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Laura Dale: Nintendo Switch’s Right Joy-Con Offers IR Pointer Functionality

KingBroly

Banned
not sure if people are expecting it but the real reason to have detachable JoyCons would be to sell customized types separately

you want one with traditional + dpads just buy it

I'm kinda scared to think how far this goes

Joy-Con XL's

Joy-Con Micros

Joy-Con N64 Classic Edition

Joy-Con DS Edition
 
Oh yes! It's actually an improvement over what we were used to with Wii/Wii U because now we have the additional options that come with standard controllers (secondary stick and more buttons). This remodeled Wiimote was one of my biggest wishes for NX. Actually, I'd been hoping for this since the Wii days. Wow!


NOW the system just needs to get the games to use (and abuse lol) this input powah! Atlus needs to get on a new Trauma Center for NX, or even just remaster the old Wii trilogy. Throw the DS games in while at it. We need new Sin & Punishment, gahdamnit. We need Vanquish 2. Oh baby... I'm gonna have me some fun!

So much WIN in this post...
JJZNztw.jpg
 
I just noticed but... only Joy-Con R has the IR sensor (if it is one).
For some reason, it's not on Joy-Con L, quite clearly.

ggcXAxA.png


(I dunno if anybody else noticed that)
 

ggx2ac

Member
You won't believe it but... only Joy-Con R has the IR sensor (if it is one).
For some reason, it's not on Joy-Con L, quite clearly.

That, and the scene with the guy sitting in the park is the only time you can clearly see the unit at the bottom where it looks like there is a USB port.


There are also two sets of holes on the bottom, one of the sets are most likely connectors that charge the unit when docked and the other set is to slot the unit into the dock.

Edit: I am talking about the Switch UNIT, not the Joy-Cons.
 
That, and the scene with the guy sitting in the park is the only time you can clearly see the unit at the bottom where it looks like there is a USB port.

I don't think you can clearly see a USB port there. It seems a bit larger than that (look at the 3rd pic)

EDIT: and when I look at the video
CvneKr0WgAUQNj5.jpg


When you look at it frame by frame, it doesn't look like a hole at all with that kind of shading.
 

ggx2ac

Member
That doesn't make any sense, why plug to the Joy-Con instead of the actual system?

I am talking about the Switch unit, not the Joy-Cons. I was trying to point out other hidden things instead of the IR on the bottom right Joy-Con.

_______________

Anyway, another thing I noticed is the lack of an SD Card slot. This suggests that the casing on the back should be removable, because that's where you'll be able to slot in the Micro SD Card just like with the New 3DS XL.
 
That doesn't make any sense, why plug to the Joy-Con instead of the actual system?

I believe he's talking about the holes on the main unit. (?)

I hope Nintendo will use USB Type-C, but after the annoying proprietary 3DS and Wii U chargers.... I'm not holding my breath.
 
I am talking about the Switch unit, not the Joy-Cons. I was trying to point out other hidden things instead of the IR on the bottom right Joy-Con.

_______________

Anyway, another thing I noticed is the lack of an SD Card slot. This suggests that the casing on the back should be removable, because that's where you'll be able to slot in the Micro SD Card just like with the New 3DS XL.

Well why weren't you more obvious? Why quoting my post and then talking about something I wasn't even pointing out?
 
That, and the scene with the guy sitting in the park is the only time you can clearly see the unit at the bottom where it looks like there is a USB port. There are also two sets of holes on the bottom, ne of the sets are most likely connectors that charge the unit when docked and the other set is to slot the unit into the dock.
EDIT: You were talking about the Swich main body? That doesn't go with the thread of the conversation... how confusing XD

Obviously if I went to make a thread that was to look for hidden things on the Switch it would get closed.

This is the only relevant thread because it's looking at hidden things on the Switch and you can see how difficult it is to get a look at the unit from all angles.
You are confused... i meant the tread of discusion you were having with LUIGIBLOOD, he was clearly talking about the Joycons and you started talking about the Switch itself. Look at Luigi's reply.

You know what to do, Capcom. RE4HD on Switch with pointer controls. I'll buy it at a high price.
This needs to be adressed in every page. Dale's rumor talk about emulating single touch function of the touchscreen with the Joycon IR sensor.

When you invert/flip the right Joycon to use the IR sensor the other inputs in the controller are somewhat compromised. So using IR poitning for more complex console games might be hard to implement. However, this doesn't rule out the posibility of using Gyroscopic aiming for a game like RE4, this way the user uses the Joycons in their normal orientation.

So, if they have a pointer/motion controller. could they still bring something new?

Beside maybe the special force feedback, I can't think of something that could be stolen by their competitors?
i just think how surreal it is to watch Nintendo resurrecting IR pointing again with an implementation that is more limited and not so well executed as an 2006 device. XD
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
I don't think you can clearly see a USB port there. It seems a bit larger than that (look at the 3rd pic)

EDIT: and when I look at the video
CvneKr0WgAUQNj5.jpg


When you look at it frame by frame, it doesn't look like a hole at all with that kind of shading.

This is an interesting screengrab. Might not be just a wriststrap-loop after all.
 

Peterc

Member
So, if they have a pointer/motion controller. could they still bring something new?

Beside maybe the special force feedback, I can't think of something that could be stolen by their competitors?

 

Alpha_eX

Member
The only downside I can see is that you're going to drop the Joy-Con if you're holding it like the guy on the plane when going from analogue to face buttons. Skyrim wouldn't be playable, if you wanted to move the camera.
 
I don't think you can clearly see a USB port there. It seems a bit larger than that (look at the 3rd pic)

EDIT: and when I look at the video
CvneKr0WgAUQNj5.jpg


When you look at it frame by frame, it doesn't look like a hole at all with that kind of shading.

Yep, that's a reflection. Looks just like IR plastic on wiimote.

How dumb. I can't wait for all the confused posts about how they can't get their pointer to work because they don't have it turned around, which is an honest mistake of course.
 

ggx2ac

Member
EDIT: You were talking about the Swich main body? That doesn't go with the threead of the conversation... how confusing XD

...

Obviously if I went to make a thread that was to look for hidden things on the Switch it would get closed.

This is the only relevant thread because it's looking at hidden things on the Switch and you can see how difficult it is to get a look at the unit from all angles.
 
not sure if people are expecting it but the real reason to have detachable JoyCons would be to sell customized types separately

you want one with traditional + dpads just buy it

I'm kinda scared to think how far this goes

Yeah, it kind of goes without saying, but damn ... how will Nintendo milk this lol? It is kinda cool though. I wouldn't mind picking an attachement for smash bros.
 

Nibel

Member
Laura has great sources and does a fantastic job at what she does, but.. I don't think this will have IR support like a Wiimote

I hope this turns out to be wrong as I want them to embrace the Switch concept instead of doing everything they did the past decade at once
 

Theorymon

Member
Laura has great sources and does a fantastic job at what she does, but.. I don't think this will have IR support like a Wiimote

I hope this turns out to be wrong as I want them to embrace the Switch concept instead of doing everything they did the past decade at once

While I get where you're coming from, I would personally prefer the IR pointer because it would make Wii Virtual Console a reality. I think a major hidden selling point of the Switch is the potential to play almost all of Nintendo's backlog on the go (I think Laura or someone mentioned analog triggers as well so Gamecube games would be covered).
 

Thraktor

Member
That would be a pretty neat way to transfer (single-)touch gameplay/interfaces to docked mode. Seems viable.

It would also allow them to offer out-of-the-box VC support for every console up to Wii (provided emulation is feasible, but if they manage to get a couple of A72 cores in there I don't see why it wouldn't be).
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
Laura has great sources and does a fantastic job at what she does, but.. I don't think this will have IR support like a Wiimote

I hope this turns out to be wrong as I want them to embrace the Switch concept instead of doing everything they did the past decade at once
I mean, how else are they gonna replicate the touchscreen while the Switch is docked?
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Laura has great sources and does a fantastic job at what she does, but.. I don't think this will have IR support like a Wiimote

I hope this turns out to be wrong as I want them to embrace the Switch concept instead of doing everything they did the past decade at once

As long as they don't force into games and use it only where it makes sense, I don't see an issue.
 

bomblord1

Banned
Has this been discussed at all? I was poring over the trailer (nearly frame by frame) looking for anything we have missed

And got a good shot of the joycon grip. It appears the controllers connect via a 4 pin connector.

enhance2ves4w.png
 

random25

Member
Has this been discussed at all? I was poring over the trailer (nearly frame by frame) looking for anything we have missed

And got a good shot of the joycon grip. It appears the controllers attach via a 4 pin connector.

enhance2ves4w.png

Those are most likely 2 data lines, and positive and negative power.
 

hatchx

Banned
I havn't been following this thread too closely, by why on earth would the IR pointer be on the BOTTOM of the controller and not the top?

Why not put it on the top so it can act like a wii remote? Why not? I need my Pikmin IR pointing! Also, for Wii BC games!
 

Pat

Member
Yep, I'm absolutely sure it's only to replicate the touch-screen functionnality when docked.

It doesn't matter if you can't press any button while holding the right Joy-Con upside down, because if you use the touch-screen, you can't press any button with your right hand while touching the screen anyways. So basically, when you hold the Joy-Con upside down to use the pointer, the buttons will most likely be deactivated. If some games need you to use the right Joy-Con joystick while using the pointer, that would bring a new problem: the touch-screen itself, as you cannot use that joystick (or any other button) while touching the screen. The purpose is quite simple: to give you the SAME controls and/or gameplay as if it is docked or not. That's a very important thing to remember. You should be able to do the exact same things docked or on the go.

So yeah, I'm confident this will be useful in games like Super Mario Maker where you gotta pick and drag items on the screen or to navigate through the OS... But for FPS or games like Pikmin where it needs more than just a pointer? Forget about it or you'll be disapointed.
 
I just noticed but... only Joy-Con R has the IR sensor (if it is one).
For some reason, it's not on Joy-Con L, quite clearly.

(I dunno if anybody else noticed that)
No offense, but that is part of the story this thread is based on.
Nibel said:
I hope this turns out to be wrong as I want them to embrace the Switch concept instead of doing everything they did the past decade at once
I think managing to do almost everything they did portably and at home in the past decade at once is embracing what the Switch is.
hatchx said:
I havn't been following this thread too closely, by why on earth would the IR pointer be on the BOTTOM of the controller and not the top?

Why not put it on the top so it can act like a wii remote? Why not? I need my Pikmin IR pointing! Also, for Wii BC games!
Because the joycons (and the rest of the system) are like half as thick as the wiimote and there are already two shoulder buttons at the top of each. There's not room left for the pointer camera up there. Though yeah, I kind of wish they'd found a decent design with both shoulders being lower while the very top was the camera.
 

Gutek

Member
Oh Lord - I hope not. I really don't want to be bothered with how I place my console to make sure the IR connects.
 

M3d10n

Member
Geez, seems most of GAF already forgot that the "sensor bar" is just two LEDs. Including it on the system incurs barely no extra costs and you can buy/build one to match your living room decoration without having to place the dock near your tv.

Even if the joy con doesn't act as a wiimote, the Switch will most likely support wiimotes since it probably already uses bluetooth for the joy cons, for the eventual Wii VC.
 

bomblord1

Banned
Notice the black spot on the bottom right but not the left?

(please ignore the map I didn't add that was just going off of someone else screencap edit)

untitledzwszn.png
 
Notice the black spot on the bottom right but not the left?

(please ignore the map I didn't add that was just going off of someone else screencap edit)

untitledzwszn.png

Nice find.

One thing which is interesting to me in an engineering way is the compromise Nintendo seemingly had to make here. Obviously they'd rather have the IR pointer on the front end of the joycon, similarly to a wiimote, but clearly the shoulder and trigger buttons take up too much space to allow for an IR sensor window.

But why can't the window be smaller? An IR sensor component in the guts of the handheld can be quite small. It could be that the shoulder and trigger components take up too much space inside of the housing, but I think it's more likely that the IR window needs to be a certain size to get an accurate enough reading of the IR light emitted from the Switch/sensor bar.

Just something I found interesting anyway.
 

Koyuga

Member
IR pointer was the best function of the Wii Remote, so this is fantastic news. It's criminal that the GamePad didn't have such a feature.
 
IR pointer was the best function of the Wii Remote, so this is fantastic news. It's criminal that the GamePad didn't have such a feature.

I think it's criminal that Star Fox Zero didn't utilize the Wiimote at all. I remember for years thinking how cool it would be if Nintendo brought back Star Fox and put it on the Wii where they could use the Wiimote's IR pointer to fire at shit. It would of been perfect. Instead, when they brought it back for Wii U, they shoehorned in and forced the shitty Gamepad controls down our throats. Disgraceful.
 
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