Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Switch OLED Hands On Impressions

-Tom Marks (IGN)

While I was playing Nintendo’s newly announced OLED Switch earlier this week, the grass quite literally looked greener. I got a chance to try Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Breath of the Wild on the new model while comparing them directly to my original Switch, and the vivid screen it’s named after is an undoubtedly impressive improvement.

The strength of the new display (unsurprisingly) becomes even more obvious when turned on, immediately shining bright and clear from pretty much any viewing angle I tried. Honestly, it’s not an exaggeration to liken its vibrance to when the Gameboy Advance SP got an updated model with a far brighter screen, making the original Switch look noticeably dimmer if compared directly. Its colors are richer too, and I’m not kidding when I say Breath of the Wild’s grassy fields looked almost cartoonishly green viewed side-by-side.

The next most exciting feature of the OLED Model (somewhat surprisingly) is actually its improved kickstand. It’s no secret that the base model’s offset kickstand is flimsy and unreliable, but I wasn’t expecting this version’s to provide such a resounding response to the issues of its predecessor. Not only does it stretch all the way across the back of the Switch, its hinges offer a satisfying amount of resistance so that you can easily lean it at nearly any angle and be confident it will stay that way. It’s incredibly sturdy, with the same tactile matte finish as the back of the Switch Lite. If it weren’t for the charging port still being blocked while standing up, I’d say the need for a third-party stand is now all but dead.

The onboard speakers have also been improved somewhat, providing better sound quality when playing without headphones. I’m no audiophile but the difference was certainly noticeable, if not exactly jaw-dropping – Mario Kart’s music didn’t sound as flat, and Zelda’s echoing voice in Breath of the Wild had a bit more depth.

-Dieter Bohn (The Verge)

The screen looks brighter and more vibrant to me than the original Switch. The increased contrast is definitely noticeable on Rainbow Road, where the neon lights popped out of the screen more brightly compared to the darker background. I’ve also been using a Switch Lite for the past year or so, and its screen looks positively dim and muddy by comparison.

One concern I had was that increasing the screen size while staying at the same 720p resolution would make pixels stick out and some things would look jagged. Pixels were more visible when I stopped the action and looked for them. I could see some subpar antialiasing on thin text on the home screen and on the blades of grass surrounding Link on the Great Plateau. But once I was actually playing, all I saw is that the screen was bigger and everything looked brighter.

-Alessandro Fillari (Gamespot)

Compared to the Switch and Switch Lite, the OLED model better displays light and black levels, which presents a more vivid and illuminating picture that looks clear, bright, and stunning in motion. Right from the jump, the new OLED screen is very bright, but not to the point of it being distracting. Playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild–which was set at the opening, leading up to the reveal of the Hyrule landscape–the new display really brought a sense of vibrancy with the contrasting colors when overlooking the vista. When we jumped over to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the game’s 60 fps visuals looked incredibly smooth and sharp on the OLED display of the new model. While people who regularly play in docked modes with solid TV sets aren’t going to be blown away by the OLED model’s visuals, this still makes handheld mode look better than it ever has. It honestly made me interested in seeing how my other favorite games, like Bayonetta 2 or Smash Bros. Ultimate, would look on the new display.

The enhanced audio also adds a lot to the sense of ambiance to the games I played, which also included the Clubhouse Games collection. Compared to the original Switch’s smaller speakers, the enhanced audio speakers on the new model are much larger, improving the audio while playing in handheld mode. It was quite loud at times, which could make the OLED model more viable for when you’re playing the console in public with friends or in solitude.

As to be expected. In a contest between OLED vs LCD displays, OLED wins in a landslide every time. But when zero performance improvements are served up alongside the display, it feels like someone is just painting over a rusty surface. It doesn't erase the cracks hidden underneath.

I'm sure this same OLED display will be used with whatever the next Switch iteration will be.

I'll be saving my money for that time.

Not me. I'm all in. I thought about skipping it, but gaming is my only hobby I spend money on, and it's not like a new Switch requires a mortgage or 5 year loan.

Switch is a great system even in its current state, and the improvements from that OLED screen seem to be noticeable. The audio seems to also be a noticeable improvement. And the kickstand will make tabletop all the more enjoyable getting the angle just right without needing a stand.

But, I may just swap docks and keep my current v2 Switch in that, and use a charge stand for this next to the Lite. Since it's biggest appeal is the portable experience.

@JaxonH

There's no need to justify your purchase to me.

I appreciate your enthusiasm for the hobby regardless.

I'll probably upgrade my OG Switch at a fraction of the cost at Gamestop if I have the opportunity (OLED screen, better audio, new joycons, improved dock, double the on-board storage, and the longer battery life of the Mariko update would be worth $125, I think), but considering I already have a Lite for portable play, I'm not sure it'd be worth spending full price on.

@JaxonH Checked again, they still say sold out for me?

@link3710
Now they’re sold out. They weren’t when I posted earlier though.

Still on the fence... I don't know. It's just...350 is so close to the price of a PS5 and doesn't run anything my current Switch can't.

@rallydefault Don't forget, a revision like this usually means that it's only a couple of years until the next system launches... I'm guessing March 2023 is possible. Though, with the insane 2022 lineup, maybe not til 2024...?

I'm expecting either 2024 or 2025 for the next Nintendo console whether it be Switch 2 or not

We're definitely going to hear of at least its existence next year imo since it'll be like the 5th year of the Switch being available and we know it's in active development

My current assumption is it will come out pretty much exactly 7 years after the Switch, and will try to repeat what made that launch successful. But if it comes out the holiday season before or after that March, I wouldn't be surprised.

I'm thinking 2022 but I don't think it will be the usual kind of new console cycle. We'll still have the vast majority of titles released being OG Switch compatible. They'll just run at a lower framerate/resolution.

@skywake I think 2022 is too early. They clearly still have major Switch stuff planned for that year and we have yet to see a lot of previously announced games that were targeting Switch like Breath of the Wild 2, Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4, some of which might not even show up until 2023

@TheFrenchiestFry
I agree it would be too early if the next system was a traditional kind of next generation system. But I don't think that's going to happen. My gut feeling is that they had planned on the OLED SKU to have a newer SoC but supply constraints forced them to continue using the X1 SoC. As a result they pushed it back to next year and possibly even pushed back BotW 2 along with it.

I also think that when this new hardware releases there won't be that many exclusive titles. It'll mostly be more a case of these certain titles run with higher resolution assets and better lighting on the new hardware. These other games run with a similar level of detail but render at a higher resolution. And these other games run at the same spec but more consistently hit their frame targets. But yeah, heavy forward compatibility and not a lot of games locked to new hardware.

Whether it's 2022 or later will mostly depend on whether or not Nvidia can ramp up production next year or not. And they're all kinda in a bit of a hole ATM in that regard. I don't think Nintendo has much of a say on when they pull the trigger

check out the hand-on of Switch OLED

@skywake
I agree. I think Nintendo has, for now, hit on the type of console they want to continue making for quite some time. I think the next "gen" for Nintendo will just be kind of what Xbox is doing now, a more fluid spillover into more powerful hardware, but with the older hardware still running the same games for a good chunk of time.

The future seems to be keeping the ecosystem as intact as possible. Even Sony is sort of doing the same thing with many "PS5" games also being playable on the PS4 so far. We all thought this was going to happen for the last generational change, but instead it seems to be happening this time.

the Zonai might have a important role in Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2

Switch OLED likely means we’re closer to the next gen system than we would be if a Pro released. Which is a good thing. And that means when it does come, it’ll be a proper leap rather than a half measure.

In the meantime, just do your best to avoid games with performance issues. As much as I hate to say this, and it’s taken a bit to sink in, I won’t be playing Monster Hunter Stories 2 on Switch. Not unless they patch it. And I won’t be playing Ys IX on Switch, either.

I’m not a framerate hawk. I’m perfectly ok with 30 on a handheld hybrid device. I’m even OK with a few dropped frames from 30 here and there (Zelda BotW is a perfect example- it had a few blemishes but overall it was fine). That’s ok too. But when a large part of the game consistently drops frames below 20… even I draw the line.

And so, I started a new save for MH Stories 2 on PC. Did the same for Ys IX. And if I have to wait until next generation for a more powerful Switch 2.0 that can actually run these games properly… so be it. Until that day comes, any game with severe performance issues, I’ll be playing on PC instead. Sucks I won’t have them hybrid- I really prefer playing games on Switch, but I have a full terabyte of other games on Switch that do run well I can play instead.

I’m out of space on my Switch, so I went ahead and archived all games with severe performance issues (notably MH Stories 2 and Ys IX, as well as Ninja Gaiden Razor’s Edge) and redownloaded Resident Evil Revelations 2. I needed some high quality Switch games that look and run great to cleanse my pallate. Plus, the Steam version sucks, as enabling gyro causes a message to flash across the screen “input method has changed” every time I press a button. Apparently there’s a mod to fix it but I couldn’t find it. The game is 24 GB on Switch, and space is precious, so I was trying to find a way to play it elsewhere with Gyro. But that’s just one of those games best played on Switch, no matter the file size cost. Plus is had HD rumble and gesture reloading which is quite well done and very immersive, at least when playing docked.

And I gotta say… it feels liberating just writing off bad performing games and accepting playing them on PC. It removes the frustration of some games not measuring up on Switch. Just let go and accept it, and embrace the games that do play well on Switch. The Mario Rabbids, Resident Evils, Monster Hunter Rise and Gen Ultimate, Tony Hawk, Mario Golf, Neo TWEWY, Zelda Skyward Sword, etc. There’s too many quality Switch games to lose sleep over the ones that aren’t.

Unless Stories 2's performance bombs after that first part of the game, I'm cool with playing the Switch version. It'd run a lot better on my PC, but I'm just... not going to play it on there, lol.

@Ralizah
It’s playable, but I have just run out of patience for playing games that constantly stutter. You know me- I’m usually the last person to give up the hybrid advantage. I’m ok with 30. Even ok with 30 and occasional dips (rarely are games perfectly flawless). But I feel like there’s a line being crossed with games recently that are really pushing the limits of acceptability.

I also have the problem of not sticking with games on TV-only platforms. But I’m going to make a conscious effort to do just that moving forward, and play other games on Switch that don’t have issues.

I will say, MH Stories 2 seems to do a little better in handheld mode, and it’s less noticeable too. But docked… man. Capcom needs to put some of their core MH team on this and get it fixed up.