"Nintendo Switch", News and Discussion on Nintendo's New System - It's Launch Time!

[Water Mage]

Here's something interesting from one of the investors:

https://mobile.twitter.com/bk2128/status/789353840592072704

Perhaps there's a new handheld on the way?

[Anacybele]

That makes no sense. Why would there be a new handheld now when the Switch can do everything a handheld does and more?

And besides, that investor is not Nintendo, so they don't have the final say.

Edited October 22, 2016 by Anacybele

[LuxSpes]

That makes no sense. Why would there be a new handheld now when the Switch can do everything a handheld does and more?

And besides, that investor is not Nintendo, so they don't have the final say.

Because the Switch actually can't do everything a DS type handheld can do. People already voiced worries regarding what would happen to certain handheld only franchises if the Switch was to overtake the DS, especially in regards to development costs and the lack of two screens, one being a touch screen.

Also, the Switch is big enough that it probably won't fit in most pockets, making it less portable than a 3DS.

All of these factors combines, I can definitely see why Nintendo would still like to produce DS-family handheld.

[Samias]

Yes, I'm a firm believer that the Switch cannot replace the 3DS. No dual screens, less portability, much worse battery life if the rumours are to be believed. Also the 3DS's lower resolution makes it easier to make cheaper non-HD games and simpler experiences. The Switch is a home console that just so happens to be portable when you want it to be. For local multiplayer games that still demand single screens for each player like Monster Hunter, the Switch would be prohibitively expensive to bring down to a bar or something to play with friends.

The 3DS is surely underpowered at this point, though the n3DS isn't too bad. It could use a bump up in resolution and perhaps lose the 3D part, as cool as it is for some games it's very costly resolution-wise. I'd love to see at least 480p screens for the next handheld. Maybe 720p, which should look amazing on a small scale while the Switch delivers a single image on a large screen. 1080p on a budget handheld is probably a bit too much and not even the Switch does that. The Vita has shown library > graphics as far as sales are concerned but 240p is a bit too weak going into the future.

[Ema Skye]

What? How do you come to that conclusion? Tablets are single screen and touch.

Consider how it's only a single display option. So when it's docked, the tablet is off and everything is on the TV.

TVs aren't touch screen.

[Troykv]

What should we expect from Nintendo?

Creating another Portable console would kill Switch... But without a New DS many franchises will need to do radical changes or die.

[Jave]

Consider how it's only a single display option. So when it's docked, the tablet is off and everything is on the TV.

TVs aren't touch screen.

Yeah, I can understand that, but that doesn't mean the portable portion can't be touchscreen. They could make it mandatory that the games are playable on both docked and undocked mode, but they could add extra touchscreen features (like browsing menus) on undocked mode.

[Anacybele]

I don't think the Switch has less portability. It won't fit in your pocket? 3DSs don't even fit in pockets. :/ The regular one has never been able to fit in mine. And this is why special carrying cases were made for stuff like this, and the Switch surely will be no different here. And the Switch still looks small enough to fit in a backpack or medium to large purse, especially if you keep the two controllers removed (and when you want to play, just put them back on when you take the system out).

The lack of a second screen is concerning, but it's a small concern to me and I'm sure games can live without two screens. They did before the DS was a thing, and they can now.

[Jave]

I don't think the Switch has less portability. It won't fit in your pocket? 3DSs don't even fit in pockets. :/ The regular one has never been able to fit in mine. And this is why special carrying cases were made for stuff like this, and the Switch surely will be no different here. And the Switch still looks small enough to fit in a backpack or medium to large purse, especially if you keep the two controllers removed (and when you want to play, just put them back on when you take the system out).

I normally carry a backpack, but when I don't I have no issues stuffing my N3DSXL in my pocket. And I usually wear blue jeans.

Edited October 22, 2016 by Jave

[Samias]

I don't think the Switch has less portability. It won't fit in your pocket? 3DSs don't even fit in pockets. :/ The regular one has never been able to fit in mine. And this is why special carrying cases were made for stuff like this, and the Switch surely will be no different here. And the Switch still looks small enough to fit in a backpack or medium to large purse, especially if you keep the two controllers removed (and when you want to play, just put them back on when you take the system out).

The lack of a second screen is concerning, but it's a small concern to me and I'm sure games can live without two screens. They did before the DS was a thing, and they can now.

I use a small purse that is rather cluttered, but the N3DSXL doesn't take up too much space, is light, and it folds over to protect its own screen, then I have a pouch to keep the shell from scratching too badly. Meanwhile my fiance can just put his N3DSXL in his pockets, because men's pockets are actually usable and not just fake/shallow pockets for fashion <<;

The Switch looks to be the size of a small tablet, and if it's as large as my Surface it doesn't fit into my regular day bag and would also be a fair bit heavier. My Surface fits in my backpack just fine, but I also don't want to bring a backpack with me everywhere.

My PSP looks like garbage because I couldn't just throw it into my bag. The shoulder buttons are cracked and the screen looks awful because I couldn't find a good case.

Edited October 22, 2016 by Samias

[Harvey]

I don't think the Switch has less portability. It won't fit in your pocket? 3DSs don't even fit in pockets. :/ The regular one has never been able to fit in mine. And this is why special carrying cases were made for stuff like this, and the Switch surely will be no different here. And the Switch still looks small enough to fit in a backpack or medium to large purse, especially if you keep the two controllers removed (and when you want to play, just put them back on when you take the system out).

The lack of a second screen is concerning, but it's a small concern to me and I'm sure games can live without two screens. They did before the DS was a thing, and they can now.

That depends on which pocket you're referring to. If you talking about pockets that come on jackets and shirts, it can fit in easily. People seem to forget that the 3DS is simply bigger than the GBA that they have the mentality that it should fit in jean pockets. I don't keep mine in pockets but I do keep it in a case.

The lack of a second screen is concerning, but it's a small concern to me and I'm sure games can live without two screens. They did before the DS was a thing, and they can now.

The problem with this is that it feels like a step backwards instead of being one step forward. In the past, Nintendo had screens that were too small and can't reveal too much of information at once, so it would be stupid if they were to go to the same route again for switch after seeing how huge the DS and 3DS has done, unless its intended to be a homeconsole and not a handheld.

Sure, Switch's screen may be bigger than the DS and the Game Boy family but that still doesn't change the fact that the interface for the games won't improve further. Its cumbersome to pause the game only to just see the map and then resume. The reason why people are fine with consoles is because you play them on a BIG screen which covers a lot of the interface issues. That doesn't apply here on handhelds....

Imagine playing Fire Emblem Awakening or Fates without the dual screens. You can't see unit's stats better without another screen. Forget that, what about examining what the units skills are. It does require a lot more of an interface compared to the previous games but a touch screen fixed all these interface issues.

I've just recently played Xenoblade Chronicles on the 3DS and honestly, seeing the map at the bottom screen really helped me a lot despite the arrow being there.

Edited October 22, 2016 by Harvey

[Anacybele]

It's clearly not intended to just be a home console though since we've seen that it's also portable. This is why the idea of another handheld console being made alongside it makes no sense to me.

I doubt those games will ever be playable on the Switch for exactly what you just said. I think I recall someone pointing out that there's no backwards compatibility. Unfortunate, but it's probably true. And understandable from the looks of it.

[The DanMan]

Here's something interesting from one of the investors:

https://mobile.twitter.com/bk2128/status/789353840592072704

Perhaps there's a new handheld on the way?

Huh. ...HUH.

That's really all I can say.

[Ema Skye]

Huh. ...HUH.

That's really all I can say.

They said the same thing about the GBA when the DS came out.

It's legal speak. They don't want to say it's the replacement in case in flops. Calling it the replacement would cause most of their investors to back out if the Switch doesn't sell enough. It's to avoid backing Nintendo into a corner.

[henrymidfields]

I guess it would be great being able to play what was traditional consoles on the go. Though I wonder what was with the Breath of the Wild in the beginning section of the trailer when it's not backwards compatible anymore. But ultimately, it will depend on the games that will come out. I'll probably only buy it when there is a decent collection from FE, Zelda, and Pokémon, and other stuff that is not from the Mario franchise. I'm glad that at least Wii (U) is one-generation backwards compatible.

[The DanMan]

They said the same thing about the GBA when the DS came out.

It's legal speak. They don't want to say it's the replacement in case in flops. Calling it the replacement would cause most of their investors to back out if the Switch doesn't sell enough. It's to avoid backing Nintendo into a corner.

While true, I don't believe the wording suggested that the next model in that line was on the way.

Albeit, this is a second hand source.

[UNLEASH IT]

So I've been thinking. A major reason why parents buy their kids separate handhelds is to stop them from fighting. But this will obviously cost more than your typical handheld so buying multiple ones won't be affordable. And from what I saw in the video, the cartridges actually go into the portable part of the console, so if someone takes the Switch and goes outside, people at home will have no game to play.

[Magical Glace]

I guess it would be great being able to play what was traditional consoles on the go. Though I wonder what was with the Breath of the Wild in the beginning section of the trailer when it's not backwards compatible anymore. But ultimately, it will depend on the games that will come out. I'll probably only buy it when there is a decent collection from FE, Zelda, and Pokémon, and other stuff that is not from the Mario franchise. I'm glad that at least Wii (U) is one-generation backwards compatible.

Breath of the Wild was confirmed for dual release back in... May? I believe?

The point is the Switch release of BotW was confirmed quite some time back.

[Ema Skye]

So I've been thinking. A major reason why parents buy their kids separate handhelds is to stop them from fighting. But this will obviously cost more than your typical handheld so buying multiple ones won't be affordable. And from what I saw in the video, the cartridges actually go into the portable part of the console, so if someone takes the Switch and goes outside, people at home will have no game to play.

This isn't a console designed for kids.

The trailer just featured teens and young adults.

[Samias]

I guess it would be great being able to play what was traditional consoles on the go. Though I wonder what was with the Breath of the Wild in the beginning section of the trailer when it's not backwards compatible anymore. But ultimately, it will depend on the games that will come out. I'll probably only buy it when there is a decent collection from FE, Zelda, and Pokémon, and other stuff that is not from the Mario franchise. I'm glad that at least Wii (U) is one-generation backwards compatible.

They showed BOTW because it's also in development for the Switch. It's like how Twilight Princess had both a GCN version and a Wii version, but the Wii version was mirrored and had motion controls and a different UI. However the Wii was backwards compatible with the GCN version of the game since Nintendo had used PowerPC architecture for both consoles, until the removal of the GCN controller ports in later Wii console revisions to cut costs.

The Switch will have its own cart for BOTW but can't play Wii U games, due to the lack of asynchronous gameplay. The portable screen is not akin to the Wii U tablet and you either play on the TV or you play on the screen. You can't do both at the same time. They also moved on from PowerPC to a custom Tegra chipset from Nvidia, which means hardware cheats used by devs will not port gracefully to the Switch either. However it will be easier for the Switch to handle ports from PC games, thanks to Nvidia's infrastructure. Hence why we'll likely see more enthusiasm from western devs for the new system, at least in the first year or so as they work on ports. The Switch has inherited much of the tech behind the Nvidia Shield + Nintendo's household brand power.

[henrymidfields]

They showed BOTW because it's also in development for the Switch. ...

Breath of the Wild was confirmed for dual release back in... May? I believe?

The point is the Switch release of BotW was confirmed quite some time back.

I guess I didn't know about that before. If that's the case, well, that really makes Wii U unimpressive in terms of its library. Only 2 entries from LoZ, and 1 (or 2? Have we had anything besides Pokken?) from Pokémon...

[Magical Glace]

I guess I didn't know about that before. If that's the case, well, that really makes Wii U unimpressive in terms of its library. Only 2 entries from LoZ, and 1 (or 2? Have we had anything besides Pokken?) from Pokémon...

There were 2 Zelda remasters on Wii U plus BotW, is three games, none of which are exclusive to it.

At least it had Smash 4, I guess.

[henrymidfields]

There were 2 Zelda remasters on Wii U plus BotW, is three games, none of which are exclusive to it.

At least it had Smash 4, I guess.

Sheesh, that's a near low; I thought I hated the GC/GBA-era the most for killing off my interest in Mario, and having my least favourite Pokémon games, but this is going to replace as my lowest opinion. At least GBA introduced me to Fire Emblem via Binding Blade, Golden Sun, and by virtue of remakes, Mother 1+2. And no, I also refuse to touch any Smash game from Melee onwards. (Seeing Peach there (and making the kidnapping utterly stupid in the process) was my personal "Strike 1" moment for the Mario series, actually. Finding out about the generally lame story of Mario Sunshine was "Strike 2". UGH!)

Edited October 23, 2016 by henrymidfields

[Sire]

In terms of console and handheld development, I see the Nintendo Switch as a home console that has a gimmick of being able to play on the go as a handheld. So, the Switch is a home console first, handheld second. (Imagine a more powerful Wii U with a gamepad that can play games anywhere.)

Nintendo is making progress on the mobile market, so it is possible that they may end up dropping a dedicated handheld device in favor for mobile games and the Switch. I personally like my dedicated, portable gaming system, so seeing that go would suck. I do not want to play hardcore video games on a phone.

Of course, it is entirely possible that Nintendo may consider the Switch to be a home console and continue handheld development. The 3DS is still doing fairly well, and I can imagine Nintendo upgrading the 3DS or making its new successor (hopefully continuing with dual screens) after the launch of the Switch. In addition, I believe portable gaming is big over in Japan, especially with a hot title like Monster Hunter being on the 3DS. That alone gives me hope that Nintendo will still continue with handheld devices. (See the iterations of the 3DS - Original 2011, XL in 2012, New in Oct 2014)

So, we have the Nintendo Switch for Home Console, the New 3DS as the Handheld, and Mobile for casual gamers. So far, everything looks good, and I still have faith in Nintendo and look forward to what they do next.

[Magical Glace]

If anyone's curious, GameXplain interviewed one of the trailer actors, the guy in the red tracksuit in the Splatoon section:

According to him, the device is very comfortable to hold. The Pro controller to particular.

Edit: video was taken down. I guess he said something he shouldn't have?

Edited October 25, 2016 by Glaceon Mage