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[oni-link]

So, now that second screen gaming is dead, can we agree it was a bad idea in the first place?

So I think it's fair the say the Switch has started well, in terms of sales and it's general reception by players. However, while every thread is full of people asking for every game ever made to be ported to the Switch, very few people seem to be asking for these ports to come with second screen functionally

In fact, even Nintendo doesn't seem to want to support it with the Switch.

Off screen play was pushed as a big feature on the Wii U, however you can't really have a game that is designed around off screen play and a game that is also designed around using both screens to play, as you lose one screen the second you switch off the TV

I remember people passionately explaining how Splatoon can "only work with the gamepad being used as a map" and this was "an essential mechanic of the game", as an excuse for the game not offering Pro controller support. Yet Splatoon 2 seems to work fine with only one screen

The Wii U screen was great when being used as a map or an inventory screen, I think we can all agree on that, but other than that, as something that can be used to push gaming into new territory, it's quite simply a bad idea, and always was a bad idea

What do you think, GAF?

Mods, please look at the Wii U gamepad if thread is not appropriate

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

Nope. I loved second screen gaming across Nintendo's handhelds and the Wii U. Gonna miss it now that it's gone, alongside the 3DS' stereoscopic display.

If anything we're worse off with it gone. So many game designs are no longer possible because of it.

Playing Pikmin 3 with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck with the gamepad propped up as your minimap was glorious.

 

[GhostTrick]

Mh, no.
Second screen gaming is a great idea and gave us many amazing games.

 

[Dystify]

It was a great feature, on both 3DS and Wii U. I already miss not having it on Switch. I don't think Wii U failed because of that feature, but a million other reasons.

 

[FutureLarking]

Did some great things with multiplayer experiences on Wii U. Spin the Bottle Bumpie's Party is legit.

 

[stan423321]

Second screen gaming is not exactly dead yet as evidenced by PlayLink.

 

[Hindl]

No, the Wii U was bad but the DS and 3DS was fantastic and led to a lot of unique experiences

 

[darkside31337]

Completely disagree. It was an awesome feature on the Wii U even for the most basic menu and map purposes. Its a shame the Switch doesn't recreate it when you're using the thing docked. Even at its most basic usage it was still pretty neat.

 

[TimeEffect]

But local multiplayer was great

 

[E_Darkness]

Just because you didn't like it doesn't make it a bad idea.

 

[hatchx]

It worked really well for handheld but yes, it's dead. The best use of it was when games needed a map or more HUD.

Just glad we got three good castlevania's and finally a metroid. They benefit a lot from a constant map screen.

 

[Holy Order Sol]

Nah, too many DS and 3DS games benefit in terms of convenience.

 

[Succinct Verbosity]

I love the DS, but I feel like it was in spite of the two screens. The advent of touch screen gaming was the true innovator with the DS.

 

[mindsale]

Was an awful idea. Done poorly, it was like texting while driving.

 

[chicken_pasta]

No, OP. 2 screens made many games play better. I will miss those.

 

[Rellik]

PlayLink says hello.

 

[loudbill]

I thought it was excellent. I always loved games where i had my map and inventory on a separate screen.

 

[PsionBolt]

No. Fire Emblem will never be the same without it.

...You seem to be misunderstanding something if you think the Switch is capable of displaying on two screens at once, though. It's not only that devs aren't doing it / players aren't asking for it; it's just not a thing to begin with, because it can't be (without additional hardware).

 

[Grim Patron]

Nah.

Also it isn't dead. The 2 screen system gets a new Pokémon release this year

 

[Gravy Boat]

Second screen gaming done right is great. Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes is a good example of a game that just doesn't work with a single screen. Or Jackbox.

Even Mario Party 10 had some good uses for some of the mini games.

 

[evil monkey]

It's amazing when the two screens are right next to each other, not so much when you have to look at the gamepad and TV back and forth.

 

[Apparition]

Let's see Sony's attempt first.

 

[chadtwo]

Yeah, to be honest I'm not sure I can agree. What is your positive argument against two screens? You've rebutted several particular instances of its purported greatness, but you haven't explained why you actually think they're bad in the general sense.

 

[EvB]

PlayLink says hello.

Jackbox called, it wants it's idea back

 

[Geno Breaker]

byebitch.gif

3DS and DS were decent systems, but in no way was the second screen a part of that IMO. All of my favorite games had easily ignorable second screen functions that could be implemented into a larger top screen.. The Wii U's best games didn't require it either, and the QoL improvements didn't justify the cost at all.

 

[Chauzu]

Some games used it well but I won't exactly miss it.

 

[tenderbrew]

DS and 3DS were amazing and I'm really quite sad it seems to be dying. Especially on the DS where they used it in a ton of clever ways.

 

[Imbarkus]

I think we can definitely confirm that the second screen has to be, like, attached to the first one. That WiiU wireless video stream was super-jazzy tech that sure didn't turn out to be useful for DualScreen.

I still wonder how it might have benn if each player had their own Gamepad. Cheaper ones with no Mocs and cameras, etc. ah well

 

[antispin]

Nah. It was a great idea during the DS and a good one during 3DS. A symmetrical dual screen opens up some cool gaming ideas, kinda sad they walked back on that with the 3DS.

 

[Forward]

Lol. What madness is this? The 3DS has more games releasing this year and in 2018 that I am going to buy, than I am going to purchase on all other consoles combined. Maybe PC, even.

 

[titiklabingapat]

It was horrible on the Wii U but great on the DS and 3DS.

 

[aBarreras]

no

 

[13ruce]

It was so bad it sold 200m+ units combined
Nah i loved it. Bith the 3DS and DS have a killer libary insane even.

 

[Taliban Stan]

Wasn't the DS an undeniable smash hit and the 3DS pretty successful as well?

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Was kinda nice for games that gave you an easily accessible inventory or map screen. That was about it. I felt like it neither improved nor detracted from the games in a meaningful capacity.

I kinda laughed at the Playlink mentions, though. If that's what life is, then just let it die.

 

[tenderbrew]

It was so bad it sold 200m+ units combined
Nah i loved it. Bith the 3DS and DS have a killer libary insane even.

With backwards compatibility 3DS has possibly the best library of all time.

 

[NinjaCoachZ]

On DS and 3DS it was good. The problem with Wii U was it came long after the point where most people just settled on having one screen be a traditional game and the other screen be menus, maps, etc. There weren't a lot of games that justified it, the ones that did came too late, and a lot of the most creative ideas were already used up on DS. I'll miss having it for Zelda and Mario Maker though.

 

[Forward]

Heck, it even enhanced Ocarina.

With backwards compatibility 3DS has possibly the best library of all time.

If they had kept the GBA port, it would be irrefutable.

 

[MegaPanda]

No, it's amazing. It's going to feel weird playing Monster Hunter & Fire Emblem on single screens now.

 

[Drillary Clinton]

Wii U was straight up terrible since there was such a huge buffer between the screens. DS was great tho. The screens were right next to each other and were often seamless in transition if the game was designed well.

 

[Weebos]

No, I'd rather play every game with two screens if I could.

The Wii U's execution was lacking, but the DS and 3DS are my favorite systems.

 

[Fandangox]

The Thread Ends With You.

 

[L.O.R.D]

The second screen on DS was good idea at first,but I still prefer one screen.

But do you mean the remote play screen? This is a very good idea.

 

[Duxxy3]

Nope, I loved it on the DS. But it was important that the screens were equal size and quality. 3DS and Wii U threw out that. Wii U was dumb because you had to keep looking up and down. 3DS was dumb because the size was unequal and scratched themselves.

I would have loved a DS successor with equal screens.

 

[SkyOdin]

No.

The DS and 3DS had way too many excellent uses of two screens for it to have been a bad idea. Some of the best games ever made wouldn't have been possible without two screens.

 

[friskykillface]

I liked that all the dumb shit on screen was put on the touch screen, clean screens were great to see everything.

 

[Kouriozan]

No it was an amazing idea, stuff like not having to pause to see the map/inventory was a game changer.
Some games did use it pretty well too, like The World Ends With You.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

I'm guessing the OP means a split, detached second screen like with the Wii U GamePad, SmartGlass and Vita Remote Play.

Though funnily enough Sony has released a new way to do second screen gaming on PS4, called PlayLink.

---

As for DS/3DS, I think it was great. It gave breathing room for a lot of game HUDs, while also innovating others and allowing for intuitive touch controls (think about how it's never quite clear when a game supports touch on Vita or Switch) since the bottom screen was always the touchscreen.

As a tool for user interfaces and heads-up displays, the second screen is far from dead. In fact, just as Nintendo transitions away from the second screen and the 3DS, Apple adopts it. See: MacBook Pro with Touchbar.

 

[oni-link]

Just because you didn't like it doesn't make it a bad idea.

I know, and I don't dislike it, I just don't think we have many great games that are great because of second screen gaming

A lot of great games used the screen for maps and inventory screens, and those did make the experience smoother, but they didn't really push the medium in the way I imagine Nintendo would have hoped

 

[muteki]

It is a great idea when utilized properly, which unfortunately wasn't too often.