Support NeoGAF

[OCD Guy]

Ah, didn't know the resolution hadn't been confirmed yet.

Well 720p is what's been quoted by the leakers deemed reliable, but my concern isn't really the resolution, it's more the quality of the display.

I was hopeful for an oled display but Nintendo mentioned an lcd, I just hope they use a decent panel. I've not seen one decent lcd on a Nintendo device, but the general build quality has always felt cheap to me too. The gamepad was awful, all round in terms of quality, I hated the loose cheap feeling buttons, garbage screen and gloss finish.

But the switch looks like the most premium device Nintendo have created so I'm hopeful.

Fixed?

And even then it's a lot closer now (between all 3 companies) than it was last year around the same time.

In terms of numbers of good exclusives sure.

But like for like not really. In the same way Nintendo has nothing comparable to Bloodborne, Uncharted, or Forza Horizon 3, there's nothing better than Mario Kart or Mario 3d world for me on other platforms.

The ideal scenario is owning all platforms, but most people don't so they choose the exclusives they enjoy the most, for me it's Nintendo without question, but what kills it as a primary system is lack of regular releases.

I'm hoping that by unifying their library we get a regular stream of releases.

 

[Nags]

Fixed?

And even then it's a lot closer now (between all 3 companies) than it was last year around the same time.

Sure. Games, exclusives, whatever.

EDIT: Or wait... are you getting hung up on me calling them "games" and not "exclusives"?
Is this really happening right now?

 

[Servbot24]

3 hours is bad, but luckily it won't matter for my play habits. I'll just be on the couch.

 

[Oersted]

3 hours is bad, but luckily it won't matter for my play habits. I'll just be on the couch.

Stop playing with your devkit, I'm jealous lol

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

I bet Nintendo's going to try to get that up by release. Plus if you're going to switch from charging it in the dock to taking it out, it might not be so bad.

 

[KazenY2J]

Retail units have to be longer than that, otherwise, lol.

 

[baxter2231]

Nintendo Gamegear lol

 

[flozuki]

Sounds like my Dual Shock Controller, sad but expected

 

[newtypepilot]

3 hr battery life is not surprising, considering everything that detaches will need its own battery.

Member when Gameboys had over 15 hours of battery life?

 

[WhiteRabbitEXE]

In before it turns out the default battery is literally half the size of the battery slot.

 

[Nicktendo86]

Let's be honest, 3 hours wouldn't be great. However it is understandable considering everything going on and hopefully they can eek out more juice with the final retail units.

I don't see why they can't release a sort of portable dock though, like one of those extendable battery cases for phones that the switch unit just slides into. Would it make it even less portable? Of course. But I think 3 hours would be just about enough for the average work commute by if you need more for a long journey a slightly unwieldy battery case would do the trick.

I think that is how they will go anyway, multiple accessories that you can switch out to get the experience you want.

 

[-shadow-]

3 hr battery life is not surprising, considering everything that detaches will need its own battery.

Member when Gameboys had over 15 hours of battery life?

Remember when the DSLite lasts more than a life time? Seriously, that thing lasts ridiculously long!

 

[exfatal]

Hope its improved or some kind of attachment that could help or make it better. Sucks tho...

 

[Pamplemousse]

Yeah it's low, but do people really game that much while out and about? I never see anyone gaming in public. If you did during a train ride to work or something, three hours should be enough. Curling up on the sofa with a handheld is the best anyway.

 

[Donnie]

Of course its not going to have good battery life, its a hybrid console/handheld, not a dedicated handheld. Its meant to be used at home primarily with the ability to continue gaming outside the home if necessary. But its not meant to be a pure handheld device, so why on earth do people expect its battery life to be competitive with dedicated handhelds?

 

[Flo_Evans]

Isn't the 3dxl 3-5 hours? I never really had a problem with that.

 

[Oersted]

Hope its improved or some kind of attachment that could help or make it better. Sucks tho...

How are you affected by the battery life of one devkit?

 

[frankie_baby]

Extended battery vendors rejubilating.

No word on gyros in the joycons??

No official word and no real hints in the video but didn't Emily say there would be?

 

[EDarkness]

Isn't the 3dxl 3-5 hours? I never really had a problem with that.

Same here. I usually play games on the 3DS at home and even then I keep it plugged in most of the time. 3-4 hours I think is fine. Just take a cord with you to work and charge it when you're not using it.

 

[frankie_baby]

Let's be honest, 3 hours wouldn't be great. However it is understandable considering everything going on and hopefully they can eek out more juice with the final retail units.

I don't see why they can't release a sort of portable dock though, like one of those extendable battery cases for phones that the switch unit just slides into. Would it make it even less portable? Of course. But I think 3 hours would be just about enough for the average work commute by if you need more for a long journey a slightly unwieldy battery case would do the trick.

I think that is how they will go anyway, multiple accessories that you can switch out to get the experience you want.

Even if Nintendo don't there'll surely be third party power packs hell it might even work with USB power banks

 

[Odrion]

Isn't the 3dxl 3-5 hours? I never really had a problem with that.

remember that it's 3 hours max

as in, when we do the "it's around X~X hours long" it could be like, 1~3 or 2~3.

 

[watershed]

Isn't the 3dxl 3-5 hours? I never really had a problem with that.

If the Switch had the 3dsxl's battery life I'd be perfectly happy. If it has 3 hours max, I'd be incredibly disappointed.

 

[Hibiki Kurosawa]

Yikes 3 hours. That's not good. Improves performance though? Hmmm....

 

[Qwyjibo]

I think I'll wait for whatever inevitable revision of the Switch will be released maybe a year or 2 after launch. Unless it's going to be your ONLY console, I don't see much sense in getting any console at launch these days. If 3 hours is the "max" game time accouting for brightness/wifi/etc. settings then the portable aspect of this isn't very impressive. And I get that part of that is simply limited by the technology.

There are so many games available for other platforms that I can just wait it out and see where the Switch goes. Maybe a more dedicated handheld version later on with a smaller screen, better battery life, and no detachable controllers? Please?

 

[SilverArrow20XX]

It's a devkit. I HIGHLY doubt 3 hours represents the battery life of the final product.

The Wii U devkit gamepads were hardwired to the system.

 

[Kssio_Aug]

3 hours MAX? That's insanely low! I hope that isn't right and we get something between 5~6 hours max.

 

[slapnuts]

I find it hard to believe Nintendo would allow 3 hours max on their newest handheld...I mean, i REALLY have a hard time believing this rumor. It is a rumor, afterall. Lets hope this is not true.

 

[PowerThroughLov]

I find it hard to believe Nintendo would allow 3 hours max on their newest handheld...I mean, i REALLY have a hard time believing this rumor. It is a rumor, afterall. Lets hope this is not true.

If Nintendo is targeting performance above the Wii U, and wants to sell the base unit at $300, then there is nothing they can do. Whether they themselves like it or not.

 

[MasterOfNone]

Couldn't possibly read all 41 pages but for the record the Nvidia Shield Tablet runs 2.2 hours when running a demanding benchmark.

3 hours is actually amazing for a device this thin ( assuming 15mm is right )

 

[Oersted]

3 hours MAX? That's insanely low! I hope that isn't right and we get something between 5~6 hours max.

I find it hard to believe Nintendo would allow 3 hours max on their newest handheld...I mean, i REALLY have a hard time believing this rumor. It is a rumor, afterall. Lets hope this is not true.

If Nintendo is targeting performance above the Wii U, and wants to sell the base unit at $300, then there is nothing they can do. Whether they themselves like it or not.

Its the devkit. Also

The most important part is that Pascal is built on 16/14 nm. It should get roughly 40% more performance in the same power envelope, or ~50% less power consumption with the same performance as TX1 at 20nm. Of course, these numbers also heavily depend on how much you want to spend -- you can increase the die area of the GPU to go more parallel at lower clock rates with better efficiency, or make the GPU smaller and go with higher clock rates and worse efficiency.

What is basically certain to me is that Nintendo will need to reduce the TDP from the TX1 dev kit (/ shield TV) for a handheld. With Maxwell at 20nm, they could only do that by reducing its performance.

With Pascal at 16/14nm, there are a few options:

• Keep the same number of cores, keep a similar clock, achieve similar performance, and get less power consumption due to the architectural and fabrication improvments.
• Increase the number of cores, slightly downclock them, achieve better performance and lower power.
• Decrease the number of cores, clock them the same or slightly higher, get somewhat less performance and only slightly better power consumption.

And lots of variations on those. Of them, 2) is the most expensive and 3) is the cheapest. All of them are possible, personally I consider 1) the most likely.

 

[Flo_Evans]

remember that it's 3 hours max

as in, when we do the "it's around X~X hours long" it could be like, 1~3 or 2~3.

Well yeah it depends on how hard the game is pushing it.

IDK i need something to play the new Zelda on... I'd rather get the switch and whatever new Nintendo games going forward.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

That robot cost 400 million dollars.

...and uses a nuclear battery.

 

[DavidDesu]

There's no way this will run for 3 hours. It's running mobile hardware and is a chunky size versus something like an iPad. iPads can run games at much higher resolutions than 720p, they're pretty efficient and the hardware could run Wii U level games fairly well these days (and absolutely at 720 versus their normal resolution which is 2560 by1400 or something!). I'd say they're targeting 5 hours or so easily. It would be a pointless portable device being much less than that. 3 hours would be terrible if that actually comes to pass. I'd rather hope it could be more iPad like and do 8-10 and with weeks, rather than days of standby time too.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Couldn't possibly read all 41 pages but for the record the Nvidia Shield Tablet runs 2.2 hours when running a demanding benchmark.

3 hours is actually amazing for a device this thin ( assuming 15mm is right )

Nobody is going to look down at their amazingly thin Switch after the battery dies in 2-3 hours and say, "...but gosh! it's so amazingly thin!"

Unfortunately, chances are the only way to make the battery last longer is to downclock the SoC even more which will impact performance. I do not envy Nintendo here. But it's their bed; they'll have to figure it out. 3 hours "max" is going to be a show-stopper for many people.

 

[Art Vandilay]

Couldn't possibly read all 41 pages but for the record the Nvidia Shield Tablet runs 2.2 hours when running a demanding benchmark.

3 hours is actually amazing for a device this thin ( assuming 15mm is right )

Yeah, but is that expected to leave the home wifi network?

 

[Dante]

Sure hope that's not true, 3 hours would be a non starter for me.

 

[Agent Unknown]

Well 720p is what's been quoted by the leakers deemed reliable, but my concern isn't really the resolution, it's more the quality of the display.

I'm still fine if it's below 720p as long as it's a huge improvement over the Gamepad and three hour life still doesn't worry me much, otherwise I hear where you're coming from on quality concerns.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

3 hours? Isn't that about the same as the original PSP? Holy shit...

 

[Adam_802]

3 hours is bad, if true. But hearing that the dock adds extra power is great news, since ill mainly be using it as a home console if a get a Switch. Really depends on the games, price, 3rd party support, online service, etc. Hardware looks pretty solid so far though. I like the Pro controller bc its like an xb1 controller which is good. Too bad it probably wont be included with every console. It should be though.

 

[Painguy]

The most important part is that Pascal is built on 16/14 nm. It should get roughly 40% more performance in the same power envelope, or ~50% less power consumption with the same performance as TX1 at 20nm. Of course, these numbers also heavily depend on how much you want to spend -- you can increase the die area of the GPU to go more parallel at lower clock rates with better efficiency, or make the GPU smaller and go with higher clock rates and worse efficiency.

What is basically certain to me is that Nintendo will need to reduce the TDP from the TX1 dev kit (/ shield TV) for a handheld. With Maxwell at 20nm, they could only do that by reducing its performance.

With Pascal at 16/14nm, there are a few options:

• Keep the same number of cores, keep a similar clock, achieve similar performance, and get less power consumption due to the architectural and fabrication improvments.
• Increase the number of cores, slightly downclock them, achieve better performance and lower power.
• Decrease the number of cores, clock them the same or slightly higher, get somewhat less performance and only slightly better power consumption.

And lots of variations on those. Of them, 2) is the most expensive and 3) is the cheapest. All of them are possible, personally I consider 1) the most likely.

Durante, quick question for you. I suggested to a poster that fp16 performance numbers were unlikely to be achieved (2x fp32), but according to Thraktor that may not be the case. I certainly trust him/her over myself on this subject, but I would like to hear your opinion on how common it is for fp16 to be used in games compare to fp32.
Can we expect the NS to achieve close to 70% of the XB1 performance at all with this concept in mind? I'm not sure if AMD has the a similar property where fp16 provides performance benefits in which case this point is pretty much moot.

 

[ThaBruce]

For all the people who are complaining about the 3 hours battery life I want you to consider something. 3 hours battery life is a strong indicator that the Switch is going to have strong performance in portable mode. So my question is would you rather have less processing power and a 5 hour battery? or would you rather have power closer to XboxOne in a portable and 3 hour battery? I will take the better performance shorter battery life any day.

 

[ThaBruce]

Also glad to hear about the touchscreen functionality and reference to a Mario Maker port. Very very relieved to hear this.

 

[DavidDesu]

I'm still fine if it's below 720p as long as it's a huge improvement over the Gamepad and three hour life still doesn't worry me much, otherwise I hear where you're coming from on quality concerns.

Isn't it said to be an IPS display? Thought that was mentioned in leaks. And apparently the screen is about 6.5 inches so 720p at 6.5 inches = 225ppi. The regular iPad is 265 and that's very clear so I don't think the screen will look bad at all.

 

[Terrell]

For all the people who are complaining about the 3 hours battery life I want you to consider something. 3 hours battery life is a strong indicator that the Switch is going to have strong performance in portable mode. So my question is would you rather have less processing power and a 5 hour battery? or would you rather have power closer to XboxOne in a portable and 3 hour battery? I will take the better performance shorter battery life any day.

They want it all, making them choose is unfair. #rigged

 

[Outrun]

3 hours is pathetic.

Not if you are on the way to a rooftop party with a bunch of millennials in attendance.

 

[ThaBruce]

How often do you really play video games for 3 hours straight with no break or no power outlet? Is this forum full of a bunch of vide game nerds or something?

 

[OCD Guy]

How often do you really play video games for 3 hours straight with no break or no power outlet? Is this forum full of a bunch of vide game nerds or something?

People on NeoGAf don't even play games. They just talk about them.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Well they can't make magic.

This is the kind of thing we can't really complain.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

I'll just plug it into the external battery pack I bought for Pokemon Go. I hope it uses micro USB or even the 3DS plug though.

 

[LizardKing]

The bigger news here to me is that the dock may improve performance, which would be great news. Dunno why everyone is fixating on the dev kit battery life when it may vary wildly from the final product (especially if the rumors are true about it using the X1 architecture instead of what is seemingly pascal in the final product, according to Nvidia).