Krazzar

Why would I buy this for $1000 when I can just steal it from Madesi?

Every once in a while something in a Reddit email looks interesting so I click. Invariably the entire discussion has no relevance to the post and there is no additional explanation of the post. It's always, "this guy I heard about..." stories that add nothing of value. The level of objective, factual information is below that of 4chan.

I got the original and remake for $17 for PC on a sale. The original would have been $11 alone. I didn't even know they were remaking it until I saw that bundle. The original still holds up because it isn't a realistic style and because of that I haven't even tried the remake yet.

Streaming isn't up to snuff. There has to be tons of motion blur and low quality settings to make it work. I tried Steam's streaming while locked up due to the pandemic and it was subpar to unplayable. I was using two PCs that could natively run the games on medium and ultra settings in 1080p, respectively, on a gigabit wired network and it just didn't work well compared to natively running at 1080p. Better compression/decompression techniques may help but not enough to use regularly.

If Nintendo wants to play this game of "we're different and only focus on fun and not performance" it has to commit, otherwise the hardware needs to be upgraded. Currently there isn't a direct upgrade to maintain the Switch form factor.

@Mountain_Man TCL has two models using Mini-leds. MicroLEDs are further out.

@Zuljaras OLEDs do run hotter and take more energy which is why mini-led makes more sense for a Switch. Micro-led is essentially OLED without the potential for burn-in and no degradation over time, but it is very costly to produce until the fabrication matures. Mini-led splits the difference; it can have thousands of dimming zones compared to 120 on a decent LED TV. There is still more potential for color and light bloom/bleed and banding compared to OLED and MicroLED, but it's far cheaper to fabricate.

@VrginX Ubisoft commented the name change was made to reflect the change in tone of the game. It's graphical style and story was made more realistic and less cartoony and so the old project name didn't fit any longer.

@Anti-Matter He did it to protest censorship. It had nothing to do with the game, it was simply where he did it. We would ask him follow up questions about it if not for that aforementioned censorship.

@sanderev I've been using third-party slim docks (or adapters) marketed for the Switch and Macbooks for years. I have tested 15 different adapters and only three did not work and none damaged my Switch. Two had no signal and one gave an error message "HDMI is not able to be displayed". None had built-in power, I used my own power adapter or Anker 60w power brick and cable or their 45w Powercore+. It's only a problem if the dock supplies power and has a low-quality power supply or you use a low-quality power supply.

Heat is a non-issue. The primary heat dissapator is the top vent run by fans which functions in any orientation. PCs don't have to vent upwards and neither do any other consoles. Online there is as much speculation that laying the dock sideways is better than having it upright. The rear air intakes are even blocked while in the official dock.

You can pack up all you need in a thin laptop bag, including controllers for eight people and an external monitor. That's way more portable than a TV, projector, or monitor.

Obviously you have never traveled with someone else that wanted to play together. These monitors have a purpose which is why they exist.

If you are going to act like a knowitall you should probably know something about the topics.

@Zenszulu I have brought a 1080p projector with me to family gatherings to play party games but the PJs in this price range are not very good, especially in lit rooms. Pico projectors (which would be the ones built into a dock) are not very capable with very low brightness, poor colors, and low contrast. These small monitors have much better performance and at the right distance, like shown in the promo pictures.

@Anti-Matter The original emulator developers must have put out an update so Nintendo did too.

A successor to the Switch in a similar form factor will require a very large effort. The Switch revolves around the prebuilt Nvidia mobile chipset (and the Switch was the cause of the end of the Nvidia Shield tablet line). Nvidia has not released any information on any continued work on the mobile chip line so a new Switch will take a lot of time or have to rely heavily on streaming, DLSS, and other tricks. I don't think 720p and 1080p will be acceptable after 2022.

@sanderev It's been years using multiple no-name adapters with third-party chargers (which look identical to Nintendo's own without the lettering in the oval space) with no negative effects on two Switch consoles (original chipset and revision). I have used other power adapters too (like Anker's 65 watt) multiple battery banks as well, two are PD standard and one of those is a 40W PD battery made for the Switch (Anker). The Switch and power adapters have protection chips and as long as it provides enough power it won't fry because of these protections. Some reports said it was video signal that would brick consoles (displayport to USB-C translation issue).

The majority of these reports are years old, after numerous Switch updates that don't seem to do anything, pointing to a firmware update adding protections like that error message when video cannot be translated I got where it would probably brick the system in the past. Fixing these amateur vulnerabilities is something in Nintendo's best interest and I think they have already been patched out. A power adapter that can do 40v or more for docked use is all you need, video issues will only give an error message. Adapters only send the amount of power requested by the device, it was under-powered adapters causing issues.

@Stocksy Best I have seen is a 4 port USB-C adapter with a AUX port and then run a Bluetooth adapter out the AUX port. If it's docked it's assumed the audio is going out HDMI.

@SwitchForce
Dewang, Rocketek, YCCSKY, MIDI, Surfans, the list goes on. I didn't list them all because every single one worked without an issue bar one. I tried a dozen or so, many of which I gave away to friends (none of which have complained about bricked consoles). Most were tested with an original Switch and used again with a revision Switch, so I know they work. Pretty much every three port USB-C adapter (power, HDMI, USB-A) out there will work fine.

Cinoforce was the only one that gave me an error message and would not pass the signal. It was a MacBook adapter, although other MacBook adapters worked fine, including the one I got a few days ago. The one that didn't work could have just been defective.

For those who say unofficial docks will brick the Switch: I have been using and testing multiple adapters marketed for Macbooks and the Switch with my revision Switch. A few days ago I got two new MacBook adapters. One worked with no issues. The other would not do video and on the Switch screen it said something like "The dock does not have an HDMI signal" with some additional text. Aftermarket adapters on revision Switch models will not brick the console, it will simply give you an error message.

@Heavyarms55 I've been using cheapo USB-C adapters marketed for Macbooks for over a year with no issues. As long as the actual charger has protections it is fine. The problem is with super cheap chargers that don't have voltage regulation.

@Kalmaro I've done some research and writing on the topic and there isn't enough space here to give a decent summary. You are completely right and the topic is so politicised hardly anyone is talking about reality. Basically, more than 95% of the US is as safe or safer than any peer nation. Crime stats are filled up by career criminals in strictly defined territories and everyday people are blamed. Rarely there is a mass killing (which is not limited to guns). Guns in circulation are not the problem because as they have increased crimes of all kinds have decreased. Statistically and logically there is no justification for most of the lazy arguments that the "lax laws" or "access" are to blame. Those only work if one doesn't know anything about the situation in the US.

Other research found violent media actually decreases the rate of violent crime. The basic findings were the violent crime rate dropped during the specific hours a violent film was playing. This is because correlation goes two ways; people who commit violent acts are attracted to violent media, violent media does not make people violent. A simple correlation could point to that, but it isn't correct. Violent media actually acts as a replacement or expression of violence for those that are inclined to violent ideation. A big point in all this is the violent ideation already existed in those more likely to act out in violent ways, for those who do not have violent ideation violent media does not create violent ideation.

@Otoemetry Many of those systems have been in MMOs and other games for decades. Genshin just looked like it was a BotW mod on Cemu when it was first showcased, it looked that similar. Now it has shifted to having its own look and feel. Let's not forget the systems that aren't in BotW, like pets and character switching. Genshin is still unpolished and feels hollow but it isn't even out yet.

@Big-Pepsi That guy smashed a PS4 in protest of Sony bowing to Chinese censorship. Good to see all his efforts weren't wasted.

@shaneoh GoG connect is pretty cool, but has a pretty slow pace. I don't know if they are going to abandon it for their newest project. GoG Galaxy 2.0 is in beta right now and it pulls in all the games you own from multiple launchers and puts them all in one place with tracking, Metadata, and social features. It even lets you find and link games installed directly on your PC like MMOs or older games off CDs. It automatically launches the host launcher when you want to play a game. I have been using it for a few months and it is the best thing since Steam.

@sandman89 Digital Rights Management describes a whole class of software protection systems. The main problem is over time agreements, licenses, and services expire and games may become unplayable or degraded simply because of the DRM. For example, Fallout 3 required Games For Windows Live, which is now defunct, so a manual patch is required to get the game to run on Steam. If Windows had not made those files available the game simply would not run under any circumstances. Some other DRM systems require an internet connection to play, which is not only an annoyance, but also requires the servers work to operate. For example, Mercenaries 2 has a 2-player drop-in, drop-out coop. It was tons of fun and worked well, but now the EA servers have been long gone so it is no longer a coop game.

GoG fixes some of these issues, which make some games playable again and/or restores features, but it also ensures you won't be locked out of a game in the future because of DRM issues. GoG also adds quality of life features to some games as well.

CD Projeckt Red has it's name because it began as a games distribution company in Poland, securing and releasing games no one else could in the region back in the days of CDs. Good Old Games (GoG) brought this expertise to Western audiences by publishing and supporting old games that were difficult to find and/or run on modern systems. This morphed into a full-blown game distribution platform, their own game studio, and now the only working unified PC games platform in the GoG Galaxy 2.0. beta. GoG has games no one else has, it even has Blizzard games Blizzard doesn't offer (Warcraft 1&2 and Diablo), and GoG does the work to ensure these games run. The Witcher 3 is an astounding success, but the premise of this article is like saying Valve only made it's money on Half-life 2. In many fields, you don't make money on production, it's all in distribution.

PC looks better than Switch even with all settings set to their lowest in 720p, and definitely is smoother in terms of FPS, yet I still find myself playing TW3 more on my Switch. The graphics on the Switch make me appreciate the PC graphics but the heart of the game, the amazing storytelling, is still there and it doesn't look horrible on the Switch, even in handheld mode. The Switch just has this kind of magical appeal that can't be explained.

Starcraft is my favorite failed WH40k project. Ghost always seemed like it would be a lackluster SC tie-in that wouldn't actually do the series justice. I imagine something like Space Hulk: Deathwing in the SC universe could have been impactful at the time, but that would require much more effort than everything I saw of Ghost throughout the years.

I got the first pass when I got the game and I was surprised that I liked every single character. They were all fun to play in their own way. I will be getting the second pass soon because I will end up getting it anyway, may as well get the exclusive too. Smash has been a wonderful experience so I feel good supporting their continued efforts to expand the game. Some devs you don't think twice about spending money with.

@SmileMan64 He was actually protesting Sony giving in to government censorship and happened to do it near the line for the display of this game. If he feels stupid now we'll never know because the government has its full censorship regime in place.

@oceano The same can be said about a TV, making the Switch's screen useless at home, but plenty of people have praised the Switch for freeing up the TV so their kids or spouse can use the TV. The same appeal applies here. Just because you don't use it in a certain way doesn't mean it isn't an advantage others utilize often. Personally, I use my Switch in bed from time to time in handheld mode because it's convenient. There is always the single device scenario too, that this AW device would be chosen instead of a home PC setup. That is a natural progression of the console-PC divide shrinking as both gain functions of the other, such as the streaming ability of Nvidia Shield TV units bringing PC games to the TV with controllers.

@CairiB I just got an adapter to use a keyboard and mouse with Switch, PS4, Xbox. I'll have to test it out soon to see if it actually works.

@SwitchForce Yes, Nintendo is the innovator here, using an Nvidia chip found in the Nvidia gaming tablets and TV units first, a third-party USB-C port, Sharp/Innolux panels, off-the-shelf joysticks, and so on. /s

Nintendo didn't come up with the idea of a gaming tablet and didn't do much of the hardware legwork, they buy and/or license that from Nvidia and other companies. Their patents are for the specific design aspects of the Switch, not everything in the realm of mobile gaming. AW is not infringing on any design patents Nintendo holds, and even if there is a design that is so good it can't be feasibly duplicated it can be licensed, which Nintendo of all companies knows because they use slightly modified hardware from Nvidia to run the Switch (which is also why Nvidia abandoned their gaming tablet line to not compete with themselves, otherwise I would have an Nvidia tablet instead and Nintendo would be in hot water with another lackluster AMD-based console).

With DDR5 DRAM and the 3000 series Nvidia cards providing better performance with less power draw this could be quite effective. Less power draw also means less heat and longer battery life, especially when the voltage and clocks are lowered. 16/32GB of DDR5 and a 3050 graphics card would justify a high price tag for a mobile device. Alienware refused to touch on hardware, probably because the hardware it would use isn't available yet and won't be until later 2020 or 2021.

Nintendo doesn't have a patent on the gaming tablet design, it only has patents on the exact designs the Switch uses, which this prototype does not copy. Even so, if a design is so good no other design is feasible it can be licensed to be used by another entity. A patent doesn't mean no one else can do anything remotely similar to any design aspect of a product.

There's a market for this, it's a branch and natural progression of mobile gaming. Gaming laptops have been around a very long time, my first one was in 2007, and I first started playing games on a Windows tablet in 2013, although it wasn't designed for gaming and plenty of people played games on tablets since the very first tablet. The Nvidia Shield Tablet, the first high-profile gaming tablet and direct forerunner of the Switch, was released in 2014. There have been other gaming tablets out there, but they usually rely on the lighter Android OS because the lower specs. Having a viable gaming tablet that can run PC games natively is a big deal. It won't be a max settings 1440p 60fps system, but the Switch has shown people don't really care about that.

It's not the Switch that spurred on mobile PC gaming, actually mobile PC is what lead to the Switch, the desire to have PC games on the go has always been there but has been less feasible because of the constraints. The Switch is the most iconic and popular option in this form factor but it is the benefactor of Nvidia's design. As for "PC exclusives": I have about 50 games on Switch, many are repeats of PC games I already have - my PC library is about 1,000 games including entire categories that are PC-only. There is plenty for this prototype to run.

@Ludovsky GameCube games are between 1.5gb and 3gb large, if I remember correctly, they were on mini-disks after all. That's not a huge amount of data. Being on disks didn't hamper efforts to rip the data for emulation one bit. Nintendo probably has masters on even older media than mini-disks.

Nintendo isn't working on porting N64 and GC games to the Switch because they don't have to and it doesn't make them money. That means I'm stuck playing those games on N64, GameCube, Wii, PC, and my phone.

The music sums up the target market perfectly. If you're outraged by this product you will probably never see one for sale. You'll have to search out this monstrosity. For countries where RCA cables and CRT displays are still commonplace this is a competitive product.

I'll stick to the Android version then. Slightly more mobile and once the controls get on my nerves I can plug in a mouse.

Nintendo built a closed ecosystem, including costly hardware development, for a reason. I don't think some Chinese money is going to get Nintendo to throw that all away. Tencent is looking to put Nintendo characters on non-Nintendo hardware with ports and original (copied ) games. If Nintendo wanted to be a software designer for any platform they would have done it already. Tencent sees how Nintendo titles sell consoles and wants to cash in on breaking the titles from the hardware. It's an insane ask because it destroys Nintendo's entire traditional strategy that goes all the way back to the beginning of their videogame history. The only way this would go through is with political pressure, the Chinese government strong-arming Japan and Nintendo.

@Bondi_Surfer That's not the way the Chinese work. They're not leaders of development and culturally discourage new ideas and risks. They move into existing markets copy what they can, buy what they can't copy, and sell until it's time to move on to another market. In gaming they are buying up market space to influence global development and culture of gaming. If you've heard of a Chinese company it is controlled by the government. In the Western World we like our companies to be free of politics, that isn't possible with Chinese companies.

Is the campaign couch coop or does it require two consoles?

@spirit_flame There is an option on the PC version to change the frequency of the Xray kills or turn it off entirely.

Seems like a mash of Overcooked, Someone Think of the Children, and Human Fall Flat. Looks good.

@Trajan They're there under James Bond on page 3.

@Sim1 the same was said in the 80s and 90s when VR had its previous blips on the gaming radar. VR is a niche that most people aren't interested in. Streaming pops up and disappears the same way. Companies keep gambling to see if "ahead of it's time" will turn into "first mover". The only problem is there is a difference between "ahead of it's time" and " generally undesirable".

@Kriven Your comment was essentially, "why bother with physically installed games because there are patches when streaming is always up to date". That's not true, streaming is up to date until the platform or publisher decides to end access. There are some games from the 90s that are more up to date and active than more recent games because the community has access to the files to create fixes or run on an emulator. That's a major danger with streaming, they hold all the cards and decide when a game can no longer be accessed.

@Kriven There is a middle ground. Individuals have created patches, mods, and entirely rewritten code for games in the past. Some older games that are impossible to buy now get uploaded with community patches to modernize the experience. Battlefield 1942 has been uploaded along with a widescreen and resolution fix, mods are still available, and other supporting files like an updated server client. Console games get emulators. With streaming the files are never made available so they can't be archived, patched, modded, or emulated. Publishers generally don't care about making past games available unless they can charge for it again so some games get stuck in limbo and aren't available to buy. If the future of gaming is streaming only it won't be a very bright future or long history. Luckily for us it charges a premium to add hassle and compromises to the experience so most people will steer clear.

The oldest game I have installed on my computer and still play is from 1995. I have a single player game from 2005 I can't play because EA shut down the servers that only acted to connect two players if you wanted to play coop. Streaming represents another erosion of the control over access of a game. I have heard mixed things about OnLive, but it's a fact no one can go back and play any of those games on the service today. There are some great games that slipped through the cracks with trademark and licensing issues and now are not readily available, with streaming only that is the reality for all games.

Some will argue if you don't like it don't buy into it, but if it's the only access there is that isn't an option. Publishers would love a steady wholesale system for game licensing, cutting out their risk from the public and our "incessant complaining" (aka standards). Such a system just acts to benefit the platform and publishers and will hurt consumers by degrading the effectiveness of feedback, removing control, and costing more per hour and will hurt developers by the same dynamic. If you are paying a flat rate for all games played your hours in a particular game don't mean anything (as opposed to copies sold) , the only thing that matters to publishers and the platform is the number of games available. During a transition phase there is some comparison, since copies sold still matters if that system still operates, but in a streaming-only environment there is little incentive to make great games and much incentive to pump out content for content's sake. Netflix is an example of this negative impact with multiple high-level flops even as it still has to compete on quality.

Streaming only for games would take a long time. Right now it doesn't make sense from multiple angles. Moving from discs to online delivery took a long time. The difference is online delivery presented serious benefits and no major costs. I'm hoping people see it's just paying a premium for a gimmicky tech demo and this round of streaming craze burns out quickly.

@HumanDog Sounds good until you get the bill after eating through your data cap in a day or two. Streaming is a no-win for consumers. We lose more control of access, have to pay more, and get less. In every scenario it is a worse prospect.

Streaming is another VR, it comes around every few decades with improvements but isn't good enough or cost effective for prime time.

@Moviebuff1981 Power banks that use USB-C standards have worked well for me. There is also a battery case that snaps onto the Switch.

@NintendoFan4Lyf Decent power banks are cheap now, although for all my long trips there has been a power outlet available (buses and planes). I have a couple killer 20,000mah batteries that operate at a relatively high wattage that keep up with the Switch. USB-C standards have made power delivery much better for power hungry devices.

@Toph6661 It's not the battery it is the Tegra chip, aka the cpu, gpu, motherboard, and operating system in one. Your Switch would have to be seriously FUBAR to require changing out the chip.

@retro_player_22 Or if they removed the video output processor from the board, which they probably did to extend battery life and bring down the cost. If not it can be disabled entirely. Most likely plugging it in will not do anything other than charge the unit.