MFD

Problem with dropping that stuff, is that Switch loses meaning to it's name if you do so. I mean the dock is underused and nobody cares, but I doubt Nintendo would go in that direction, even if they know handheld sells the system.

@TheLobster Watch Pokemon have features locked to handheld and Game Freak spontaneously forgetting that there's a docked mode. Because who cares about that mode right?

@Agramonte Pokemon tho, assuming it's ready of course.

With all these handheld fanatics, I doubt it'll be a problem.

@Crono1973 May they lead to positive change in the industry. I've boycotted Shadow of War because of those loot-boxes.

@Crono1973 And yet it won't ever change, because mobilising a large enough force of consumers to push this stuff back, is like trying to lift a house on your own. Not to mention the majority of silent people that will undermine one's every attempt by just buying the stuff.

@MsgBoardGamer For now, yes, and I do hope that it continues, but that depends on what the future brings.

@MsgBoardGamer True, but will it be enough to keep the third-parties? Nintendo would be wise to enforce their hybrid on it's home-console front. It holds up really well as a handheld, but it just doesn't offer enough as a home-console, and this can and hopefully will, be absolved.

@MsgBoardGamer But what stops these people from (and indeed that has been happening a really long time) buying the Switch as 2nd console to their PS4/Xbox One? So far I know there's quite a lot of people that have their "handheld" side Switch for the Nintendo games and some worthy of being portable.

The Switch does not offer enough as a home-console to warrant purchase of multiplats on it when you have another system. It's 1. probably more expensive and 2. worse in an objective way.

@MsgBoardGamer Arguably, yes, they could/should. But what the consoles of Xbox/PS have over the PC, is 1. Price and 2. parity, as in every game out for the system runs for the system.

The Switch is only mildly cheaper than PS4/Xbox One (and, in some cases, more expensive), and it is noticeably weaker. It offers portability as a trade-off for specs, graphics etc.

If you do not want a portable experience, then you will gain more by buying a version of say DOOM for PC/PS4/Xbox One, that is a fact.

In other words: If you want portable DOOM, it's fantastic and you don't have any choice anyway, and if you don't want portable DOOM, get it on another machine, basically the TL:DR for every multiplatform game is this, unless you want portable, get it on another machine that runs it better.

@Yasaal We'll see, but I wouldn't count on it.

@Yasaal MH World on Switch is a no-no, because they've already said and I quote:

"It comes down to what we’ve already said – we want to deliver the perfectly adapted game for the hardware we have in mind. That was our design concept, and our mission from the very beginning. Being able to adapt Monster Hunter for those systems – adapting that to different hardware doesn’t really work this time around." (Link: http://nintendoeverything.com/monster-hunter-world-co-director-asked-about-a-switch-port-wants-to-think-about-the-future-instead/

And since the Switch constitutes different hardware......

So it's either XX localization, or Capcom stops being dazed, and starts giving us a clue as to what they're doing for the system. I can't fault anyone for losing confidence in them with how World has been front and centre, while it's completely silent surrounding the rest of MH. They have two teams, so what's that other team doing? Sitting around?

One cannot learn, if one does not make mistakes.

@Grogan Though at the same time, Japan is slated to receive 2 MMO's soon. How does that work? How does a hybrid console, that can be portable at any time, work with always online?

@Grogan There's another catch though, the Switch isn't guaranteed to be always online, something you MUST be for Overwatch.

I see a lot of people mention Overwatch, so I'll leave this here: http://nintendoeverything.com/overwatch-director-on-challenges-bringing-the-game-to-switch/

As for Hearthstone, well, if Arena of Valour makes it over, I don't see why Hearthstone can't/shouldn't. Only thing is, that you'd probably have to buy packs via the Eshop, and I'm not sure how Blizzard is towards that.

@okeribok I've never really bothered to look at something like that, but since it constantly zooms in on it, and I do like the animation itself, it just gets in your eye and refuses to leave. Shoddy work by KT so I'm told. Developers should start taking the Switch more seriously, as this is not good.

@ThanosReXXX GL on catching said Z's then

@ThanosReXXX Well, at any case, I've not been disappointed by the Switch so far honestly, it's just during those moments that a dev complains about it's hardware, that it ain't good enough for their game, that's why I'd want the Switch to have, at least parity with the PS4/Xbox One base models. Surely that would silence some of the whining?

That's Frederick from Fire Emblem: Warriors. You can see that his hand looks good enough, but that ground-texture is unnecessarily blurry, it just gets in my eye honestly. Especially compared to my new, more permanent avatar of how he properly looks.

Fire Emblem: Warriors is the first game I've actually noticed that in, actually. I mean gnarly textures are everywhere, in just about every game, I'm not someone to be absorbed into graphics and resolution, I've started with the SNES for crying out loud, and I love Terraria

Again, this is a case of outlier. I've never really cared much for it in other games, but since he tends to pick up that rock quite a bit (it's his victory animation) I've seen that plenty of times.

@ThanosReXXX Oh, I didn't notice the difference going 720 or 1080 in Zelda, so there's that. It's the clipping that made me notice it on Fate/Extella instead

As for my icon, it's the one current, have yourself a look and tell me what you think.

I duly hope they'll improve the dock, give that side some more legitimacy. I can't wait to have Pokemon on my Switch, because damn, the 3DS is great but it's age is showing...

@ThanosReXXX Speaking of that Computing Device, wouldn't that clash with this? http://letsplayvideogames.com/2016/10/report-nintendo-switch-dock-doesnt-support-external-usb-drives/

"Nintendo’s concern internally is that allowing consumers to attach large external drives to the Dock will cause players to see the system as less inherently portable, harming their core branding for the system as a portable home console."

Not sure if the device is outside or inside, but you get the point.

My computer is held back by it's 960 Nvidia card, I really need to upgrade that asap, but getting a 1060 ain't cheap >.>. It's a modest machine as well, I just want it upgraded to handle the games that currently require unlimited memory settings to run and not look blurry as hell. If we're talking about Switch and graphically, what I just don't want to see, is blurry textures when the rest of the game looks just fine, like my current avatar (will update quickly to give you the idea of what I mean) may look nitpicky, but if you constantly see that, then it just gets in one's eye.

And I thought it was on the Switch's hardware, but I heard that Koei Tecmo tend to skimp and cut corners, so it may just be them being lazy... And this happens a lot, like another game I have that's 720P even in docked mode. I didn't mind it in terms of looks, but if your icons are clipping into your TV, then that warrants a frown if you ask me. This brings me to the point: When is it hardware limitations, and when is it laziness? There's the very real possibility of devs blaming lazy-work on the Switch's innards, and I can't honestly tell the difference...

@ThanosReXXX You say it's an unfair comparison, and granted that might be true, but a comparison that will be made nonetheless, if only because Nintendo decided to brand it a home-console. If they chose to brand it a handheld with TV connectivity, then I doubt people would draw that conclusion as quickly, if at all.

I understand settling for less, if I was a portable fanatic, I'd probably do the same. That said, I'm on the opposite site of that spectrum, though I do wish to support Nintendo as best I can, since they hold the majority of my childhood, and still make great games today. Come to think of it, that, and hopefully great third-party games was why I've bought the Switch in the first place (those I can't play on PC, at any rate. Though that ship is sailing fast, considering that PC is getting more and more games that were console only)

I just feel that there's a good chance the docked mode will be phased out in the future, depending on if enough people continue to use it. I can imagine that, in Japan, they'd phase it out as soon as they could, since home-console gaming is next to non-existent there.

As for the graphics debate, I guess that just came with the time. As I've had to upgrade my PC to play the latest games, I couldn't help but notice that difference, that transition from old to new graphics. Once you see the difference, you can't "unsee" it. Keep in mind, that this comes from someone who sent their New 3DS XL back about 3 times because it had a dead pixel and I wouldn't stand for it

@ThanosReXXX Then what do you suggest? Buying the objectively, sadly as it is, worse looking and at times worse working (FPS) version for support alone? I get it if people want those games for portability, yes that's a valid one. But if you own a PS4/Xbox One/PC, then you've no reason to buy multiplats for the Switch, unless you really want that portability factor. There is, a side-factor of wanting to really support the Switch, but logically and financially, that is not the best course of action. But I rest my case, lest I ramble about this.

Nintendo's games look incredibly well polished, tis true. But again, you look at the marketing, you look at people saying they don't even unpack their dock, you consider the differences between all console offerings and why people even buy games on Switch save for exclusives and you arrive at portability. You don't buy a Switch for the home-console mode, it's a nice little side-benefit, but it's not your main reason for buying it. Nintendo gets many non-Nintendo people buying the Switch, solely through the promise of quality games on the go. The docked mode is a side-piece here, the only thing that gives it any staying power, is that the Switch doesn't have much Switching without it.

I bought a Switch, because of their IP and so I hope the third-parties will join to reinforce it into an offer any can find themselves in, despite my reservations.

@Saego True, true. We'll see if DOOM holds up on it's own.

@electrolite77 We'll see, I'm just hoping they can secure AND retain the thirds this time. This whole "Nintendo? Ewh, no don't want to do with them" of third-parties has gone on long enough.

@Qun_Mang RIP Phenomic, Westwood, Pandemic, Mythic and Bullfrog. I wouldn't be surprised if, eventually, BioWare is next.

@Saego I see your point, but isn't the visceral graphics a piece of that? Wouldn't lessening that impact the experience?

@ThanosReXXX But do we have to? Can we not try to get better? There's a couple of thirds that really have me want to sit down with them, and let my inherent Dutch stubbornness have a word with them for a few hours (first and foremost being you, Capcom).

The third-party woes with Nintendo must end, for all of our sakes. I may not use/like portability, but that's the key reason why now is the perfect time to get on board, why even old games are selling.

@ThanosReXXX I get the idea of people being exited to play it, to never had played it, I just wish the home-console part was more than it is now. To me, it feels like it's that after-thought inclusion to keep people who love home-consoles (aka not handhelds) happy.

I've got over 500 hours in a much beloved game of 2004 on PC, and I'm pondering giving it another run. Plenty of old games that are great, if only because the modern iteration of them has gone astray (I'm looking at you, Heroes of Might and Magic) or just isn't my cup of tea any-more for whatever reason (Heroes' example is rather complex).

I'd like to buy every game on Switch, regardless of whether they're on PC or not. But I can't keep ignoring the fact that they're probably cheaper on PC, bound to look/run better, and customizable to boot (stuff like the Steam Workshop is not to be underestimated. It's mod-ability that has kept Skyrim alive this long.) As for the question "Well, why don't you buy an Xbox One X/PS4 Pro or any other of that line then?" two words: Nintendo IP. I've grown up with it, and like an insidious, immortal parasite it's ingrained into me, so I might as well try to help the third-party situation to get the better offer, eh?

@ThanosReXXX Tis just a shame, that for as great as the Switch is, it compromises power to be this way. I understand these compromises, I understand that it will bring games to the system, that a pure box wouldn't have, and I also understand that it's what drives the sales, what gets people to even pick it up.

But at the same time, the problems associated with it are equally clear as day, and they're not something that the snap of a finger will fix, if Nintendo even sees them as a problem, and thus wishes to "fix" them in the first place.

My problem with the system, is that I'd personally opt for power over portability, but I don't have that choice. If I want Nintendo's IP, and (hopefully) the best third-party offerings besides PC, then I've no choice. As I tend to say, 3DS players can upgrade to the Switch, and Wii-U players don't have any upgrade. That path is closed, arguably, it's been closed since the Gamecube era or even before then, when Nintendo forfeited their position to Sony/Microsoft.

The 3DS will probably end in the Switch, but then that's a serious upgrade and can only get better. When looking at the system from a Wii-U perspective, sure, it's far stronger, but it could've been much much more beyond this, and it isn't due to how it was made.

But my absolute main gripe, is when developers use the power-argument, because I'm not tech savvy. I can't see if it's the Switch's hardware limitations, or laziness on the developers end that has games look/play the way they do. Whatever the case, beyond the games that don't reach the system for whatever other reason, power would have opened it up for more, that's a given. Less than now? Quite possibly, but I wouldn't know.

As for celebrating what we are getting? Agreed, I have enjoyed the games I've bought, and still will and do, but right now, I've only got 8 games because my tastes aren't as broad and expansive as they used to be. I don't own Odyssey and don't plan to (sue me, I blaspheme!) and most of my games are third-party. It's just hard to appreciate what you've got, when you're constantly getting slammed by messages like the recent one of EA not supporting it until they're absolutely sure. Don't see that with Sony/Microsoft, it's only Nintendo that gets this crap stuck to their boot (Though that said, I know of their history with third-parties, but it has to end somewhere.)

@ThanosReXXX I've bought Xenoverse 2, ignoring 50% off sales on PC, just to support the system (also for the promise of multiplayer, but that's a sailed ship) and I honestly feel regret for doing so. For people who want portability, having these games on the Switch is absolutely grand, but for me, I don't see the value in it.

If a game doesn't come to PC that does multiplat on consoles and I like it, sure, I'll buy it on Switch, as I don't own any other console, but if it's on PC as well, especially seeing as I'll upgrade mine soon to play Monster Hunter World among others, then I'll go PC first. The Switch's main feature just isn't something I use, and won't until the 3DS completely dies out and I've no other choice but to start using it that way (and I hardly use my 3DS as is. The concept of too little time for games is alien to me).

If people want these games for their portability, I fully understand that. But if they can get a version that needed no compromise, then I can also understand why they go for that one instead.

@ThanosReXXX Aye, I just hope these versions can stand up to the competition's in docked mode. I'd buy DOOM and Wolfenstein myself, but I've been a PC gamer for a long time, and I just can't enjoy my shooters if there's not a mouse to control them with.

I've reached my personal list for the year, the only thing I'm waiting for is Xenoblade 2 and, potentially, Nine Parchments, though so far I've bought Dragonball Xenoverse 2 for co-op with people I knew, and it hasn't happened, so I feel that multiplayer games may be something to best avoid.

@ThanosReXXX It's more that when they do attacks, you can see how far they got with 3D (gaping holes in the models) I still love it to bits and have played it fairly recently

Third-party games on the must-buy list? Enlighten me

@ThanosReXXX Well, all within perks of course. I mean ye olden games are fantastic, I have ridiculously fond memories of Digimon World 2, but when I go back to it, I see that it had some serious trouble ageing in the graphics department.

So, while we're on the subject, is there a recent release is up there with a retro game that's beloved to you?

@electrolite77 Sure, but Nintendo alone can't keep going forever, not without sacrifices that I wouldn't want to see made (crunching their devs, or exhausting IP).

@ThanosReXXX The strength of nostalgia is not to be underestimated

@Einherjar I'd say DOOM falls in with Wolfenstein though, since you want to see the glory of ripping demons apart. If the demons look like bum then it'll not give you the same level of satisfaction I warrant.

@Saego My argument would be: Would they want to? Perhaps the Switch version would just be too compromised for people to still enjoy it the same way.

Portability is great, but it's not the world.

@electrolite77 "Switch is going to be too big to ignore." I say that depends on if they can keep the flow going. 2017 has done a good job, but will they have enough to keep going?

Release me a power Switch that compromises on portability instead of TV prowess and you've got yourself a deal, Nintendo. I'll pass my current Switch to a friend

@Einherjar It's far from guaranteed that Bethesda's gamble will pay off. Their support is admirable, let nothing negative be said of that, but whether it will pay off? I have my doubts.

In regards to the EA thing overall, I can just picture Capcom pulling the same after RE: Revelations.

@Spoony_Tech If they value their "hybrid" marketing, then that will never happen. Maybe a side-Switch without dock, but even that risks muddying the waters if they care for- oh wait, they don't, forget I said anything.

@ThanosReXXX So it basically takes the Switch's place for a while then?

@MegaVel91 But it's far more sensationalist to ignite the "camp handheld" and "camp home-console" fire, as if having a "hybrid" isn't confusing enough.

The whole merging of divisions and basically being guaranteed that Nintendo keeps the Switch as their path going forward saddens me, as it also means the compromises will remain. Guess I'll need a good coffee everytime a developer starts complaining about the hardware, otherwise I'll be so tired of hearing it I may as well go into hibernation.

I've never used it handheld mode, but then I'm an old man who doesn't play games when walking the dog, or inbetween cooking dinner.

Got a big screen TV, might as well make use of it.

@okeribok I'm someone who has played the crap out of games like Terraria, cutting edge graphics don't matter to me, but they need to be consistent as you've said.

I cannot help but think that these are the things that would be solved with more power. Power, that is severely compromised to have it be this.. "hybrid" they portray it to be.

@okeribok Doesn't need to be about photo-realistic graphics, but when I see FE:W's character (Frederick in this case) look pretty good, then pick up a rock from a blurry, badly pixelated floor, then I roll my eyes.

@CheezIt Truth of the matter, is that when playing games like Fire Emblem: Warriors, and seeing the victory screen for certain characters, like Frederick picking a rock off of a floor with really blurry texture, one can easily consider that such things would've been avoided with a stronger machine.

May a true home-console rise in the Switch's wake.

@gcunit Portability must really mean that much if people are willing to grab an objectively worse version comparatively to others.