Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Could also see a switch tv scenario where its just a box with the switch innards. like vita tv.

@WebHead Yeah, they didnt (Not sure about the Nexus 9 tho, but thats besides the point) so all in all, in terms of gaming this is kinda Nvidia biggest chance to leave a mark on the scene...

I think, for what the switch is supposed to do, the Tegra X2 (or whatever is called, or whatever Tegra version is) was a great choice, it has the strongest GPU of all ARM devices, with more than capable CPU for gaming.

This is thing is so alarmingly close to traditional (if you like that term) for a console. Even the PS4 has some fairly useless gimmick. :/

Developing for one screen with Prime is a tad weird but...if it brings the mainstream in I guess...

@BLPs It was never going to have two screens, be a portable, play in TV, deliver acceptable visuals and be affordable. You can't do everything.

@Octane Its never going to do anything but i dont think anyone took them seriously about their comments on marketing, messaging, games lineup, hardware...any of it.

Iwata set out to make this thing so...un-Nintendo as possible that I dont know what the catch is. There probay isnt even one.

On the topic of touch screens and home/TV play...

Does anyone think it may be able to stream to the TV, via the docking station? i.e. sort of a reverse Wii U gamepad situation, where the device is in your hand, processing the game / app (e.g. Netflix), however this is streamed through wifi to the dock, so that you can use the TV and portable screen simultaneously? Is that reasonable?

One big reason why it certainly has touch screen is that just about every handheld device now adays had one. Every phone, every tablet, even every laptop. So it'll be quite confusing for kids when every device they've been exposed to is fully touchable.

EDIT: I suppose it would be just as confusing for adults, too!
EDITIT: @BLPs said "Iwata set out to make this thing so...un-Nintendo as possible that I dont know what the catch is. There probay isnt even one."

It's possible that a lot of un-Nintendo things were influenced lately by Kimishima. The whole idea of how the Switch should be as different from the Wii/Wii U as possible is largely a Kimishima philosophy. Probably the one thing he's publically expressed.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=221085180&post... interesting post. yeah i think atm nintendo is fibbing in regards to the dock not providing extra power.

@skywake That's an awesome gif! Haha.

@WebHead Why would Nintendo lie about the dock not having extra power? That's a selling point surely?

If an additional CPU isn't in they're (whether it was impractical or expensive), it could be possible that the dock just has a single component, like an upgrade in RAM or GPU. I'm no expert on competers, though, but I usually think of those things as easily upgradeably on computers, so maybe it's easier for the Switch to switch GPUs on the fly(?) I have no idea what is more or less feasible, I'm just throwing the idea out there.

I did notice how wide the back of the dock is previously.

@FragRed they mentioned they haven't shown everything about the system. they don't want to overwhelm and keep the reveal message about the main concept.

Taking in account the battery life, the CPU and GPU are probably underclocked. What if the docking station provides a cooling mechanism and allows the system to run at full power. The docking station doesn't contain its own CPU or GPU in that way, but it ''unlocks'' the extra horsepower in the main unit. Since it's now hooked up to the mains, it doesn't have to rely on the battery anymore.

@WebHead
There are a few alternative explanations. For example instead of having the power brick for the dock on the lead or at the wall? Perhaps they have it in the back of the unit. Combine that with the space required for a powered USB hub and HDMI pass through? I mean there'd be space left but not a whole lot.

Another theory would be that the back section has a bit of additional cooling. So when docked not only does the unit get as much power as it wants but it also gets a bit more active cooling. Which wouldn't exactly be "more power when docked" but it would allow the GPU to boost up to a higher clock than it would on the go. Though to be fair this is going to be a thing regardless of whether there is active cooling or not. When docked it won't be running off the battery.

The third theory I have is the closest I think it could be to "more than just a dock". Basically I think that the dock might have space for a 2.5" HDD. Possibly even with some sort of super cheap ARM SOC that allows the system to run in a kind of stand-by mode when the tablet is undocked. Purely so it can keep downloading updates if you undock and maybe display a simple "please dock the Switch" screen.

@Octane I thought the same thing. Maybe that's why the games appear to run better on the TV on the preview.

Theres probably a downclock when using it without the dock for battery life purpose, i mean, most tablets and phones die in like 3 hours if you only game on them, so im not particulary impressed if this has around 3-4 hours of battery life.

But it will probably use the full power with the dock to support 1080p resolution without downgrade in performance

I GUESS

@Vinny
The preview is pretty much all just clever editing. Those games weren't running on the system when they filmed it. Which makes sense when you think about it. Imagine being the director of this promo clip and you hire a bunch of actors. You try to get the best shots you can of the actors. But then oops, they pressed the home button on that take. Oh no wait, you didn't quite pull off that move we're going to have to do that shot again. Crap! The game crashed! Hold up. Lets pull over the developers to see if they can get it running again. Yeah, no.

If the shots are put in during post-production? You can film the whole thing with the screens blank. You just tell the actors "you're playing a racing game on it" and they act. You don't even have to have the game footage lined up. Then you get the developers to send you in a whole bunch of game footage they want to use. They can then match the game footage to what the actors have come up with. And that's exactly what they did. People have zoomed in and slowed it down. You can see it.

I wouldn't read too much into how the games ran in different scenes. If there was slowdown? It was because the editor stuffed up. They either made an active decision to slow the footage down so it'd sync up a bit better. Or they grabbed the wrong bit of footage

@Octane: I've had this idea too. When it's on the go, its got to keeps its power level down for the battery, as well as heat for the hand, all while keeping a vivid display on. But when its docked, it can keep the screen off and get as hot as it wants without worrying about battery. If a cooling system was added to this, then a huge difference between handheld and home performance makes a lot of sense.

It really does make sense. I've seen a well timed screenshot of the preview where the footage from the Mario game on the switch screen clips into the woman's hair, but I initially thought it was just for that specific scene (since that's when she takes the Switch out of the TV).