Topic: What About a DS/3DS Slot On A New Switch?

@skywake I don't know if you're either missing or intentionally dodging the point to fortify your own, and my apologies if that's not the case, but it certainly comes across as such.

Having said that, the solution was already in my post, or rather: in the emulator, which could work very well in combination with hardware. One solution doesn't have to exclude the other, so I don't really see the need to have some kind of fixation on a hardware solution alone.

Citra shows that 2DS/3DS games can look perfectly fine on a big screen, so that point of yours is highly debatable in that respect. All it takes is the emulator and some kind of SoC in the Switch, to enable these resolutions. And then you'll have the best of both worlds: native hardware support, coupled with options to upscale the graphics to more modern standards, accommodating larger screens and resolutions.

And Citra does this by default, so there is no "Unless you're increasing the resolution of sprites and textures you're still going to have issues".

And why not go all the way? Simple: cost effectiveness. This solution would be far cheaper than making remasters of standalone games. Just have the chip and the emulator, fine tune it to work with the Switch, and almost every 3DS game out there will work with it. And of course, the emulator is still being tweaked, so compatibility will only grow.

And nobody can tell me that this doesn't look good enough to play on the Switch in docked mode, but especially in handheld mode:

@ThanosReXXX
You don't know if I'm either missing or intentionally dodging the point? Same to you I guess. Watching the above videos it's pretty obvious how low resolution those assets are. If anything rendering 3DS games at that high a resolution only highlights that fact. It makes sense given that 240p is to 1080p what 480p is to 4K.

I don't see what the point is going to the effort of emulating 3DS games on hardware that's a fraction of the power of what the above video was running on. They'd be much better off making HD remasters of a select few games which make sense to re-release. Then we'd get the higher resolution rendering, higher resolution assets and a reworked control scheme rather than just a higher resolution rendering. I'd want all three if I was going to play a 3DS/DS game on the Switch

@skywake If you had taken the whole "and my apologies if that's not the case, but it certainly comes across as such" as a clear disclaimer of "if not so, then please be so kind as to disregard this bit" as you should have (seeing as that was how it was intended), then the negative rebuke could have been left behind...

And besides, I'm not missing the point at all. The whole point of this entire topic was native 3DS support on the Switch, NOT standalone remakes. What I showed, is that native 3DS on Switch is not only possible, but will look better. The Switch is more capable than most people think, although it's obviously nowhere near the power of the rig used in the video. BUT: the links I provided and all that was said in the video, make it clear that Citra can now also run on more moderate systems, so a beast of a PC isn't necessary anymore, as was the case with the initial versions. And that is the beauty of the latest version, and that is only the beta, so more improvements are definitely underway.

Besides, what I was talking about, is a 3DS SoC in combination with an emulator, so the emulator would more or less only have to do the additional things, most importantly the upscaling.

And AGAIN, and most importantly, that solution would be more streamlined and MUCH cheaper for Nintendo to offer, instead of having to put the resources and man hours into remaking a choice selection of games.

So, SoC + emulator giving overall backward compatibility for ALL games, or investing in HD remakes of select games? Seems like a no-brainer to me, but then again: I'm in sales & marketing, so I'd always look at it from a more revenue/less investment point of view, which makes the most sense, from Nintendo's perspective. (or any company's perspective, for that matter)

And yes, OF COURSE the most ideal situation would be shiny new remakes, which would take full benefit of the new hardware they're running on, but (provided Nintendo is even considering 3DS backward compatibility in the first place, which it probably isn't) I just don't think that it is the more sensible or cost-effective option.

So, if it's a case of what you, we, or anyone else wants, vs what is possible and what Nintendo would do, then remakes of 3DS games is probably the least likely option. Then again, this is Nintendo we're talking about, and they DO have a knack for doing the unexpected, so perhaps you might get your wish after all...

@ThanosReXXX
I understand what you're saying I just think you're wrong. Marketing is one thing, making it work is a different thing entirely. I don't think full scale 3ds vc makes a lot of sense given even the best case scenario results. They'd be better off doing a selection of remasters as they are already doing with the DS and TWEWY.

@skywake Well, in all fairness, obviously all points made in this thread are purely theoretical, most either wishful thinking, or purely speculative. I do think that TWEWY and any other remaster happening, is just that the developers are thinking that they weren't able to get everything out of (or in to) the game that they had originally planned, so the original platform it was on, more or less held them back in a way, and now that the Switch is here, they can do their "Director's Cut", aka the version that they actually always wanted to make in the first place, but never could (back then).

So, I think that titles like these are just an exception, not some kind of rule of making remasters of DS games, with a lot more to follow. Maybe a handful at most.

It is also true that cost-effectiveness WILL come to play in some way, shape or form. So that will certainly be factored into what they're going to do. For what it's worth: I don't think they're going to do a re-design of the Switch that soon, much less add stuff to it. If anything, it'll be a leaner version, the Switch Lite or whatever they're gonna call it. But my original point was always no more than a speculation/theory. Just a bit of musing, thinking off the top of my head.

BUT: I do still stand by my point that a remaster/reboot of select titles, will arguably also not happen, or at least not in the numbers of games that people who are interested in these titles in the first place, would like to see. At most, it'll be a handful of the most successful titles, for the simple reason that they need to be sure that they'll sell, so they can get their investment back, and make a bit of a profit as well.

I think that the guy who started this thread also wasn't thinking about that. He just wants to be able to play ALL his 3DS games on the Switch, so a couple of remasters, maybe even from titles that don't interest him at all, will more than likely not be what he's looking for.

And that brings me back to why I mentioned Citra. Simply because that is what could come the closest to what he was looking for, also taking into account that Nintendo might not be all too keen on adding hardware to the Switch, so an emulator/3DS VC will be the next best thing, and why not add additional options such as upscaling to it? It will definitely look good enough in handheld mode.

I do agree with you that some of the graphics in that video, such as in the Pokémon game, don't look that good, simply because the original assets are too low res, but all Mario games, Dead or Alive, Resident Evil and the two racing games looked perfectly fine to me.

Allow me to introduce you to the 'Comfortable Hands Free Stand' - problem solved! (..and ultra-fashionable too, I might add!)

...you're welcome!

@NaviAndMii omfg look how close he has to hold the pro controller to his chest so it's not in the way

@Blathers but the DS games on Wii Virtual Console were utter crap, they had no upscaling or multiplayer! IT HAD FREAKING MARIO PARTY WITHOUT MULTIPLAYER MAN, HOW IS THAT SOLVED????????

There are some 3DS game that work better in 2 screens then one. That is because they were designed that way. And any changes would most likely cost more or kill the project going forward. Also 3DS and Switch are getting the same ports take Sushi and Toad they both came as Switch and 3DS. But that most likely happened because they were developed at the same time to insure QC and keeping down the cost developing for two different platforms. And if the game is popular you can guess there will be a port towards Switch with better graphics and performance. Extra port sounds good if that ever gets the GO then it would most likely show up on the Switch 2.0HD model somewhere 5 years or more down the line. But then again the 3DS is holding its own since the Vita demise by Sony.

There are too many technical problems to overcome before a 3DS slot could be added to the Switch... they run completely different processors. Nintendo couldn't just add a slot, they'd either have to actually put 3DS hardware into the Switch (increasing it's cost) or write individual software solutions to each individual game like Microsoft started to do with the XboxOne. I could definitely see that project slow down the first-party release schedule.

My chosen solution would be... buy a 3DS/2DS. You'd probably end up paying an extra £60/70 for a Switch that can play 3DS games, so why not just put a 3DS into the bag that you have to carry your Switch around in?

@RC_Russ98 I'd love it. But I don't expect it to happen. I think if it was going to happen, Nintendo would not have developed the new game cards that we use for the Switch. If they had any intention of playing DS and 3DS game cards on the Switch, they'd have just released the Switch with that functionality at the start and not bothered with a new size and shape card.

I do think it is possible that at some point, we may see DS titles or even 3DS titles in the Switch eshop.

@RC_Russ98 Oh, I understood what you were proposing.. unfortunately it's impractical from both a technical and financial standpoint. I completely agree that I'd love a 3DS slot but it makes no sense.

I still use my 3DS as my go to travelling system (still prefer to use the Switch docked as a home system) and its a great little system. Playing through Detective Pikachu at the moment on it while I'm away for work. As much as I like it though I don't feel it needs to be combined with the Switch. Its small enough to carry alongside separately and the games being made to work perfectly for it means it doesn't make much sense to add the 3DS slot to the Switch. Think this is one of those ideas that people say that they want but no one would actually use and the increased cost to add it to a revision would impact Nintendo's finances badly.

If it had a 3DS slot, I think it would work with most games, having most of the controls used in 95% of the games. The games would run in TATE mode only though, to have both screens available.

I don't think I would buy games for it. I'd rather have 3DS HD remakes.