Hardly any games at all use the touch screen or the motion sending of the joy-cons. Labo and Sports are notable exceptions. Metroid Prime Remastered is a good exception for the motion controls too. But otherwise, these are extremely under utilized functions of the Switch. I imagine Nintendo would have saved a lot of money on cutting out either or both of these. Getting rid of the touch functionality, particularly, seems to be an obvious money saver. But honestly, same with the motion controls. It's great to have the few games that use it, but the joy-cons would cost way less (either for them or us) without it, and maybe they wouldn't have missed the drift issue with fewer elements to worry about. Anyway, I've just been thinking about this. Nintendo could then have charged less and thus sold more systems, or they could have charged the same and banked more for themselves. Regarding the motion sensing, they could have released enhanced versions, as they currently exist, separately, though I think that would have been a mistake. Conversely, I think we would have many more and better games for Wii if it had launched day one with the motion plus functionality included. What do you think?
@Gryffin They simplified analog triggers right outta the Switch.😁(funny and true, and to my disappointment because I like racing games.)
I agree, they could have removed some things for a more affordable console. I would have loved a tv-only console, because I don't want the handheld, and I don't love that I have to pay upfront for the hardware I don't want - tablet screen, joycons, rechargeable console battery. I would have been fine with a tv only model + pro controller, and they probably could have shaved $50-100 (USD) off the price. I would have rather had my $350 for the OLED been allocated toward more power rather than a tablet screen, joycons, rechargeable battery.
Nintendo seems to really like the model of creating new hardware input styles as a marketing tool & to innovate. I assume they know it's a gamble, but they have to pin down the console design to put it into production.
That's alot of wishful thinking. They have to price they sale at to break even or recover R&D cost for production of the Switch. As small as the Switch is there will be some give and take on how much tech it can have without costing consumer more in prices. Game console development isn't a instant return in investments and they must keep making money in order to give use a console within a price that they can recover R&D and sales to keep them making more. Sale for a loss and they will go under - I doubt anyone wants Nintendo to do that. That includes Xbox and PS5.
@Gryffin A zillion mobile ports use the touch screen. There are also some first party games like super mario maker 2 and clubhouse games where touch is super useful, but definitely not a ton of first party games.
As for motion controls there is also Splatoon, a lot of the Wii and Wii U ports, etc. Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey. Wario of course. And all the exercise games, including the very popular Ring Fit. Pokemon Arceus, Mario Tennis, Captain Toad, Donkey Kong.... Motion control is actually in quite a few of the first party games as well as some third party shooters and miscellaneous. In many games, motion control is optional which I think was a great decision, but it's nice that it exists. And some games just don't work without it. Even Mario Wonder has motion controls although they are very optional in that game.
I also think they would be saving a lot less money than you think. Things like touch screens are no longer fancy expensive technology.
As for actually unused technology though.. almost nothing uses the infrared camera on the joycons. That one feels like more of an experiment so it wouldn't shock me if something with that changes in the next console.
You're talking in the order of a couple of dollars at most. For what it opens up it's well and truly worth it. Motion in particular allowed Switch Sports to exist, gave another angle to sell ARMS, added gyro aiming to games like Splatoon and allowed them to replicate Wii controls for the Wii games they've ported/remastered
@FishyS the IR camera is certainly a better candidate here. I'm sure it's still relatively cheap, I mean they had one on the WiiMote and that was almost 20 years ago. Not exactly bleeding edge hardware. But even there it allowed LABO and RingFit to exist. Also without it there wouldn't be the janky theremin controls in Trombone Champ which would be a huge shame
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There are plenty of games that make use of motion controls in subtle ways such that removing them entirely would be quite detrimental.
As for the touch screen I agree they are quite underutilized to ensure parity between docked and unlocked mode, but I think from a manufacturing standpoint, it is easier/cheaper to purchase 6-7 inch touch screen panels than 6-7 inch non-touch screen panels in this day and age, so you may as well have a touch screen than not.
I mean even if you're right (you're not), most of the gimmicks of the console were cool ideas where if they worked out, cool, if not, its still a game console to play games so oh well, no harm no foul. You can't possibly look at the Switch's success and think, barring maybe joycon drift, they have any regrets at all.
This is also true of every Nintendo system btw. I quite liked motion controls on enough Wii games but also some of the best games on the system used no motion controls at all (Little King's Story, Xenoblade Chronicles, I think I played Sonic Colors with a Gamecube controller too?)
But even there it allowed LABO and RingFit to exist.
I think most people who play Ring Fit likely ignore the optional pulse reader thing which is the only thing the IR does.. I know I've never used it; Ring Fit would be functionally the same without it since all the important parts are just the motion controls. But yeah, I'm sure the IR is cheap, I could just imagine a new console tweaking what type of random sensors it uses. Although just keeping them to be consistent is reasonable also. I'm actually very curious if the next console will be 100% back-compatible or if a few games like Labo or Ring Fit will get left behind.
Even without Skywake's expertise on the tech side of things, I would not expect gyro sensors to add much cost to anything. Those things are everywhere nowadays.
And there's a literal ****-tonne of games that would be worse off without them.
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Isn't the Switch quite simple for Nintendo?
They just spent the previous generation making a glasses-free handheld and their first HD console with....whatever the Gamepad was?
It's a very Nintendo thing to throw in a few random hardware choices. HD rumble? An IR sensor on one controller? Sure - why not?
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on its own will have made back any of that money they risked on hardware.
As someone who never uses handheld mode or joycons I completely agree. Release the console without a touchscreen or motion control and then have a motion control available separately.
I would have love a screenless version myself. I wonder what it would have looked like.
Switch is already quite simplified.
-720p screen (it didn't get upgraded to 800p or better on the OLED)
-Paltry internal storage (slightly better on OLED)
-Digital triggers
-No ethernet (you need an adapter, or a newer dock released with the OLED)
-Pretty minimal OS
Removing a touch screen and included motion controls seems like stripping down Switch to almost nothing. Nintendo has already cut so many corners.
It would've made sense by now or even in the future to release a home console Switch with a Pro Controller. That seems like a pretty cheap way to get people to buy a Switch if they don't care about handheld gaming or flexibility.
But the touch screen? A metric ton of games utilize it.
And no gyro? Are you out of your mind? Half the games I own would be unplayable without gyro, as I genuinely cannot stomach the 20 year dated, archaic aiming of the analog only control schemes of generations past. Let me just give you some insight as to how many games utilize gyro or motion gesture:
Alien Isolation
ARMS
Art of Balance
Assassin's Creed 3
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag
Assassin's Creed Rogue
Astral Chain
Borderlands
Borderlands 2
Borderlands The Pre-Sequel
Call of Juarez Gunslinger
Crysis
Crysis 2
Crysis 3
Daemon X Machina
Diablo 3
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
DOOM (original)
DOOM 2
DOOM 64
DOOM 2016
DOOM Eternal
Duke Nukem 3D
Dying Light
Fatal Frame Maiden of Black Water
Fatal Frame Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Fire Emblem Engage
Grand Theft Auto 3
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto Vice City
GRID Autosport
Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
Immortal Redneck
Immortals Fenyx Rising
Ion Fury
Katamari Damacy ReRoll
LA Noire
Luigi's Mansion 3
Mario & Sonic Olympic Games 2020
Mario Golf Super Rush
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Tennis Aces
Metro 2033 Redux
Metro Last Light Redux
Metroid Prime Remastered
Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak
Neon White
New Pokemon Snap
Nintendo Switch Sports
No Man's Sky
Okami HD
Overwatch 2
Panzer Dragoon
Paper Mario Origami King
Pikmin HD
Pikmin 2 HD
Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Pikmin 4
Pokemon Legends Arceus
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Evee
Portal
Portal 2
Quake
Quake 2
Red Faction Guerilla Remarstered
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil Revelations
Resident Evil Revelations 2
Risk of Rain 2
Saint's Row The Third
Saint's Row 4
Severed (?)
Sniper Elite v2
Sniper Elite 3
Sniper Elite 4
Snipperclips
Splatoon 2
Splatoon 3
Super Mario 3D All Stars
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD
Taiko No Tatsujin Drum 'n Fun
Taiko No Tatsujin Rhythm Festival
Skyrim
The House of the Dead Remake
Zelda Breath of the Wild
Zelda Skyward Sword
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
The Outer Worlds
The World Ends With You
Turok
Turok 2
Turok 3
Warioware Move It!
Wolfenstein Youngblood
Wolfenstein 2
World War Z
Zombi Army Trilogy
Zombi Army 4
And there's certainly more. These are just the ones from MY library!
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I would have love a screenless version myself. I wonder what it would have looked like.
A generic box sitting by your tv? No screen and no motion control sounds like a super dumbed down xbox with a standard controller. I mean, 80% of the games would still be good for the 50% of Switch owners who prefer docked, but it wouldn't be much of a console.
I would have love a screenless version myself. I wonder what it would have looked like.
A generic box sitting by your tv? No screen and no motion control sounds like a super dumbed down xbox with a standard controller. I mean, 80% of the games would still be good for the 50% of Switch owners who prefer docked, but it wouldn't be much of a console.
I would just love a super compact minimal console. Hope they release a screenless version of the next gen since as you mention there is a market for it.
I can't wrap my head around why somebody would rather aim a cross hair with an analog stick in 2024, over reliable quality Gyro aiming when it's working properly, like with Power Slave and Quake 2 on Switch etc. Using an analog stick to aim is like operating a tank nozzle. It was cool back in the late 90's and early 2000's, but the Wii remote already obliterated that method towards the end of 2006.
It's no wonder why i canned my XBOX360 & PS3 during that generation after getting a taste of the Wii, since it made the other two feel like i was playing PS2 & XBOX games with a new coat of shiny HD next gen paint, with archaic cumbersome clunky analog stick wiggling for aiming, that ultimately killed my experience with Dead Space, Bioshock & Resident Evil 5, after being completely blown away by the likes of metroid Prime 3 Wii and it's revolutionary pointer wii remote and nunchuck controls.
But ya, as of late, I've been spoiled by Quest 3's motion based aiming. That's what you call taking it to the next level. lol It's pretty much the end-game way to aim imo. Q3's controllers are just fantastic. I would of given them a solid 10, if they had the PSVR2's superior haptics and adaptive triggers. But as far as Flatscreen Gyro aiming goes, i hope Nintendo creates some sort of Gyro sensor bar, or just anything that works as a reference for their upcoming console. You just can't replicate the Wii & Wii U Pikmin 1, 2 & 3 experience with Joy-con Gyro, not even close and that's just one example.
I can't speak for VR but yes Wii pointer controls were peak. It's tragic that during the most shooter-riffic era of gaming that shooters mostly skipped Nintendo (I wish I lived in a world where I could play Bioshock Infinite that way). It is unfair that they've not come back and Gyro has yet to fully make up for it, despite their best efforts. It was so effortless to pull off, its like half the reason the Goldeneye remake was good, same with the Ghostbusters game, and most games that had it, in my experience at least.
Like the new Doom games with play control that good? That sounds like the peak of the genre practically, at least for console gaming.
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Topic: I think that Nintendo wishes they had simplified the Switch
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