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Nintendo Switch: March 3rd 2017 worldwide, MSRP $300

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US players are upset with the price? Isn't the Xbox One and PS4, new, around the same price? Or is this more because of the hardware? Considering it's still a home console AND portable, I don't really see a problem. I can't speak for how pricing works in other countries.

Well, we did just have a holiday season in which the PS4 slim could easily be had for $250 with Uncharted 4 packed in, and the Xbox One slim got down to nearly $200 with a few different deals with Minecraft or another game packed in.
 

Anoregon

The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
I'm such a huge Nintendo fan, and this really kills me. I didn't buy WiiU or 3DS because I thought the concept wasn't there.

Switch is a great concept, and when you see it in action the transfer of tv to handheld is really great and smart.

And as I was watching the presentation I kept thinking, they are mudding the water. All the joy can do is irrelevant, show the games you play and that's it. Who cares about rumble and motion, everyone know about it. Show the games, people will get it. It all felt convoluted especially compared to the October reveal which was so simple.


Such a shame, and that price doesn't help. At $250 this would be flying regardless of launch line up. They should really take the feedback now and reduce the price before a need for an ambassador program. They must listen.

Well said, I feel the same way. It kind of doesn't matter if the actual hardware cost/value of the joycons warrants the $50 because fancy rumble and whatever don't really mean much on their own. I think it might have be a pretty serious design flaw to cram a bunch of expensive new tech into such small, basic-looking controllers given that a lot of people were looking at the switch and hoping the actual act of playing a video game would be the sort of simple/ classic experience that the wii and wiiu deviated from.
 

Cornbread78

Member
The 3DS struggled at a higher price. Hybrid was definitely a risk. I don't see how this succeeds at a $299

Consumer perception is really tough to gauge with this one.


Core questions for casual buyers:

- Is it a handheld or is it a console?
> If it's viewed as a handheld, the 3DS is cheaper with A LOT more games
> If it's viewed as a console, it more expensive, with less games
- Can dads play Madden and CoD MP on it, can kids play Splatoon MP on it in a "safe" environment?
- Will mom's let kids leave the house with this as a handheld?


These are some of the general questions I can already see having to address 100,000 times over the next few months......
 
Can't justify grabbing this at that price.

Crazy expensive peripherals, no solid launch lineup (screams Wii U drought all over again) and now paid online on top of that, when they don't even have the infrastructure prepared for launch. Who thought voice chat and parties over a paid app would be a good idea..?
 

Raptomex

Member
Well, we did just have a holiday season in which the PS4 slim could easily be had for $250 with Uncharted 4 packed in, and the Xbox One slim got down to nearly $200 with a few different deals with Minecraft or another game packed in.
I'm talking about comparing it to launch prices. Consoles alone or even with software. I think comparing it to the PS4 Pro launch pricing would be more fair, hardware difference aside. However, the pricing of accessories here, yeah that's insane. And I'm someone who thinks $60 for a controller is outrageous. But the console price alone seems reasonable to me.
 

Kusagari

Member
US players are upset with the price? Isn't the Xbox One and PS4, new, around the same price? Or is this more because of the hardware? Considering it's still a home console AND portable, I don't really see a problem. I can't speak for how pricing works in other countries.

It's $430 before tax for the system, pro controller and Zelda.

Kind of absurd when you factor that in.
 
It's the same story as the Wii and WiiU. Nintendo pretty much abandoned the Wii towards the end and people assumed that it was because of WiiU and nope.

Exactly what I've been saying. And yet I'm still surprised. Even I thought they'd have more to show than they did.
 
Someone mentioned it earlier and now I don't know for sure. The "grip" you get with the console to hold the joy cons...does that charge them? Surely they don't want you to buy a $30 charging thing for the joy cons right away right? And if the one included doesn't charge the joy cons..how do they charge?
 

Morts

Member
So is Miiverse going to continue on Switch?

And has anyone breathed a word about Virtual Console besides NES and SNES games as part of online service?
 
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Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
Fuck I'm a huge waffler.

Just replaced a Best Buy preorder after seeing in the closed thread that the included grip has a USB-C port and thus will charge the joycons when plugged in.

With that I can pass on a pro controller until there's a deal on it somewhere down the road. I can stomach just paying $300 (I just won't buy digital games).

At least I got it shipped to house this time. I did store pick up with the order I had canceled and it wouldn't let me change to shipping. I don't really want to run out that day, and the local BB can be hassle with pick up some times (things not put behind the counter in a timely manner, long lines etc.).
 

killatopak

Member
Someone mentioned it earlier and now I don't know for sure. The "grip" you get with the console to hold the joy cons...does that charge them? Surely they don't want you to buy a $30 charging thing for the joy cons right away right? And if the one included doesn't charge the joy cons..how do they charge?


there might be a usb-c port on the joycon or the grips.
 
There's a bunch of valid questions and complaints, but looking at how I'd use the thing (play exclusive single player games on TV) many of them are kind of irrelevant. I might still be interested, but not until Holiday 2017.
C2D-v0TXgAAEI8G.jpg

It costing more than a PS4 or Xbox One is kind of an issue to me. The same issue I had/have with the Wii U.
I don't really care at all about the portable aspect, making that the opposite of a value add to me, as it's why the system has to be so energy efficient/kinda weak, and only has 32GB of storage. I.e. stuff I care more about.

I'm hoping for eventual bundles to make up for it.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
there might be a usb-c port on the joycon or the grips.

From the video in the closed thread, the included grip has a usb-c port so you can plug in and keep playing while charging.

The $30 charger grip must just have its own battery as well so you can play a lot longer without needing to plug in.
 

BahamutPT

Member
From the video in the closed thread, the included grip has a usb-c port so you can plug in and keep playing while charging.

The $30 charger grip must just have its own battery as well so you can play a lot longer without needing to plug in.

That's strange seeing as in the official Switch website, in the features part of the console - http://www.nintendo.com/switch/features/ - when you select the Joy Con Grip there is no USB-C (or other) port indicated like there is for the Switch.

To illustrate what I'm talking about:

 

datwr

Member
From the video in the closed thread, the included grip has a usb-c port so you can plug in and keep playing while charging.

The $30 charger grip must just have its own battery as well so you can play a lot longer without needing to plug in.

If you look here, scroll down almost to the very bottom, you can get detailed views of all included parts of the console
http://www.nintendo.com/switch/features/

Nowhere on the joy-con grip does it mention a charger port, while on the back view of the Switch it points out the usb-C port.

The thread about this got closed, but I think this is pretty hard evidence for not being able to charge them on the grip.

EDIT: beaten
 
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Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
That's strange seeing as in the official Switch website, in the features part of the console - http://www.nintendo.com/switch/features/ - when you select the Joy Con Grip there is no USB-C (or other) port indicated like there is for the Switch.

To illustrate what I'm talking about:

Yep. That's why I thought it didn't have one. But it's clearly shown in the treehouse video in that closed thread.

The player led lights on the grip support that as well. It must be able to draw power from the Joy Cons to run those leds since it doesn't have a battery--those rail contacts could also charge the joy cons when the grip is plugged in.

Very odd that it's not detailed there though.
 

azyless

Member
From the video in the closed thread, the included grip has a usb-c port so you can plug in and keep playing while charging.

The $30 charger grip must just have its own battery as well so you can play a lot longer without needing to plug in.
Not everything on their table was "out of the box" maybe ? They had wheels, pro controllers, etc. on there. If they ever said that this grip was the one included I apologize for misleading other people.
 
I'm talking about comparing it to launch prices. Consoles alone or even with software. I think comparing it to the PS4 Pro launch pricing would be more fair, hardware difference aside. However, the pricing of accessories here, yeah that's insane. And I'm someone who thinks $60 for a controller is outrageous. But the console price alone seems reasonable to me.

Well, the only launch console we can compare it to is the PS4 Pro, but that got down into the $350/$360 range with some different deals over the holiday season 2016. And it's likely the Scorpio will be launching in the $400/$500 range this year.

To some extent it's apples and oranges comparing Nintendo and Sony/Xbox, given the portability aspect versus the serious hardware approach. Ultimately, the $300 price is probably fine for those that really want a portable device, but for many, the difference in graphical capabilities is the bigger feature.
 

BahamutPT

Member
Yep. That's why I thought it didn't have one. But it's clearly shown in the treehouse video in that closed thread.

I believe they were mixed with accessories in the video (the video did have the title "Hardware and Accessories"), so I think that was the Joy Con Charging Grip. It was even next to the optional wheel.
 
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Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
I believe they were mixed with accessories in the video (the video did have the title "Hardware and Accessories"), so I think that was the Joy Con Charging Grip. It was even next to the optional wheel.

Dang. Hope not as it seems so dumb to not let the basic grip charge. It has the rails that connect to charging part of the joycons and must draw power from them to power the leds on the grip (since it doesn't have a battery). Why not add a USB C port to allow charging while playing?

Really hope it turns out to work that way. If not, fuck it. I'm not waffling and cancelling my preorder again. I'll just see how the battery life is and suck it up and buy a charger grip or pro controller if it sucks.
 

Raptomex

Member
Well, the only launch console we can compare it to is the PS4 Pro, but that got down into the $350/$360 range with some different deals over the holiday season 2016. And it's likely the Scorpio will be launching in the $400/$500 range this year.

To some extent it's apples and oranges comparing Nintendo and Sony/Xbox, given the portability aspect versus the serious hardware approach. Ultimately, the $300 price is probably fine for those that really want a portable device, but for many, the difference in graphical capabilities is the bigger feature.
You get a home and portable console for $300. And let's say you're right about Scorpio being about $400 - $500 (which seems like it would be accurate), then my point stands that the Switch is reasonable. However, throw in accessories and it's a different story.
 
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Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
Debated ordering one with in-store pickup from Best Buy but now that it's shipping only I'll probably wait a bit.

Best Buy is pretty solid with release day delivery in my experience--unless you're holding off for instore to pick up at Midnight I guess.
 

azyless

Member
Dang. Hope not as it seems so dumb to not let the basic grip charge. It has the rails that connect to charging part of the joycons and must draw power from them to power the leds on the grip (since it doesn't have a battery). Why not add a USB C port to allow charging while playing?

Really hope it turns out to work that way. If not, fuck it. I'm not waffling and cancelling my preorder again. I'll just see how the battery life is and suck it up and buy a charger grip or pro controller if it sucks.
The LEDs are on the JoyCons
sfsfff.png
 

datwr

Member
Quoting guy from other thread, this makes it official in my opinion.

The fuck went on in that Joycon Grip thread? The damn first post has the link to the proof on Nintendo's own site and yet people cause a storm and it gets locked? Open that sucker back up!

JOYCON GRIP! Included with console, no USB-C
ZvfbF65.jpg


JOYCON CHARGING GRIP! $30, USB-C
AOCF5xr.jpg
 

ironmang

Member
US players are upset with the price? Isn't the Xbox One and PS4, new, around the same price? Or is this more because of the hardware? Considering it's still a home console AND portable, I don't really see a problem. I can't speak for how pricing works in other countries.

I'd rather it be good at one thing than mediocre at two. And that's only talking about the shit we already knew and price many assumed. Last night introduced a whole lot of other reasons to be upset.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
The LEDs are on the JoyCons
sfsfff.png

There's an led strip, even labeled on the diagram pics above, on the grip too. You can't see that part of the joy cons when attached at that's the side that slides on the rails.
 
As others have said, $300 is a disappointing but not terrible price. It would be a lot easier to defend were it not for the absurd accessory pricing, shitty paid online, and underwhelming software showing.

But Zelda alone puts the launch lineup ahead of their last two platforms, so that's something, I guess?
 

Raptomex

Member
I'd rather it be good at one thing than mediocre at two. And that's only talking about the shit we already knew and price many assumed. Last night introduced a whole lot of other reasons to be upset.
True. But I'm saying the base price for the console is reasonable if excluding accessories and bundles. At least when comparing it to its competitors launch prices for their base consoles.
 
Doesn't matter when it's lacking games and the most basic of features its competitors have.

Switch isn't really competing with PS4 and XB1. Nintendo have said as much. It's a losing battle and they know it. The PS4 doesn't have a built in screen, isn't portable, and doesn't have Nintendo exclusives.

Not sure how hard it is to comprehend that a 3yr old home console isn't remotely in the same market as a brand new mobile device that doubles as a home console.

If you wanted a new home console and were waiting to decide between PS4 and Switch you havent been paying attention.

Nintendo definitely needs to market this right. So far it seems like they are.
 

jacobeid

Banned
Switch isn't really competing with PS4 and XB1. Nintendo have said as much. It's a losing battle and they know it. The PS4 doesn't have a built in screen, isn't portable, and doesn't have Nintendo exclusives.

Not sure how hard it is to comprehend that a 3yr old home console isn't remotely in the same market as a brand new mobile device that doubles as a home console.

If you wanted a new home console and were waiting to decide between PS4 and Switch you havent been paying attention.

Nintendo definitely needs to market this right. So far it seems like they are.

When the average mom and dad goes to the store this holiday they'll see a PS4/XB1 with a game packed in for $250 (if not $199 since they were $250 this year) right next to a $300 Switch.

The average consumer doesn't care that Nintendo says they aren't competing with MS and Sony.
 

biteren

Member
wait, so whats the deal with the charger grip?


do need this to charge the joy cons while playing?

EDIT: got one of my answers
 
When the average mom and dad goes to the store this holiday they'll see a PS4/XB1 with a game packed in for $250 (if not $199 since they were $250 this year) right next to a $300 Switch.

The average consumer doesn't care that Nintendo says they aren't competing with MS and Sony.

Its portable they aren't. It has a screen they don't. They been on the market for 3 years so most people already know if they want them.

This argument would make sense if they both launched this year...maybe.

I'll say it again Portable screen

Also Mario this holiday.
 
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