Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

And that, folks, is how you overanalyze.

Next, pass me that stick, and let's have a walk over to that dead horse.

@NaviAndMii Though none of the examples move away from the concept of being able to play all games anywhere. You can play the touch screen games anywhere, you can play Jackbox anywhere. You wouldn't be able to play docked only games anywhere and this is the key argument against docked only games and dock expansions.

Reading this thread can get mentally exhausting sometimes

@Grumblevolcano I agree with that. I think that, while Nintendo are still seeking to establish the Switch on the market, they'd probably be wise to stick to 'anywhere' games - but further down the line, once the Switch is well and truly established, maybe they'd be open to the possibility? By then, I'll probably have 20-30 games that I can take with me on the go - adding a few 'docked only' games (particularly if there is some sort of Expansion Pak that boosts docked performance later in the Switch's lifecycle) might be used just to give the Switch something a bit extra, I think...

EDIT: As far as hybrid goes, though - it's clearly not a 'hybrid only' console if Nintendo allow non-hybrid games, like they already have done - that's my overall point, they clearly appreciate that it is more than just a hybrid gaming device..

@EvilLucario So, in all of that, I've never seen you enforce the reason the dock is there. You've only proven what I already thought: The Switch selling on "On the go console quality games" aka the handheld portion. I'm merely trying to give myself peace of mind, that what I love and prefer to play in this new mess of a fusion, will remain in the future, and so far I only see confirmation that it disappearing doesn't matter enough to people to be a problem, aka it is but an extra.

"As far as hybrid goes, though - it's clearly not a 'hybrid only' console if Nintendo allow non-hybrid games, like they already have done - that's my overall point, they clearly appreciate that it is more than just a hybrid gaming device.." This, so very much this.

Okay I need to stress this. The mantra of Switch is the ability to play games anywhere.

I repeat. Play a game anywhere. Hybridisation is more than tv/handheld. It's tv/handheld/tabletop/different controllers/wherever you are.

But hey, lets end this horribly cyclical pile of fan**** right now.

How about all those games coming for the holiday season?

Skyrim looks great, as does FIFA, 2K Sports look solid too. But of course, Odyssey and XC2 are the big hitters, with Pokken, FE Warriors as the B titles.

@BLP_Software It isn't that simple, akin to sticking one's head in the sand. The future matters as much as the now, the same way people hold off of buying a console, if they know it's successor is close to release.

As I've said before, I seek nothing but peace of mind, to be wrong in my assumptions that the dock is but an extra. That doesn't change how it takes me very little effort to come to that conclusion by seeing their marketing, what the Switch sells on, and what people are most excited for. They are excited for great games, but great games on the go, not great games on the Switch, with it's docked mode, in general.

The Switch for me is just convenient and versatile. Hybrid is just a throwback to the NX rumour mill days when joe public where trying to out guess Nintendo. Any game is welcome in my book.

@GrailUK Here, here! Why create a flexible piece of hardware, then be inflexible with how it is used? That would be foolish...there are so, so many different possibilities - the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned!

@UmniKnight The dock exists so the Switch can stop worrying about battery life to overlock itself, outputting higher resolutions and also better performance/graphics to more strongly appeal to the big screen users. That's... pretty much it, allowing for a better home experience. If you're worried about the state of the console portion dying out and instead the Switch being solely regulated to handheld mode, then I don't see it just yet. Like I said, I am very willing to bet there are a lot of people that get use out of both portable and console throughout their day, so it would indeed be a great deal if one of them was heavily compromised at a massive scale, be it portable or console mode.

Also, if developers really wanted to make their game work in portable mode solely due to the touchscreen, then they can. They're taking the portable aspect and making the most out of it. If a developer really wants to make their game only work on the dock just because they need that extra juice, then they can, making it a true console game. It would ruin their chances of consumers ever buying for the Switch as the portability factor is a big sway to why you'd buy for the Switch, but the option would most likely be there for developers. That doesn't change the fact that it's a hybrid and is what you make of it, though. If you think it's a portable, then treat it like a portable. If you think it's a console, then treat it like a console. Developers have their freedom, and if they want to pull it off, they have my blessing. That doesn't change the fact that it's a hybrid though, since it can do one or the other and can transition between modes seamlessly for 98% of games. The other 2% are going to be born out of necessity, few and far between.

But due to the innate hook of the Switch - the portability and the fact you can play those portable games on the big screen - developers would realize that and end up optimizing their games for both portable and docked modes, as limiting it to one or the other would make people want to pass up that version in favor of the PC/XB1/PS4 ports. People that still want to stay on the big screen can choose to do so. As such, I have no worries about the home console part of the Switch potentially dying out. Third-party support is a different story, but they can't ignore a success and/or drawing point like the Switch forever.

@BLP_Software I'm not a sports fan so NBA and FIFA aren't my cup of tea (though I recognize the importance of them), but the fall/holiday season looks amazing for Nintendo. Not just Switch, even the 3DS is gonna (probably) get its last big hurrah with Samus Returns (so, so, SO can't wait for that game) and Ultra Sun/Moon. Odyssey and Xenoblade are going to be awesome as well to scratch that itch for big, big adventurers.

Skyrim is actually looking pretty good. Digital Foundry just uploaded a new video with their hands-on experience with portable Skyrim, and they liked it and thought it was a job well done. I'm waiting until the in-depth testing, though.

And that's just the big retail games, the eShop should also bring in its own stuff like Stardew Valley and Terraria. They're old games you can get on other consoles/PC, granted, but people are still excited at the possibility of the Switch versions regardless.

Well this thread has escalated quickly over docked only games, tablet only games and how flexible the whole system is.
All I know is my bank balance will not like the run up to Christmas, Mario + Rabids, FIFA, Mario Odessey, Skyrim and Pokken. This has got to be one of the best year one line ups of games on a console in quite a while.

@EvilLucario Alright, I'd like to ask you to give me reason to trust that Nintendo will keep this around, if not improve upon it (it's hybrid nature, specifically the dock) And the reason why I emphasize that, is that the handheld portion doesn't need emphasizing or worrying about it's future, as that's literally what's selling a lot of people on the device and it's old/ports games. It is Switch moreso than it's docked extra.

I guess the only way the portability aspect turns around, is if games originally portable (Like Pokemon and MH) would get a major hook in suddenly being home-console as well, as I know there are plenty of people that have been wanting a console experience of MH once again, even if we are getting that, just not on the Switch, which I think is a sin on Capcom's part, since the device is so perfectly well suited to that game.

@UmniKnight Let's look at it the other way: Nintendo has nothing to gain if they simply go back to home console and portable separate devices. That ship sailed ever since the Switch started making waves. Trying again with the home console approach didn't work out as well as they'd hoped with the Wii U (though to be fair that was also attributed to other factors like marketing and weird power architecture), and trying to develop for both systems at once sap away valuable development efforts from the other. Combining both was a gamble, but it paid off, so with the current success of the Switch, it's a very strong possibility that Nintendo continues with the merge of portable and console so they can focus all of their efforts on one thing instead of two things. That alone makes the hybrid nature worth keeping, so Nintendo still allows people to play how they like - on a TV or out and about.

Yes, the portability aspect is selling people on the Switch... but there's still the docked version. There's options for both console and portable, to pick up after playing on the TV to portable, then back to TV, then whatever you want. If games was just portable or just console, people wouldn't have as much interest as them having options for both. Developers are realizing that too (https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/08/mario_plus_rabbids_dev_praises_unprecedented_gameplay_possibilities_offered_by_switch), and that makes me believe that games won't be strictly one or the other without heavy, heavy thought.

@BLP_Software Only retail Switch games I'll be getting the rest of the year are Mario + Rabbids and Super Mario Odyssey. Never been the biggest fan of Skyrim, so I'll wait for a sale on that. Don't want to get Xenoblade 2 until I actually play Xenoblade X, which I've owned since launch. And FE Warriors... I'll wait for reviews. Not a huge Warriors fan, though, so I'm not sure if I'll even be picking it up. If I do, it'll be next year.

Switch-wise, for 2018, aside from obvious day one purchases (Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime, Pokemon, SMT, Smash, etc.), I'm going to try to stick to a lot of the smaller, download-only titles I've been ignoring throughout the year. I already have a large list of smaller experiences that deserve my attention that I've been ignoring in favor of bigger retail purchases.

There's always the possibility that Nintendo, (much) further down the line, might bring out a 'New Switch', more comparable (in terms of power) to the PS4/X1, opening the door for 'current gen' third parties to come to the Switch...then, perhaps, Nintendo could also bring out an Expansion Pak for the current Switch to give it a boost in docked performance, meaning that 'New Switch' games could still be played on the old (current) hardware, just in docked-only form (?) That way, tech could advance, but also no-one would get left behind...

I dunno about the whole stronger switch thing. Seems like it'd just muddy things up for themselves and people buying Switches

@EvilLucario True, but it doesn't inspire enough confidence to have any real faith, that they'll stick to that hybrid model if, later down the line, numbers do crop up that say there's money to be had by going handheld. Again, I don't see the dock as doing much, save for a tiny bit of extra to have it fit your TV and that's it. If it had more, did more, then I can see how it's integral, but right now, it just isn't, you get what I'm trying to say? It just feels like an extra, what with it being a small plastic case with hardly anything in it. It doesn't contribute enough to truly feel that it deserves the separate asking price, and indeed, for some, the inclusion at all.

@NaviAndMii Please stop fuelling the poor boys paranoia. We want this discussion to actually progress some time this week.

@Ralizah I'm unemployed right now so...ick.

@Operative2-0 There wasn't a lot of confusion regarding the New 3DS aside from the name, right? I imagine it would be handled like that was.

Switch is inevitably going to be revised. And, at the rate technology is advancing, I have a hard time believing this won't include a more powerful hardware revision in a few years.