Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Xenoblade probably WOULD look good on the tablet had Monolith Soft decided to allow the game to run at its full potential in handheld mode, like SMO and BotW. We might not have gotten a consistent 720p resolution, but I'm willing to bet those drops to sub-PS Vita resolution wouldn't happen anymore.

@EvilLucario The one a month ago or so? Nah, people have demonstrated that the resolution still caves in busy areas on that same subreddit, from what I remember.

It's sort of like that DOOM update recently that added motion controls. People went on and on about resolution and framerate improvements, but the Digital Foundry analysis didn't find much to be different on the performance front.

@Pazzo-ZaFool I'd be OK with it if it was like the PS4 Pro and featured a "boost mode" that allowed games to run better.

Besides, the New 3DS also ran SNES VC games and was significantly snappier than the original model.

Yeah really disappointing that they never optimized the game for handheld mode at all.

The law of diminishing returns has been in full force since the dawn of the PS3 and 360. Ever since those consoles released, we see less and less returns over a longer and longer time span.

I mean, whatever PS5 and Xbox 3 end up being, I estimate it's not going to look more than 10% better over PS4 and X1. Aside from standardizing 4K 60fps (which will be the ultimate end game, beyond that it's a waste- the increased power necessary to do something like 8K would be completely not worth it for the marginal 3% return you would get as far as visual perception for the average player) there's really nothing beyond that they can do to make a noticeable difference. They can continue to increase details and all that stuff but, they could do that now anyways.

Which means we're rapidly approaching the limit, if you can envision it like a mathematical graph where the Y value continues to decrease at an increasing rate as it gets closer and closer to the limit. And that's a good thing I think. Once 4K 60 FPS is standardized I don't really need games to look better than that. Be honest I don't really need them to look better than 1080p 30fps, although anything above that is a nice bonus, for sure.

What I'm getting at is someday in the next 10 or 20 years, mobile technology will be capable of 80% of console technology. In 10 or 20 years we will be playing games on Switch-like devices running 1080p 60fps standardized across the board. With the same graphical grunt as the home consoles, just quarter resolution.

As time progresses mobile technology will continue to close the gap with consoles. Until eventually, every single console game will be able to be released on a portable console system without any downscaling at all. Just ran at a lower resolution. Switch was a major milestone, but that gap is going to get even smaller in the future. The compromise we have to make for a hybrid system is only going to decrease with time

@Ralizah
I haven't noticed any difference in Xenoblade, but I did notice a difference in DOOM. Just a smidge sharper really, but the biggest thing I noticed was the lack of severe drops like before. I mean it's not like it suddenly ran at a locked 720p but, it kind of undid the straw that broke the camels back, so to speak. Nudged it up over some arbitrary threshold where, it no longer felt extremely subpar, and just kind of felt like it was on a slightly lower end of the spectrum for visuals.

Handheld mode looked like a 3DS game, it doesn't bother me particularly though improvements are always welcome.

@Ralizah Yeah that's why I said I think it was placebo.

@DarthNocturnal Sony will probably go in that direction anyway because of VR.

I think beyond 60fps is a waste. A certain segment of PC gamers will chase that sort of thing but when you're talking about 100 million average consumers... nobody's going to care about that.

They can push it if they want but it's just going to make the console considerably more expensive, for a return very few people will likely notice or even care about anyways.

Would a $400 console that can do 4K 120fps sell better? Or a $200 console that can do 4K 60fps.

Once we hit the limit, instead of increasing specs I think they're going to start decreasing price. It's going to be about getting the same amount but for a lower cost. Or, decreasing size and eventually, eventually, going the Switch route. Once the limit is reached, as technology continues to progress and get cheaper they can choose to lower price or they could choose to start conpacting their consoles to add value in other areas. Playstation 6 as a fully hybrid system that ran 4K 60fps on the TV with 1080p 60fps on the go... is everything anyone could ever want from a console. The only area I think we'll continue to see a push for is for virtual reality, because more power is needed.

While 60fps is good enough for me, I think we might see a push towards 90 Hz. But where the jump between 30fps and 60fps is about as noticable as the jump from 720p to 1080p, 90fps will be like 4k. Something that's nice, but a lot of people will barely see the difference. Anything beyond that? It's hard to prove people will be able to see a difference.

Personally, anything that's at 1080p 60fps is perfectly acceptable in my book, and I don't see the need to push past either, but you know they'll do it for marketing reasons. Of course, that's assuming TVs that display over 60hz become standard. Otherwise, they can implement it but...

Let's get to 60 fps being standard first please.

Anyways, I feel like more power would be better served on more advanced physics and AI.

Ay, check this out from the dev of The Messenger

Sometimes you’re not expecting a platformer to teach you life-affirming lessons. Sometimes the shopkeeper will go off on a long story. If people don’t care about that, they can skip through 90 percent of the dialogue and enjoy the pure action platforming. The game, later on, when it switches to 16-bit, it comes closer to a Metroidvania. Then you have to do all exploration. You need to go back to the previous levels and find hidden stuff that will help you get to the final true ending of the game. It moves from a simple 8-bit platformer to something else entirely. But you want to start at the beginning feeling like this is a classic platformer.

Here's the trailer for anyone not up to speed on this one. Looks like the Shovel Knight of Ninja Gaiden. This game is going to give us that kind of experience on the level Shovel Knight did.

5.0.2 update is out, probably more stability.

Oh brother, another article incoming from NL about it. Can't wait to see it.....

I always love stability memes. Honestly don't get why people hate them.

Yacht Club Games announced that King of Cards is launching 2nd half of 2018.

Nice. Shovel Knight is pretty damn fun.

Open world games like BotW probably benefit the most from 30 FPS, because that allows you to create the best world possible. Everything else, though, should aim for 60 FPS by next generation tbh.

@JaxonH As for your comment about Tropical Freeze Switch resolution, in general handheld performance of Switch games are going to be the more impressive stats. If the Wii U was more powerful we would've seen stuff like Tropical Freeze 1080p years ago whereas getting 720p in handheld mode sounds like something very special, that you have a console-like experience anywhere.

@JaxonH Yep I'm looking forward to that one,it looks quality.

@Grumblevolcano
I agree. It's the handheld 720p that's the real star. 720p to 1080p console is nice, by all means, I never want to diminish the value of a game jumping from 720 to 1080, but the jump from DKC Returns in 240p on 3DS to Tropical Freeze, platforming perfected, in 720p portable is remarkably impressive.

My point was just to highlight the fact that, when it's not being artificially hyped up and manufactured (as we see with practically every multiplatform release compared to Switch), actual interest in the benefits of console 1080p over even something as low as 720p... is marginal. It is a very much appreciated gain, but it's not like it's got people hooting and hollering. But you would think that should be the case the way people talk about other console versions being 1080p over Switch 900p, or even the same 720p.

We see with DKC the naked, true value of a game being 1080p vs 720p, without exaggeration of the benefits clouding the real advantage.

You need to have a ridiculously big TV or sit very close to get anything out from a 4k TV. And if we add the fact that 60% have bad eye sight... and the fact that the average viewing distance in living rooms are no where near the optimal viewing distance...

My guess it is other things that make most people feel it is a better viewing experience compared with their last TV. Newer TVs have better colors, most buy a bigger TV and since you bought an expensive new TV it must be better.