Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@BLP_Software It's pretty clear that a PC or a PS4/Xbox One aren't designed for taking it on the go. Sure, it's possible in theory, but we all know what we mean when we're talking about ''portable''.

@Octane It doesn't stack up to the PS4/Xbox One, and it is labelled as home-console, hence it is not wrong of me to expect it to.

As for the prices, the 3DS has 45 euros on most of the big releases, yet here I'm paying 59,99 for games like XV2, when, in accordance to 3DS being handheld, and Switch being handheld as well, I should be paying 45.

It's the idea that Nintendo falsely labelled it home-console to get away with higher prices for everything. Again, it doesn't meet up to my expectations of a home-console.

@UmniKnight Or maybe it's all a marketing trick and the idea of advertising it as a home console you can take on the go is the whole selling point. And that's what it's doing, selling a system that if just a handheld wouldn't attract the same kind of attention it does as a hybrid.

I love the argument that it's not a home console. I believe the perception of it being underpowered has lead a lot of people to say it's not a home console and yet look at the games themselves. Zelda BotW was always home console bound from the beginning, Mario kart 8 was home console, and Spaltoon as well. Splatoon 2 looks and plays better on the Switch and yet most will say well that's a handheld.

My opinion is home console first and when ever possible and handheld whenever necessary which in my home is often.

If the PS4 had it's own power source and screen it would still be called a home console.

I bought it because it was the next home console.
I was fine with the Wii U, and I would be fine if Nintendo continued the Wii U for much longer.
But here we are and everything homeconsoley is coming to the Switch and not the Wii U anymore.

@Spoony_Tech It runs better in handheld then in home-console. You can remove the dock, kick it around like a football, burn it in a bonfire, and the Switch itself still runs and does whatever advertised. If the dock can't even help it run better on a TV, then what else but "Look, it's on your TV!, you know, that thing that even tablets can do as well?" is that overpriced piece of plastic and small amounts of metal for?

The public perception is that it's a handheld, and I wouldn't be surprised if Game Freak set the precedence, and made Pokemon for Switch handheld only, because they've already given such a vibe by looking at which mode is most popular: http://nintendoeverything.com/game-freak-excited-to-see-the-m...

I wanted the Wii-U's successor, but here I end up with the 3DS' future: Aka not what was advertised to me.

@UmniKnight The public perception is that it's both.

@Spoony_Tech I think a system is either portable or it is not portable (= home console). The Switch is clearly portable, you can easily take it with you wherever you go.

A 3DS wouldn't suddenly be a home console (not portable) if Nintende released a 3DS-to-TV adapter.

Anyway, I don't see a problem with calling it a handheld system. It doesn't make it any less valuable, or the games any less good. If it gets the games you'd normally expect on a regular home console, then I have no problem paying €60 for them.

@IceClimbers Yet if the numbers come out, I'm sure we'll see 90% of people use it as handheld, if not handheld exclusively, and we'll probably see favouritism come out at that point. The sad thing is, I know for sure Nintendo will never make another real home-console for as long as the Switch lives.

@UmniKnight What's killing your argument is that I see more people using it TV only than Handheld only, very few handheld only, with handheld as a supplement to the home console experience.

@BLP_Software But then why do I see nearly everyone on every site I ever visit (that being, I've done my fair share of reading) that they all use it handheld. Arguments like "Haven't even unpacked my dock" come to mind.

@UmniKnight I'm sure people do use it more in handheld just looking at the difference in install base between the Wii U and 3DS.

Switch is a point of no return I think. Now that they've gone the hybrid route they'd get major backlash and disappointment from fans if they went back on it

@DarthNocturnal And you are aware that things like cartridges and the Switch's weaker specs are all to accommodate the fact that it's a handheld?

So am I, but I've red that argument only few times, and the entirety of Japan is 100% certain to be handheld, and there's a 1 million Switches sold there so far.

In fact, I'm certain the only reason it sells there, is because it's handheld capable.

@IceClimbers I'd say it's a true hybrid, if the dock does more than just be a overpriced plastic connectivity hub. If it added actual power, so that frame-drops and the likes would be a thing of the past on Switch, yes, I would agree it's a hybrid. But it doesn't.

Switch is neither a console nor a handheld: it's a hybrid. The fact that the GPU runs faster while docked pretty much confirms this. Doesn't change that fact if you decide not to make use of its full functionality and just treat it like a pure home console or handheld.

@UmniKnight Let's hope Nintendo never makes another pure home console again. This level of hardware versatility is too good to give up.

Anyway, they're charging console prices for the games because they're HD, console-quality games, as opposed to games designed for a system with a piddly 240p display that wasn't even cutting edge in 2011. Your argument is that they should charge less for games because the Switch is fully portable, even though the games it's running are more advanced than what was possible on the Wii U. I'm sorry, but that makes no sense whatsoever.

Also, polls I've seen asking people about how much they use the machine in handheld/docked form reveal an almost 50/50 split.

@UmniKnight If you feel you've bought something you weren't expecting, then that's on you.

How can you expect something that equals a PS4 in performance but is also a hybrid, and less than £300? Your fixation on the word 'home console' is your problem. Nobody's tricked you into anything.

I don't care what it's called, but there are no two games I'd rather own than BotW and MK8D.

This statement is never going to be fully representative of the population and as a further notice: Yes, they say they all use it handheld. What they haven't said, as you have failed to clarify upon it, is that all use EXCLUSIVELY handheld.

I use it handheld too. I also use it on my TV. Stating its EXCLUSIVELY handheld, would back up your point. But you didn't do that. People just said they use one half of the functionality without denying they use the other.

I suggest you do some extra reading around here. Most don't take it out of the dock or use it in both forms.

And the dock DOES help the Switch run better. When the system is docked it identifies and only runs at full capacity when a HDMI connection to a TV (To push more than 1080p and thus use the extra oomph not needed for 720p in handheld mode) and when a power supply is connected, so that it doesn't use the battery and has a full power supply to draw from to fuel the full capacity of the system.

In fact, if it doesn't detect that power supply, it wont do it. The dock does in fact help the Switch run at a higher clock speed and thus get superior performance, simply because the dock gives the signals and components necessary to do so, the components just aren't computational, rather technical.

@Ralizah Versatility sacrifices to miss many multiplat games, have lesser specs, and be stuck with cartridges. A devil's due that is already haunting it by every game that confirms skipping the system.

Or a 1080 display that clips with one's TV, like Fate/Extella does with mine. Also you can't call it a hybrid, because it doesn't stack up to other home-consoles in that department, yet beats every other handheld out there. Ergo handheld.

@BLP_Software @UmniKnight @Octane Personal experience can be skewed. Let's look at some polls.

This poll on GameFAQs is pretty even between handheld, docked, and those who do a mixture of both, but just slightly leans towards handheld users.

This other GameFAQ's poll, however, leans slightly toward docked.

This Nintendolife poll also leaned slightly toward handheld users.

This poll at the zeldainformer forums (Which I am a member of) leans slightly toward handheld, but it also only had an 11-user poll size.

That's all I was able to find, really. NoA released a poll that said 83% of Switch owners play at home, but not only was that poll skewed by lack of options, it doesn't count the number of people (like me) who play at home exclusively in handheld.

My opinion is that it's a pretty even split. Every half-decent poll I found was almost even within a roughly 10% margin.

@gcunit Hey, Nintendo tagged it a home-console, that wasn't on me. If they'd have tagged it handheld, it would've been far more honest, and I probably wouldn't have bought it. That said, I do agree on BotW (Less so MK8D, but that's because I've played that to death on Wii-U)