@erv: Oh, believe me, I couldn't agree more when it comes to myself. I only wonder how the market as a whole is going to react. Yeah, everyone knows that being underpowered didn't work out for the Wii U, but there were also many other factors against the Wii U.
Assuming the Switch is cheap and underpowered, I'm trying to think of how other unpowered Nintendo consoles did, besides the Wii U. The Wii did outstanding, but the market that appealed to is a bit harder to sell now. The Gameboy did great, but that was a long time ago. The 3DS was technically underpowered compared to the Vita, and it did much better. That gives me hope, as, after all, this will succeed the 3DS (say what you will about the lifespan of the 3DS, this technically is a handheld that is more technically proficient), so we'll at least see a good chunk of the 3DS market. However, the Switch is now responsible for both sides of console sales and should at least double sales of the 3DS. And of the recent underpowered home consoles, the Wii was a special case, and the Wii U was a special case (you know, by being just an overall marketing disaster). I just don't know... I can't be 100% sure how much being underpowered is going to matter with a hybrid console. It's a very different case. And does anyone know for sure how little is too little for 3rd party developers?
The wii and wii u were fun consoles but they never really appealed to a need that most people have, I feel like nintendo have picked up on this and tried to make something fun and practical, also most people spend a lot of time using their phones to socialise outside, the switch has tried to tap into this as well advertising it as a sociable console, because of these two reasons I feel like the switch has a strong chance of surviving in the mainstream just like pokemon go did especially since it´s not something sony or xbox are trying to do making it an open market.
I just realised, a debate in university tomorrow for marks towards a grade, involves arguing that "traditional gaming consoles will not be dead within 15 years." Outside of the very unprofessional terminology...I cant really be sure how I can get decent marks in this one if a point about Nintendo Switch is brought up because...well I cant say anything, especially there.
Oh the joys never end XD
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Portability is not just another selling point, when the trade-off is gaming on a smaller screen with a limited battery life. The casual gaming market is rapidly growing on smartphones and tablets. But when it comes to traditional games, the majority prefer it on a computer screen or entertainment screen.
I agree with most of your other points from your post, but I think this only happens if PlayStation gamers embrace portable gaming.
might
I'm just making the point that we'll eventually start getting diminishing returns on hardware improvements. Combined with constantly improving hardware? We'll eventually get to a point where people won't care about the performance gap between what can be done in a HTPC style device and what can be done on a mobile style device. This could happen in 5-10 years, this might end with the PS5 being something like the Switch.
But that's only one way they could take that. They or someone else might decide to turn a smartphone into the next home console. They might have the console just be small and cheap along the lines of an Apple TV. Sony or someone else might start having consoles built into their TVs. The Switch is only one possible form that tech could bring. But it is the first and I doubt it'll be the last.
@MumboJumbo That's not the point. Skywake explained it in the post above this one. With every new "generation" the graphical leap will be less impressive. There will be a point when people can't tell the difference anymore between, let's say, 4K and 8K. It's no use pushing for higher resolutions when there's no benefits anymore. That means devs will start to focus on stable framerates and more detailed environments. But more details = more work. And nobody wants to spend 5 extra years on a game when the difference doesn't really matter anyway. There's only one thing left to do, that's make the hardware smaller, since there's no reason to have a giant box under your TV anymore. When the hardware becomes small enough that it might fit in a handheld, why not make it a handheld hybrid like the Switch? It's not like they're still comprimising on processing power, because you can't see the difference anyway.
@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.
Well that's the issue with leaks/rumours in general, I wouldn't be surprised if the new one about the console's lineup will cause more negativity over the next 2 months due to very few new games. That rumour gives the concept that the Switch is a port console.
Hopefully most people just decide to wait for January's info.
@MumboJumbo That's not the point. Skywake explained it in the post above this one. With every new "generation" the graphical leap will be less impressive. There will be a point when people can't tell the difference anymore between, let's say, 4K and 8K. It's no use pushing for higher resolutions when there's no benefits anymore. That means devs will start to focus on stable framerates and more detailed environments. But more details = more work. And nobody wants to spend 5 extra years on a game when the difference doesn't really matter anyway. There's only one thing left to do, that's make the hardware smaller, since there's no reason to have a giant box under your TV anymore. When the hardware becomes small enough that it might fit in a handheld, why not make it a handheld hybrid like the Switch? It's not like they're still comprimising on processing power, because you can't see the difference anyway.
I would say framerates and HDR are much more important than bigger resolutions.
Also, I would say that 4k TVs are worthless for most people, since it requires you to either have a really big TV or sit much closer than the distance from the TV than todays norm. Take the switch trailer as an example of the distance people have from their TVs. I think they were quite a good representation of typical living rooms, and no one in the trailer had a big enough TV to benefit from 4k.
@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.
Well that's the issue with leaks/rumours in general, I wouldn't be surprised if the new one about the console's lineup will cause more negativity over the next 2 months due to very few new games. That rumour gives the concept that the Switch is a port console.
Hopefully most people just decide to wait for January's info.
I think (some) Wii U owners might be miffed, but those that skipped the U might find it nice they have a chance to play some of those gems. Porting something can often also be outsourced, which makes their internal teams be able to focus on new stuff.
Overall I think Nintendo will have a better line-up than 3ds/Wii U, since that is one of the areas they have acknowledge they did poorly.
And just when I thought the crazy, crazy world of Nintendo speculation couldn't produce anymore quality belly laughs out of me. Is that like the Colin What's-His-Face article about how the 3DS would be nothing but N64 ports because it got 2 in its launch window (one extremely close to a remake) and got 1(?) more remake in its entire lifetime.
Here's a crazy thought- I bet Retro, Intelligent Systems, Monolith Soft, Next Level Games (Fed Force 2 WHOOOOOOOOO!) are all working along with Nintendo's internal studios on video games for a video game system. Because, and I hope you get my logic here, that is their job.
Gonna take a bit a credit there the moment more than 1 new game is shown on January 12th,
We still don't know if there are any ports besides BotW. Both splatoon and Mario kart showed new content.
But even if they would have some ports, it wouldn't be such a bad thing. Many haven't played those games, and they are very good. If nintendo can have a more fleshed out launch line-up to lure in other people, I say go for it. It isn't like you are forced to buy them, even if they would have new content.
The people that will buy a Nintendo console at launch are the loyal fans. Chances are they already have the Wii U. What incentive is there to get a console flooded with ports of the older one? The priority should be new games at launch and release the ports later on.
I said and stand by that I won't buy a Switch until there are some impressive games not available on Wii U. Like that new Super Mario 3D. I am not forced to buy a console just for ports, either.
@Octane I can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, since the latter is almost double the amounts pixels of the former and offers a very high definition image.
1080p to 4K? From where I sit on my sofa away from the television (about ten feet)?
The difference is minimal compared to the jump from 720p to 1080p, given that a greater density of pixels is a lot more beneficial close up as opposed to when you are sitting further away.
This is why I really wish 1080p was the norm for console games; it looks perfectly fine, and with extra bells and whistles, the developers can improve both the IQ and performance.
@Therad Most definitely. I was just using resolution as an example. But indeed, we're at a point where resolution doesn't mean a lot anymore. For many the difference between 1080p and 4K on a regular sized TV is barely visible. Eventually that will also be true for framerates, and HDR will also be the norm.
@Octane
Making the hardware smaller is not the only thing left to do, once they reach the ceiling for higher resolutions. They're not wasting their time and resources on making their box smaller to cater to a handheld audience that's fading into irrelevance. Sony and Microsoft will be pushing for new technologies that make the gaming experience more immersive. Whether it's the PlayStation VR or Hololens, they will find ways to shift new consoles in the future.
A hybrid console like the Switch is just one of many paths consoles can go from here. It's not the only path. That's just wishful thinking from a Nintendo perspective.
@Peek-a-boo I know it looks fine, but I don't mind the push for 4K (especially since HDR is also a thing that comes with new 4K TVs). Despite the fact that 4K offers four times as much pixels over 1080p, the difference won't be as impressive as the jump from 480p (or even 720p) to 1080p. However, a higher pixel density means finer details should appear clearer. This is especially true for fine details like hair.
@Whitewatermoose That's a long list of ports though. I'm not too interested in those. Nintendo consoles missed out on those games, too bad, but it's too late to port them now. I'm more interested in new games, the 2017 releases, and whether they will make their way onto the Switch or not.
@MumboJumbo Well, the argument was about traditional console gaming. It's not wishful thinking either, since I don't care about the portability. It's just that in the far future, the move to portability makes more sense than the push for a higher resolution or higher frame rates.
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