But the original PS4 had a 24/7 fan when resting. No contest.

Switch, I was playing DQ: Builders demo last week (physical arriving today, yay!), I'd pick it up, noodle with a building, put it down, pick it up, remember something I had to do, put it down.....being able to do that and never lose pace on the game is just a great way to get through big open ended games that on PS4...even with suspend....once you fire it up you kind of feel obligated to sit there with it for a while....Sure the Vita version does that too.....but then you have to choose if you want it as a handheld game or a big screen game....Switch? You just take your suspended game from earlier and instantly put it on the screen...

We all know that's how it works and is the advertised purpose, but it's just amazing once you actually start doing it constantly how it changes how you perceive the ability to play a game (and how you reach for doing that with PS4 games only to remember "d'oh, I can't pick it up for a few minutes....I'll play something on Switch instead."

@chucknorris078 "Undocking/dock is seamless. Sony failed at this with the Vita and I believe the Switch is what they were trying to do."

That was Sony's attempt at a WiiU "me too" feature. They assumed following Wii that WiiU and it's screen away from the console idea was going to be a phenomenon, and fell all over themselves to shoehorn that GamePad capability into the PS4 via the vita (making for a $650 version of the $300 WiiU.....) But it's never worked very well and is fussy to get into due to the Rest mode problems you mentioned. It made for a lousy WiiU clone and an even worse Switch clone. I was hyped for RP when I got the 4 at launch.....until I tried it.... The rear touch pad doesn't help.

"Download speeds"
THANK YOU!! I tried to bring that up in 2 threads and nobody bit Switch download speeds are BAD no matter how you slice it, HOWEVER, there are two things to note: 1: Leaving a game running/suspended considerably slows downloads (this is true, and even worse/more noticeable on PS4 as well), 2: NL had an article near launch about how it's faster in rest mode than when on.

However
I recently noticed that download speeds are considerably WORSE, by 1/2 to 1/3 the speed when docked with a wired connection! I'm using the official Hori ethernet adapter, connected to the USB port INSIDE the dock (which should be the USB3.0 one.) I've consistently noticed with testing a few downloads that while slow in a real sense no matter the method, downloads over WiFi (or maybe more specifically downloads undocked?) are at least 2x faster than wired, even though the Ethernet switch does show a 1gbps ethernet link to the Switch (I.E. USB is presumably running full speed.)

I can only assume the dock itself limits throughput over the USB-C, or something is wrong with the USB interface, or the Hori adapter is awful....but it's not defective. 2 Switches, 2 Docks, 2 ethernet adapters, same speeds.

I haven't tested docked, but on wireless. Only docked + wired and undocked + wireless.

But at least someone else noticed this and I'm not crazy!

Still my primary console though. Frustrations aside....I love my PS4Pro more than ever, but it just can't match the endless instant gaming Switch gives me.

@NEStalgia Nah, my Pro doesn‘t run the fan, just tried it today. I specifically listened to it very closely. On Switch, I just love to play for a bit, take a break, eat something, watch something on Netflix, and pick it back up. Or take it with me to university, play it before class, put it to sleep when class begins, play for a bit during breaks and play it while waiting for the next class. And all of that without losing a beat in-Game or wasting a whole lot of time booting it up. I love it! I find it greatly hilarious how mad I was about it last March.

@NEStalgia Yeah I don't recall which Ethernet adapter I'm using... some off brand... but it's slow. Even on Wi-Fi it seems slow. My PS4 download screams... I can download a 20 gig game in under 5-7 mins so maybe something is wrong with your connection.
The issues with the Vita... I think the idea was too ahead of its time. The reason I say this is the Wii U only worked line of sight... so I'm guessing it was like a Bluetooth type technology? Where the Vita you could play (loosely speaking) in any room of your house. I believe the Wi-Fi technology in the Vita wasn't advanced enough to handle the burden of the amount signal it was receiving. If they release a Vita today with current technology... I believe they would succeed. Sony has already been burnt so I don't see it happening. The Vita worked very well if you were in the same room as your router or system you using... I did it all the time. I agree with the rear touch pad though... horrible design.
PS4 Controllers battery life... the worst I've ever seen... but I have two controllers that I rotate if I run low so I've become accustomed to that. Back to my PRO I roughly have 180 unplayed games... my backlog is huge and I feel obligated to play each game even if it takes me 10 years. lol

@GoldenGamer88 For some reason I never tested if the fan runs when I got the Pro and just assumed it didn't, which is weird because that bugged the heck out of me with the Phat. Glad that Pro is more sane! Also glad because a few times I've had something blocking the exhaust ports while it was in rest in the past few weeks....

Yep, the thing with Switch is "flow"....it just flows with you as you use it.....and no system has ever really done that before.

I get to go for the "I told you so!!" now

@chucknorris078 My Hori is the official licensed adapter (I paid too much for an ethernet adapter to make sure it worked right only to get like 10Mb/s.... )

It's definitely crazy slow both wired and wireless.....but it's still around double the speed or more on wireless for downloads for some reason.

PS4Pro I see usually around 10MB/s (150Mb/s) or so. Sometimes upward toward 200, but never higher. Laptops both wired and wireless test out way higher than that, so that's just the max speed PS allows (or the max write of the HDD.) But if a game is running or suspended in the background I see .5-2MB/s (3-8Mb/s).....the moment I close the application the speed jumps back to the 150MB/s or so.) So even PS4 isn't able to come close to saturating a fast connection, and with a game running it's as awful as Switch. But Switch crawls even with no game running. And seems slower wired than wireless....there's definitely something going on there.

WiiU used Miracast. It was actually one of the first consumer products to use Miracast. It had a secondary dedicated wireless NIC...one was Broadcom, the other Marvell....IIRC the Marvell was for the Miracast. just for streaming the second screen. It worked beyond LoS and through some walls, but barely. I presume being that early release after the Miracast standard, it was probably using a Draft version of the protocol and was presumably using only 5GHz (to not compete with the 2.4Ghz network radio), running relatively low gain on a small antenna. It didn't project far, but it was STABLE when close. It brings to mind the 802.1ad conundrum. 3Gb/s speeds a foot away. Worse than 802.1n a few feet further.

The Vita just uses plain old WiFi, either Ad-hoc or infrastructure (it usually does better on infrastructure if the PS4 is wired.) Provided a good network, it works fine. They (silently) released a 60fps update which gets rid of the REALLY weirdly stilted slideshow effect that made it look disastrously bad. And they forgot to tell everyone there's a setting in power save that's on by default, that basically keeps wifi in low power mode always (meaning RP at 60fps would never ever work.) Turn that off, and it works fine (and chews through battery.) But it's still an ungainly solution connecting (slowly) to the PS4, waiting for the PS4 to boot, having to shut the PS4 back off using the virtual PS button before you turn the vita off or exit the app, and of course lacking the actual inputs required by any game you RP into. They've re-purposed PS4 RP to their PC app and the assumption you're using a DS4. Poor Vita gets left out again. It went from being a WiiU clone and poor Switch imitation to being a SteamLink for your PS4.

I've had PS4 since launch day, but from March to October had many more games on Switch than PS4 (and we won't talk 3DS+WiiU )....but in the past 3 months I though I've multiplied from sales my PS4 library to double my Switch.....I suspect that will reverse again in the next 2 years, as more games release with Switch versions as options. Year 1 caught devs by surprise and they've switched (pun intended) their priorities to include Switch. Going forward I think the libraries will start overlapping a lot more often (plus all the unique exclusives like Octopath.)

@NEStalgia As many times as you'd like mate.

@Wardculture after 11 months with the Switch it has been everything I wanted and then some. For some years now I've been mostly a handheld gamer. I have two kids and a demanding job, and the amount of time I have to dedicate to console gaming never seemed to justify buying a modern console. So while I never stopped playing games, I stuck to the DS/3DS for the most part, which of course meant I never played any of the big console experiences. Switch has meant that I can have that big console experience on my own terms AND still play the smaller handheld games when I want to. People sometimes poo-poo the portability of the Switch, saying nobody is playing their Switches on the bus or at the mall. But all I need is the ability to play Skyrim in bed. That's a revolution right there.

My kids have fallen in love with the Switch, too. It's the family console. I love that the library is already big enough to have something for everyone in my family.

I'm not happy about the pricing of Switch games. A lot of the indies and retro games have been priced far higher than I think they should be. It's hard to justify paying full game prices for things that are available on Steam or as Android apps significantly cheaper. There have been games I wanted on Switch and didn't buy because of that. But that's really been my only complaint.

It's been a great year on Switch and a great year to be a Nintendo fan. Hoping for more of the same in 2018.

I think one of the big things is how much fun I have playing on my Switch

With my PS4 I enjoy playing some games, but with the Switch I enjoy it and find it fun too. Not been able to make much use of the portability of it yet - but I will over the coming weeks!

I bought the Switch spontaneously in its first week. When the NSW was sold out everywhere and I found a store with stock by chance, I had a change of heart. Unfortunately, I bought it for the VC.

Now, almost one year later, there is still no news of the Virtual Console. When I bought the console, I read that Nintendo said the VC will not be ready yet and it will be released in a future update. I thought they only needed to do some bug fixes and that update would take one month or less. Needless to say, I am still very bummed out.

I am not a hardcore gamer - casual at best. I am past 30, have life decisions, family, work, money, etc. to deal with. I am not turned on by so called triple A games. Their cheap blockbuster means of creating hype just really doesn't get to me. Lootboxes did not come as a surprise to me. So I thought then whenever I would want to play a new game, it would have to be nostalgic and Nintendo is my best bet. Based on Super Mario Kart 8 DX and Super Mario Sunshine, I did not regret my spontaneous purchase.

Thanks to the NSW, I also discovered that I quite enjoy Indie titles. I don't need that big drama, long story-telling, grinding and especially horrendously slow load times of most full-priced games. I want quickies! And the standby of the Switch is perhaps the single greatest feature of a console I could imagine.

So, while I am waiting for the Virtual Console (and the reason I have become a regular on this website to follow the news), I played Zelda: BotW. I have never been a big Zelda fan, nor do I enjoy big open world games (GTA is not for me), but somehow I really enjoyed this one. I am sure it has to do with the hardware, the novelty of holding the screen in my hands and also how easy it is to resume. Now I just started playing Dragon Quest Builders and it is my 2nd "big game" (as in not the one you want to play in bursts of 10mins).

I am not a person to count pixels on a screen - well, at least not on TV. (I have actually a little bit of success as a photographer, but I use a calibrated iMac for that.) PS3 games look fine to me and most of them are only 640p. 4K 60fps? Nah, I don't need that yet. Just not my priority.

So, one year in review: Where is my Virtual Console, goddammit! I need my safe place, all of my youth, in one device. When I go out on business trips and feel lonely, or when the stress gets to me, I want to revisit my past. So please, Nintendo, hurry up!
However, I don't regret my early purchase. I had a lot of unexpected fun (Shovel Knight, Overcooked, Enter the Gungeon, Celeste) and I did enjoy the bigger titles that I didn't even necessarily plan to pick up (BotW, MK8D, SMO). Also, for me, couch multiplayer is the only true multiplayer! Thank you Nintendo for emphasizing on that.

I decided to wait until summer until I got my Switch. I was thinking of getting it at launch but I wasn't comfortable with the amount of money it would cost and the amount I had at the time so I decided to wait just in case. Two of my friends got a Switch so I could still try it out and play with them. Once I got my first paycheck in summer, I went and ordered it. I was a bit nervous for the few days it took for it to arrive. I wasn't sure if I did the right decision. It was quite expensive after all. Would it be worth it?

Then it arrived. I was still a bit unsure about my purchase. I was playing indie games since I had BotW and Mario Kart on Wii U. I didn't want to get ARMS before I had another pair of Joy-Con because I wanted to play multiplayer with motion controls and I wasn't sure if it was worth the full price. I really liked playing games like Fast RMX and Graceful Explosion Machine but they didn't really justify the purchase. Then Splatoon 2 came out and I stopped worrying about it. There were great games on the horizon, why did I worry in the first place?

Now Switch is very close to becoming my favorite console. I love my 3DS but Switch simply does almost everything it does and better. I use mine mainly as a handheld but it's handy to dock it when I want to play with friends or family. I also use it with TV when I'm playing Splatoon 2 or ARMS. Otherwise I always play it in handheld mode and it feels great. There have been many great releases and more are coming. Some of my favorites have been Super Mario Odyssey, Celeste, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Stardew Valley, Graceful Explosion Machine and Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle.

One feature I didn't think I'd have use for is the screenshot button but it turned out to be really handy. Though, I wish there was another way to get the pictures transferred/posted easily since sometimes I want to post one of them here but I'd rather not put it on Twitter. I have to turn off the console, take out the SD card, put it in an adapter, put it inside my computer, copy the files and then do everything in reverse. It's bit of a hassle. In reality it doesn't take more than 3 minutes but still. I made a program that copies all the images and puts them in game specific folders with a press of a button so at least that part is much faster now.

All in all, I like my Switch and I'm not the only one. It's selling well and I don't think we've seen its full potential yet.