@electrolite77 If you look at PURE form factor, at the piece of machinery that holds all the important parts, it's a tablet. If you add the Joy-Cons, it's a handheld. If you dock it, I guess it "counts" as a home-console? But seriously, look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxUuDh5dOus
There is SO MUCH wasted opportunity there. It's literally 80% plastic. You could take that small cube of circuitry out of there, put it in a protective little box, and then screw that to the back of a 2-5 costing tablet holder: Bang, your dock.
Would you call something that's well-thought out and incredibly well made on one-side, but feels like a cheap, quick, rushed part to get people to have it "their way" and to be able to "play on TV" a hybrid? If the dock provided a meaningful contribution beyond being a much much more expensive HDMI cable, then sure, I can see that. But the current dock is just an overpriced accessory that isn't even required.
@MoonKnight7 Do you stand still to consider that the Switch also has the other side? I see nearly everyone who praises it just magically "forget" that it's supposed to be a hybrid, that it has a dock. Is that something people just phase out of their memory for glory's sake?
@Vriess I believe you're confusing me for someone else, I'm very well aware that the Switch is a handheld in form-factor and boasts handheld tech, and most next-gen games will either be seriously downgraded, or will simply never show up.
@ekwcll By your logic, a laptop is a hybrid, anything that connects to TV is a hybrid, anything with an HDMI cable can be a hybrid.
You may call it a "hybrid" all you like, but let us make no mistake that it's a handheld, or arguably even more correct, a tablet, first and foremost. The small screen houses the important parts, without that, it's nothing but useless parts. The form-factor itself is that of a tablet, with the Joy-Cons added, it's a handheld. The dock is a mostly empty plastic shell with tech reminiscent of an HDMI cable. If that's a hybrid, then so was the Gamecube with it's cable that connects a GBA to it.
@HalBailman Too bad the Switch is tailored to being a handheld. The dock's contribution is near meaningless. Just get an HDMI cable and it'll do it as well, albeit at less cost and maybe a little less tech, but still mostly the same thing.
@Caryslan Then why are they so insistent on calling it a home-console? Why is that docked part even included? Why does the majority use both modes? Tell me that.
Nintendo hasn't made a genuine effort in the home-console market since the Gamecube failed, but, regardless, if they were so confident in their handheld base, then they'd never bothered putting a dock with the Switch.
@Nico87 So, shall we by that very number now abolish all home-consoles from history? Are they a bygone phase because of the Switch now? What sells systems, more so than ANYTHING else? Games, and both you and Caryslan woefully ignored that one!
@JaxonH It's clear that people want handheld from them, so what is the Switch, other than a last, desperate grip to include home-console? I wouldn't be surprised if the next Switch just doesn't have any dock at all anymore. Handheld and home-console players have different priorities on the things they want from their machines. Handheld people don't mind the compromises made to play handheld, home-console players expect more out of their standing machine. The current Switch is only baby-steps, and only that if Nintendo actually bothers to improve the home-console part, which is questionable at best.
@ThanosReXXX Don't worry about it, I know these are very specific questions that most likely only a given few can answer. I appreciate your time regardless.
@ThanosReXXX I've given it a read, aye. But isn't Monolith basically the same thing as first party? I mean, they are Nintendo owned, and work closely with Nintendo's other teams and hardware... I'm just puzzled by it all, since I always thought that these parties were very much completely under the big company's fold, and thus well in the know about things.
@ThanosReXXX I understand. I can only hope that there's enough people that wonder the same things about the dock and would like to see it improved for Nintendo to consider it profitable to have a closer look at it.
@ThanosReXXX But, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a 2nd party game right? I mean the people behind it also worked on Breath of the Wild, helped with world building!
Either way, I'm starting to wonder what's really in the dock now, and why Nintendo hasn't done more with it already. I also wholeheartedly agree that more power should alleviate these issues, when it really doesn't.
@YummyHappyPills I see. Let's hope they'll at least patch out those errors then, since losing hours of progress to an error that isn't part of the game to say the least, is a real shame.
@ThanosReXXX Yeah I can understand that the world takes a graphical hit if it's that large, but... that begs a question: Odyssey also has fairly large worlds, right? And that looks just fine, same goes for Zelda.
Same with Fire Emblem: Warriors in terms of how the back-ground looks (and to a lesser extent the character models). I mean sure, the background isn't relevant when slashing up a ton of mooks, but they really didn't put any effort in it on that one.
@YummyHappyPills On whether or not the technical issues in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 are to fault on rushed development, the Switch itself not being able to keep up, or what else the reason for it is. We're talking frames dropping to the 10s in certain situations, errors that erase hours of progress and texture pop-in (of which I've read it's because they wanted to shorten loading screens) which begs the question of why couldn't they just shorten loading-screens without texture pop-in? (It happens when fast-travelling to a different place, and, which is more egregious if you ask me, when you're doing a chain attack)
The game in question, save for character models, isn't exactly a graphical showpiece, albeit being a really large world. But then Xenoblade Chronicles X also had a huge world, and that ran on the significantly weaker Wii-U....
@ThanosReXXX I wish more people had your thought process. If enough people excuse the lacking of one part due to the other's performance (something unique to Switch as a "hybrid") Then Nintendo will never be incentivized to solve these problems.
It's this awkward situation where, according to Nintendo's graph, the majority uses both modes, but the docked one is a novelty and I doubt a lot of those people want to see it improved. It's a case of "Wanted enough to keep it, but not good enough to improve it" it drives me up the wall >.>
And to put an extra on what you said with the 64 GB memory: People pay more for less, and are content with it, so why would Nintendo want to improve what people are happy with? It's these reasons why we'll see improvements only very slowly over-time is my estimate.
@ThanosReXXX Yeah, but it seems to me that most people vehemently worship and excuse any and all games on the Switch on account of handheld. Doesn't that clash with it as a "hybrid" console? Why should something that functions well in handheld, be excused entirely because of that? It doesn't seem fair to me.
The issues I come across in games like XC2, the frame-drops/texture pop-in/errors. I always wonder what the reason for those is. Lack of power? Incorrect use of the Switch hardware? Too little time to optimize the game? I don't know, but I'd love to.
On account of getting a more powerful console for less money, well, people then point to how it's an unfair comparison due to those consoles having been out for quite some time and the Switch still being fresh. That may be, but people will still compare them at the end of the day.
@ThanosReXXX I've got an idea about that aye. But then that link I've posted means they'd not go there, because "People would see it as less portable" which I find a BS remark to make. If it's a hybrid, why can't the docked part have that bit more? It's already stellar and top of it's game as a handheld, what's wrong with giving the other part some shine?
But yeah, since they're paranoid of "less portable" I doubt they'll give the dock the love it needs to be a valuable and real addition to the Switch, instead of just a glorified HDMI cable.
"that's just how it is nowadays"... You mean the idea of physical media disappearing? Yeah, I see that thrown around a lot. I really hope it doesn't come to that, but PC is already there, mostly... But then PC has the ability for far more storage than any console.
Then I seriously wonder if Nintendo even cares enough about the docked part to ever do anything extra with it. If they don't emphasize it via Pokemon Switch being the first mainline Pokemon playable on big-screen, then I doubt they ever will, and then I'm nearly 100% sure that further Switch iterations will just perfect the Switch itself, and not care about the dock at all.
I can't regard the Switch as a hybrid while the dock is what it is. The moment it offers a real, palpable difference beyond what it does now, is the moment I would genuinely say it's a hybrid. But right now, it's just a handheld with a side-accessory.
@ThanosReXXX Same here, got me a PC and a Switch, but, somehow, I've got a feeling Nintendo has this in their pocket once again. I can only imagine it'll cause friction again.
All things aside, now that I've got your attention, what do you think of the dock? How it's marketed, what attention is paid to it, and how it's mostly an empty plastic shell? Whenever I look at the dock, I feel disappointed, because I realize it can be so much more than it is now (after all, a glorified HDMI cable in a box isn't exactly what enhances the Switch's home-console part of the hybrid if you ask me.)
That's been quite some time ago, a lot of time to not hear anything at all to be honest. I mean we're not talking something like Monster Hunter: World, this would be "just" a Dark Souls port, nothing to really explode over.
@Agramonte @KingdomHeartsFan I very much hear you both when it comes to slow story, but it has me thinking... Could that be to accommodate the younger players? (aka kids)
@BanjoPickles I'm debating that the current dock, is severely lacking. It doesn't feel like a hybrid, because the handheld part is well made and fleshed out, albeit a tad big, whereas the docked part is but an overpriced, mostly empty plastic shell that does glorified HDMI. It could be so much more! But it isn't, and that detracts from the other part (home-console) of the Switch.
If Nintendo doesn't start emphasizing and giving value/spotlight to the docked part with Pokemon Switch being the first mainline Pokemon RPG playable on the big screen, then they'll probably never do so and affirm, in my eyes, that the dock is but a side-accessory not to be given any additional thought or function beyond what it does now, and that's not how you do hybrid if you ask me. Docked is supposed to have MORE power, for crying out loud! It mostly just magnifies and shows me that the background in XC2/FE:Warriors isn't very pretty....
People that play handheld, they accept the faults as part of playing handheld, but why should that impact how the docked part works? That's why the current hybrid is very much in it's kid's shoes, because handheld play impacts docked play due to the Switch really being a handheld in form-factor, and Nintendo wanting it at this price point, thus not having the technology inside to really make a difference therein.
@BanjoPickles And what does the Switch sell on? What is the part that really rakes in these people? The promise of their games on the go primarily, since if they wanted it home-console, they could've bought a PS4/Xbox One. But if Nintendo improves the dock to do an actual, meaningful contribution, it could stand toe to toe with them, and Nintendo could stop hiding once the word competition is uttered.
In regards to Skyrim, that is a remaster of an old game though, so it isn't too taxing I'd reckon. Sure, DOOM is a better example, but then you're talking handheld mode when you say it does pretty well right? I can see that, but there's more to the Switch then handheld mode, and this is something I see a ton of Switch owners woefully ignore. Just because the game does it awesomely in handheld, doesn't mean that what it does in docked, is thereby justified.
@BanjoPickles Is it a powerful console? I've had problems keeping the frames of XC2 stable, they sometimes dipped below 10 in some instance, and I don't think it is that much more taxing, if at all, than something like Mario Odyssey, so what went wrong there? And why are there people unwilling to make compromises to get their game on such a hot system if it was powerful enough?
Plus, so far as hybrid goes, I wouldn't say it is. The dock does far too little to account for it as a hybrid. You could tear out that small block of tech inside the empty shell and tape it to the back of a tablet-holder and call that a dock. An overpriced HDMI cable isn't what it should be, it should be alleviating the issues that Switch games have when handheld, otherwise it might as well be an HDMI cable.
@rjejr I know the feeling. It's my Nr.1 worst open end/cliffhanger in a game to date, it just leaves you wanting to know so much more, arguably with more questions you had when you began.
@rjejr Well, XCX was a very different direction, that's true. I get what you're saying about established characters, though I prefer to make my own character. Maybe the ability to choose between one or the other would be interesting.
The characters were a mixed bag, though I did really enjoy the story what happened to humanity, and that open end drove me nuts for a while
Maybe they should revisit XCX, work out the kinks and dents, and then put it on the Switch, which isn't about to be sent off to it's untimely demise any time soon.
@JaxonH I'm going to chalk that one up to difference of opinion. I love XC2, I've got 200+ hours of which most if not all are legitimate because I don't use sleep-mode. Got the Season Pass and am looking forward to the story DLC, but opinions do differ and it has some issues that I'd like to see resolved (The errors and some of those frame-drops) maybe some improvement of the A.I. because man is it annoying when they stand in poison and just die.
@rjejr What didn't you like about XCX then? I thought that was a pretty good story nonetheless. Maybe not up to the levels of XC1/XC2 but it was good in it's own right. Plus big mechs, I do like me some big mechs.
The Switch is THE chance for Game Freak and their Pokemon series to really up their game. 3DS to Switch is quite the leap, not to mention that it'll be the first main-line Pokemon RPG on the big screen. Now is Nintendo and Game Freak's chance to use that to their advantage, though I HIGHLY doubt they will, as they're far too much on the handheld side and don't give a damn about docked mode.
Just want them to take their time and make it good, no need to rush this as I'd rather have it be a big step, than a better looking Pokemon we see on 3DS all the time.
@TheLegendOfLaser As long as they take their time, don't lock features to handheld mode, and preferably, emphasize how Pokemon will be playable on big-screen now as part of it's reveal/marketing etc.
3DS to Switch is a big leap in hardware, I hope they make use of it.
@JaxonH There's a way to cheese Affinity, just go to a shop, look for an item nobody really likes so that you don't get voice-clips, then buy a ton of them (put them in the pouch, of course) and spam a, buy a ton of them, spam a, rince and repeat, and you'll get max affinity in no time.
Too bad it doesn't work for Ursula. Her affinity is unnecessarily long and irritating...
@JaxonH If I'm playing? I'm at post-game, level 99, and only the level 130 superboss, as they call them, yet evades my killing blow. Am now working on getting max affinity with some blades, and hunting down KOS-MOS as my last rare. I've been enjoying it immensely myself, but I'm not able to really gush over games these days. Life afflicts one like me to heavily for that. Also are you going with Japanese or English? I can't stomach the English, just sounds overdone and not right to me.
Take another look at my last reply, you might want to give those articles a read.
@JaxonH It only saves when you open a core-crystal, and when you consider how that error tied you up and had you lose a bunch of progress, then that's a shame. I can't remember the last time a Nintendo game had an error of the sort, so why XC2? Switch having trouble handling it?
@JaxonH There's a difference between "This game is the best of all time no questions asked" and "I feel this game is the best game of all time" Nuance lad. It's all about nuance.
I'm guessing you're one of the fortunates not to have been struck by errors and lose quite a few hours of progress?
@JaxonH "I don't think I've ever played a game that had so much story in it." You don't play many RPG's then, I take it? Sure XC2 has a ton of story, a good one too, but XC1 and XCX weren't to be scoffed at either. It being better than X is your opinion, lad, so don't "official" me none. XCX has it's own charm and was great in it's own way. Too bad it was sent out to die on Wii-U.
Also 200 hours and level 52? You must've either been taking your time, or, those 200 hours aren't your actual play time, as I'm pretty sure you use sleep-mode, which counts hours in said sleep mode as play-time as well.
4K? And here I thought you were a Switch fanatic that happily excused any and all games on the system of their faults on account of handheld. You know that 4K is something Nintendo will never pursue, right? So don't get too used to it.
@NoxAeturnus Oh, but you misunderstand. I've thoroughly enjoyed the games despite those issues, but that doesn't mean those issues aren't relevant. If nobody mentions them, they'll never be fixed either, and the errors that XC2 receives on occasion are definitely not minor. I've lost hours of progress to those.
@NoxAeturnus Alright. Let's talk about the frame-drops when using that freeze-ability in BotW and walking around, how BotW ran better in handheld, you know, the mode that doesn't get "powered up" HAH!, that's hilarious, by the near-empty plastic accessory shell, included only to keep the name Switch from being redundant.
How about XC2 and it's errors, as well as frames dropping to sub 20 during particular parts? Gosh darn, if only we had a dock that could absolve these problems, instead of an overpriced plastic case with the functionality of an HDMI cable.
@Ninphysics I wouldn't know if those are casuals. Even the word itself is rather ambiguous, is it not?
But I can see why a lot of people prefer PS4/Xbox One, since they'd like an affordable, but still preferably best play experience, and are not allergic to having to sit down for it. Switch owners seem to praise them being able to take their games handheld as the second coming of gaming, something which has me roll my eyes.
@Ninphysics I'm pretty sure popularity is but a small part of what sells Switch. Games and handheld are tops so far as I'm aware. Everything else is negligible.
Comments 803
Re: Soapbox: Switch's Rampant Success Is Proof Positive That You Should Never Write Off Nintendo
@electrolite77 If you look at PURE form factor, at the piece of machinery that holds all the important parts, it's a tablet. If you add the Joy-Cons, it's a handheld. If you dock it, I guess it "counts" as a home-console? But seriously, look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxUuDh5dOus
There is SO MUCH wasted opportunity there. It's literally 80% plastic. You could take that small cube of circuitry out of there, put it in a protective little box, and then screw that to the back of a 2-5 costing tablet holder: Bang, your dock.
Would you call something that's well-thought out and incredibly well made on one-side, but feels like a cheap, quick, rushed part to get people to have it "their way" and to be able to "play on TV" a hybrid? If the dock provided a meaningful contribution beyond being a much much more expensive HDMI cable, then sure, I can see that. But the current dock is just an overpriced accessory that isn't even required.
Re: Soapbox: Switch's Rampant Success Is Proof Positive That You Should Never Write Off Nintendo
@MoonKnight7 Do you stand still to consider that the Switch also has the other side? I see nearly everyone who praises it just magically "forget" that it's supposed to be a hybrid, that it has a dock. Is that something people just phase out of their memory for glory's sake?
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@Vriess I believe you're confusing me for someone else, I'm very well aware that the Switch is a handheld in form-factor and boasts handheld tech, and most next-gen games will either be seriously downgraded, or will simply never show up.
Re: Soapbox: Switch's Rampant Success Is Proof Positive That You Should Never Write Off Nintendo
@ekwcll By your logic, a laptop is a hybrid, anything that connects to TV is a hybrid, anything with an HDMI cable can be a hybrid.
You may call it a "hybrid" all you like, but let us make no mistake that it's a handheld, or arguably even more correct, a tablet, first and foremost. The small screen houses the important parts, without that, it's nothing but useless parts. The form-factor itself is that of a tablet, with the Joy-Cons added, it's a handheld. The dock is a mostly empty plastic shell with tech reminiscent of an HDMI cable. If that's a hybrid, then so was the Gamecube with it's cable that connects a GBA to it.
Re: Soapbox: Switch's Rampant Success Is Proof Positive That You Should Never Write Off Nintendo
@HalBailman Too bad the Switch is tailored to being a handheld. The dock's contribution is near meaningless. Just get an HDMI cable and it'll do it as well, albeit at less cost and maybe a little less tech, but still mostly the same thing.
Re: Soapbox: Switch's Rampant Success Is Proof Positive That You Should Never Write Off Nintendo
@Caryslan Then why are they so insistent on calling it a home-console? Why is that docked part even included? Why does the majority use both modes? Tell me that.
Nintendo hasn't made a genuine effort in the home-console market since the Gamecube failed, but, regardless, if they were so confident in their handheld base, then they'd never bothered putting a dock with the Switch.
@Nico87 So, shall we by that very number now abolish all home-consoles from history? Are they a bygone phase because of the Switch now? What sells systems, more so than ANYTHING else? Games, and both you and Caryslan woefully ignored that one!
@JaxonH It's clear that people want handheld from them, so what is the Switch, other than a last, desperate grip to include home-console? I wouldn't be surprised if the next Switch just doesn't have any dock at all anymore. Handheld and home-console players have different priorities on the things they want from their machines. Handheld people don't mind the compromises made to play handheld, home-console players expect more out of their standing machine. The current Switch is only baby-steps, and only that if Nintendo actually bothers to improve the home-console part, which is questionable at best.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@Vriess Unless Nintendo slaps down big bucks, and I don't think they would.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Don't worry about it, I know these are very specific questions that most likely only a given few can answer. I appreciate your time regardless.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX I've given it a read, aye. But isn't Monolith basically the same thing as first party? I mean, they are Nintendo owned, and work closely with Nintendo's other teams and hardware... I'm just puzzled by it all, since I always thought that these parties were very much completely under the big company's fold, and thus well in the know about things.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX I understand. I can only hope that there's enough people that wonder the same things about the dock and would like to see it improved for Nintendo to consider it profitable to have a closer look at it.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX But, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a 2nd party game right? I mean the people behind it also worked on Breath of the Wild, helped with world building!
But then, there's possibly more going on with Xenoblade than meets the eye: https://www.resetera.com/threads/xenoblade-chronicles-2-staff-analysis.9222/ Which would be compounded by this: http://nintendoeverything.com/xenoblade-developer-monolith-soft-recruiting-for-ambitious-new-project/ But contradicted by this: http://nintendoeverything.com/xenoblade-chronicles-2-director-on-development-inspiration-for-the-world-and-setting-upcoming-dlc-more/
Either way, I'm starting to wonder what's really in the dock now, and why Nintendo hasn't done more with it already. I also wholeheartedly agree that more power should alleviate these issues, when it really doesn't.
@YummyHappyPills I see. Let's hope they'll at least patch out those errors then, since losing hours of progress to an error that isn't part of the game to say the least, is a real shame.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Yeah I can understand that the world takes a graphical hit if it's that large, but... that begs a question: Odyssey also has fairly large worlds, right? And that looks just fine, same goes for Zelda.
Same with Fire Emblem: Warriors in terms of how the back-ground looks (and to a lesser extent the character models). I mean sure, the background isn't relevant when slashing up a ton of mooks, but they really didn't put any effort in it on that one.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Some seasoned knowledge among all the young people is welcome I sometimes feel old as well, being only 26 in that regard
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@YummyHappyPills On whether or not the technical issues in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 are to fault on rushed development, the Switch itself not being able to keep up, or what else the reason for it is. We're talking frames dropping to the 10s in certain situations, errors that erase hours of progress and texture pop-in (of which I've read it's because they wanted to shorten loading screens) which begs the question of why couldn't they just shorten loading-screens without texture pop-in? (It happens when fast-travelling to a different place, and, which is more egregious if you ask me, when you're doing a chain attack)
The game in question, save for character models, isn't exactly a graphical showpiece, albeit being a really large world. But then Xenoblade Chronicles X also had a huge world, and that ran on the significantly weaker Wii-U....
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX I wish more people had your thought process. If enough people excuse the lacking of one part due to the other's performance (something unique to Switch as a "hybrid") Then Nintendo will never be incentivized to solve these problems.
It's this awkward situation where, according to Nintendo's graph, the majority uses both modes, but the docked one is a novelty and I doubt a lot of those people want to see it improved. It's a case of "Wanted enough to keep it, but not good enough to improve it" it drives me up the wall >.>
And to put an extra on what you said with the 64 GB memory: People pay more for less, and are content with it, so why would Nintendo want to improve what people are happy with? It's these reasons why we'll see improvements only very slowly over-time is my estimate.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Yeah, but it seems to me that most people vehemently worship and excuse any and all games on the Switch on account of handheld. Doesn't that clash with it as a "hybrid" console? Why should something that functions well in handheld, be excused entirely because of that? It doesn't seem fair to me.
The issues I come across in games like XC2, the frame-drops/texture pop-in/errors. I always wonder what the reason for those is. Lack of power? Incorrect use of the Switch hardware? Too little time to optimize the game? I don't know, but I'd love to.
On account of getting a more powerful console for less money, well, people then point to how it's an unfair comparison due to those consoles having been out for quite some time and the Switch still being fresh. That may be, but people will still compare them at the end of the day.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX I've got an idea about that aye. But then that link I've posted means they'd not go there, because "People would see it as less portable" which I find a BS remark to make. If it's a hybrid, why can't the docked part have that bit more? It's already stellar and top of it's game as a handheld, what's wrong with giving the other part some shine?
But yeah, since they're paranoid of "less portable" I doubt they'll give the dock the love it needs to be a valuable and real addition to the Switch, instead of just a glorified HDMI cable.
"that's just how it is nowadays"... You mean the idea of physical media disappearing? Yeah, I see that thrown around a lot. I really hope it doesn't come to that, but PC is already there, mostly... But then PC has the ability for far more storage than any console.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Well, that SCD patent, the question is: Is that something external? I mean if you read this: http://letsplayvideogames.com/2016/10/report-nintendo-switch-dock-doesnt-support-external-usb-drives/
Then I seriously wonder if Nintendo even cares enough about the docked part to ever do anything extra with it. If they don't emphasize it via Pokemon Switch being the first mainline Pokemon playable on big-screen, then I doubt they ever will, and then I'm nearly 100% sure that further Switch iterations will just perfect the Switch itself, and not care about the dock at all.
I can't regard the Switch as a hybrid while the dock is what it is. The moment it offers a real, palpable difference beyond what it does now, is the moment I would genuinely say it's a hybrid. But right now, it's just a handheld with a side-accessory.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Same here, got me a PC and a Switch, but, somehow, I've got a feeling Nintendo has this in their pocket once again. I can only imagine it'll cause friction again.
All things aside, now that I've got your attention, what do you think of the dock? How it's marketed, what attention is paid to it, and how it's mostly an empty plastic shell? Whenever I look at the dock, I feel disappointed, because I realize it can be so much more than it is now (after all, a glorified HDMI cable in a box isn't exactly what enhances the Switch's home-console part of the hybrid if you ask me.)
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Well, exclusives are kind of anti-consumer though so it would be nice to spread the joy, surely?
I just hope it all works out, really. (Should've finished typing this a while ago, but got side-tracked )
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@rjejr Well, I believe it will not disappoint, and I hope I'm right in that assumption.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Yeah, not to mention the difference in power probably playing it's part too.
On a side note, I'm guessing Platinum Games' involvement is now pretty clear with Bayonetta 3?
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@MsgBoardGamer So it could basically just be "Guys, relax, it's coming" but it may as well not be in 2018? I hope 2018 doesn't end up barren...
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX https://www.vg247.com/2016/12/07/from-soft-already-has-dark-souls-3-running-on-nintendo-switch-trilogy-re-release-in-consideration-report/
That's been quite some time ago, a lot of time to not hear anything at all to be honest. I mean we're not talking something like Monster Hunter: World, this would be "just" a Dark Souls port, nothing to really explode over.
Re: Nintendo Boasts Of Continued Third Party Support For Switch
@ThanosReXXX Weird how FromSoftware has been on there since January 2017, and yet we've not seen nor heard of them in the meanwhile....
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@rjejr I've completed it, so I won't say anything that gives even an inkling of it so as to not spoil your feeling even a little.
You'll just have to find out yourself
Re: Soapbox: What The Upcoming Pokémon Switch RPG Can Learn From Recent Pokémon Games
@Agramonte @KingdomHeartsFan I very much hear you both when it comes to slow story, but it has me thinking... Could that be to accommodate the younger players? (aka kids)
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@BanjoPickles I'm debating that the current dock, is severely lacking. It doesn't feel like a hybrid, because the handheld part is well made and fleshed out, albeit a tad big, whereas the docked part is but an overpriced, mostly empty plastic shell that does glorified HDMI. It could be so much more! But it isn't, and that detracts from the other part (home-console) of the Switch.
As for Pokemon, I don't trust Game Freak not to lock stuff to handheld mode, or to only lazily make use of the docked feature. Articles like these: http://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-on-how-switch-reaffirms-the-value-of-portable-gaming-has-an-advantage-over-smartphones/ make me wonder if the docked part really is just a side-feature to tide-over old fans who enjoyed playing SNES/Gamecube etc.
If Nintendo doesn't start emphasizing and giving value/spotlight to the docked part with Pokemon Switch being the first mainline Pokemon RPG playable on the big screen, then they'll probably never do so and affirm, in my eyes, that the dock is but a side-accessory not to be given any additional thought or function beyond what it does now, and that's not how you do hybrid if you ask me. Docked is supposed to have MORE power, for crying out loud! It mostly just magnifies and shows me that the background in XC2/FE:Warriors isn't very pretty....
People that play handheld, they accept the faults as part of playing handheld, but why should that impact how the docked part works? That's why the current hybrid is very much in it's kid's shoes, because handheld play impacts docked play due to the Switch really being a handheld in form-factor, and Nintendo wanting it at this price point, thus not having the technology inside to really make a difference therein.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@BanjoPickles And what does the Switch sell on? What is the part that really rakes in these people? The promise of their games on the go primarily, since if they wanted it home-console, they could've bought a PS4/Xbox One. But if Nintendo improves the dock to do an actual, meaningful contribution, it could stand toe to toe with them, and Nintendo could stop hiding once the word competition is uttered.
In regards to Skyrim, that is a remaster of an old game though, so it isn't too taxing I'd reckon. Sure, DOOM is a better example, but then you're talking handheld mode when you say it does pretty well right? I can see that, but there's more to the Switch then handheld mode, and this is something I see a ton of Switch owners woefully ignore. Just because the game does it awesomely in handheld, doesn't mean that what it does in docked, is thereby justified.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@BanjoPickles Is it a powerful console? I've had problems keeping the frames of XC2 stable, they sometimes dipped below 10 in some instance, and I don't think it is that much more taxing, if at all, than something like Mario Odyssey, so what went wrong there? And why are there people unwilling to make compromises to get their game on such a hot system if it was powerful enough?
Plus, so far as hybrid goes, I wouldn't say it is. The dock does far too little to account for it as a hybrid. You could tear out that small block of tech inside the empty shell and tape it to the back of a tablet-holder and call that a dock. An overpriced HDMI cable isn't what it should be, it should be alleviating the issues that Switch games have when handheld, otherwise it might as well be an HDMI cable.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@rjejr I know the feeling. It's my Nr.1 worst open end/cliffhanger in a game to date, it just leaves you wanting to know so much more, arguably with more questions you had when you began.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@rjejr Well, XCX was a very different direction, that's true. I get what you're saying about established characters, though I prefer to make my own character. Maybe the ability to choose between one or the other would be interesting.
The characters were a mixed bag, though I did really enjoy the story what happened to humanity, and that open end drove me nuts for a while
Maybe they should revisit XCX, work out the kinks and dents, and then put it on the Switch, which isn't about to be sent off to it's untimely demise any time soon.
@JaxonH I'm going to chalk that one up to difference of opinion. I love XC2, I've got 200+ hours of which most if not all are legitimate because I don't use sleep-mode. Got the Season Pass and am looking forward to the story DLC, but opinions do differ and it has some issues that I'd like to see resolved (The errors and some of those frame-drops) maybe some improvement of the A.I. because man is it annoying when they stand in poison and just die.
Re: Soapbox: What The Upcoming Pokémon Switch RPG Can Learn From Recent Pokémon Games
@NintendoHistory I had a feeling that's why it got a pass Eevee's got some good evolutions, I agree.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@rjejr What didn't you like about XCX then? I thought that was a pretty good story nonetheless. Maybe not up to the levels of XC1/XC2 but it was good in it's own right. Plus big mechs, I do like me some big mechs.
Re: Soapbox: What The Upcoming Pokémon Switch RPG Can Learn From Recent Pokémon Games
@NintendoHistory There's some irony in not liking Fairy types while sporting a Sylveon avatar
Re: Soapbox: What The Upcoming Pokémon Switch RPG Can Learn From Recent Pokémon Games
The Switch is THE chance for Game Freak and their Pokemon series to really up their game. 3DS to Switch is quite the leap, not to mention that it'll be the first main-line Pokemon RPG on the big screen. Now is Nintendo and Game Freak's chance to use that to their advantage, though I HIGHLY doubt they will, as they're far too much on the handheld side and don't give a damn about docked mode.
Just want them to take their time and make it good, no need to rush this as I'd rather have it be a big step, than a better looking Pokemon we see on 3DS all the time.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@TheLegendOfLaser As long as they take their time, don't lock features to handheld mode, and preferably, emphasize how Pokemon will be playable on big-screen now as part of it's reveal/marketing etc.
3DS to Switch is a big leap in hardware, I hope they make use of it.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@JaxonH There's a way to cheese Affinity, just go to a shop, look for an item nobody really likes so that you don't get voice-clips, then buy a ton of them (put them in the pouch, of course) and spam a, buy a ton of them, spam a, rince and repeat, and you'll get max affinity in no time.
Too bad it doesn't work for Ursula. Her affinity is unnecessarily long and irritating...
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@JaxonH If I'm playing? I'm at post-game, level 99, and only the level 130 superboss, as they call them, yet evades my killing blow. Am now working on getting max affinity with some blades, and hunting down KOS-MOS as my last rare. I've been enjoying it immensely myself, but I'm not able to really gush over games these days. Life afflicts one like me to heavily for that. Also are you going with Japanese or English? I can't stomach the English, just sounds overdone and not right to me.
Take another look at my last reply, you might want to give those articles a read.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@JaxonH It only saves when you open a core-crystal, and when you consider how that error tied you up and had you lose a bunch of progress, then that's a shame. I can't remember the last time a Nintendo game had an error of the sort, so why XC2? Switch having trouble handling it?
Could have to do with this: https://www.resetera.com/threads/xenoblade-chronicles-2-staff-analysis.9222/ Coupled with how Monolith were looking for people for another project: http://nintendoeverything.com/xenoblade-developer-monolith-soft-recruiting-for-ambitious-new-project/ But then it would kinda clash with them saying they've got their hands full on the XC2 DLC: http://nintendoeverything.com/xenoblade-chronicles-2-director-on-development-inspiration-for-the-world-and-setting-upcoming-dlc-more/
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@bluesdance Hahaha, I can see that
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@JaxonH There's a difference between "This game is the best of all time no questions asked" and "I feel this game is the best game of all time" Nuance lad. It's all about nuance.
I'm guessing you're one of the fortunates not to have been struck by errors and lose quite a few hours of progress?
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
@JaxonH "I don't think I've ever played a game that had so much story in it." You don't play many RPG's then, I take it? Sure XC2 has a ton of story, a good one too, but XC1 and XCX weren't to be scoffed at either. It being better than X is your opinion, lad, so don't "official" me none. XCX has it's own charm and was great in it's own way. Too bad it was sent out to die on Wii-U.
Also 200 hours and level 52? You must've either been taking your time, or, those 200 hours aren't your actual play time, as I'm pretty sure you use sleep-mode, which counts hours in said sleep mode as play-time as well.
4K? And here I thought you were a Switch fanatic that happily excused any and all games on the system of their faults on account of handheld. You know that 4K is something Nintendo will never pursue, right? So don't get too used to it.
Re: Feature: What We Expect From The Inevitable January 2018 Nintendo Direct
Good chance it'll be a lot of Wii-U ports now that I think about it.
Re: Gaming Addiction Is Officially A Disorder, According To The World Health Organisation
@iLikeUrAttitude Just another one to add to the list
Re: Nintendo President Aims for 20 Million Switch Units To Be Shipped Next Year
@NoxAeturnus Oh, but you misunderstand. I've thoroughly enjoyed the games despite those issues, but that doesn't mean those issues aren't relevant. If nobody mentions them, they'll never be fixed either, and the errors that XC2 receives on occasion are definitely not minor. I've lost hours of progress to those.
Re: Nintendo President Aims for 20 Million Switch Units To Be Shipped Next Year
@NoxAeturnus Alright. Let's talk about the frame-drops when using that freeze-ability in BotW and walking around, how BotW ran better in handheld, you know, the mode that doesn't get "powered up" HAH!, that's hilarious, by the near-empty plastic accessory shell, included only to keep the name Switch from being redundant.
How about XC2 and it's errors, as well as frames dropping to sub 20 during particular parts? Gosh darn, if only we had a dock that could absolve these problems, instead of an overpriced plastic case with the functionality of an HDMI cable.
Re: Nintendo President Aims for 20 Million Switch Units To Be Shipped Next Year
@Ninphysics I wouldn't know if those are casuals. Even the word itself is rather ambiguous, is it not?
But I can see why a lot of people prefer PS4/Xbox One, since they'd like an affordable, but still preferably best play experience, and are not allergic to having to sit down for it. Switch owners seem to praise them being able to take their games handheld as the second coming of gaming, something which has me roll my eyes.
Re: Nintendo President Aims for 20 Million Switch Units To Be Shipped Next Year
@NoxAeturnus Welp, that'll be quite some time until extra power can be used to help games look and run better.
Re: Nintendo President Aims for 20 Million Switch Units To Be Shipped Next Year
@Ninphysics I'm pretty sure popularity is but a small part of what sells Switch. Games and handheld are tops so far as I'm aware. Everything else is negligible.