Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@GrailUK Play VC and small eSop games. Multimedia app streaming.

@DefHalan Well...that certainly wouldn't replace either the Wii U or 3DS like Mr Kimishima said.

@GrailUK and it could be a new way of playing games. maybe for local multiplayer, you could have 1 player on the console and stream 2nd player to the Micro Console, instead of a GamePad device. That could be interesting.

I guess I won't 100% rule out nx purchase but the March date better stick and the reveal better be on point.

@WebHead It better be good otherwise I'm out! Lol

For a start nobody was talking about a PS4 clone. You're the one who threw that term into the mix when people were saying it would make sense for the NX to be significantly more powerful than the Wii U. Nobody was talking about any "gimmicks" the NX would or would not feature. So I'm not sure who you're arguing with here.

Secondly, last I checked Nintendo is mostly known for their solid software lineup. Whatever the NX is the key point of difference is going to be in the first party software. That'll be the selling point. So I struggle to understand your point here because IMO a literal PS4 clone made by Nintendo would be pretty epic.

Think about it for just a second. You walk into a game shop blind and your options are NX, PS4 or XBOne. They all have largely the same hardware specs. They all have largely the same third party support. The prices are all largely the same. They're basically all clones of each other. However the NX has Mario, Zelda, Splatoon and so on. I don't care how boring you think that scenario is I don't think that person walks out the door with a PS4.

That said I don't think it'll be a PS4 clone and I've never said so. I don't think it'd be the doom scenario that you think it would be but I still don't think Nintendo will do that. I think ontop of their main selling point of first party software they'll have some other point of difference. That may or may not be a "gimmick". It might be as simple as them offering a lower price point with a reduced amount of horsepower. I also wouldn't be that surprised if they kept the GamePad idea alive in a more compact form.

Really, the only thing they need is a clean slate and to come out of the gate with runs on the board. They need to make it clear that this is a brand new console and then have a decent amount of software ready for launch. Two things they failed to do with the Wii U. It's also why I suspect they keep saying that the NX won't "simply" replace the Wii U. They want to make it clear that the NX is not "Wii U 2.0" and avoid a repeat of the branding confusion that occurred with the Wii U.

Nintendo has pretty much confirmed a gimmick (in the non-perjorative sense), but I doubt they want to repeat the expensive hardware millstone mistake that was the wii u controller. My prediction (from my deleted-due-to-redundancy predictions thread): They're leapfrogging standard expletive-laden non-PEGI-certified online interactions (aka voice chat) and will go to the next level of putting the player inside the game by using facial expression reading technology, voice recognition, and near-realtime language translation to make your ingame avatar's personality shine just like your own. Facial expressions are easiest - no more Luigi death stare unless you want to. No need for squidbagging - your cheeky inkling's tongue-poke and lower eyelid pull says it all! Speaking of Splatoon - no more crappy 2-choice d-pad presses to speak - the system recognises over 40 words in multiple languages, allowing for literally thousands of possible phrases all translated and rendered onscreen in each player's language of choice, but spoken in squidlish. Booyah! Nintendo's NX system truly offers 'a new way to play' as players of all ages and from all over the world compete and cooperate with fun and safety. Try the launch title 'Project giant online fighting robot Mii' and see for yourself!
Basically, it'll be Nintendo's voice/video chat, with language translation, and no chance of knob pics or racial slurs, and with the extra awesomeness of being able to have it all coming from the ingame character and not just a small video feed or whatever.

I think that would be a worthwhile gimmick, enabling new interactivity in a Nintendo style, and fairly cheap just to add a mic+cam to a controller or whatever...

edit: I also think it would be easy to market, and could have some impressive demos to get media attention, but would be relatively easy to copy, thus the reason for the total ninja secrecy - NX would need to make a splash before other companies release their 'inspired by NX' games.

Except for the wii remote speaker. That was a good idea but a very, very bad speaker.

“pppfpfffrrrtss”. Yeah.

@Project_Dolphin
Needless to say I don't agree. The fact that first party Nintendo games still sell well even with their Wii U troubles is proof that Nintendo still has popular. As a recent example Pokken Tournament outsold Street Fighter V.

I'd argue that if Nintendo's IP was attached to a different piece of hardware that also had the Tomb Raiders, Assassins Creeds and CoDs? With no major compromises? That's a compelling product. No reason why Nintendo can't make such a box.

You know I am beginning to wander if the NX is a new, bad ass handheld that can be hooked up to the TV.
It makes sense as much as the microconsole I think as, like a microconsole it's not a straight upgrade for the WIIU or 3DS, so it falls in that bracket that Nintendo were talking about.
Also this whole Nvidia talk going around and now this new "Rumour" from this Emily person....
http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=203747904&postcount=1780
Its all getting interesting again

@DjLewe78 yeah I think a handheld that casts to TV sounds better than a microconsole

I think I'll go with console, based on how I interpret what Kimi said.

Yeah, seems like it. Every time the NX is talked about, they seem to do so with a comparison to wii U.

Even if it does not mean the traditional sense of console, I think it’s clear it will at least move within that space.

I've said this a few times but I think I'll repeat what I've said yet again. Just because. The way I see it portable systems are generally less demanding because they have smaller screens and typically lower screen resolutions. For a 5" screen you can go under 720p and it's still perfectly fine. But on a TV? The screen is generally big enough that full 1080p is actually a bit of a big deal.

In terms of the hardware itself portable hardware can do a pretty decent job of rendering to that likely sub 720p display. In the case of the 3DS it's closer to a 240p display and it still looks ok. But full 1080p is a bit more of a struggle. A home console? It can handle 1080p and it can definitely handle the sorts of resolutions you'd expect from a portable.

Therefore, in terms of image quality:
Portable GPU -> TV: Bad
Portable GPU -> Portable Screen: Good
Console GPU -> Portable Screen: Better
Console GPU -> TV: Best

@skywake
Wasn't there an old rumour saying NX would run at 900p?
Does that sound feasible? When hooked up to the TV it could not display full gameplay and just show inventories, maps, and friend info etc !

@skywake with regards to the technological limits, you're right.

Like many here, I speculate the concept though. There are numerous ways Nintendo could solve the tech challenges - extend power with a client that hooks up to your tv, that gives it the extra boost it needs for instance.

Not necessarily the best way to go, yet not surreal either.

It would make sense in fact when looking at the platform, multiple form factor comments we had going for it from Nintendo way back.

I think the biggest thing hurting the Wii U currently is the NX. People aren't interested in the Wii U because they expect it to be replaced by the NX. It doesn't matter what PR statements are released because people will take them as just PR statements. Short of actually announcing what the NX is, there isn't anything Nintendo can really do to get that idea out of people's head. (That doesn't mean I think Nintendo needs to announce what the NX is, or that they should put in too much effort to try to save the Wii U, it is just my observations)

@DefHalan I agree, Smash Wii U was probably Nintendo's last chance of getting people interested in Wii U as the NX rumours started piling in soon after the Nintendo/DeNA presentation in March 2015 that confirmed NX's existence.

That particular "rumour" was part of a market survey from someone not associated with Nintendo. It was all but confirmed that it was entirely made up.

Anyways, I think you kinda missed my point. I wasn't talking about the screen resolution so much as what we as gamers demand from portables vs home consoles. A portable they could release something half as powerful as the Wii U with games running at 480p and we'd be pretty happy. For a home console you wouldn't get away with that.

From a practical point of view though there's a reason why game streaming runs in the direction it does. And I'm talking Wii U, NVidia Shield, PS4/Vita and Steam Link. It's always about using a more powerful but hard to access machine to render the image and have it displayed on something that's more convenient. If you were to instead render the image on a portable and display on something that's less convenient. What's the appeal?

I say this as someone who had a SNES and a Super Gameboy as a kid. I remember thinking that playing Gameboy games on the TV was pretty cool. But as cool as it was if I was at the TV it made more sense to play something on the SNES. As for the reverse well, years later I went to the shops and saw SNES games running on the GBA. Now that was amazing.

@skywake haha true I felt the same with my game boy micro. I still have it with metroid fusion practically glued in. Yet some of the ideas, like the excellent duke Nukem game on it, are remembered as awesome.

Don't forget how extra horsepower underneath the tv could compensate for every tech challenge you face though.

As said, these times are different. Vita shouldn't have streamed to tv without ps4 enhancements. That's something Nintendo could easily transform the Wii U into. Or are its specs too low?