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[Graphics Horse]

Why does people think that BC was a possibility with Wii U and 3DS when the NS has only one screen?

I guess because 2DS kinda only has one screen and Wii U has a ds emulator. I thought it was pretty clear from statements for a long while that NX wouldn't have tech based around a predecessor and therefore probably not have any bc.

 

[duckroll]

People are questioning not an Eshop. But an actual App Store.

If your using a big players app store, you have much more than just Netflix, and Crunchyroll. If the system is aimed at age group teenagers and up. Instagram, Discord, Kik, Hbo Go, possible kindle reader would all be smart apps if this is a multi touch device.

You're looking at it wrong. The eShop IS an app store. It's just a storefront. Even if it turns out that the Switch is running on a custom Android OS, there is no possibility that Nintendo will allow the system to be that open. It's a huge security issue. Android phones are open systems like PCs running Windows are open systems. The Switch is not.

 

[MacTag]

Legit question, I don't know the answer to this and I'm curious - If you bought digital games on the 360 on your Live Account, can you download those games on the same account on XBO and play them? I know that there is software BC for 360 games being improved with each update, but I don't know if it's for disc games only or if your entire digital library is available on XBO.

Backwards compatibility is digital also, you can even buy compatible 360 games digitally through your Xbox One. They didn't pull a reverse Vita or anything.

 

[mrklaw]

(take from the other, later thread)



If the dock is sold separately then it removes the whole gimmick behind the Switch. Launch day availability of the Switch better include the Dock as the main version at retail, rather than what happened with the likes of PS VR where the bundle was only available in limited quantities, and everyone else had to buy things sepereately.. I don't want to rock up to my local game retailer, see that the "bundles" are sold out, and I have to buy the base unit, the dock and the gamepad dock thing all separately.

it'll be based on cost, regional positioning etc.

Eg in the US where apparantly it'll be pitched as a home console first, I'd expect it to come with a dock. But because the US as the market is so value conscious, it might not come with the joy-con dock thing to make it like a normal controller - or that may be part of a bundle offer while the standard version doesn't include it to keep costs down.

In Europe they'll probably ship just the touch screen, make you pay extra for the joy-cons, and leave a dogshit on your front step.

 

[duckroll]

Backwards compatibility is digital also, you can even buy compatible 360 games digitally through your Xbox One. They didn't pull a reverse Vita or anything.

You can

That's really cool. A huge plus for content continuity across generations. I hope this becomes the standard for everything in future for consoles.

 

[kinggroin]

Keeping the 3DS alive kills the assumed advantage of having one platform developers can concentrate on, especially since it won't play 3DS cartridges

 

[Deleted member 752119]

it'll be based on cost, regional positioning etc.

Eg in the US where apparantly it'll be pitched as a home console first, I'd expect it to come with a dock. But because the US as the market is so value conscious, it might not come with the joy-con dock thing to make it like a normal controller - or that may be part of a bundle offer while the standard version doesn't include it to keep costs down.

In Europe they'll probably ship just the touch screen, make you pay extra for the joy-cons, and leave a dogshit on your front step.

My guess is it will come with the dock and the controller grip (that' can't cost that much) in North America and Europe. Consoles reign supreme in the west, so the dock and the grip to make a mostly normal control are a must IMO.

In the east where portables and mobile reign, they can make the dock and grip optional.

Keeping the 3DS alive kills the assumed advantage of having one platform developers can concentrate on, especially since it won't play 3DS cartridges

Do you really believe they're going to keep it alive in any meaningful fashion past March? Of course they aren't going to say it's being replaced now with they have big 3DS games as their main revenue stream this holiday season, and hope to sell some hardware with them as well.

 

[Neo_Geo]

I forsee being able to "update" your VC purchases for a nomin...err, ludicrously expensive "fuck you, pay us again" fee. Thank you! Good guy, Nintendo I tell you what.

 

[cheesekao]

Not companies.. It's only Sony who did it and they love for you to pay for what you already own. XBO support BC.

The irony.

 

[Django.Mango]

So...

- We might get digital BC

- Battery life will likely be mediocre

- Smartphone games on Switch

Everthing else would surprise me. I want to play all the great software i purchased for the 3ds and wiiu digital.

Thank you.

 

[spliced]

I mean I always assumed one of the reason for the unique hardware of the 3DS and Wii U is that it's not super easy to emulate the experience with the common types of hardware people emulate on.

I saw someone say awhile back that Wii U was a perfect system to skip for collectors because they should just emulate...WTH LOL! It's the complete opposite, you can't have the authentic experience of a Wii U on a typical PC even with perfect emulation since unique hardware is a big part of the system.

Even if the Switch is touch screen it needs to be plugged into the dock to display on the TV so emulation wouldn't work on it as a console without totally changing the way touch screen games are played.

 

[TheFuzz]

As someone whose mostly digital on 3DS and WiiU, it'd be an awesome thing if digital titles on my consoles were available for redownload on Switch.

Effectively, even making most first-party WiiU titles compatible would make for a HUGE library at release. I can almost see that being the case for MK8. Makes perfect sense to reward U buyers and make those titles available for a (hopefully) larger audience.

 

[Skittzo0413]

No BC is expected, although with the amount of Wii U "DX" type games in the trailer (...two I guess) I'm wondering if there will be some sort of upgrade/discount program for people who own those Wii U games.

I guess that's even assuming the Mario Kart and Splatoon game are real and not essentially simulated for that ad. Who knows!


Also as someone above said, DeNA in the developers list highly suggests a touch screen, as have insiders. So I don't know why Nintendo is being coy about that.

 

[Anoregon]

The whole "not a successor to the Wiiu" thing really seems kind of silly. I mean, it's the new console that is going to be where their game development focus goes, and wiiu development is going to dry up real quick once the Switch is out. It seems like pretty serious semantics to claim otherwise.

I mean, was the gamecube not a "successor" to the N64? Was the DS not a successor to the gameboy?

 

[AntMurda]

Also as someone above said, DeNA in the developers list highly suggests a touch screen, as have insiders. So I don't know why Nintendo is being coy about that.

DeNA is involved by default, because MyNintendo is supposedly integrated into Switch. That's a Nintendo/DeNA thing. They could also easily develop their own games as well for the system.

 

[Rappy]

Was the DS not a successor to the gameboy?

It wasn't according to their PR. Which is all this just is.

 

[Django.Mango]

As someone whose mostly digital on 3DS and WiiU, it'd be an awesome thing if digital titles on my consoles were available for redownload on Switch.

Effectively, even making most first-party WiiU titles compatible would make for a HUGE library at release.

Yes, its about time, bring the complete available nintendo software from the start up and make it a graet nintendo machine. No chance of lacking software at the beginning. Marketing with "hundreds of nintendo and third party games awailable now".

A dream, probably.

 

[10k]

Understandable. I just don't want to wait till the new year for specs

 

[Anoregon]

It wasn't according to their PR. Which is all this just is.

Right, I actually thought I remembered PR to that effect back in the day. But of course it was in practice.

 

[Skittzo0413]

Understandable. I just don't want to wait till the new year for specs

Didn't Laura say a spec sheet would be released before the end of the month?

It could be discussed next week at the investor's meeting without being considered an "announcement." Everything she and Emily have reported recently has been accurate after all.

Great article! I think the only thing that worries me about the NS so far is using the thing off the dock. I'm not worried about overall battery life unless it's less than 2 hours. However, I have yet to see anything that implies you can charge the console outside of the dock. I know they didn't plan to answer all of the questions we would have in one three minute video, but I'll continue to worry about this until I get an answer!

I would be extremely surprised if there's no way to charge it outside of the dock. Think about the airport/airplane use case presented in the video. The dude has his dock at home, he brought his Switch presumably to another city and flew back home with it. If that would ever become a reality then there has to be some sort of mobile charging port/cable. Hopefully microUSB.

 

[Okami Haundo]

Great article! I think the only thing that worries me about the NS so far is using the thing off the dock. I'm not worried about overall battery life unless it's less than 2 hours. However, I have yet to see anything that implies you can charge the console outside of the dock. I know they didn't plan to answer all of the questions we would have in one three minute video, but I'll continue to worry about this until I get an answer!

 

[tiebreaker]

Wii U compability is a no go because of the gamepad. That should be very clear I guess.
AFAIK, you can't really use the NS tablet as a gamepad because you need to dock it to use it on TV.

 

[Koozek]

So, what I don't get with the Grip not being packed-in. If the Switch is docked and you need to charge the seperate Joy-Cons, what do you do? Do you have to attach them to the Switch, connect the USB cable, and play with that in your hand? That could be annoying.

EDIT: Wait, I just realized I didn't hear yet if you can stream from the Switch to the Dock without it being docked. If not, how would you then charge the Cons through the Switch when it has to be docked?

 

[gafneo]

As long as possible sounds good to me. Faith restored. Now I just need to know about storage so I can plan on buying digital vs cart.

 

[kinggroin]

My guess is it will come with the dock and the controller grip (that' can't cost that much) in North America and Europe. Consoles reign supreme in the west, so the dock and the grip to make a mostly normal control are a must IMO.

In the east where portables and mobile reign, they can make the dock and grip optional.



Do you really believe they're going to keep it alive in any meaningful fashion past March? Of course they aren't going to say it's being replaced now with they have big 3DS games as their main revenue stream this holiday season, and hope to sell some hardware with them as well.

I don't know what to believe honestly.

But simply going by what's said so far, means split development

 

[MacTag]

The rumor is 3DS support through 2018, though that can also mean lots of late localizations. Wii U's already done obviously.

 

[Okami Haundo]

I would be extremely surprised if there's no way to charge it outside of the dock. Think about the airport/airplane use case presented in the video. The dude has his dock at home, he brought his Switch presumably to another city and flew back home with it. If that would ever become a reality then there has to be some sort of mobile charging port/cable. Hopefully microUSB.

I definitely agree with you there! The scenarios they presented surely seem to suggest that you can charge it on the go. Anyone who has flown knows that you won't be there for just an hour or two. I'm fully expecting there to be some kind of solution, but I'll be worried until I see that there definitely is one.

 

[gafneo]

You're looking at it wrong. The eShop IS an app store. It's just a storefront. Even if it turns out that the Switch is running on a custom Android OS, there is no possibility that Nintendo will allow the system to be that open. It's a huge security issue. Android phones are open systems like PCs running Windows are open systems. The Switch is not.

I'm thinking nVidia has taken something like the Shield TV and designed an api for Switch to work the sameway.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

I don't know what to believe honestly.

But simply going by what's said so far, means split development

You can't just go by what's said when it comes to marketing.

They've talked a lot previously about needing to unify development.

They're simply not going to say it's a successor to the 3DS when there's a big Pokémon game coming out on the heels of all the hype created by Pokémon Go, as well as the other fall 3DS games.

Sure, the 3DS will still get a few games beyond that. They sold 60 million of them so they and other devs wills still throw that market some bones while the Switch is building and audience. But all major games will be focused on Switch from March on unless it completely bombs.

It's much like how they said the DS was a new pillar and not a replacement for the GBA. You don't say a successful platform is dead until you're sure the new one is a hit.

 

[Okami Haundo]

So, what I don't get with the Grip not being packed-in. If the Switch is docked and you need to charge the seperate Joy-Cons, what do you do? Do you have to attach them to the Switch, connect the USB cable, and play with that in your hand? That could be annoying.

EDIT: Wait, I just realized I didn't hear yet if you can stream from the Switch to the Dock without it being docked. If not, how would you then charge the Cons through the Switch when it has to be docked?

Just speculation here, but I have to imagine those Joy-con controllers can last pretty long given their simple inputs. I don't think they would last days or anything, but hours seems appropriate. It's not a perfect solution, but I think Nintendo will make it clear that you'll want the joy-con grip for long play sessions while docked.

I'm willing to bet that the Joy-con grip isn't in the box for the "base" model, and we'll see a "pro" or "deluxe" SKU that has it in the box along with more system memory.

EDIT:

Base SKU = Switch + Dock + joycon L,R + pack-in game

Deluxe SKU = Switch + Dock + joycon L, R, Grip + pack-in game + more internal memory

 

[dead_lighter]

DeNa is on that list of developers, so it will most definitely have some kind of mobile app support.

Not obvious. DeNa might be listed just because of mynintendo support.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/dena-detai...-free-play-mobile-games-by-march-2017-1528178

 

[dreamcastfan]

How would you handle the dual screens of the 3DS?

And the 3D...

 

[Okami Haundo]

And the 3D...

Well we already have the 2DS on the market, I don't think that a lack of 3D rules out 3DS games at this point.

 

[Koozek]

Just speculation here, but I have to imagine those Joy-con controllers can last pretty long given their simple inputs. I don't think they would last days or anything, but hours seems appropriate. It's not a perfect solution, but I think Nintendo will make it clear that you'll want the joy-con grip for long play sessions while docked.

I'm willing to bet that the Joy-con grip isn't in the box for the "base" model, and we'll see a "pro" or "deluxe" SKU that has it in the box along with more system memory.

Okay, but then there's still the question whether you can charge them while playing by attaching them to the Switch and have the Switch stream to the Dock. Even if they lasted long, if would be crazy if you couldn't play on the TV while charging them if you have no Grip. That would make it pretty much mandatory anyway and just a hidden extra cost.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

Okay, but then there's still the question whether you can charge them while playing by attaching them to the Switch and have the Switch stream to the Dock. Even if they lasted long, if would be crazy if you couldn't play on the TV while charging them if you have no Grip. That would make it pretty much mandatory anyway and just a hidden extra cost.

I'd be shocked if the grip wasn't included in the west at least. With the focus on consoles over here the dock and grip are a must IMO.

In Japan where portables and mobile rule, they maybe just include the tablet and JoyCons and make the dock and grip optional.

But who knows as this is the company that didn't include an a/c adapter with the New 3DS. *shrugs*

I don't care much as I'll get and use a Pro controller for TV gaming anyway, and just leave the JoyCons attached when docked to make it easier to grab and game in portable mode.

 

[Okami Haundo]

Okay, but then there's still the question whether you can charge them while playing by attaching them to the Switch and have the Switch stream to the Dock. Even if they lasted long, if would be crazy if you couldn't play on the TV while charging them if you have no Grip. That would make it pretty much mandatory anyway and just a hidden extra cost.

Given the simplicity of the joycon controllers, I feel like it wouldn't be too much of a drain for the "console" to power and charge them at the same time while they're connected. I don't think "mandatory" is the right word here, as the Joycon L and R seem to work without the Grip. Mandatory would be if they couldn't be used at all while detached.

I can't see the person who is playing the Switch for hours and hours while docked being someone who doesn't opt for getting the Joycon Grip or the Pro controller. You can call the Grip a "hidden cost" and that wouldn't be untrue, but I also don't see it being that big of a deal to the people who will get that much use out of their console. I will be incredibly surprised if there isn't a console bundle that includes the Grip for people like I just mentioned.

 

[Steph_E.]

The rumor is 3DS support through 2018, though that can also mean lots of late localizations. Wii U's already done obviously.

I thought Nintendo had categorically said that is the case. It make sense to have another revenue stream while the Switch is building up its userbase (and that second revenue stream obviously is not the Wii U).

 

[Anth0ny]

of course there's no BC in any form, how would they emulate the second screen for each platform?

or sell you remasters of certain Wii U/3DS titles?


they aren't talking about touch/mobile yet because they want their messaging to be clear. anything that reminds you of wii u is not being discussed, and that includes touch controls.

 

[Aztechnology]

I'll be needing a tempered glass screen protector for this.

 

[kinoki]

I want to know how they handle downloads and what sort of storage it has. I'm pretty hard on my digital-only policy. Perhaps I've just missed it in my skimming.

 

[Okami Haundo]

of course there's no BC in any form, how would they emulate the second screen for each platform?

or sell you remasters of certain Wii U/3DS titles?

I'd just like to point out that most Wii-U games with an "Off TV Play" mode could seemingly work well on Nintendo Switch. I've been playing Paper Mario Color Splash on the Gamepad and the game works surprisingly well on a single screen.

 

[Brad Grenz]

As i wrote before couldnt ninty pull a sega cd and provide an extension that would let the consumer run wii and wii u discs at least?

It's already out. It's called a WiiU.

 

[jroc74]

It will be compatible with smartphone games.

If the Vita could, this will. That screen has to be touch. It makes no sense for it not to be.

With Pokemon Go, Mario Runner there is no way in hell Nintendo wont have those games running on their own hardware.

of course there's no BC in any form, how would they emulate the second screen for each platform?

or sell you remasters of certain Wii U/3DS titles?


they aren't talking about touch/mobile yet because they want their messaging to be clear. anything that reminds you of wii u is not being discussed, and that includes touch controls.

I agree. I dont even think it was mentioned by Sony that you could run mobile games on the Vita. They were from their own mobile store section but still.

 

[Anth0ny]

I'd just like to point out that most Wii-U games with an "Off TV Play" mode could seemingly work well on Nintendo Switch. I've been playing Paper Mario Color Splash on the Gamepad and the game works surprisingly well on a single screen.

Of course, but they'll just re-sell you those games instead!

I bet they want to detach themselves from the Wii U branding so badly that advertising "Wii U backwards compatibility!" would actually be a detriment in their mind. They'll take the well received Wii U games and remaster them as Switch games, like we've seen with Splatoon and Mario Kart.

 

[Koozek]

I'd be shocked if the grip wasn't included in the west at least. With the focus on consoles over here the dock and grip are a must IMO.

In Japan where portables and mobile rule, they maybe just include the tablet and JoyCons and make the dock and grip optional.

But who knows as this is the company that didn't include an a/c adapter with the New 3DS. *shrugs*

I don't care much as I'll get and use a Pro controller for TV gaming anyway, and just leave the JoyCons attached when docked to make it easier to grab and game in portable mode.

Well, let's hope they include both Dock and Grip, otherwise it would be really stupid of them if my theory is right.

 

[sikkinixx]

I'm guessing this won't launch with VC support, much less letting us bring forward our VC purchases, because lol Nintendo

 

[Crazyorloco]

I understand no backwards compatibility for the 3DS. The dual screens really kill that idea. If you really want to play 3DS games the 2DS is pretty affordable now.

Reading all this makes me think that Nintendo has another system planned.

Spoiler

4DS

 

[Jackano]

Not obvious. DeNa might be listed just because of mynintendo support.

DeNA is involved by default, because MyNintendo is supposedly integrated into Switch. That's a Nintendo/DeNA thing. They could also easily develop their own games as well for the system.

Yes but if Nintendo ask them for at least one game, giving DeNA have software studios, they can hardly refuse.
In fact giving the importance of their partnership, it makes sense to make at least one game ASAP.
This doesn't mean "mobile games on Switch", just that DeNA can develop a game for it.

 

[Tidd]

About mobile games: The Google Play twitter account tweeted about the Switch reveal. Could mean something or the guy behind it just reacted to it. Especially since there were rumors that the Switch (NX) would run with Android. But hey, we on GAF started to speculate on less.

https://twitter.com/GooglePlay/status/789161620924686336

 

[Not Spaceghost]

I don't think that the dock counts as an accessory, I am fairly sure it will ship with all units in the launch window. I can certainly see them doing a dockless SKU in japan but in the west they'd be insane to do something like that.