![Switch.jpg](https://images.nintendolife.com/65c5ffc4e6062/switch.original.jpg)
Now that the Nintendo Switch has been unveiled, we're thankfully past the stage of particularly unlikely rumours and 'leaks' getting the web all hot under the collar. After all, the scope for exaggeration is greatly reduced now that the system is visible, and reports can focus on sensible considerations such as what parts will be included in the box at launch.
There are also, of course, a number of other practical questions. What games will be there on day one? How much will the system cost? What's the exact release date? Will Nintendo actually produce enough stock for demand? What about the features we weren't shown - why be coy over whether it's a touchscreen, what about the User Interface, social features, an eShop?
So yes, there are a lot of relatively sensible questions up in the air, as would be expected considering we've only had a short preview trailer and Nintendo claims more information will now wait until early 2017. Yet we as a site and myself as an individual have had plenty of people sending us tips for this article on Polygon, and considering the amount of interest in it I thought I'd provide what I think is a fair perspective on it. After all, there are a lot of people that seem to be hoping it's onto something big in terms of NX secrets, and though the principle of the article in question isn't wrong, as such, there's a danger of unrealistic expectations taking hold.
The focus of the article and others that decided to follow its lead was on a series of Nintendo patents that have popped up over the last 12 months (many of which we shared out of interest when they emerged), and it asked the simple question - are these some 'secrets' yet to be revealed for Switch? Even though the source article makes clear it's being speculative, evidently a number of people have combined the highlighted patents with some rather excitable expectations.
For example, there's the suggestion that an August patent points to the device having "a touch panel, a vibration motor, microphone, speaker, geomagnetic compass, camera and GPS receiver". Some of those seem possible based on what we've seen and heard (such as clever force feedback / vibration), but from what can be discerned from the device (dummy or actual) in the trailer there doesn't seem to be a built-in camera, for one thing. As for features like GPS, it's certainly not impossible, but we should also consider that all of these things come with a cost, which is where doubts creep in.
A key patent that is also being discussed is one that we reported back in March, which was one of a couple that focused on motion / gesture recognition through infrared, with one interpretation being that it could also mean the system can somehow project an image onto a small area, such as a player's hand.
![Patent baseball (1).jpg](https://images.nintendolife.com/755e9528b0e95/patent-baseball-1.original.jpg)
Nintendo being the way it is, I know better than to scoff and rule anything out with 100% certainty - undoubtedly some patents have showcased elements eventually prominent in the Switch design, such as detachable controllers. But just as I'm not saying such features found in patents are impossible for the Switch system, I encourage all to be very cautious about expecting a lot of these ideas to appear in the hardware.
Switch likely has more tricks up its sleeve, but let's all consider this - it has to arrive at market with a sensible price. We're already talking about a tablet-style unit with a decent screen, detachable controllers and a dock that allows you to instantaneously switch play to the TV. The game concepts shown and the marketing message are also pitching it as a home gaming system, too, so it'll need to have decent graphical power, certainly by 'tablet' standards considering its form factor. Remember, it's the handheld that is the 'console' here, it provides the power while the dock is seemingly either completely or mostly passive. That'll be a lot for a relatively small and thin unit to deliver, right off the bat.
With that in mind, it's wise to be careful when considering more ambitious patents; they're interesting to look at, for sure, and we've shared plenty of them, but the formula isn't patent = upcoming console feature. The proviso is always the same - patents are often simply concept-driven, ideas that are possible but not necessarily practical on a mainstream level. Nintendo's continually submitting them, also, regardless of where it is in a console cycle; often, too, they're filed but never acted upon. One example from the Wii era that I've always enjoyed is below; it's a bizarre cushion for simulating activities like horse riding.
![My Lovely Horse.jpg](https://images.nintendolife.com/50997dd409f8b/my-lovely-horse.original.jpg)
Not all of the old patents being dug up and linked to Switch are outrageous - Polygon highlights a dial-control add-on control that was patented, for example. It's not beyond possibility that variations on the Joy-Con controllers will arrive as accessories, perhaps even bundled with relevant games. After all, Nintendo released a keyboard with Learn With Pokémon: Typing Adventure and Wii Remotes with party games in the recent past. Some of these patents may have some clues to concepts that could yet be realised with Switch.
Nevertheless, let's try and stay realistic. Nintendo will be releasing hardware that will hopefully be at a competitive price, and the company normally has a policy of utilising affordable technology in creative ways. I'd avoid any expectations around complex gesture recognition and miniaturised projections, for example, especially as it seems doubtful the Switch even has a camera at this point.
There are plenty of conventional and realistic mysteries still to be solved for the Switch; let's not anticipate miraculous technology from a Nintendo console targeting a mainstream audience.
Comments 42
The title says enough. Don't turn into TheBitBlock and end up disappointed by being hyped by fantastical concepts.
We know that all the Switch's secrets haven't been revealed yet and I could see a projector being included. I remember Miyamoto talking about that feature at least a couple of generations ago. And if he talks about it then it's definitely a possibility. I may be wrong but I don't think it would be expensive to implement either. There's no way that dock is that size and only performs the functions we've been told so far.
Here's Miyamoto talking about it back in 2005:
MIYAMOTO ON FUTURE VIDEOGAMES
Nintendo's figurehead envisions a gaming environment without televisions.
http://ie.ign.com/articles/2005/11/01/miyamoto-on-future-videogames
Miyamoto:- "It's convenient to make games that are played on TVs,"......."But I always wanted to have a custom-sized screen that wasn't the typical four-cornered cathode-ray-tube TV. I've always thought that games would eventually break free of the confines of a TV screen to fill an entire room. But I would rather not say anything more about that."
So the cushion isn't going into production then? That sucks. Now my 'Toilets of the World' simulation game will have to be scrapped.
And this is why I'm still content to go into every Switch discussion with a truckload of salt. While it's nice to know some things about it, we clearly won't know everything until it's confirmed by Nintendo.
Funny cuz nintendolife has already reported on all of them and now that Nintendo is relevant again everyone else is trying to catch up.
also, i can never get enough of that kid (?) on the cushion. lol.
I think the dock will have some kind of processing power if it's possible to plug an Ethernet usb cable adapter into the USB ports on the dock. I'm sure Nintendo won't make the Switch a wireless-only console.
I'm going to stop frequenting this site. I'm just going to wait for official info from Nintendo via YouTube and direct emails.
@Galactus_33 k bye.
All I can say is go and play Wii U games you haven't bought yet, physical or digital indie games. Enjoy the last couple of months and let's ends its run on a positive note instead of torturing yourself with the crazy speculations surround Switch. This will be the last holiday with Wii U having a spot in stores and at homes, if any.
....I thought it said parents. >.>
The thing I'm most interested in at the moment regards Switch is: what functionality (if any) will the tablet have solo, sans joycons. Will it be a touchscreen iPad mini for ios/android games? Now THAT would be interesting.
@Joeynator3000 LOL, don't have unrealistic expectations, you're not getting one for Christmas ;p
@tysonfury
unrealistic expectations ... include me wanting it to basically be an ipad without the joycons. lol if it had android apps and was an all in one device to replace that other stuff but with all my nintendo games? and it would only cost $1000
@tysonfury ....Wat? lol
I misread the title as saying "Parents" instead of Patents. I started to say, what do my mom and dad have to do with being hyped for the Switch?
Me too on the "parents" thing.
Better than the "bullish" misread I did on an earlier Switch article.
@speedracer216 Obviously it would be an ipad AND a nintendo system. Twice as many games. That's the advantage. Why would it cost $1000? People are estimating this at $300.
@Joeynator3000 If you take off the joycons and just carry around the tablet can you still play games on it.
@tysonfury
That would be a game changer my friend and makes sense... especially if Nintendo can get Apple to buy in... but just speculation at this point
@Galactus_33 Don't let the virtual equivalent of a door do the virtual equivalent of hitting the virtual equivalent of your butt on the way out.
I just want to know if it will have the Eshop and what kind of online capabilities the system has. They haven't said much about those things. Does anyone know?
I love what I've seen so far. It is as I envisioned it. I'm hoping it will have more options in the form of online streaming like Hulu and Netflix, hopefully more options for a full suite of choices like a Roku. This is part of the deal now. I hope Nintendo realizes this.
............I'm just....gonna....go now. >.>
No mention of the haptic feedback patent you guys covered a few months back? I like that one, and I'm not even sure what haptic means.
But it has to be one or the other, either no touch screen, in which case they really should just have said so and not told IGN no comment, or something special they didn't want to go into yet. A multi touch screen is nothing to hide these days.
So haptic, or not touch 3D stuff like Apple, and my weird phone sensor that turns off near my face and I keep thinking it's off so I keep moving it away to turn it back on. My smartphone has turned me into an imbecile.
5 hours to the financial briefing, 3-0 in the 7th, FYI.
i hope miiverse and niintendo network return and eshop
so you can link your curent id
If Mii returns on Switch, better Nintendo robust even more, so there will be a lot customazation and more Mii details uncluding voices like Tomodachi Life.
@abbyhitter it's already been confirmed that the dock is just for charging and pairing the tablet to your TV screen.
Now that we have seen the system we can have a bit of rest, since things look a little bit better for Nintendo and for us. There's a glimmer of hope. I'll hear the rest next year. And most importantly, we see the games next year.
@Razjin Nothing has been confirmed at all.
Oh! It's the picture of the fart controlled achievement system again!
Definitely coming.
I just want to see the games (namely that nice looking Mario game they teased)
We've seen the hardware, bring on the games!
I think the possibility of interchangeable controllers is being underestimated... even the Joy-Con name itself implies that there will be other styles of controller in addition to the default 'joystick-controller'... and they could easily be bundled with relevant games like we've seen them do before with things like Wiimotes and the Motion Plus addons.
A camera controller is a perfect example of something that would be perfect for this... it could easily be bundled with a wiisports-style minigame compilation... like the baseball concept shown in the patent.
Of course, I'm not basing my opinion of the Switch on these things being a feature... only acknowledging that the design of the system would allow them to be added at a later date.
@Kroko here you go since I'm the only one who's not hype for this right now.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/10/21/13356760/nintendo-switch-dock-functionality-tv-output-power?client=ms-android-verizon
Nintendo should patent a coffee making console to give fans something to discuss until 2017 promo campaigns.
I wholeheartedly agree with the title of this article.
Although, I'm def surprised we didn't see the scroll wheel shoulder buttons to be honest; maybe there's still a chance those could happen at least, seeing as the systems used in the trailer were apparently all dummy units anyway.
@Razjin Actually, they also said it can be used to "provide power to the system". Granted, that's an ambiguous statement, but I do think it may be hinting towards the dock providing a supplemental boost to the overall processing power, even if it's only very slight.
@Detriment-hip-ho For example, I think we can expect an increase in frame rate.
@Razjin Confirmed where?
Jesus, people can't blame sites for reporting on titbits of information when there was nothing official there for months on end.
Some of these patents turned out to be true and the smart money is on the SCD getting a showing at some point (it's too smart an idea not to), so there's nothing wrong with a bit of healthy speculation when it is kept grounded in rational thought.
However, it starts getting very unhealthy when people start being closed-minded about the whole thing and draw unreasonable conclusions. Whether they have done it to themselves or not, Nintendo's console reveals are usually riddled with whining and negativity from the community.
Luckily for them, the hype seems to be thriving, although you always get the odd one here and there that demands more info right now (or it's dooooooooom).
That's funny I thought this website was as much a cause of this type of thing for a long time now. Now they want us to lower expectation or not listen to stories. Maybe stop using them as click bait then!
@Galactus_33 nobody cares
Is Switch going to use OLED or LCD screen? That's all I want to know.
First gen Vita has GPS and OLED but Sony removed them from the new ones. Ironically Sony came up with the first location based AR game with Vita's T@g, someone should steal it and turned it into a mobile game. It will become the new Pokemon Go.
Will the Switch be nothing more than another Nintendo home console with the added benefit of allowing games to be played on a small screen and sold at a cheap price? In other words a Wii u as it should have been.
Or are we getting graphics to rivel the Xbox and PS. A tablet with touch screen that plays 3ds games in 3d as well as all games from the big screen.
If Nintendo put price first the Switch will just be another Wii u. Price needs to be second to features.
£100 or $120 more than the PS is nothing for a killer console. Gamers will pay.
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