Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

100% on all of this. The point about scaling the games down in particular given that the Switch in portable mode will be running at 720p. You don't need to be running super high resolution textures at 720p.

Hot news: confirmation of smart devices working with the Switch "through MyNintendo"

@BiasedSonyFan Let's not pretend third-party support = Western games, shall we? Nintendo misses on a lot of Japanese stuff as well, even from partners such as Sega, Atlus or the more "Westernized" Capcom and Konami. These are the third-party studios that Nintendo should catering to, their games actually have a chance of selling.

Imagine if a title such as Titanfall had released on the Wii U. It would have flopped harder than Kingdom Hearts on XBO. I don't see that scenario changing unless the Switch sells above 3DS levels (and among different demographics)

@shingi_70 Agree 100%. I seem to recall rumors about Nintendo speaking with other Japan-based publishers when they were working on this, and I can see how Nintendo is catering to their interests in the final product, clear as day.

@MarcelRguez So this just in, MyNintendo will have its intended purpose and use with the system it was designed for and not two systems it was shoehorned into? My word quelle surprise.

Harping on the program when its intended use is yet to come is a bit much I feel. Always kept in mind it was Switch and mobile focused as the infrastructure of Wii U and especially 3DS werent built with 5 years foresight

@BLP_Software If this is truly the case then they should've left My Nintendo's launch until say January 2017 and had Club Nintendo shutdown in late 2016.

@Grumblevolcano It may not have been a choice. Remember the wifi connection? Built in the same era may have hit the same kind of fate. Or maybe they felt a need to modernise as everyone was slamming CN at the time by using DeNA and setting up for the Switch while letting consumers get a taste.

A transcript of Nintendo's Financial Results Q&A is now available in English.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/161028e.pdf

@MumboJumbo I like the last sentence of the transcript:

Evidently Nintendo feels it's held some new element to Switch back until January 2017. I enjoy the confidence of predicting 2 million sales in a month, with the potential for that to increase once the full reveal has been made. Obviously it could be faux confidence, or just misjudged, but it's fun for now while we wait with anticipation to find out what extra features Switch has.

@Grumblevolcano
Except they didn't launch My Nintendo when Club Nintendo shut down. They launched My Nintendo alongside Miitomo which, as small an impact as it had, was their first mobile release. The first release on a platform that leans entirely My Nintendo rather than the older fractured Nintendo infrastructure. Super Mario Run will be the second, the Switch will probably be the third.

@skywake Also important to remember that as well as bolstering mobile with it's release, and as a way to introduce it prior to Switch, it also interacts directly with the Nintendo Account, and shows the immediacy of information gathered like logging into eShop, Miiverse, Facebook, Twitter, your choice.

It's the "front end" of Nintendo Account in a way. A way to show consumers, that there is a fast, very interconnected network back there that was built from the ground up. The incorporation of NNIDs was to give a little extra spice to things for the remainder of the current platforms lifecycles, and thus introduce the concept of rewards. Remember doing things in mobile apps gets you immediate Points for use, and I can stress again that I fully see that functionality being used in Switch.

Imagine missions that you do, like trophies on PSN, only you get rewarded for it. It's also telling that the NA is linked to 3 primary social media (Okay maybe not Google+) accounts, as is Miitomo and mobile.

People must remember regarding MyNintendo: It was never intended for Wii U and especially 3DS. Those systems were built with the eShops and the Nintendo Network giving them a form of connectivity. MyNintendo was used alongside Miitomo as an introduction to missions, immediate rewards, social media integration, and to show Nintendo Account off. Remember, Mobile was meant to entice towards hardware. How do you do that? Immediate gratification to the consumer, reward them with things for use on Switch, with MyNintendo as the gateway. What the consumer does on mobile, rewards them on Switch.

@BiasedSonyFan I'm aware you are not falling into that trap, but the general conversation around the topic surely is. It would be nice to spin the conversation into a positive (how this device might attract mid-small devs) instead of revolving around the doom and gloom surrounding the possible lack of Western support. For the umpteenth time, might I add.

The 3DS is the perfect counter-example to use against those claiming that Western support is vital to the viability of the console. While I do find its software lineup somewhat lacking, the general consensus establishes it as a beloved system, and that's with little to no Western support. I can't remember the last retail non-Japanese 3DS game I even considered buying.

Sport titles are going to be there, at least in the beginning. If Bethesda, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. and the like's word is anything to go by, then there will be support in some way. Ultimately, I don't think third-party titles are going to make or break the device, especially at launch. Nintendo's own output, on the other hand, I consider more worrisome. At least they have Zelda.

Bearing in mind Kimishims'a recent comments, I can't shake this feeling that Switch might still open up a 'new' play style, in a similar way that the Wii did, that will give all developers a green pasture to be creative in.

BTW this is more or less why so many people are confused about the power of this thing.

As a home console its slightly less behind than the Wii was in 2006. As a portable it's way further ahead than the PSP and Vita were. So what do you call such a device? What category does it sit in? Or does it, as Nintendo wants to claim, somehow sit in the middle?

@skywake Hadn't realized that, proportionally, it's as under-powered as the Wii was back in the day. That's a loathsome comparison at first glance, but fortunately that's where the similarities between both scenarios end. When it comes to the innards of the device, things are much more favorable this time around for devs. Not too sure about the status of the market.

@MarcelRguez Compared to the competition, the situation is even better. The Switch is closer to the PS4 Pro than the Wii was to the PS3. That doesn't make the Switch a powerhouse by any means, but it's also portable and it could've been a lot worse.

Sometimes I wonder if they made the right choice saying it's a home console. As a handheld it's really impressive

@MarcelRguez
Well it is about as under-powered as the Wii was back in the day relatively speaking. But in 2006 the Wii wasn't portable and, relative to what they could be, the PS3/360 were about twice as capable as the PS4 Pro and Scorpio are.

Basically, transport the Vita back to 2006 and have Nintendo release that instead of the Wii and DS. Assume they charge as much for it as the Wii. Throw in AV out and some Bluetooth controllers and then somehow sell it for $299US. That's what the Switch would have been back then.

Don't forget the visual fidelity difference. It's much less significant now.

Going for a 720p game, a little less heavy on the graphic part, and you're playing a similar game with a very similar experience. That you can take with you.

And swap for nintendo's best when you feel like it.

@erv
Yup, and if you add something like that to the above graph you'd get something like this:

With the green shaded area being enough power to render games at standard definition. The red shaded area being the same thing for high definition. With obviously a whole range of spaces between and UHD being another band entirely that starts up the top.

Considering the vita is most likely the last Sony handheld, I wouldn't be surprised to see all the niche Japanese visual novel type games finding a home ok the switch.

@BiasedSonyFan Let's not pretend as if there's a difference between Japanese and western AAA games in the sense you're trying to argue. Let's be real here, I have yet to see Capcom announcing a Switch version of Resident Evil 7, Square hasn't said anything about a FFXV port for Switch, or a port of the upcoming FF7 remake. These are all just about as likely going to happen as a game like Red Dead Redemption or Titanfall. Western developers don't hold some grudge against Nintendo, nor are the big Japanese developers more eager to support the Switch than western developers. In the end, they're all companies and they need to make a profit, if the Switch sells, it'll get the ports, if it bombs, it won't see much third party support at all.