Nintendo Switch - Whats your view?
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@mediamogul Game machine hardware has been a heated debate since the "bit wars" of the late 80's through the 90's. Some say it's completely irrelevant. I only partially agree with this. The ultimate factor which defines a game console is the games. Marketing and brand name exposure being a close second. I'm sure those more powerful platforms you mention in comparison to the gameboy would have been more successful if they were more well known and had better support. Every kid in North America knew what Nintendo was when I was that age, but not many knew (including myself for a while) what a Sega Master System was. Nintendo already had a Kung Fu grip on all the best developers and franchises through their controversial policies and that ensured they had the best games. However hardware plays an important part in the minds of many gamers as well as a large number of developers. The gaming industry is obsessed with topping itself and this can be interpreted a number of ways, but usually implies pushing for the best possible results out of the best hardware available. Developers often used the term "watered down" when describing porting a game to inferior hardware, not something a lot of them particularly like doing (but if it promises to be profitable they usually will). So basically having weak hardware can effect third party support negatively. I believe hardware is less relevant today then say 10 years ago, since we are in a bit of a retro and indie revolution right now. I will say for myself personally as someone in IT and also a tech enthusiast, system specs do play a small role in my buying decision for a console, but I mainly buy for the exclusive games. When it's released, I'm throwing my money in with Scorpio.
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@drake999 said in Nintendo Switch - Whats your view?:
I'm sure those more powerful platforms you mention in comparison to the gameboy would have been more successful if they were more well known and had better support.
That of course wouldn't have hurt, but most historical accounts give credit directly to Nintendo's conservative hardware decisions that not only allowed four AA batteries in a time when the competition used six to eight, but also allowed for ten to thirty hours of game play when everything else topped out at three to four.
However hardware plays an important part in the minds of many gamers as well as a large number of developers.
I completely agree, and while I don't think system specs would have any real measurable effect on the mass appeal Nintendo's first party games, it can and almost always does make or break third party involvement, with the very interesting exception you noted of an unavoidably successful system like the Wii was for some time.
I believe hardware is less relevant today then say 10 years ago, since we are in a bit of a retro and indie revolution right now.
I agree with this also. In that line of thought, the quick pick up and play nature of these mobile games and the inexplicably popular themes and play mechanics remind me of what one might find in any random arcade during the early days of the industry when a there were no rules and a video game could be about almost anything.
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I honestly stopped following Nintendo after SNES. Really, probably after the NES since most every SNES game was censored to some degree when the Genesis wasn't. Green blood, really Nintendo? That made me a diehard non-Nintendo fan all the way back then. Super Mario Kart and Zelda A Link to the Past were the SNES's saving graces.
N64 was OK - but Playstation IMO kicked it's ass on so many levels (ok, besides Ocarina of Time...maybe Mario Kart 64 and Goldeneye/Perfect Dark ;) Ever since then, if it's true or not, I feel like Nintendo's graphics were always 1 generation behind Xbox and Playstation. When I get a "next gen" console, I want the best graphics like Xbox One and PS4 has. If the Nintendo Switch even tops Xbox 360 for graphics I'll be surprised.
Plus, I always see Nintendo catering towards younger children (which this commercial definitely looks for them to be trying to turn that demographic around...I guess they finally realized 20-somethings+ are the ones who can afford to buy the most video games). Nothing wrong with that, but as I haven't been a child in decades, it's just not for me if they continue that trend AND have less impressive graphics.
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Who is hype for the Switch presentation?
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Wow, thanks for the link. I've had such a hectic day that I totally forgot this is tonight. I guess it's a little over an hour and a half now. I hope it makes waffles.
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@backstander: Am I the only one that thought the graphics for the new Zelda were naff? It looked like everything was covered by a thin layer of brown fog, or like I needed to clean my screen. Then the grass was neon green. It almost gave me a headache. Whenever I started getting even a little interested, it all just looked visually dulled down again. Even the explosions.
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Am I the only one that thought the graphics for the new Zelda were naff?
Yeah Zelda did have a kind of dull color palette but that boss with the neon green feet looked awesome and I was thinking, why didn't they do that more? They've got the color palette but then again the game isn't finished so there's still time to fix it lol.
The "precision rumble" was pretty cool. With the right developers working on that, they could do some amazing stuff. Hopefully that doesn't end up being one of those features that no one uses and the ones that do make cheesy games with it.
Maybe if I was like 20 years younger I'd love to have a handheld version of Skyrim!
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@backstander I only caught the last few minutes of it, so I only really saw the Zelda stuff. From what I have seen, the Switch is an interesting concept but has too many parts to lose/break. I might get one in 4 or 5 years when it's tried and tested, has a decent range of games and doesn't cost as much. I'm still happy with my Wii.
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For those who are thinking that will be as close as powerfull than a PS4, AFAIK it will have the power of an WiiU when in dock, and half of the WiiU when in portable mode.
I was reading a lot about that.
Regards.
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The Joy-Con controllers are very interesting and have a lot of kit packed into them to be so small. I hope to see them adapted for computer use over time. With the physical and motion controls alonside that camera, it could make for a highly effective DIY VR control scheme that won't break the bank at $80 a pair.
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Nintendo innovates. They are the grandfather of the modern console and while other companies have added more horsepower under the console hood, they haven't developed any game changing innovation the way Nintendo has. The switch is just another example of Nintendo taking a leap, albeit a daring leap, forward...or maybe sideways.
I don't know if the demand is strong for a seamless gaming experience where someone can transition from mobile to home, and back again. It's certainly it's going to take the right audience to make it a success. However, in brilliant Nintendo fashion, they have put forth a product that is daringly different, and if history is any guide, will be fun to boot.
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@Nismo said in Nintendo Switch - Whats your view?:
AFAIK it will have the power of an WiiU when in dock
Even if i didn't read anything about the nvidia Tegra X2 (which i did and you are totally wrong), i would have some serious doubts about this information, the NX was announced as slightly better than a normal ps4 a few months ago, and if it isn't, i don't think it would be to the point it doesn't surpass the previous generation.
My personal opinion on the Switch : i buy any console which support a game i want and can't run on my computer because of exclusivity, and i won't pass on Xenoblade Chronicles 2, so i'll buy a Nintendo Switch, whatever the specs, whatever the other games on the console.
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@Floob I've pre-ordered one and am looking forward to it.
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For me Nintendo died with the Gamecube.
The GC was the last cool system before they went with that touchpanel and motion sensor stuff.
Portable stuff is not for me, I get head ache or sleepy when staring too long on small screens. -
@barbudreadmon Switch doesn't have a tegra X2.
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@Nismo said in Nintendo Switch - Whats your view?:
@barbudreadmon Switch doesn't have a tegra X2.
My bad, they talked about a custom Tegra X2 in october but they switched to a custom Tegra X1 in december, that's still a big jump in terms of performance compared to the WiiU.
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@barbudreadmon But in portable mode switch reduces the resolution, gpu frequency to less than the half and blocks fps to 30.
When in dock 1080p scaled.
Switch is not as powerful than a nvidia shiel but it's more expensive.
Anyway it's looks very cool, but 330 euros (without a game) it's a lot of money for an very old hardware, and not so portable with 3 hours of battery. For less than that amount of money you can pay an xbox one or ps4, and apart they are double powerful, doesn't have 32 gb of hard disk... omg. 32gb just in 2017.
Not to mention you have to pay to play online... microsoft started this thing and all enterprises follow him.
As things stand, CPU clocks are halved compared to the standard Tegra X1, but it's the GPU aspect of the equation that will prove more controversial. Even while docked, Switch doesn't run at Tegra X1's full potential. Clock-speeds are locked here at 768MHz, considerably lower than the 1GHz found in Shield Android TV, but the big surprise from our perspective was the extent to which Nintendo has down-clocked the GPU to hit its thermal and battery life targets. That's not a typo: it really is 307.2MHz - meaning that in portable mode, Switch runs at exactly 40 per cent of the clock-speed of the fully docked device. And yes, does indeed confirm that developers can choose to hobble Switch performance when plugged in to match the handheld profile should they so choose.
Switch runs at 720p, that's because all the games are so pixelated on presentation video.
Any phone at these days has better screen and it's more powerfull than a switch. My phone has 1080p screen 8 cores at 2 Ghz and only 105 euros.
I told I have read a lot about this, I just want to clarify that switch is so powerful as a WiiU, half of WiiU when in portable mode.
Of course if you like the games, go for it, but i'm tired Nintendo is selling obsolete hardware at a price of gold, Gamecube was my last Nitendo console.
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Well, i don't think the 32gb will be an issue, Switch run on cartridge and i think there will be a storage zone on the cartridge for updates. Imho, in 2017, with storage capacity going up and price going down, cartridge are better than optical media, and i don't understand why microsoft/sony keep using optical media.
Also, there is no official sources mentioning the clockspeed (even the Tegra X1 is a guess), so i'm still waiting for confirmation from nintendo about that.
Battery is around the same as a ps vita, which is almost the same price while being slower.
Also, i don't think they go overboard for the price, i don't think a Nintendo Switch is cheaper to build than a PS4, same for the WiiU (because of the powerpc cpu and the pad). Poor design ? I don't think so, just different design, they spend money elsewhere.
Again, i don't buy a console for games i can play on my computer, i have both a WiiU and a PS4, and the PS4 was a disappointment (unlike the WiiU with Xenoblade Chronicles X, Bayonetta 2, Fast Racing Neo, Donkey Kong, Splatoon, ... i also like being able to play GC/Wii games on my WiiU). -
I really wanted to get one of these, but I will hold out as I refuse to play £60 for the games, which is what I have seen them potentially going for. Hopefully it is wrong, but will wait and see :(
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