Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

I've been so into Mario 3D World that I haven't even started Persona 5 Strikers yet. And Gnosia comes out tomorrow, too...

Haven't even touched my copy of Xenoblade DE yet. I'd like to play Bravely 2 as well, but I've resigned myself to waiting for that one.

I have no idea how long it's going to take me to get to Monster Hunter at this rate.

It amazes me people can sit around on message boards and cry about a "drought."

Tonight I noticed my Switch's fan running while playing 3D World (and I'm probably 5-6 feet away from it, since I'm playing docked) which isn't something I've really noticed before.

I can't imagine a Wii U port of it's scale would be particularly hard on the system (I've only played the base game so far & haven't touched Bowser's Fury), so is it something I should worry over?

@RR529 my fan just randomly runs on certain games at certain points. Usually when I'm starting it up or when it's loading. I personally wouldn't be concerned but maybe someone else can shed light.

@RR529 @NintendoByNature Most games have taken advantage of the top performance level on the CPU (the "boost mode") to reduce loading times as much as possible while dropping power to the GPU so it doesn't kill battery life. That's why the fan tends to turn on during loading screens (including start up), since all the heat is concentrated on the CPU which triggers it to cool that down.

Also, keep in mind that 3D World on Wii U ran at 720p docked, while the Switch version runs at 1080p.

Bloomberg just dropped a bombshell article stating their sources confirm Nintendo has secured a contract with Samsung for rigid 720p OLED screens for their new revision launching later this year, which they hope to use to boost demand against heading into the 5th year of its life and against stiffening competition.

It claims the OLED screens are rigid (unlike more expensive flexible OLED, I’m assuming, though that won’t matter for a screen that is not meant to bend) and said excess supply led to a good price. They claim the screen is 720p but at 7 inches (which I just measured the bezel on my Switch- that’s almost the exact length of the diagonal of the bezel, meaning the Switch will likely be the same size, but they’re removing the bezel almost entirely to fit the larger screen).

They also claim it will be 4k capable for TV displays.

So ya. There you have it. Bloomberg says it’s happening. If they’ve confirmed Nintendo signed a deal for 720p OLED displays, then ya, it’s pretty much a done deal at this point.

I find it both interesting and exciting to see Nintendo taking a different approach. I can’t remember where I read this but someone was saying Nintendo in the past has always waited for hype to die off to milk everything they can, then they try to inject new demand with revisions or new consoles, and that hasn’t worked out well for them after repeated attempts, since it’s hard to regain momentum once you lose it. Wii to Wii U is a prime example of this. Even Miamoto said he regrets them not releasing a Wii HD sooner. Sothis time they want to take more of a Sony approach by injecting demand at the height of hype. This change in strategy is also evident by their pursuit of more cutting edge technology. A welcome change, I should add. It’s about time. Not to say you can’t have amazing gaming experiences without pushing graphics- you totally can. Switch is proof enough of that. But getting better graphics and visual quality does enhance the experience. It’s nice to see, not so much because good look games will look amazing (although that’s nice too), but because games that don’t look good can finally be presentable with a playable framerate.

Now. I’m not a fan of OLED burn in, which is the one downside to this particular screen technology, but there’s no denying the quality of the screens is second to none. And given I never really had problems with Vita’s screen, it should be fine. Given how much I love Switch and would enjoy a higher quality model, the pros definitely outweigh the cons I think. But it is important to acknowledge the cons exist.

Just noticed a Laid-Back Camp game released on switch today. If any of you pick it up let me know how it is.

@JaxonH I was under the impression to get true permanent burn-in, the screen needs to be displaying the image for over a day straight. I don't think that's too likely for portable mode.

@Wavey84 Disney Afternoon collection may have rights issues keeping it from being ported. But if it doesn't or that's resolved it'd be pretty likely. Rare Replay is almost certainly not going to happen.

@JaxonH Am I missing something about the latest apparent news on the so called Switch Pro? Are they saying it's just an improved screen for handheld play and 4K when docked? No internal upgrades regarding power, even if just overclocked the CPU/GPU?

@FragRed They don't know anything about the internals. The news is based on the deal between Samsung and Nintendo. It's entirely possible there's a separate unrevealed deal between NVidia and Nintendo to improve the internals... or not.

@link3710 Thanks for that. There are so many rumours going around for this supposed new Switch that I just cant keep up with what's what anymore. I swear journalists and their respected sites keep making these up simply because it's easy clicks as it's been rumoured for each year for the past 4 years.

@FragRed No problem. FYI, Bloomberg is a major business paper (not a gaming site), and also actively revealed the details on the Switch Lite and silent Mariko revision about a year before they launched.

Though, everyone drew conclusions based on what they said and assumed that Mariko would be a major revision and not a silent one

4K output would imply a new dock at the very least. Likely a bump in performance but I wouldn't hold my breath for anything like 2x

I think more likely the 4K output would relate to supporting newer HDMI revisions to get HDR. If you're going OLED in portable mode HDR is an easy win. Which means HDMI 1.4 needs to make way for 2.0/2.1

@link3710 @skywake My expectations is to have something along the lines of the New 3DS in terms of type of upgrade - nothing too substantial but just enough of a boost to keep the system ticking while a true successor is in the works. Also don’t see Nintendo doing exclusives to the new hardware.

@FragRed
Would make sense I think. The New 3DS doubled the RAM and added two additional CPU cores, it wasn't a generational leap but it was far from a trivial jump. Pure speculation on my part but I think, outside of the improved display, the most likely jump would be internal storage. There's a global silicon shortage ATM and the only things that have dropped in price over the last year are SSDs and Monitors. Says something about how fast those two categories are moving relative to everything else.

Outside of this rumoured 720p OLED, which seems reasonable, if I was to pick the Switch Pro I'd say:

• 128GB of faster internal storage, maybe even a 256GB SKU. This is still very conservative.
• Slimmer design aided by a more efficient SoC
• HDMI 2.0 i.e. support for a 4K + HDR @ 60Hz signal
• Maybe VRR but I could see Nintendo dropping the ball here.....
• Very slight performance GPU performance bump given the time since the Switch launched (almost 5 years by the time this prob launches), maybe 1.5x real world. Enough that some games that run at 1080p can do 1440p, games that do 720p can jump to 1080p. Prob nothing outside of fairly basic indie games actually rendering at 4K

With so much talk about Switch Pro rumours over the past 4 years (maybe longer) I'm kind of surprised there hasn't been a large amount of "Should I buy the Switch or wait for Switch Pro?" threads on this site.

So like remember the endless Pokemon GO friend code threads.

@Grumblevolcano I think that’s in part because we have had so many rumours that never came to fruition, that people on here are kinda in the “will wait for Nintendo to reveal before I care” camp. Plus I assume most on this site now have a Switch?

@skywake Yeah this feels about right for Nintendo. I would think with supply constraints they’d be careful about what the launch, when they launch it and how they launch it. Gonna be an interesting juggling act.

720p OLED screen for portable play, 4k upscaling through docked play? The same housing as Switch V1 and V2, so that accessories work across all three non-Lite models? The potential usage of the OLED screen means the board layout might be smaller, more energy efficient? I'd pay $350 to $400 for these things. Assuming bots, scalpers, and flippers would allow me to.

Any confirmation of this Switch V3 from Nintendo themselves would be nuclear, molten hot news.

But when you have the best selling hardware for over two years straight, I still think Nintendo won't be releasing V3 in 2021. Unless Nintendo hammers home the fact that this is a premium version of the Switch everyone knows and loves. I wouldn't expect a price drop for any of the current models either. Switch Lite, $200. Switch V2, $300. Switch V3, $400.

Price drops are for platforms that are struggling to sell, not thriving platforms.

$400 would still be less than half of the mrsp comparable portable laptops like the Aya Neo and GPD Win 3 are asking for.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win3-the-world-s-1st-h...

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aya-neo-world-s-first-7nm-...

Honestly, and don't tell Nintendo this, but I just love the Switch so much that I'll pay whatever for an upgraded model. I'm guessing it's gonna be 400 bucks.

Most of the Mii costumes this time are Monster Hunter so a Monster Hunter fighter seems deconfirmed.

PFFFT they really used the mii costume segment just to say "Monster Hunter? Yeah no"