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Nintendo Switch Console Thread

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$28 is fine with me.

I'm a sucker for coop games that my fiance can play.
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WH0WHAT wrote: The article that you posted mentioned that the minor PS4 problems were isolated incidents and those faulty PS4's were easily replaced. The Joy-Con disconnection issues looks to be a universal hardware problem. The only way to fix it is to create a revision, which Nintendo won't do this close to launch.

Nintendo definitely has manufactured hundreds of thousands of Switch's (if not millions) so far to prepare for the launch, and if this really is a universal hardware problem, then this may be one of the biggest blunders in console history.
I don't know man, the RROD was pretty insane. The left joy-con disconnecting once in awhile isn't even on the same radar for me. I just don't want to get a system with that problem but if I do then I'll warranty it.
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I wish Nintendo all of the best. I grew up with them but eventually they did not grow up with me. As a result, I left them many years ago, only to return and get burned twice. From where I sit, Switch is a feeble attempt to get back into it in a low-cost risk way. If it does not bode well, the loss will not be as severe as if they went out and tried to rebuild a console from the bottom up. It's a handheld system primarily that docks to a display. Specs are underwhelming when compared to others but that's the point here. Nintendo got out of the arms race many years ago. They sing to their own beat and well that's Nintendo! They can afford to continue to flop because for every flop hardware, they come back with software.

The Switch software lineup has to be the weakest lineup in recent memory. Embarrassing really. $500 to play a new Zelda game? Mario is done but they're pricks and will hold for Christmas 2017 in an attempt to hold off cheaper PS4 sales and new M$ hardware.
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mrtvgame wrote: I wish Nintendo all of the best. I grew up with them but eventually they did not grow up with me. As a result, I left them many years ago, only to return and get burned twice. From where I sit, Switch is a feeble attempt to get back into it in a low-cost risk way. If it does not bode well, the loss will not be as severe as if they went out and tried to rebuild a console from the bottom up. It's a handheld system primarily that docks to a display. Specs are underwhelming when compared to others but that's the point here. Nintendo got out of the arms race many years ago. They sing to their own beat and well that's Nintendo! They can afford to continue to flop because for every flop hardware, they come back with software.

The Switch software lineup has to be the weakest lineup in recent memory. Embarrassing really. $500 to play a new Zelda game? Mario is done but they're pricks and will hold for Christmas 2017 in an attempt to hold off cheaper PS4 sales and new M$ hardware.
And those of us that have always primary played on PCs look at your xbox and playstation hardware and think "specs are underwhelming why would anybody ...", point is, $500 to play a new zelda game? You could also look at the PS4 launch and think "$500 to play Killzone?", the difference being Zelda is likely actually a very good game where the best PS4 had at launch was much weaker to put it kindly...
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Nindies Presentation at 12PM EST today.

Let's go Stardew Valley! Need to buy it for a third time.

Rocket League would be a killer for me as well, but I doubt it. I'm not sure how they could do it with digital buttons. Hope they hit it out of the park with indie announcements.
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They're actually announcing a decent amount of exclusive stuff in this presentation.

Edit:

War Groove is basically medieval Advance Wars and it has a map/campaign editor? Cool.
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Multiplayer Stardew Valley?

YES!
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brandonl wrote: i would hope nintendo realizes all this and makes a "nintendo" system that equals or excceds the computing power of the PS4 and xbox one while being more friendly for 3rd party companies to make games on.

having said that, the NX wont be like the wii or wii u (according to nintendo CEO), i think its fair to say that the gimmicks will be gone (hopefully). i prefer a keyboard and mouse or a controller, vs motion control. some motion control is ok like the accelerometer when moving a controller. the wii u pad that acts like a screen is also kinda gimmicky, kinda useful i guess. but prefer more something like a xbox controller.
There is still room for them to make the decision to make the switch replace the 3DS (eventually) and release a traditional console which is just a big box that sits on the table with a cartridge slot. However, unless they can make something like that so specialized and powerful so as to put PCs to shame at a quarter the price I see little reason for it myself. A 3D mario game in 4K that otherwise looks the same as what we're already going to get with Odyssey is perhaps what it would end up doing to which I say, who cares.

Traditional consoles were interesting to me up to the point where they basically just became watered down, limited PCs. They were interesting when the hardware was unique, and produced content that had a specific charm which made the content unlike anything you'd see elsewhere. These days, it seems the only way anybody gives us that is through Nintendos method of producing a console that fundamentally works differently beyond being a GPU in a box. We are unlikely ever, at this point, to see anything truly different being produced graphically as it has become economically impossible for anybody to decide not to use all of the standard industry cross platform tools.

In many ways, I blame the homogeneity on the reliance on the GPU and kind of miss the days of software rendering which would produce something distinct and unique every time a new game came out. I doubt I'll ever get to re-experience the feeling of first starting DOOM up again. One could argue that this is where VR steps in, but unless something very disruptive happens here (Nintendo?) we are a very long way off from VR doing something completely unexpected.

So, for now, I decided in the end that the Switch is a good compliment for my PC. It kind of really does fit my life these days, where playing a game very much has to be a spontaneous decision where I can't decide "I am going to sit down here and play this until I don't want to any more". Being a family man, what really draws me in is the fact that it is such an appropriate system for the dying world of local multiplayer. I grew up with local multiplayer, it was all we had... go to the arcade (it has been a long time since I've seen a proper one of those) with friends to play, gather around the TV and play together, this system really gives you a lot of opportunities to do this kind of thing. Playing with randoms online has very seldom EVER interested me.
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BinaryJay wrote: There is still room for them to make the decision to make the switch replace the 3DS (eventually) and release a traditional console which is just a big box that sits on the table with a cartridge slot. However, unless they can make something like that so specialized and powerful so as to put PCs to shame at a quarter the price I see little reason for it myself. A 3D mario game in 4K that otherwise looks the same as what we're already going to get with Odyssey is perhaps what it would end up doing to which I say, who cares.

Traditional consoles were interesting to me up to the point where they basically just became watered down, limited PCs. They were interesting when the hardware was unique, and produced content that had a specific charm which made the content unlike anything you'd see elsewhere. These days, it seems the only way anybody gives us that is through Nintendos method of producing a console that fundamentally works differently beyond being a GPU in a box. We are unlikely ever, at this point, to see anything truly different being produced graphically as it has become economically impossible for anybody to decide not to use all of the standard industry cross platform tools.

In many ways, I blame the homogeneity on the reliance on the GPU and kind of miss the days of software rendering which would produce something distinct and unique every time a new game came out. I doubt I'll ever get to re-experience the feeling of first starting DOOM up again. One could argue that this is where VR steps in, but unless something very disruptive happens here (Nintendo?) we are a very long way off from VR doing something completely unexpected.

So, for now, I decided in the end that the Switch is a good compliment for my PC. It kind of really does fit my life these days, where playing a game very much has to be a spontaneous decision where I can't decide "I am going to sit down here and play this until I don't want to any more". Being a family man, what really draws me in is the fact that it is such an appropriate system for the dying world of local multiplayer. I grew up with local multiplayer, it was all we had... go to the arcade (it has been a long time since I've seen a proper one of those) with friends to play, gather around the TV and play together, this system really gives you a lot of opportunities to do this kind of thing. Playing with randoms online has very seldom EVER interested me.

Some interesting and valid points you bring up here.

Guess it all depends on needs. Your last paragraph about it being a good compliment for you PC, wouldn't you already have numerous other devices available that would fit this need already? Most modern cell phones can essentially do the same, no? Local multiplayer is a lost art, I agree. However, it appears Switch is not being aimed at families initially but at the millennials, who by all acoounts are not interacting in this way. So maybe Switch can sway a new generation back over.
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What micro sd cards are you people getting for the switch?
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BinaryJay wrote: And those of us that have always primary played on PCs look at your xbox and playstation hardware and think "specs are underwhelming why would anybody ...", point is, $500 to play a new zelda game? You could also look at the PS4 launch and think "$500 to play Killzone?", the difference being Zelda is likely actually a very good game where the best PS4 had at launch was much weaker to put it kindly...
It's unfortunate how these things always get twisted into some sort of console vs console or PC vs console debate. If you want to go on that angle, the announced first party and third party support for PS4 for example, was tight and strong and justified initial purchase, not to mention all of the additional capabilities and services available to the user. So not $500 to play Killzone. The same cannot be said with the Switch launch. Beyond first party support and Mario, what is there? $500 for Zelda. Hopefully there will be something else but the way developers are talking, it sounds familiar: will not write off Nintendo but do not have anything really being developed for them.

Edge (UK: March 2017, #303) has a good summary and editorial that sums it up nicely.

Across it's history, Nintendo's hardware has tended to be defined by a single goal: N64's analogue stick, Wii's motion controls, 3DS's stereoscopic display or Wii U's offscreen play. We thought Switch was going to be a smart convergence of the maker's previously separate and handheld businesses. Instead, we have Switch's first public showing thinking about the old gag about the real definition of a camel: that it is a horse designed by committee. Switch is, as pledged, a hybrid handheld and TV console. But it is also a Trojan camel for motion controls, for touch, for flighty, fun but forgettable games such as 1-2-Switch, rather than the lustrous, indulgent, full-fat games we thought, based on the reveal trailer with its Mario, its Zelda, its Skyrim and Splatoon - were going to be the rule, rather than the exception, in Nintendo's Switch-era software strategy.

This is the most slender day-one offering Nintendo has ever served up, if not in terms of volume then certainly in terms of quality
. Thirdparty support is even worse than Wii U's launch, when the big names at least prepared to give it a go. The remake of Mario Kart 8, and the deceptively named Splatoon 2, had seemed liked bankers for launch day, designed to lure in those who never bought a Wii U. instead they are being used to pad out a miserably barren release schedule leading up to the holiday season launch of Super Mario Odyssey, which some had suggested would launch alongside the console. We were led to believe that, as a consequence of joining up its console and handheld businesses, Nintendo's development teams would be able to work at a faster tick. On this evidence, little has changed.


The there is the awful gouging on peripherals and pricing on basic software or 23 year old remakes (Ultra Street Fighter 2) and $399.99 base with no packed in software. How about a new paid for online service, which finally has chat, but only through an app on a smart device, NOT via the console itself. And the free games only being free for one month and then gone unless, you guessed it, you pay for it to keep it.

These are bad decisions in isolation that only look worse in a wider context. At launch, a Switch with Breath of The Wild will set you back $500+, and that buys the fan of videogames an awful lot in 2017.

..most worryingly for Nintendo, you could carry on playing free games on the smartphone or tablet you already own, and forget about the new console from the company that got you into games in the first place. What chance of it convincing an audience that has been trained to expect everything for free? Suffice to say that Nintendo stock ended the day of Switch's full unveiling down by almost six percent. Worse may be to come.


... while it may disappoint as a home console, it's a brilliant handheld, powerful, well-featured and a true generational leap over 3DS that can be connected to the family TV for a hefty bump in resolution and performance. Viewed from the other direction, it's a fully portable Wii U that supports multiplayer and motion controls out of the box. It is too expensive, certainly, its first year of software looks patchy, and it lacks the singular clarity of purpose that we associate with Nintendo's most successful past hardware.

Perhaps there are better ways to spend your money in 2017, but nothing else on the shelves may offer so much potential to surprise.


As is always with these things, let's see how it all plays out. This time in 2018 we should have a clear picture.
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mrtvgame wrote: Some interesting and valid points you bring up here.

Guess it all depends on needs. Your last paragraph about it being a good compliment for you PC, wouldn't you already have numerous other devices available that would fit this need already? Most modern cell phones can essentially do the same, no? Local multiplayer is a lost art, I agree. However, it appears Switch is not being aimed at families initially but at the millennials, who by all acoounts are not interacting in this way. So maybe Switch can sway a new generation back over.
No, there really isn't anything on a phone or tablet that does the job of a switch. I am completely disinterested in "mobile" games which are universally designed for awful touch controls I can't stand and then there is the fact that mobile games that aren't designed from the ground up as play to wind grind fests are few and far between. If you've ever tried to turn a cheap "android box" into a game console, you'll know what I mean... you can find a few titles which will properly function on a TV with a controller of some sort but more often than not you get hung up by something insisting that you touch something. Basically, the fact remains that the switch promises to be full of experiences that will be easily shared with friends and family and sadly this kind of "gaming" is largely ignored on other platforms.

I'm actually kind of stoked about the prospect of bringing the switch with me to family functions and breaking out the joycons in tabletop mode, or (hopefully) connecting up with other friends with switches at the cottage in local multiplayer around a fire, killing time at the airport or yes, even just continuing a game while on the can. My biggest worry will be that the switch won't get as many "proper" games for it as I'm hoping and it will turn into some kind of system that ends up just being an expensive 8-bit indie machine full of overpriced versions of PC "bundle" games that can be had a dime a dozen.
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I saw a reviewer with the Switch on Monday. Didn't look very portable me at least not for my regular commute when I am carrying my tablet, laptop, etc. It looked quite big. Very happy I sold my preorder. One game is not worth $500.
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Digital Foundry's review:

Sync Issues (tests they performed):
Joycon controllers work well unless heavily obstructed from 8 meters away in a living room.
Work fine even with people walking in front as long as it is pointed directly towards the screen.

- The left joycon especially has sync issues if you completely cover it with your hand or hold it behind your back, even if you are 2 meters away from the Switch.
- To a much lesser extent, the right joycon has the same issues during the same test above. (only a slight breakup in signal with the right joycon controller behind held behind the back from 5 meters away)

Say it is not really an issue unless you are playing with something pressing directly against it in a small enclosed area but the signal strength of the controllers is not as good as traditional controllers in that sense.



Pros:
- Switch IPS 720p screen and colour range significantly improves over the image quality of the Wii U gamepad's 480p TN screen or the 3DS' 400 x 240 pixel screen

Criticisms:

- kick out stand feels cheap compared to the high build quality of the rest of the unit
- When the two joycons are placed inside the controller grip (Dog controller setup) he finds it uncomfortable for long play sessions because
the Dog grip does not leave enough space for your fingers at the back (non-clawed position).
- Therefore the reviewer highly recommends the Pro Controller over using the Dog Grip style controller setup for an ergonomic tradition controller experience

- The Switch's Operating System will still only render at 720p native resolution when connected to a TV, even if you select 1080p.
Games that are 1080p native resolution should render at the proper resolution when games are launched from the operating system to a TV.


Temperatures: comfortable to hold despite temperatures measured below (feels lukewarm when at these temperatures)
52 degress celcius max temperature around air vent when docked and running a 3D graphically intense game
42 degrees celcius max temperature around air vent when undocked and running a 3D graphically intense game


Battery life with graphically intense games (I assume they tested Zelda):
2 hrs 37 minutes with max brightness and volume
Just over 3 hours with 50 % brightness and 50 % volume

It takes about 3 hours to fully charge the battery.

Overall they say this is what the Wii U should have been. They say the Switch is very impressive if you look at it as being
the most powerful handheld on the market.


.
Last edited by XFactor11 on Mar 1st, 2017 9:35 am, edited 9 times in total.
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Worth noting, that I haven't seen mentioned here.

Nintendo confirmed the day one update includes the fix for the Joy Cons.

Saw it on reddit a while back.
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BinaryJay wrote: My biggest worry will be that the switch won't get as many "proper" games for it as I'm hoping and it will turn into some kind of system that ends up just being an expensive 8-bit indie machine full of overpriced versions of PC "bundle" games that can be had a dime a dozen.
Considering they're combining their handheld and home console resources for one platform this shouldn't be an issue. For all the criticism the WiiU library received, there were way more releases I wanted to play than I could keep up with in between everything I've been playing on PC as well. I'm still playing catch up on WiiU titles now and probably will be throughout 2017 which is why I'm not in a hurry to grab a Switch. Still have at least a years worth of 3DS titles to catch up on as well.
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squadz wrote: Worth noting, that I haven't seen mentioned here.

Nintendo confirmed the day one update includes the fix for the Joy Cons.

Saw it on reddit a while back.
Do you mind providing some proof for that?

All I've heard Nintendo so is that they are aware of the issue, this is the first I've heard that it's going to be fixed on a day one update and Im literally waiting to see if this is a software thing or a hardware thing to see if I should keep my pre-order or wait till its properly fixed.

Anyways reviews are as expected. A lot of "wait and see" was to be expected given how hot this thing is launching.
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SpicYMchaggis wrote:
Do you mind providing some proof for that?

All I've heard Nintendo so is that they are aware of the issue, this is the first I've heard that it's going to be fixed on a day one update.

Anyways reviews are as expected. A lot of "wait and see" was to be expected given how hot this thing is launching.
https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch ... _be_fixed/

Take it with a grain of salt I guess, but when I read that thread at that time, people seemed to vouch for this person.

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