Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@SLIGEACH_EIRE At lot of things their games do are very fitting of achievements, with Hestu's Gift being the typical collectathon gone rogue one seen on other systems.

Plus, they already have achievements that actually get you something (Albeit with subjective value) via MyNintendo on mobile games, unlike the other systems which are just bragging rights. I wouldn't actually be shocked to see it.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I've heard that Steam monitors achievements to see how well a game was received. Over 50% of them completed was apparently seen as "You liked the game".

Perhaps it'll be used the same way by Nintendo? Who knows.

@Octane That's a whole different argument in and of itself. Many devices have TV connectivity, but that doesn't classify them any differently does it? At any rate, last thing I'll say on the matter, before BLP bursts a blood-vessel.

Here's a question for everyone. You know Nintendo could have easily released a 3DS model that connected to a TV. Would the 3DS have then been classed as a hybrid "console"? No, it'd still be a handheld, just with added TV out.

@skywake Well if it's in sleep mode then it's not off, is it?

@Haru17 But it doesn't require you to have it turned off. If its off or in sleep mode it only activates to give you the battery indicator at the top of the screen for a few seconds, as well as the dock light, just for a few seconds, to confirm its charging. That's all that is.

You've missed entirely what I've been saying over the last couple of pages. I'm not talking about the difference between portables and home console experiences from years gone by. I'm talking about what is possible now and going forward.

It's not a different argument. It's simply a case of you being to stuck in the past to realise that maybe these categories will eventually not mean anything. If you can carry around a home console experience, bring it home and plug it in to your TV why call it one or the other? It's both and neither. It's just a box to play games as everything that came before it was.

The difference is that the 3DS is in many respects a lower spec Gamecube. As a console to plug into your TV it would be a novelty. But if you were to push me for an answer? Then yes. I would put that in the same category as the Switch. In the same way that we didn't re-classify the SNES as not a home console when the N64 launched.

@BLP_Software You're not reading my point, the Switch turns itself on whenever you dock it. I like Nintendo systems for always being easy to power down completely, but this one pushes sleep mode with a restrictive power button interface just like PS4.

@skywake Things need classification in order to know what do with them. How will you make a recipe, without knowing what kind of ingredients you need? How will you be able to tell flavours apart, if they never had a classification? It's in the same way that publishers and developers throw "casual" audience around, or how speed-runners use "casual" to denote someone playing a game normally, as opposed to running it. What is a casual even? The only way the Switch gets the hybrid moniker, is because it's the first in the field. But the term "hybrid" means 50% of one thing, and 50% of the other. Is that the Switch? Because if I take it from it's dock, then the dock won't do anything any-more. I'd say it was, if the dock was it's own system, kinda like how you used to connect your DS to your Wii for Pokemon Battle Revolution, but fully integrated and able to give each-other a real hand.

And the real funny part is that it doesn't even use that moniker, it uses "home-console". The definition for it, as per Wikipedia: "A home video game console, or simply home console, is a video game device that is primarily used for home gamers, as opposed to in arcades or some other commercial establishment. Home consoles are one type of video game consoles, in contrast to the handheld game consoles which are smaller and portable, allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place, along with microconsoles and dedicated consoles."

So it is a problem because you can't filter it out?

@Haru17 Your point was that you don't like that the Switch turns on when you dock it to charge it. In only does so to let you know its actually charging then it returns to sleep mode.

As for your comments about having to dock it and do everything via the TV just to turn it off, no. Just hold the power button down if you want to full turn it off. You don't need to dock it and do all these things for it to be in sleep mode while charging. Just put it in sleep mode, dock it, it says its charging, and it goes back to sleep. Simple.

@GrumbleVolcano XCX was also their only holiday game that year after Super Mario Maker. They didn't really get a choice. Looking at how it sold, and how this country lovingly reacts to things, I think it is wise of them to push the games that will move the system here.

@UmniKnight The things with classification is that new ones pop up all the time, as classifications become outdated as more evidence and new things come to light. Therefore, nothing can really be classified by what we thought way back when.

Heck, the PS4 and Xbox One are Multimedia boxes. Their primary sales pitch is that of a games console, but in truth, they are multimedia boxes capable of doing a lot of what your PC can do, or your TV.

*noun
noun: hybrid; plural noun: hybrids
1.
Biology
the offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties, such as a mule.
"the bird was a hybrid of a goose and a swan"
synonyms:
cross, cross-breed, mixed-breed; More
mixture, blend, meld, amalgam, amalgamation, combination, composite, compound, conglomerate, fusion, synthesis;
informalmash-up
"this is a hybrid between a brown and albino mouse"
2.
a thing made by combining two different elements.
"jungle is a hybrid of reggae and house music"
a word formed from elements taken from different languages, for example television ( tele- from Greek, vision from Latin).
a car with a petrol engine and an electric motor, each of which can propel it.
noun: hybrid car; plural noun: hybrid cars
adjective
adjective: hybrid
1.
of mixed character; composed of different elements.
"hybrid diesel-electric buses"

By the definition of *Hybrid, the Nintendo Switch, as a product, as sold, does in fact fit that of a Hybrid in that it's SKU, marketing, product presentation, and function revolves around the combination of elements from a home console and a handheld.

@BLP_Software Referring you to my edit by the explanation of what a "home-console" entails. Also alright, I'll give you that it fits as a hybrid, but that isn't what NINTENDO is selling it as.

Eh, it's a portable to me. A console is either portable (in the literal sense that you can carry it around without the need of an external power supply or a screen), or it's a home console, not portable and thus tethered to your TV. Being both sounds like a paradox to me, because something can't be both portable and not portable at the same time. The Switch is always portable, since there's nothing stopping you from picking it up and taking it anywhere.

But I also know that some get a bit worked up if I say I think it's a portable, and I really don't understand why.

If it had the same design as the Switch (including the GPU running at a lower clock speed in handheld mode)? Sure. But the 3DS clearly wasn't designed to be used either as a home console or as a handheld, what with its clamshell design, permanently attached controls, and much lower specs.

@UmniKnight It is what they are selling it as. Because that's what it shows on the box. They aren't neglecting to ever show one or the other. All the ads show both being utilised. They show the full of range of features. Even Japan mentions its on a TV, though that holds far less importance there.

They aren't false advertising anything. They tell you its both. A hybrid. The only reason they said it was a home console initially is for investors. You know what they would do if they said no more of those.

@Octane I've no problems with it being a portable, just that it was sold to me as a home-console.

@BLP_Software An investors thing again huh? Figures.

What are you afraid of? Are you afraid there only will be touchscreen games going forward? Because that is the only feature not present in docked mode. Basically every game we have seen so far has been played with buttons.

@Therad What am I afraid of? That my preferred way to play will be out the window if it proves not to be popular enough, since Nintendo's strength lies in handheld, that's what I'm afraid of. Polls and such may show that it's roughly equal, or that both modes get used quite a bit, but the general consensus I get, is that people buy it because of it's handheld part, so it can slot into their busy lives. The part of it docking on the TV is a nice bit of "extra" and "extra" can also be removed if deigned no longer necessary.

Yes, yes paranoid all that yada yada throw it all out, I'm waiting.

Edit: Before you point me to the PS4/Xbox One, they don't play Nintendo games, and I have a very deep attachment/history with those. When push comes to shove, I'll play whatever device those games are on, but I'd also very much like a good third-party line-up with that, the best of both worlds.