Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Streaming games will never win in South East Asia for sure :V

@FragRed Well, streaming games here where I am in the US is still one of the worst gaming experiences I've ever had, I think they've got plenty of time, assuming we ever get to the point where it can take off.

While I'm bullish in streaming and have tried just about all the announced services thus far (PS Now, Google, EA, Ubi etc) I honestly think we are at least another generation away from it being a big deal. I'm talking PS6, Xbox "3", Switch "3". I think it will definitely make a ton of progress in the next generation however.

I'll say this: Even if streaming does take off (which it probably will), I have a hard time believing streaming-only will be a thing outside of certain exclusive titles to push services. For movies and TV, they've settled on a fairly steady platform of offering both ways for almost all major titles, and I think that's worked out as best as could be hoped?

I still think that game streaming is snake oil at this time. It could possibly change in a generation, but right now I am not convinced.

I am willing to eat crow if Stadia does launch and it works super well, but I'm not feeling it.

@EvilLucario If any of them are going to succeed, I think it's going to be xCloud.

Unless the major internet companies actually expand and better their infrastructure for most of America, ( they won't ) I just don't see streaming taking off in a big, meaningful way. At least stateside. But it'll be interesting to see how it grows.

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Clearly within the context of the conversation I was referring to graphical upgrades similar to what would fall into a "pro" category

GameBoy to GameBoy Color didn't increase the graphical grunt of the Gameboy, it just added color. Sure it added color, but #1 that happened after 8 years on the market and #2 it's more akin to adding stable 3D in the 3DS than it is making a more expensive "Pro" version of the GB meant to run GB games at higher res and framerates.

GBA to GBA SP didnt increase the graphical grunt of GBA, it just made it a flip top. It added a backlight, but again, see point #2

DS to DSi didnt increase the graphical grunt and fidelity of games. It just made it sleeker with DSi games. There may have been a technical change in the chip capability but, the net result was not DS games at higher graphical fidelity.

3DS to New 3DS did increase the graphical grunt, and that's the one time which I mentioned. But even then, it was barely enough to be considered a "pro". It was a marginal improvement that gave a couple games higher framerate, but that's not saying much given it was running 240p games on par with a GameCube.

So... ya. Those changes actually kinda make my point for me. The vast majority of their revisions have offered things other than increased graphical output. And that's what I expect from the next NSW revision. It may be a graphical-focused revision- its not out of the realm of possibility, but I wouldn't feel confident enough to actually bet on it.

@JaxonH Actually, GameBoy to GameBoy color did in fact improve the graphical / processor (no dedicated GPU of course) capabilities, hence why GameBoy color only games exist. It also had 4x the RAM (32kb to 8kb)

The DSi had additional RAM and a better processor, but to access the improvements the games had to run in 'native mode', meaning no improvement on old games due to the lack of patching. Therefore, only a small number of games have a difference between running on DS and DSi performancewise, and the DSi had like, 1 exclusive that I know of outside of DSiWare.

The GBA SP is the only one on the list that didn't feature internal hardware improvements, yes.

EDIT: And to make my point clear, I'm saying there will be a revision that improves graphics, not that the graphical fidelity improvement will be notable.

@link3710
And I mentioned that.

Point being, if GameBoy Color is someone's argument for Switch getting a Pro model, well...

Chips get improved sometimes- quite often, actually, but for other reasons than to simply run games at higher res and framerates. Heck, even Switch v2 has a better chip, but it isnt for increased graphical fidelity. GB needed to achieve color. Idk what DSi needed but it sure as heck didnt run games any better.

And that's the bottom line. The focus was not on increased graphical fidelity, irrespective of any technical changes to a chip. Nintendo has never chased the "pro model" approach, and the only exception that could maybe be made to that is borderline at best.

@JaxonH

Yeah, because in the half hour it took me to finish writing the post and fact check it, you'd done another post. Sorry about the repetition. But for reference, I'm saying that there will be a revision that improves graphical capability. I am NOT saying that the graphical upgrade will be notable. Hence why I always write 'pro' in quotation marks. But considering the Color, DSi, and N3DS improved specs, the chances of the Switch not getting a rerelease with at least marginally better specs is slim. As I said in my original post, I expect a slightly newer revision of RAM with the same capacity, and a slightly better CPU, and that's it.

@link3710
Nobody's arguing that. I mean, it's already happened. Switch v2 has a more capable chip. It's already happened.

But a "more capable chip that doesnt net any tangible results" or a "more capable chip that nets marginal results" and a "purposefully superior hardware configuration built and designed to increase graphical fidelity" are two tooootally different things. And I'm making a point to differentiate between them.

What I've been saying is, Nintendo has never chased the latter. Plenty of the former, but only one borderline case of the latter.

As I've already mentioned, I'm 99% sure one more revision is coming. We all agree there. No disagreement. And of course it will have some improvements. The question is, what kind? Will it be a case of of the former, or of the latter (the latter being an actual "Pro" model, a revision specifically designed to cater to core gamers via increased graphical fidelity ala Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro).

I'm simply making the case that the historical evidence leans more toward the former than the latter. A technically more powerful chip doesn't make a system a Pro model, otherwise Switch v2 would be considered a Pro model along with all those other revisions from Dezzy with "technically improved chips".

That said, anything can happen. You can't predict the unpredictable, and Nintendo is most definitely unpredictable.

I haven't picked it up yet,but I'm curious to see what people think of yooka?

Honestly, I've been too busy finishing Ori, Gato Roboto, and Link's Awakening, and now starting Ni No Kuni. Someday, I'll try Yooka I'm sure but... yeah.

@JaxonH The focus of the New 3DS was framerate, load times and better camera control (the added stick). Games like Smash 3DS and MH4U had much better load times meanwhile games like Hyrule Warriors Legends and the Pokemon games had better framerates.

So I'd think the next revision of the Switch may do stuff like make Korok Forest a stable 30fps in BotW, no frame drops in Link's Awakening, 60fps in Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition, etc. Meanwhile games like BotW 2 and Metroid Prime 4 run similar on OG Switch to how Pokemon Gen 7 ran on OG 3DS.

@NintendoByNature I think yooka is sub 800p on switch which makes me want a 1080p switch pro.

@sixrings I'm probabaly going to get it eventually, but not for a little while at least. I need a finish some games before I go buying more.

@NintendoByNature I haven't sold my Xbox one x yet. But I don't know why I wouldn't play it there.

I'm probably gonna hold off on Impossible Lair for a bit. I was disappointed with the first game. I had to force myself to beat it, and the floaty controls and frustrating physics just turned me off from the get go. Flying and swimming in a game were never so frustrating for me.

My next purchase might be Ultimate Alliance 3 or Dragon Quest XI.

@sixrings If you're concerned about the image quality and don't care about undocked play, why would you even consider playing it on anything other than your most powerful system?

Just curious.