Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@TheJGG I think it’s the modern poster child for how technology isn’t the only (or most important) factor driving the games industry.

In theory the technology is incredible and the potential to expand into very light “dumb terminals” (i.e you can play an actual demo of the actual full spec game on a device like Chromecast never intended for gaming) is a compelling and brave vision of the future...

...but it’s not what people want today and it illustrates the importance of having a broader and more cohesive marketing ecosystem (& appropriate games to support it obviously). Without that you’ve not got a competitor.

I think Stadia will hang around but mutate into a delivery mechanism for AAA games onto Android phones and tablets.

@StuTwo I agree, the technology is cool and it's real but it's not ready for public use yet. In ten to fifteen years this may very well be the norm, or storage drives for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo consoles become so cheap that physical and digital media still have large relevance. Solid state drives have dramatically decreased in price over the last five years alone, we wouldn't have imagined we'd have a 825GB solid state PS5 drive.

@TheJGG I think there’s room for both approaches to be honest.

Technology has consistently made the “dumb terminal” obsolete before it ever dominates. If a PS4/PS5 can be made small enough and cheap enough fast enough (as eventually a console will..) then Stadia as a “console” is a non starter.

But the concept is undeniably still a good one (which is why it keeps coming back in computing more generally). I think it’s a particularly good idea for the idea of testing games and for dipping into games/short cinematic games and such. Eventually I expect all of the major platform holders to have something that does the same kind of things as Stadia (even if the main platform remains more traditional).

@StuTwo I agree with pretty much all of this.

The other platforms are so strong that Google weren't really in the best position to "compete" with a product such as Stadia. Investing not only in a new technology but a new player in such a crowded industry is risky business, and I think Sony and Microsoft are in much better positions to implement cloud gaming (the latter especially - and we're seeing them push forward with XCloud). At least with these platforms, if cloud gaming doesn't take off you have traditional consoles to fall back on.

@JaxonH WOW i was not expecting that Monster Hunter Rise Photo Mode is so good.

@Giancarlothomaz
It's killer.

The real endgame in Rise isn't hunting monsters, or making all the armor sets and weapons, or crafting the perfect talisman...

No.

The real endgame in Rise, is pictures. 🙂

I would genuinely be more interested in Monster Hunter if they just marketed it as a photography game.

@StuTwo
I do agree that the technology behind Stadia and similar is interesting. I think both streaming and "dumb terminals" will have a place in the future, though. There really is no beating having something physically in-hand in terms of ownership. I know the arguments for digital goods suddenly disappearing are not exactly robust as of this point in history, but I think as technology becomes more pervasive, digital-only/cloud-based goods will become more exposed to hacking, hijacking, termination, etc.

I'll be sticking with hardware and physical games for now, but if Nintendo would launch a cloud service or something like Stadia, I would totally check it out as a secondary gaming source.

Even if cloud services dominate the industry, or at least gain a stronger following, I'd still stick with hardware and consoles. I don't think a cloud service on Switch is needed because it would defeat the purpose of the console by restricting your game playing to an area with a steady internet connection.

As with electric cars and virtual reality, it's good now, and perfectly serviceable but I wouldn't buy one now. I'd rather wait for the technology to develop, become cheaper and become more efficient, before I invest in it.

@Dogorilla
Wait Mon Hun Stories 2 for another "photography game".

Borderlands 3 Director Cut rated for Switch.

And there it is.

@JaxonH Woah, I didn't seem see that coming and just assumed it would be skipping Switch. Borderlands has been my online game of choice lately so I will probably pick this up.

@JaxonH

I'm enthusiastic about the possibility of having BL3 on Switch, but I have to imagine that'll be a digital-only release. What's the game's file size, 75 GB? Ugh. I hope Gearbox Publishing compression tools are good, otherwise that game is going to be a memory hog.

Since the Switch is region free, which region has the worst looking boxes? I personally cant stand the ones from Europe and Australia

@InkIdols

Probably those from Deutschland.

The necessity for multiple ratings overruns a lot of the box art space.

Cloud gaming won’t become the “norm” for at least another decade, and probably longer. There are just too many countries with substandard internet speeds. Even in countries like the U.K. and U.S. there are a large portion that can’t get decent internet.

The whole idea of Microsoft thinking there’s 2 billion customers out there waiting for cloud gaming is laughable. Most of these people play free to play mobile games. They aren’t going to suddenly start playing Xbox games on the bus.

@FragRed It's only the poor that haven't good internet and the poor can't use their food stamps to buy games anyway ;p

@jump Damn, that’s some Tory thinking. The poor shouldn’t be allowed to have any form of enjoyment. Suffer and make me money.

@jump @FragRed Also I imagine one of the target demographics for Stadia and other cloud-based services are those without games consoles (playing from a browser or Chromecast has potential to reach more people).

However those who pay for high-speed internet are more likely to have the means to buy a traditional console, or probably already own one.

@FragRed people have been voting Tory for 10+ years now, accept it ;p

Kidding aside, I found it funny Corbyn talked about giving free internet to everyone since it's a vital part of everyday life and he was mocked for it. Now over the last year his point was proved and even the Tories are thinking about doing something similar to that but this time there's no socialist disaster outcry.