DanElectrode

I like the new DK and this is a good illustration of how minor the changes really are, basically just softened the angles on his eyebrow and made the whites of his eyes a little bigger and closer together, which gives him a more cartoony and expressive face, with less of the 90s "rad dude with a rude 'tude" feel.

Pilotwings would be a really great showcase for the 4K/HDR visuals

I'll wait until they release 20.0.1 for the enhanced stability

@BTB20 Yeah I don't think there's any contradiction there either, he's saying they determined the release date based on when the games and hardware could launch versus trying to hit a seasonal sales window, but also summer is fine for this console because it's portable (whereas there might be more of a reason to hold it until the holidays if weren't).

I do think it's probably a smart move from Nintendo because it means they get a big splashy launch now and then it'll also be highly sought after as a holiday gift, but they'll hopefully have had time to restock more units by then so they're actually available, whereas if they held it for the holidays it'd just be sold out everywhere and be a huge debacle, not to mention they would be missing out on 5-6 months of sales for no reason.

I'm sure they probably would've preferred to launch in March like the OG Switch to more fully capitalize on the US tax return season, but failing that it's better to release it in June than to sit on it until November or December.

It's crazy how badly Amazon has allowed their brand to be damaged by continuing to host these knock off drop shipping products. It's basically no different than buying from AliExpress at this point. Just buy from a more reputable retailer or brick and mortar store.

@pikachupikachup Ah yeah, I guess they're talking about that graphic near the bottom that is headed "usable main unit" (according to Google Translate) and only has Switch 2 checked. They just transitioned into the English one which is talking about the opposite scenario a little too seamlessly.

I guess I'd still take that little infographic with a grain of salt, the Switch 2 Dock is obviously "meant" for use with the Switch 2 and being listed that way, but I don't know if that necessarily means it will not work with the others if you cram them in there.

At any rate I'm guessing some third party will make an aftermarket dongle that works with either eventually, and probably still cheaper than the official dock, haha.

I think the headline and article here are talking about the opposite of what the Nintendo page says, it seems like the Nintendo support page is just saying the Switch 2 console does not work with the Switch 1 dock, which is what I think everyone would assume since the Switch 2 requires more power and a higher HDMI spec and whatnot.

I don't think there's any technical reason why the Switch 1 console couldn't work on the newer dock, however, aside from if it doesn't physically fit into the newer dock correctly.

@dskatter Ah, good to know. But yeah it'd be nice if the trade-ins worked a little more like when you trade in a phone, where they send you the new one plus a box to ship the old one back in after you've transferred everything, and then you get your credit once they receive it.

The only game I really don't want to lose my save data for is Tears of the Kingdom so it sounds like I'd be good on that front, but I also think my kids would riot if we just didn't have any videogames in the house until June.

I might also just let the kids keep the original as like a "long car trip" device, but the only physical games we have are the Labo kits and Ring Fit Adventure, plus Hogwarts Legacy because they got it as a gift. But they do lend physical Switch games at my local library, so that'd be an option.

I am probably going to trade in my OG Switch at some point since I have all digital purchases that I want to transfer to the new Switch 2 anyway, but it raises the question: doesn't trading in at pre-order preclude you from being able to do a "system transfer" because you need both the old and new systems at the same time?

That's why I'm thinking I'll wait until after I get the Switch 2 and complete the system transfer before I trade in the old one, even though it'll probably mean I lose out on some trade value. But then I'll just put that trade in toward an extra set of Joy Con 2 or something.

I just switched to buying digital with the Switch generation with the fact that they said the purchases were tied to your Nintendo account and not to the specific console. That has, thankfully, proven out for the better as those purchases all carry over to the Switch 2 ecosystem.

But I still don't really see the big deal with these, the fact of the matter is 90% of the time even when you buy a "real" physical game, you still need to download a giant update on day 1, and none of these things exist outside the Internet-connected ecosystem for which they were designed.

Emulation is how these games will live in posterity after the eShops are gone and the original hardware no longer functions either way, and at least these let you lend to a friend or resell if that's what you're looking for. The fact is most of these games would probably be getting "code in a box" or no physical release at all if not for the game-key cards.

@jfp Thanks for the info, although that's annoying and their rationalization doesn't really make any sense.

I get that the Switch 1 version was hard to port, but we already paid $70 for that one, so saying I now have to also pay $70 for a more straightforward port for switch 2 where they didn't have to do a bunch of custom development to get the performance to an acceptable place doesn't really hold water IMHO.

I don't buy that the new port was more work than, e.g. all the stuff Nintendo is adding into Mario Party Jamboree and is still considering it an "upgrade," they just didn't want to offer that option because Warner Bros wanted to try to charge everyone full price again.

My brother actually bought it as a gift for my kids but I figured if there was a $10 or $20 upgrade offered I'd probably bite so they could play the "real" version, but I'm not that invested if they're gonna charge full price again.

Have they confirmed whether Hogwarts Legacy is going to have an "upgrade pack"? I kind of got the impression from the direct that they're just gonna pretend it's a full separate game and expect you to buy at it full price again, in which case I'll pass.

Was sort of refreshing the GameStop site while on a zoom call for work on a lark, assuming it wouldn't work and then be sold out immediately because the site was having all kinds of reliability issues.

Figured I'd wind up just waiting until the "direct from Nintendo" pre-order on the 8th, but then surprisingly it actually went through!

Didn't really believe it until I got the confirmation email and was able to go back in later after the site settled down and confirm that it did still show up in my orders

"The glide set cancels fall damage so it doesn't matter in TotK," except in order to get that you have to have progressed fairly far into the game - reached and completed all three of the diving challenges, unlocked multiple great fairy fountains, and upgraded all of the pieces twice.

A bit like saying getting one-hit killed in the early going isn't a problem because you can just complete all the shrines and upgrade your heart containers until most enemies don't one-hit kill you any longer.

I think it'd be weird if you didn't take any fall damage in BotW/TotK, but it is a bit weird when you've maxed out your heart containers and armor and everything and you can survive huge blasts from guardians or gleeoks or whatever but falling from slightly too high is just an insta-kill no matter what.

I don't think they should let you just survive huge falls (it'd kind of break TotK in particular), but it'd be nice if it just blipped you back up onto the last "solid ground" you were on and maybe sapped a heart or two like it does when you fall in a bottomless pit in the shrines instead of doing the whole "Game Over" screen and reloading loop, which is really what makes it annoying.

Granted, doing it without reloading is probably technically impossible in the overworld because you're potentially being very far away from the last solid ground you stood on (especially in TotK). But in every game prior to BotW it worked that way, where falling in a pit or lava was distinct from actually losing all your hearts and getting a game over.

@Discostew Yeah, I suspect it's probably a feature they planned but they discovered some issue late so it'll be disabled for launch. I bet it'll be enabled some point with a firmware update.

@Gaymer90 Yeah just watching the gameplay in the direct I'm like welp, I'm never not going to come in last in online play, people are going to get insanely good at stringing together nonstop combos

@Elitepatriot The joy cons can detach

@KayFiOS Yeah, I wouldn't expect the Switch 2 to work in the Switch 1 dock, since it requires more power and a higher HDMI spec, etc. However it seems like it'd be possible for a Switch 1 to work in a Switch 2 dock, but it's probably wishful thinking.

Have they ever confirmed whether the Switch 2 dock is backward compatible with original Switch systems? I'm guessing the answer is no, but it'd be cool if you could use either with the new dock.

This will be nice for libraries and such - my wife manages the Switch game collection at our local library and you can't lend out game codes since they're tied to a specific console / eShop purchase, but if smaller indie games do a Game-Key Card release, they could use that as part of the collection.

Wind Waker is easily my favorite 3D Zelda and would look amazing in hi-res with HDR, so I'm hopeful and would still totally shell out for it regardless, not to mention some of the improvements they made around the final triforce collecting bits.

Yeah, I think the real use-case for the mouse mode is going to be for PC ports that use menus and cursors for navigation and are awkward with a control stick (e.g. Rollercoaster Tycoon, Poly Bridge, etc.), but I'm not surprised that Nintendo is demoing it with Metroid and Drag x Drive rather than going "it'll make PC ports slightly easier to play!"

I wonder if they'll wind up making it free shortly after launch after they soak the compulsive early adopters

Have they said whether your save data moves to the new console? I'm excited to try the upgraded versions of the Zelda games, but not sure if I want to start completely over in TotK especially

It's good in the same way the Mario Wonder character designs are good: Nintendo allowing the characters to be cartoony and expressive and a little goofy instead of looking like plastic brand mascots with no personality.

Would've loved a Wind Waker HD port but this is cool, and nice that I won't have to pay $60 for the privilege of repurchasing Wind Waker for the third time, heh.

I thought it was kind of unfortunate that they cast Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach in the Mario Bros. movie because she'd be perfect for Zelda, but I guess there's no reason they couldn't just have her do both. Not that they can't find another actress as well. She just has that sort of otherworldly Hylian look that would've played better in a live action Zelda movie than a Mario cartoon, IMHO.

As for signing them for a trilogy, I don't think it really means anything. It's usually just insurance for the studio that if the first one is successful they'll be able to get the actors back for a sequel, since they're already under contract. But they will always have the option of not making a sequel if the first one doesn't do well.

TV works the same way, the networks usually contract the actors for six seasons when they buy a pilot, but that doesn't mean all six will ever actually get made since they can opt to not renew the series at any point. Coincidentally, this is why most shows don't last much beyond that many seasons, because if the show is successful the actors get to renegotiate their contracts at the end of the original term, and that's when shows tend to get really expensive to produce.

Unless they announce that they're filming all three at once or something, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Kinda seems like they should've just made it a Switch 2 launch game or something

Makes sense that you can't use a Switch 2 on a Switch 1 dock since the Switch 2 requires more power and probably uses a higher HDMI standard, etc.

But as others have said, I'm curious if you'll be able to use a Switch 1 in the newer dock, since it could in theory just throttle down the power when the older system is connected. That'd be nice to reduce clutter on the old TV shelf.

@Lizuka They did sort of confirm that Genki did, in fact, "unveil [...] a model of the successor to the Nintendo Switch," anyway, just not "officially." I think if it had been fake or just a 3D printed mock-up or something they would've said something more like "the device was not the Nintendo Switch successor or any other Nintendo console" or whatever.

Also interesting that they said "a model," which sort of implies that it may be launching with more than one model. Although I guess multiple models could just mean there's two color schemes, or a Mario themed one or something.

So does pushing the release button also un-power the electromagnets? Are they electromagnets? Or just some kind of strong rare-earth type magnet? Seems like using an electromagnet that has to be powered up all the time whenever playing handheld would potentially have a pretty significant impact on battery life. What happens if the battery is completely drained, do they just fall off?

I mean I realize we don't really know the answers to these questions yet, but I'll be curious to know some more specifics about how the magnetic Joy Con work when we do get an official announcement from Nintendo.

@ROBLOGNICK Yeah, this one seems like it'll be tough as the UI is very geared toward mouse-and-keyboard.

I love these games and would love a good Switch version, but it seems like it would require a bigger overhaul of the controls and menu system versus just the lazy "control stick moves the mouse pointer" thing we tend to get with these.

I thought it was really annoying until I noticed the "sort" button that flips between most used / most recently used / most recently learned / etc. so that helps quite a bit.

Also might help if they "stacked" the ones with mulitple levels, how often do you ever create a level 1 moblin once you have level 2? You could make the earlier levels pop out below the most powerful one and require an extra d-pad down press to get to them once you have the stack selected.

@Markiemania95 I used it a lot too, it was handy for powering the TV on when you were sitting down to play a game without having to hunt for the TV remote also (plus the Gamepad's size meant it never got stuck in the couch cushions or whatever).

From a hardware standpoint I feel like the Switch is still fine - we've definitely reached diminishing returns territory with the new consoles IMHO, but from a "Nintendo is clearly not putting out any more new AAA games for the Switch and is holding them for the successor" standpoint, yes.

@Overzeal Yes, it adds an "antivirus scanner" that consumes 30% of the CPU usage at all times which will activate one month before the Switch 2 release date

Since the Switch was an outlier in terms of it's lifespan matched only by the original NES (which was actually shorter because the Famicom was only available in Japan for the first several years of it's lifespan), it seems like a pretty safe bet that whatever the next generation is will probably have a shorter lifecycle and sell fewer units, just by the law of averages.

@Ogbert yeah the system was an under-appreciated gem, and it's kind of funny that most of the biggest Switch games are just re-released Wii U games

@Ogbert IIRC didn't they actually explicitly say the GamePad was going to be a peripheral for the existing Wii at SpaceWorld or something in like 2011 before backtracking and saying it was going to be a new console?

Maybe not confusing for people who read video game news websites, but definitely confusing for parents/aunts/uncles/grandparents/etc who are just trying to figure out what they're supposed to get when buying as a gift or someone else.

If it does have a second screen on the handheld it would be kind of fun if they went with "Switch Duo," which would have the benefit of applying to both the number of screens (as with Microsoft's "Surface Duo" Android phone), and the fact that it's the successor to the Switch, without just being a boring "number go up" PlayStation type name.

Surprised "Switch Pro" didn't make the list given it's been bandied about so heavily, even though I don't think it's likely and the real answer is the "and now for something completely different" option.

I could maybe see "Switch 2" given the Switch brand is so popular (and the subscription service is called Nintendo Switch Online, etc). It's kind of the only way to keep the same branding without confusing people about whether it's a mid-gen update or a new thing. But I feel like Nintendo is probably just going to go with an entirely new name, with "Switch 2" as the distant second possibility.

There was an old DOS/Win32 Zelda-maker game called Zelda Classic that I used to be into back in the day. It's got a bit of a learning curve, but there were even forums of users sharing their fan-made "quests" for it which you could load in and play (some of which were impressively elaborate, with full tilesets and everything).

That last one reminds me of some of the goofy debug options you could play with in Goldeneye

I want the next console to have a gimmicky screen/control setup and Mario Kart to leverage said gimmicky control scheme in a poorly thought out core gameplay mechanic

Rocket: Robot on Wheels

It'll probably just become the kids' officially and I'll hook it up to our smaller TV in the other room, and the Switch 2 will go on the main TV

@rjejr I was saying to my kids the other day that it's a shame they already burned her as Peach because she'd be much better cast as Zelda IMHO, especially if it's live action. Meanwhile Peach probably would've been better as somebody a little more comedic, like Anna Faris maybe

If it's gonna have a screen it'd be much nicer if it had a Gorilla glass cover instead of easily scratchable plastic.

Slightly beefier controllers that don't feel so flimsy (not XBox huge, but more like SNES / N64 / GCN level).

4k, HDR, and Dolby Atmos audio would be rad.

Mostly, I just want it to have backwards compatibility. Stop making me re-buy the same games over and over again. They're all digital downloads associated with my "Nintendo Account" and use standardized engines now anyway so it's not like there's any real technical reason preventing it.

Yeah, I like it - it's in keeping with the Wonder art where they're leaning into actually having the characters make expressive faces and not just look like posable dolls