Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@BLP_Software
And that's it, really. Sold on it because of what it is, not what it isn't.

If you look at a gaming console (any console) through the lens of what it isn't, of what it doesn't do, what it doesn't have, etc. You will find absolutely nothing to like about it. But if you look at a gaming console through the lens of what it is, what it does do, what it does have... there will be no shortage of reasons to be excited.

That doesn't mean we can't hope for more, or expect certain things. For example I think Nintendo should have gone SD rather than microSD. There are 512gb SD available versus 256gb microSD. I know that within a year we'll have 512gb micro, but we'll also have 1TB SD so ya, it just would have been a better choice. For physical buyers it's not an issue but for digital only... people may have to rotate games like we did on Vita. At least it's future proofed up to 2TB compatibility. So by the time the generation is over maybe they'll have 1TB microSD, and people can re download all the games they rotated out and have them all on one card for backlog purposes.

But there's just a lot to like. I used to get excited if even one game released on Vita and PS4 with crossbuy. And unfortunately I had to buy digital to get it, which poses a problem when you're capped to 32gb memcards (64gb if you imported from Japan for $100). With Switch, every single game is like getting crossbuy. And for physical purchases too. That's awesome. Cross save issues are completely eliminated, region locking is out the window (a valuable feature as evidenced by at least 6 imported EU or English Asian Vita games on my shelf). Games now tied to accounts ( a huge win)... and the system is strong enough to run Unreal Engine 4 as has been mentioned for Shin Megami Tensei. Games will have to take a minor downgrade from PS4, but if that is the only price to pay for having the most powerful handheld ever created... I'm cool with that. That concession is well worth the pay out.

It looks like it's going to take a little bit past launch for the library to gain some traction (Zelda is huge but for Wii U owners, probably more looking forward to Arms and Splatoon and Dragon Quest XI). That's one area I think they could've done better in. But it does seem like they're trying to pace their games so there is no 9-month droughts on Switch like there was on Wii U. If they consistently release a major game every month or so, it's not going to take long for the library to be worth it's weight in pure gold.

I'm so glad they announced a new console Fire Emblem. Zelda is beyond amazing... a new open Mario- dream come true... Xenoblade 2, oh my goodness! Splatoon and Mario Kart and Arms- just fantastic! But I suspect that's just the tip of the iceburg for Switch. Nintendo cannot afford for this to be anything less than a resounding success and I'm willing to wager they're going to give it 110%. I could tell they kind of backed away from Wii U once they realized it wasn't popular. There were a lot of franchises we didn't see, and I truly believe they were holding them back to make a bigger splash for their next console. We are finally getting a new Fire Emblem! That's huge! And I'm betting that we're going to see a new Metroid as well. This is a new Nintendo that seems to be receptive to what they need to do to impress. I'm expecting a whole slew of franchises we did not see on Wii U. It took it took most of its lifespan for us to get the games that we're seeing on Switch within the first 9 months. That leaves a good 5 years afterward for them to explore other IP, and I can't wait to see what they bring to the table. And the third-party games that I'm seeing are truly exciting. Sonic Mania, Octopath Traveler and Ultra Street Fighter II, Bomberman and Dragon Quest... this is what I like to see. I definitely would have liked to see Final Fantasy XV and Bioware get on board (true shame Mass Effect Andromeda isn't coming- I love Bioware!) But I still think there's going to be a mountain of great games to play. As you said, what it is, not what it isn't. And with all games being playable on such a powerful handheld it's just all too much to not be excited as heck for it.

@Luna_110 Ive got a nice bottle of JD Fire here. Need it for this bunch.

Wanna talk about diminishing returns? My mental state around them as I earn this degree.

They were all over VR though.

@JaxonH Alwayss look at something for what it is, not what it isn't. Only time I take against that stance is PS4 and External HDD support because that's just...confusing to me, but this is a system that stands proudly on its own merits, its own unique merits. Not like the PS4 which stood proudly on pretending to not do what the Xbone does. Spoiler warning, it does. XD

@BLP_Software
Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a place in the market for PS4. We really only need one console to do it though (no need for both Xbox and PS) but because it's such a large chunk of the market, it's good there's competition. It's a way of having checks and balances from one company going rogue with DRM and other consumer-intrusive policies.

And I value that. I value having the strong and sturdy backbone of the twins for consistent 3rd party games throughout the year. But it's only part of the larger gaming-sphere. Those consoles cannot afford to deviate from the norm because they are established pillars. Which leaves room in the market for another to innovate, to bring us different games and different ways of playing, to think outside the box and deliver something more. That's where Nintendo fits in.

There is only one platform manufacture that consistently challenges the status quo. There is only one that is willing to take risks and bring us something different... something new. And do it every single generation. Although I must give credit to Sony for PSVR. I know it was reactive rather than proactive (they saw Occulus and reacted) but the bottom line is they actually contributed and that's definitely awesome. Now the fact they've abandoned it as soon is it launched is a whole other discussion, but we'll save that for another day.

We need a company like Nintendo to bring us gaming devices like the Switch. Because no one else is doing it. And no one else is going to do it. I value that because as a gamer- there's no rulebook that says you can only enjoy these certain games in this specific way. There are no rules. And Nintendo constantly reminds us of that with their forward thinking. As I said, I value having the twins as a backbone in the industry, but I'm not just going to settle for that alone. I want more, and I expect more. I'm just glad that Switch is such a slam dunk of a concept, because they don't always nail it (see Wii U).

@JaxonH I feel PSVR was reactionary (Cue Sony 101 here, its their thing), and while that seems to be MIA right now, their response to Xbone was what brought initial success in spades. Granted, sharing games on PS4 physically is as easy as handing over a disk...for as long as the disk is in your friends system. And lets not get started on the resale DRM via discs.

But they exist to keep MS in check, and vice versa. Granted, I feel Sony should lay off the ego pills (Or crazy pills, PS4 Pro wont compete with PC), and that's their biggest flaw, but they complement each other well when not waggling their teraflops at each other.

Now Switch...I think RTU just said it best in a video. Yes, the games may not look as good. But you can take them anywhere. A little worse off graphically, but complete freedom.

Even if they had given us the option I would have still gone with microSD cards. Too many things support only microSD cards for me to want to buy large cards that won't work on those devices. I can just see me getting a 128GB SD card for something and wanting to upgrade it down the line. At that point what can I use the card for? If however I got a microSD card if and when I feel the need to upgrade it I can put the old card in a device that only supports microSD cards.

If I got a 128GB card for the Switch and down the road upgraded it to a 256GB card? As it currently stands I'd probably do a MicroSD card shuffle. The 128GB card would become a storage upgrade for some other device. If it was a full sized SD card the 128GB card would end up in a box. So I don't see them only supporting MicroSD cards as a limit. Especially when most of the cards in shops are of the MicroSD card variety anyways.

Only $200 for a 256GB MicroSD card for the Switch... Twice the price for 1/8th the storage compared to my Wii U's extra hard drive. I really wish they had a non-portable version of the Switch. I would be much more interested in that

@DefHalan
Don't be surprised if they do support HDDs while docked. It has already been brought up by Nintendo themselves from memory. So you will probably get what you want eventually. It'll just be an option that's basically useless for people who want to use the device as a portable.

Heads up, BestBuy has VISA Checkout promo. $25 Off a $100 purchase and no limit to how many purchases you can make taking advantage. Thing is it ends in two hours (central time) Offer now extended to 1/25. It's a perfect way to stock up on accessories and games. Just group your purchases into $100 groupings, keeping the total as low as you can without going under $100. Can always use $10 eshop cards as filler, since you'll likely be needing it anyways.

Just bear in mind it only works if the item in question has a release date on the site. Otherwise it will tell you you can't use your credit card because it expires within 15 days of release (treats TBA dates as infinity). But I know Zelda has a release date and all the accessories. And if you have a GCU membership ($30 for 20% off all new games/amiibo for 2 full years) you could really end up saving some cash on all these Switch game preorders. And you can now buy that membership online and activate online so you never need to step foot in a store.

@DefHalan
I just ordered a 256gb for $149 (still expensive, yes) but the 200gb are like $69 (less than the cost of buying an external drive for other consoles). It's not quite as spacious as a 256 but it's not all that much smaller and it's less than half the price (even the $149 price). Also, 128gb for $35, but truth be told I think the 200 is the best way to go. It's twice the price as a 128gb, and you may not get exactly twice the storage but, you've got a lot more wiggle room as a result.

Just my 2 cents. Also as a Vita owner I mastered the art of musical chairs with your game downloads. Can just rotate out... or, have multiple SD. If you buy physical though I'm thinking 200gb should last the entire generation.

@skywake
Yeah it's definitely better if you plan to reuse the card but, this generation is going to last at least five or six years and I imagine most people would keep their device even longer than that. And there's really never a reason to remove it if you had a 512gb SD. That could last you indefinitely. By the time you removed it from the device it would probably be around the time the card reaches its write limit anyways. And most importantly it would make it cheaper and you would get twice the amount of storage which isn't so much an issue for people buying physical but for anyone who plans to go digital 256 GB is going to be a tough line to walk. At least for the first year or two until the first 512gb microSD hit the market... but most people will probably have to wait another year after that too for price to drop, unless they want to sell off a kidney to afford it. I mean, I'll buy one. But I exhibit absolutely no fiscal responsibility when it comes to Switch 😜

@JaxonH
Here are the cheapest Australian prices I can find:

$6 - 8GB, MicroSD
$10 - 16GB, MicroSD
$18 - 32GB, MicroSD
$29 - 64GB, MicroSD
$69 - 128GB, MicroSD
$89 - Switch game RRP
$222 - 256GB, SD (MicroSD $249)
$469 - Nintendo Switch
$644 - 512GB, SD

You say that by the time I fill up the 500GB card it'd be worn out and that may be the case. But that's not a card that I can justify getting for the Switch. I'll just get a smaller capacity card like 64-128GB. By the time I use up the space on that card? I should be able to get a larger capacity card for less. At which point I can move that old Switch card over to another device. And for that I need to get a MicroSD card... which are the same price or cheaper at capacities <256GB anyways.

I can't see any advantage to buying a standard SD card even if it was an option.

@skywake
can't see any advantage to buying a standard SD card even if it

It's pretty simple. No matter what card you get you could have gotten twice the storage for that amount of money with a normal SD.

$149 256gb micro
$149 512gb SD

That and it would have been large enough you wouldn't have to worry about upgrading or swapping cards.

Basically no matter what card you end up getting a normal SD you would have gotten you twice as much space for the same amount. And unless you planned on selling your Switch, there's no reason you would ever take it out or reuse it.

@JaxonH
I don't know what prices you're looking at or how you're cherry picking the numbers. Because I've done a fair bit of searching on Australian retailers and found that there isn't a gap in price between the formats. Just then when I read your post I did the same for US prices after thinking maybe something funny was happening with Australia's pricing. It's not. The same is true for the US retailers I looked at.

Also I couldn't find a 512GB card for that price. Not in the few minutes that I searched a handful of US stores. But I found plenty of 256GB MicroSD cards for less than $150US. Which I think says something about how accurate your prices there are. In any case, I think $150US is quite a lot to spend on a memory card for the Switch. It's about half the price of the entire console. Looking just now I can see Newegg charging $60US for a 128GB card (same price for SD and MicroSD). That seems far more reasonable.

And again, I can't see any advantage to buying a standard SD card even if it was an option. MicroSD cards are the same price and give you more options. The only advantage full sized SD cards have is that they are in larger capacities. But they're in larger capacities at ridiculous prices. You're better off "living" with <256GB of storage expansion and upgrading down the line when the higher capacity cards inevitably drop in price. Then shuffle the older Switch card across to something else.

@skywake
Wow you're really intent on defending this aren't you...

If you found 256gb microSD for less than $150 please share now cause I just paid $150 for mine, a recent price drop while all others cost $200. Which is the exact same price I paid for my 512gb SD for my Wii U.

But, even if everything you said were true, ok, the fact still remains that they make them in larger sizes. And for anyone going digital, having a 512gb option gives alot more wiggle room than half that amount. I mean seriously, can you not see how that would be a benefit?

I wasn't making a big deal of it, just a passing comment, and tbh it's not a problem for me as a physical buyer. And I like the micro, it's becoming standard across the board. But in this one particular instance- unless they activate external HDD, the size cap can be a hindrance for some people. Personally just for my own use I'm glad that used micro.

Oh here it is. I found it. I was assuming if I paid $200 back when I got mine it would also have dropped to $150 just like the 256 micros recently did, but even so. Would you rather pay $150 for 256 or $200 for double that amount? And again, just being a larger size is priceless for anyone going digital. 256 is definitely not enough for digital only gamers but 512? That could squeak by.

photo hosting

@JaxonH
It was a passing comment, mine was a simple reply. I don't know why you're getting so defensive. Go to any online retailer and you will find that MicroSD cards are about the same price as SD cards. There are occasional specials which change things up but in general that's how it works.

Currently? Yes, most 256GB microSD cards I can find are $150US. Some are closer to $140US. I see one that's at 200GB for $80US at a couple of places on special. But in general they are ~$150US. SD Cards AND MicroSD. 512GB cards obviously don't exist as MicroSD but I don't see any at $150US. The ones I see are $200-$300US. But at that price I think you'd be an idiot to get that card for a $299US console.

I don't see any disadvantage to the Switch having an SDCard slot. There's a storage disadvantage in it being portable for sure. But the format they picked for the card is as good as the full sized card. And better than any other format they could have picked.

@skywake
I'm not seeing any difference in price on the smaller ones either, but it's the large ones that matter. The 200 are definitely a better deal than 256 and that's the ones I've recommended to others, but for a digital only gamer, that just won't be enough.

I posted a screen shot of the 512. It's only $50 more for twice the storage. Which is cool, but what makes it so valuable is the fact that 256 just isn't enough for digital only gamers (I filled roughly that amount on Wii U and I bought all my retain games physically, for example, so it will barely be enough for physical gamers). For digital gamers, doubling to 512 is crucial.

There's no sense crying about it, it is what it is and there's nothing anyone can do to change it anyways. But as a passing observation yes it would have been better to use normal ones because digital gamers would have at least stood a chance at having enough space on one card.

Is it the end of the world? Of course not. I managed with 32gb total on Vita for an entire generation! But it definitely would have been cool to have access to more space for on the go (something even HDD support can't solve).

@JaxonH
By the time people need more storage 512GB MicroSD cards will become available and drop in price. There's no price gap on any capacity card. As I said, 256GB cards are about $150US in both varieties. In Australia 256GB cards are about $220AU in both varieties. There is no cost advantage for the larger card.

@skywake
Well that's what I was saying too. 512 will be out before a year or so. But theres no getting around the fact 256 cost $150, while the 512 standard SD is $199. That's just a fact.

@JaxonH
The "fact" is that every capacity upto and including 256GB is the same cost for MicroSD as it is for the regular one. The only capacity where there is a difference is 512GB card. And only because 512GB MicroSD cards effectively don't exist. Even then that capacity is absurdly expensive as extra storage for a device that costs $299US. You're quoting $200US, the decent brand ones are $300US. In Australia they're over $600AU. It's absurd.

So I don't see any reason why a microSD card slot is a limitation. It makes more sense to be buying a microSD card even if SD cards were an option. Because microSD cards give you more options. The people who want the most storage they can get? To be frank they've got more money than sense. They should be waiting. Waiting for prices to drop, waiting for the inevitable HDD expansion firmware update, waiting until they actually need the storage. Because next year we'll have 512GB as a MicroSD card and it'll be the cost that 256GB is now

The possibility of 1 and 2 tb cards could be available although the price may be high at first..

@jagdTiger
How much storage you will need will depend on how big the games are and how frequently you get them. If they're as big as BotW on average and you're downloading one game every month? You'll be able to get away with buying cards in that 128GB card price bracket. And the gap between card upgrades will increase exponentially.

Doing the maths fairly quickly if you were buying games at that rate (~13GB/mo) the 256GB card next year will cost a bit more than the 128GB card you'll need in April. The 512GB card in a few years will be fairly cheap. The 1TB card you'll get in 2020 will be cheaper still and will last you untill probably EoL for the Switch. In the unlikely event it's still getting games the 2TB card you get at that point will be laughably cheap and will last you until ~2030. I think its fair to say you'll be over the Switch at that point.

The rate that flash gets cheaper isn't intuitive. Our brains aren't built to understand exponential growth. So its very easy to sit back and think about how the Switch won't have enough storage. A 128GB SD card doesn't seem that big at all and it isn't. But it'll be enough for most people to hold out until bigger cards become cheaper.

Random thought. I really think nintendo is holding back titles to let the current ones get all the attention personally. It seems odd that everyone talks about a bad launch, but I think nintendo is doing this on purpose.

Firstly, everyone's got their eyes on Zelda anyway. Other big titles that would need big numbers would only suffer from this.

Small titles like bomberman and 1,2 switch, which covers a different audience, and indie games are PEERFECT for the launch.

I think after ZELDA has sold most of its potential sales, we will see more titles anounced and then at E3 they'll do something again (i dont know).

I saw kyle bosman comment on how he thinks that nintendo should be a bit more like sony and throw some CG trailers for games coming 3 years later. I highly disagree with this. Think about it guys. If this was a sony conference, both Suda51 and nagoshi would have put a CG trailer like Kojama has done with death stranding. DEATH STRANDING HADNT EVEN STARTED DEVELOPMENT YET!!! That's just crazy imo.