Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@gcunit Sony will copy it, but half-ass parts of it, as usual, or gimp it in some way because "THey know whats best", and also not market it as it's not their main box but anything with PS on it sells itself, at least in their eyes.

@MarcelRguez Sony is in the games market and the mobile phone market - they are frying those fish every day. While that remains the case they will never write off such an idea if it proves popular.

Personal technology is continually converging devices. For years people have speculated about the end of 'consoles as we know them' because we'll just use streaming boxes instead, but what if Switch proves to be the start of home consoles converging with portable devices?

If Microsoft and Sony stopped making home consoles and followed the Switch's lead, we wouldn't all just abandon them and resort to our PCs for gaming - portability could become the norm. Do not be surprised to see Valve put out a portable Steam device in the next 10 years (or get bought by Google or similar and them do it, or Microsoft just make a portable gaming Windows device that runs Steam etc. etc.)

Triple A games, at UHD etc. will be very expensive to produce - why not slow the advance of graphics down and instead focus on making every game portable. Switch is potentially going to show us that the power to play every game ever made up to, say 2012, is there in portable devices.

I don't see Sony copying the Switch anytime soon either, I'm afraid. The PS4's doing too well - it's probably best they focus on that for now, and I'd doubt they'd be able to support an additional gaming device on top of that (look at the Vita!)

I think if they are to do anything Switch-like, it'll be along the lines of increasing PS4/PS5/PSwhatever functionality with their other devices (e.g. phones, tablets, etc.).

@gcunit I think it might show us it can take any modern game.

Of course with less detail and lower resolutions. But that's exactly how it'll win.

@dtjive
NVidia got support for the Shield where it could and was in an entirely different position to Nintendo. So there's no point reading too much into what content appeared on the Shield. But I think its fair to say that Nintendo will continue to trade on nostalgia. So we'll keep getting ports and remasters of Nintendo classics.

@gcunit
In the long run as hardware becomes increasingly power efficient I think the Switch is what consoles will end up becoming. Well, that's one possible outcome anyway. Probably a better idea than the other alternatives this path will take us to. I don't want my phone to be my console, I don't want it built into my TV. The Switch is a better concept. But in the end home consoles will be replaced by something along these lines.

We're already at the point with the PS4 Pro where a home console has enough power to drive 1080p as good as you could reasonably want. Things can always be pushed more but still, at this point it's diminishing returns. More power if available will mostly be useful for resolutions and framerates beyond 1080p 60fps.

The Switch is somewhere around 5 years behind that. On paper at least. At the rate that Tegra is improving it'll be about another 5 years before that much power is possible on Tegra. So if a significant enough number of people don't move to, want or care about 4K? In 5 years something like the Switch could in every sense be all they need.

If 4K does become important then the wait will be a bit longer. 4K is about 4x the resolution and therefore requires more or less about 4x the horsepower. That's not exactly true because it needs a bit less than that but it's close enough. Such a GPU doesn't quite exist yet. But at the rate GPUs are currently improving? Give it 5 years and it'll be cheap enough for consoles.

And on that same point? All things being equal (and they most definitely aren't) it'll be ~10 years and you should be able to fit a convincingly 4K capable GPU into something like the Switch. ~5 years for 1080p, ~10 years for 4K. Not a long time at all when you think about it in terms of console generations. The PS5 might well be something like the Switch.

"Hopefully Nintendo finally listens to what everyone has been wanting, instead of telling us what we should want."

I really hope so as well!

@BiasedSonyFan I think the point is, mobile/portable tech is catching up with game software demands so fast that at some point we may dispense with labelling things 'mobile' or 'portable' or 'home' and it'll just be 'gaming'. Playstation fans won't have to 'embrace portable', portability would just become standard for gaming hardware, whether you want to use it in a portable fashion or not.

How many people have dispensed with landline telephone numbers? I don't know the answer, but I know many people have. When a portable device becomes nearly as good as it's fixed alternative, the portable option will take over.

@gcunit Your lack of quotation disturbs me... Oh wait, Vader was supposed to say that! Cackle.

@BiasedSonyFan Let's not forget that the Sony PSP sold over 80 million units not too long ago. The Vita didn't bomb because 'Playstation fans' don't enjoy portable gaming.

@BiasedSonyFan I thought gcunit explained it pretty well, but I don't think you got his point. Diminishing returns, that's a fact and we can already see it happening. What happens if resolutions reach 8K, and the framerates reach 120fps? Is there really a point to go even further than that? I don't think there is. Doubling the resolution beyond 4K or 8K won't lead to any graphical improvements on regular TVs from a regular viewing distance. This may very well be true for 4K already. Anyway, the point being, once developers have reached this limit, there's no point in making the hardware any more powerful. However, they can make the hardware smaller instead, small enough to fit in a tablet, or even smaller than that. It's not that Sony and Microsoft will abandon the home console space in favour of handhelds, it's more that there's no point in having a big box under your TV when you can fit all the hardware you need in a much smaller device. I think that there's a big chance that eventually we will all be gaming on Switch-like devices. Home consoles that are small enough to carry around.

Smash Bros, Mario, and Splatoon: Nintendo Switch Launch Titles Leaked

Industry insider Laura Kate Dale has been very busy the past several hours dropping new details about the Nintendo Switch. Aside from leaking info of the alleged launch date, Dale reported that the Nintendo Switch will support NFC ID cards — which would be an industry first for any existing console on the market.

Essentially the card would allow you to easily download content from your friend’s personal device, allowing you to get anything from new characters to digital games downloaded through the e-shop. It’s speculated that this rwill minimize the potential battery drain while Nintendo Switch is in portable use.

Although a basic card will be reportedly included with the Nintendo Switch, consumers can purchase additional cards for $10.00, while customized cards are said to be made exclusively via Nintendo’s website.

Dale also dropped details about several upcoming titles that will be launched on the Nintendo Switch in the form of “Directors Cut” Editions. Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. and Splatoon will be among the first to be rolled out as a premium edition for the Nintendo Switch.

All the games will include any previously released content, in addition to a whole new set of extras. According to the website MobiPicker, Nintendo is working with retailers to provide a trade-in system to upgrade their physical copies of the Wii U edition for free or a discounted price at the very least.

The Switch edition of Super Mario is said to be an amalgamation of previous 3D Mario adventures, described as a cross between Super Mario 64 and Sunshine. MobiPicker offers the following summary:

Some levels will connect into each other ala Banjo Tooie. For example, the ice hub may have a 2D level that connects you to the desert level. There is a new collectible that will unlock hats/ powerups/ allow access to new levels (a la metal boots in 64 to sink and access new areas). 2 Player co-op with Luigi will be possible with Joy-Cons.

Between our previous report and the latest details touching upon the upcoming launch titles, will any surprises be left before Nintendo has the opportunity to fully disclose everything?

https://pvplive.net/c/new-nintendo-switch-features-and-launch...

I was really hoping breath of the wild would be a launch title. so it's mainly ports, and one new game. Sigh. At least Mario will hold me over for a bit.

@Operative Don't think that's confirmed? Where does it say that Zelda isn't a launch title?

I know you like to think that ''gamers'' want just ''graphics'', but that's not true at all. Is it that difficult to make an argument without falling back on that same old thing? I know that you don't like Sony and Microsoft, and I know you hold a grudge against framerates and resolution. But just look at this from an unbiased point of view for once.

Anyway..

There's a difference though. You can see the difference between 1080p and 4K, you can see the difference between 30fps and 60fps, and you can see a difference between HDR and non-HDR. When I said diminishing returns are a thing, I meant that we can see them happening, not that currently there's no point in upgrading anymore. A long as there's a clearly difference, I'm all for it. But I also acknowledge that there will be a point when there's little reason for an even better resolution or framerate. We're not there yet.

However, going back to my original point. If the hardware becomes small enough that it can fit in a smaller device, why not make it portable? That's just adding another selling point. I don't see a reason why they can't be marketed as portable devices. The current problem with portable devices is that you're sacrificing processing power for portability. However, when processing power isn't an issue anymore? When there's literally no visual difference between a game on a portable console and a TV? There's no reason why portability shouldn't happen.

@Whitewatermoose Steep and For Honor would make good additions. For Honor is an early 2017 too, so it won't be ''another'' old port, as it will be relatively new still.

For honor would be a welcome surprise. I've liked the look of it for a while

@BiasedSonyFan Lots of people say they don't want portable gaming, just like lots of people in the late 90s-early 00s said they didn't want a mobile phone. Like it or not, most people have a mobile phone now.

If it does what the fixed version did but happens to also be portable it will become the norm. And many people who say they don't want portable will find themselves playing console level games on the go.

GTAV has nearly sold more than every Wii U unit of software combined....wow. Okay. So here we have a console outdone by a single game, with it's suiccessor being slammed by wider and very loud, as noted above, gamers.

This is gonna be a rough few months.

@BLP_Software The response has been mainly positive, what are you talking about?

@Octane Its been positive up until some loud folks started calling Doom at the top of their lungs with 4GB of RAM and storage space, etc. etc. They are worryingly noisy and noticed. Cant go on YouTube without them popping up somewhere, probably because they make the site money.

Just hope January goes well. Trying to be a positive Nintendo fan, or a positive developer, is very difficult in this time.