Pharaoh 117
Member
Do we know if the dock does any additional processing yet?
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Nintendo: Switch is a home gaming system 'first and foremost'
- Thread starter maxcriden
- Start date
Vampirolol
Member
Nintendo said that it's just to charge the thing and plug it to the TV. If there are other details we'll know officially soon I guess.
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not but the trailer inarguably expressed a portable machine that also works at home. I'm not saying that is good or bad, just expressing surprise at the nature of the trailer. Same as most people who watched it.
The games looked great for mobile or home but I just watched the reveal of a new portable.
The distinction may be moot.
I know people who play 80% of their ds on the couch.
Neoleo2143
Member
On the bright side, this means that every videogame on this console has off TV play. And that's awesome. Seriously, one of the best features on the Wii U taken to its logical extreme is a great concept.
Crazyorloco
Member
Sounds like they have a back up plan in case this fails and they'll release another portable...
Also I'm hoping the side controllers have good batteries to additionally power this thing
Also I'm hoping the side controllers have good batteries to additionally power this thing
I think I'm agreeing with you.
The primary appeal here is: mobile
I can already play Skyrim on my PC or Xbox One or PS4, so why show me that? I'll be able to play Zelda on my Wii U. The difference is, with a Switch these games are now mobile.
King Gilga
Member
No it's not.
In terms of strength, it likely won't usurp the current consoles on the market, but well, given how it's gonna have a unified Nintendo backing it....
Yeah, I figured they'd want people to consider it home console first. The console can play the same games than PS4/Xbone without too much of a downgrade, and the technology likely isn't inexpensive. They don't want to deal with the stigma of cheaper prices that comes along with handheld gaming.
Hmm , if that was true then why so many compromises to make this portable? Game cards, underpowered hardware (compared to peers), including snappable controllers and a reveal that boasts it's mobility over traditional home entertainment. Seems like a portable that allows you to connect to you TV. Not the other way round.
Eh I don't think they'd really market it towards regular Switch owners. I think it would be for people that just want a handheld, and a cheaper system.
They could try and differentiate it though. Maybe add phone functionality, or simply just LTE data or something.
Any console can be saved by a great line up, but as long as the games are a complete mystery? Yeah, it's a pretty big deal.
People love to pretend HW power doesn't matter, yet it impacts how good a game can be.
Otherwise i don't see the point why i should be excited to be moving on from the WiiU, if all those games could've come out on that system just as well.
Even the jump from Ps3 to Ps4 wasn't as great as i hoped it would be, tbh.
Also, and maybe you missed this, DS was a great handheld, because it was designed to be that, it had a shell enclosing and was small, easy to carry around (the Lite, especially), and games were design to be portable.
I don't want to play Skyrim on the bus, like i don't want to watch Thin Red Line on my phone, and that Switch portable thing looks pretty massive to fit in a pocket..
What's hard to grasp about that? A hybrid can easily end up being a jack of all trades, master of none, and it seems to be that way to me, for now.
WhiteRabbitEXE
Member
It's the same thing they did with the DS, which they said was not a successor to the GBA even though it clearly was. This lets them save face if the console fails and they have to pivot and push out a 3rd generation DS.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
That PR fear the west does not want portables anymore.
The truth is, Nintendo announced their exit from the dedicated home console market today.
The truth is, Nintendo announced their exit from the dedicated home console market today.
GeorgioCostanzaX
Member
This makes sense for shareholders as well. I don't think it would look good if Switch were to bomb and make it look like Nintendo failed in the portable and home market simultaneously.
If it's a rampant success they'll totally kill off the 3DS.
That's what I read.
OG_Original Gamer
Member
I agree, this may be another confusing hardware launch for Nintendo.
th4tguy
Member
You guys do realize why Nintendo says it's a console first? It's Nintendo for, it'll cost the same as a new console, not handheld.
I'm in love with the concept, but this is going to be 90% handheld for me so I'm dreading buying two of these (wife and I) at what I'm assuming will be new console price. $299-$399
I'm in love with the concept, but this is going to be 90% handheld for me so I'm dreading buying two of these (wife and I) at what I'm assuming will be new console price. $299-$399
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
...it still won't usurp the other consoles on the market.
It's one device. There are no "paths"
schaft0620
Member
Then i'm sorry, because it won't be competitive...it will be much more competitive then we are used to seeing from nintendo...but won't reach the ps4 or xbox one
But with an expanded thermal and power envelope on the charger it should be able to do some impressive work
You have to design your game to be fully playable as a handheld game and as a traditional console game as well.
That sounds pretty difficult to balance.Both technically and in terms of game design.
randomengine
Banned
The Switch will be my primary gaming device - first and foremost.
If nintendo plans to release a dedicated handheld system they better tell me before this comes out then because I'll be hella piss if they dont. The idea of a universal nintendo console thats also portable is very appealing to me, a person that hasn't bought a nintendo home console since the GCN because I couldn't justify buying a system for just a few games.
Sammy Samusu
Member
I wonder how Nintendo is answering the press in Japan.
"Switch is a handheld first and foremost."
"Switch is a handheld first and foremost."
DrDomVonDoom
Member
Of course their not going to start chiseling the 3DS' tombstone, the biggest Pokemon Game in recent history, is coming out, not just in hype but in people interested Pokemon Go has given them a huge avalanche of interest. Can't cut the head off the snake too soon.
Neoleo2143
Member
Or you could not care and design how you normally do? Handheld "design" is based on hardware limitations that now no longer exist. Now design should be wants to be.
I'm fully expected a 'PocketSwitch' released in 2017/2018 (tied with a new Pokémon probably) that will be marketed as their portable. It will just play the same games but looks like a traditional handheld.
Seems like an obvious thing to do. Matches Iwata's comments about a family of systems too. The first Switch is the all rounder version.
Seems like an obvious thing to do. Matches Iwata's comments about a family of systems too. The first Switch is the all rounder version.
lensoftruth
Member
This thread shows so many people who are already from a tiny section still think it's all about seeing more pixels again.
Jailer of Hope
Member
Reminds me of the "Third pillar" talk that was around when the DS was revealed.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
All i'm saying is there better be a Pokemans and Advanced Wars on it or no buy
Game cards = smaller form factor, no disc drive costs, lower internal storage needed due to games running so fast from cards that they don't need to be installed to a hdd, saves on shipping/storage due to smaller form factor, less chance of the machine going wrong due to less moving parts..and card prices (the size needed for modern games) have come down massively.
We've no firm evidence it's underpowered compared to XB1 or PS4 (we know it's getting ports of PS4 games at least).
Although it has yet to be revealed, it's highly likely those controllers also have motion controls...so it likely allows them to have both standard core controls as well as Wii Sports/Just Dance controls in a single split apart form factor..so appeases both the core and casual markets.
maniac-kun
Member
If this is true my interest in this thing is dropping fast.
letmetrythisname
Member
So are they going for a three-pillar approach like they initially set with the DS or a one-pillar approach, with the Switch being the one Nintendo system?
I would imagine the battery life for the thing is probably horrible. Remember how bad the PSP battery life was? The Game Gear? The more technology you push onto a device the smaller the battery gets. Now those two devices were designed as portibles from the ground up, not meant to push boundaries, imagine what a console that's competing with the X1 and PS4 batteries life would be.
My words exactly!
Member
I can see a "Switch mini" a couple of years later that is DS XL sized and has improvements in battery, more efficient etc. Same exact library as the Switch ofcourse.
This to cater to people that game on the move exclusively.
This to cater to people that game on the move exclusively.
Reveal trailer was all based around mobility. I see no reason to believe this is a home console first and foremost, really.
If seems to be a portable system able to connect to your TV if you desire so.
Thing I fear the most is the battery life and build quality. It's basically a tablet with controllers attached to it, and hopefully Nintendo won't take the cheap route and make it feel like a Chinese cloned Android tablet.
On the other hand, it the built quality matches that of in iPad or Samsung , price is gonna skyrocket.
I'm thorn.
If seems to be a portable system able to connect to your TV if you desire so.
Thing I fear the most is the battery life and build quality. It's basically a tablet with controllers attached to it, and hopefully Nintendo won't take the cheap route and make it feel like a Chinese cloned Android tablet.
On the other hand, it the built quality matches that of in iPad or Samsung , price is gonna skyrocket.
I'm thorn.
Bingo. We talked about this before months ago.
Since it has a dock and there is no home console version its a hybrid. To me the handheld is the main feature. Thats why it has a dock.