Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Was watching some Digital Foundry discussion and I think they said something kinda tangentially related to this. They were dismissing an argument that was brought up that we had reached some kind of limit of fidelity for games. I agree with them, we certainly haven't. If you think we have I'm not sure what to say to that. However they also suggested that we're at the point now where the hardware is increasingly not the limiting factor. The limiting factor is artistry and development budgets

I think there's something to be said for Nintendo's deep pockets and frequently lazer focused art direction. Of course on other hardware we'll see developers push things further. And that happens frequently on Switch because Switch just isn't pushing for a fidelity beyond what mid tier studios can handle. But the number who can push beyond the spec of Nintendo's hardware will be greatly diminished when Switch 2 pushes that spec up once more. Especially if on Switch 2 people are happy with something like 1/4 to 1/8th of the resolution at 1/2 to 1/4 of the framerate

what if Nintendo istead of teasing Switch sucessor in march/may and then a presentation blowout in june, they istead combine all this on a presentation in june, and 2 months later, everyone would be playing Switch sucessor.

i supposedly heard Retro Studios hired a company know as Next Gen Dreams, to work on Metroid Prime 4 reveal trailer, and the game has been debugeded since march of last year(please take this with a huge, but huge grain of salt, here this very oblious fake news/claims

Plenty of salt in my hand, no worries here 🙂. Maybe it's true maybe its not. The next direct should give us more insight I'd imagine.

check out why 2025, make way more sense for Nintendo to launch it next gen console

@JaxonH

These controllers seem excellent, but I can't seem to find them separately, only bundled with their case from AliExpress, can you tell me where you bought them? Also, I didn't find anywhere in their description the Hall Effect analog sticks, which is a pretty big deal in marketing, so this seems weird...

@alexwolf
AliExpress. Should just buy with the case though as it's only $6 more than separately

Check Dream Pi store. That's where I got mine. They have both the bundle with case, and separate, and the 6S bundle with case, and 6S separate

@alexwolf
Actually it may have been Gopai Store.

@alexwolf
I can't get a link because even searching on the website auto opens the app. But I ran a search and took a screenshot of the one I got. It's the bottom left.

@JaxonH

Thank a lot! The HD rumble version is 32 € more expensive than the regular one, ouch. All I want is the white version without any HD rumble, but it seems this isn't an option yet.

@alexwolf
Ya, I like the pastel colors myself. But I need that HD rumble. It feels so good. It's quite a bit pricier but I still think it's worth it. Official joycon are $80, and these come with everything those do, and a case, and free official joycon analogs, and swappable dpad and rocker dpad, and swappable faceplates with round gates and octagonal gates... so I just look at it as a deal, and the pastel non-HD version is an orange clearance sticker sale.

Was watching some coverage of the Retrotink 4K and it got me thinking. Nintendo's next hardware almost surely is going to support a 4K output with HDR. Also a non-zero chance that they're going to stick with OLED in portable mode, maybe add HDR, maybe bump the resolution slightly. Also there's going to be a relatively healthy amount of compute just sitting around on tap. Potentially also tensor cores you could run some models on

We could potentially end up with some very, very nice looking CRT/LCD filters for NSO

@WaveBoy Switch 2 cases end up being plastic cylinders.

see why handheld PC, could be a major competition for Nintendo next console

@Giancarlothomaz I doubt it the price point is simply too high for a casual gamer so unless the switch two ends up being 500$+ Nintendo will probably continue controlling the mobile console market

I don't tend to watch the videos that get spammed in this thread, but the title of that one reminds me of a wondering I had fairly recently, wondering about the potential for Nintendo to do any sort of deal for some basic productivity apps on Switch 2 - I wouldn't complain if I could access my Google Drive and associated apps from it.

@Giancarlothomaz
Not gonna bother watching that clickbait.

Switch 2 won't face any competition from PC handhelds, which have been around over a decade now. I owned a GPD Win 2 long before Steamdeck existed, long before the PC handheld trend caught on.

PC handhelds are awesome, and I'm glad to see then carve out a niche in the market. But they'll never be more than just that- a niche. Windows handhelds especially since Windows is so overly bloated and resource intensive. Steamdeck will remain the most popular of the bunch, and last reported sales numbers put it around 3 million sold after 2 years.

So ya, it's an amazing device. I HIGHLY recommend Steamdeck OLED to any portable gamer, particularly Switch fans. It made my PS5, XSX and gaming PC completely irrelevant. But it'll never be more than a curiosity in the eyes of the masses, and that's assuming they even heard if it in the first place.

That video headline is about as ridiculous as saying, "3DS will face stiff competition from GPD Win 2"... yaaaa no

@JaxonH
I'd agree that Switch 2 is going to have a relatively clear space ahead of it but I think you're understating the level of the threat. I mean sure, they're niche now but I don't think that's necessarily where they stay. I mean for one thing, you say Windows is too bloated and not really suited to the task and that's definitely true. But Microsoft also happens to be fighting a losing battle against PS5 despite owning an army of game development studios. I think portable XBox, in some form or another, is all but inevitable. Will whatever that product is be more Zune than XBox Game Pass? Who knows. But I think they make a play

And while that is happening we're seeing the effective hardware gap just continue to close. For the same reason you and others are happy to just migrate to Steam Deck entirely. On a 5-8" screen you don't really need much more than 720p. The general rule of thumb is that portable hardware is about 10 years behind. GBA was a portable SNES, DS was a portable N64, 3DS was a portable GC, Switch was a portable PS3. Give of take. The PS4 launched 10 years ago....I reckon if you ran a PS4 and a PS5 both through a 720p 7" portable screen most people aren't going to be able to tell the difference

I think we're in phase two of this product category. The first phase was curiosity devices from the likes of GPD Win and Aya Neo. This next phase is when people like Asus and Valve taking it seriously. Phase 3 I think we Microsoft make a play, whether that's hardware or giving OEM's an "XBox OS". I think we see Valve and others release the equivalent of their "GameBoy Pocket" as a refresh to the original Steam Deck's DMG. I think we see that $1000AU+ tier persist but I think we start to see more lower powered, cheaper, slimmer products come to market. Eventually someone's going to release the iPod of this category and I don't think Steam Deck is that product

Do I think this will knock of Nintendo's title as undefeated in the portable space since 1989? No. They fought off iPhone, PSP, Vita, NGage, WonderSwan, NeoGeo Pocket, GameGear. You'd have to be crazy to bet against them in this space. But I think these portable PCs are closer to the PSP/iPhone end of that spectrum, this certainly isn't 3DS vs GPD Win 2

@skywake
I think portable XBox, in some form or another, is all but inevitable

I said that to myself many years ago. I'm now convinced it will never happen. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know jack, I'm just speculating. But I truly believe MS has no interest in a handheld, and the most we'll get from them is some form of Gamepass on Steamdeck, if we're lucky.

I think it would be brilliant for them to create a handheld. Xbox is essentially Windows slimmed down for gaming efficiency. An Xbox OS would revolutionize PC handhelds. Unfortunately I don't think it'll ever happen. But I hope I'm wrong.

I'm not convinced handheld gaming PCs will ever be more than niche just due to the nature of PC gaming, and handheld gaming appeals more to the casual in-and-out type of person. Not casual as in, "57 Party Games!" shovelware, but casual as in, doesn't want to deal with any hassles, just wants to press on and play then press off when done.

It seems to me most gamers who gravitate toward PC as a platform prefer home setups with monitors, or TVs in some cases. But very few seem interested in handhelds. Otherwise I think Steamdeck would have sold much more than 3 million these past 2 years, despite 120+ million active Steam users. Idk why that is, but the sales don't lie. At $400 entry point and just $650 for the high end OLED model, it's not like it's priced PC gamers out or anything.

Unless and until MS releases an Xbox OS for PC that can help push Windows based handhelds, which I sincerely doubt will ever happen, Steamdeck is it. And while I love it- I think it's the best thing to happen to gaming besides the Switch in the past 20 years (well, and Steam Input and gyro aiming, but Switch includes gyro and Steamdeck includes Steam Input so, I'm wrapping them all in one). But it just seems few are interested in playing PC games on a handheld, for whatever reason. It kinda puzzles me because I find games far more enjoyable on Deck than on PS5 or XS or my loud gaming PC, and it has gyro aiming unlike the other consoles, and free online, and can pause any game, and can run emulators like Dolphin for that sweet dual analog gyro Metroid Prime Trilogy with HD texture packs... but ya. Seems I'm in the extreme minority, a group about as large as PSVR players are.