Nintendo Switch

[Tanooki]

I don't think it's such a bad idea though to have a dedicated game box. It helps put a message out there far more clear that it's not some swiss army knife of garbage, but just there to exist to bring gaming enjoyment. If it means cutting some corners not having foo foo extras to get a better game playing box it's not something I feel should be mocked. You see the Sony/MS systems get ripped on by various outlets for being TV PCs, multimedia stations, a big pile of stuff and overhead on the systems that blur the message of what they are really intended for, games. I don't need another box that runs movies one way or the other, and even if the switch ended up (and we all know it will given the 3DS/WiiU) with netflux, hulu, etc -- it's just a feature, not the focus. Right now they shouldn't be discussing that, but what more they have lined up with games they're willing to explain at this rate while not leaving the bag empty to surprise people at E3.

[BillLoguidice]

I don't think it's such a bad idea though to have a dedicated game box. It helps put a message out there far more clear that it's not some swiss army knife of garbage, but just there to exist to bring gaming enjoyment. If it means cutting some corners not having foo foo extras to get a better game playing box it's not something I feel should be mocked. You see the Sony/MS systems get ripped on by various outlets for being TV PCs, multimedia stations, a big pile of stuff and overhead on the systems that blur the message of what they are really intended for, games. I don't need another box that runs movies one way or the other, and even if the switch ended up (and we all know it will given the 3DS/WiiU) with netflux, hulu, etc -- it's just a feature, not the focus. Right now they shouldn't be discussing that, but what more they have lined up with games they're willing to explain at this rate while not leaving the bag empty to surprise people at E3.

 

They could simply choose not to emphasize it. It's no sweat to say, "yes, we'll have key apps at launch, but we're focused on great games." (although that's a bit of a tough sell too given the potential of the launch window line-up) Again, we're not asking for any miracle here or expecting that to be in any way a key selling point. It's just something that most modern devices do and is obviously something the Switch can do (at 1080p when docked ) without breaking a sweat. It's not like every Nintendo console and handheld since the Wii hasn't had apps. They have, and we know people use/used them, just like they do on every other platform.

 

Anyway, this is probably a moot point, as it no doubt will have apps (despite my earlier possible doubts), which makes not having them at launch even sillier. They've had plenty of time with the Switch to get the basics in place (and frankly, enough time to have another killer game or two ready).

[HoshiChiri]

Is it really that big a deal to not have Netflix on the Switch? I mean- I'd figure most people would have a device that plays it by now if they want it. I don't even have Netflix, but if I did I already own 4 consoles that run it- assuming I don't use the one built into the damn TV! I'm glad they aren't wasting time implementing a feature most people already have. If enough people write in after release going 'where's mah Netflix?', then they can add it later.

[BillLoguidice]

Is it really that big a deal to not have Netflix on the Switch? I mean- I'd figure most people would have a device that plays it by now if they want it. I don't even have Netflix, but if I did I already own 4 consoles that run it- assuming I don't use the one built into the damn TV! I'm glad they aren't wasting time implementing a feature most people already have. If enough people write in after release going 'where's mah Netflix?', then they can add it later.

 

We can probably safely say 99.9% of people have streaming video apps available on other devices. We can probably also safely say that near that same percentage of devices with a decent processor and color screen have streaming video and other apps available to them. The latter is more the point than the former, i.e., we know people don't really need it, but it's something that's usually included in these types of devices. As stated earlier, there are likely more advantages to including it than disadvantages, so it makes for a curious omission, particularly if you believe they're going to add them in eventually anyway.

[toptenmaterial]

I cut and pasted a bunch of links about VC content on Switch and then deleted them by mistake. I post from the iPhone which is a pain in the butt, so I'm just going to paraphrase what I read. "Sources say" that GameCube games will be available on the Switch. The NOA head has alluded in interviews that there will be some atypical VC content and lots of it. The official party line when pressed for specifics is "We have nothing to announce at this time."

 

I hope you found my research enlightening!

 

EDIT: The NOA head Phils-Amie said with unusual candor that 3rd party support is an Achilles heal for Nintendo. He stated that the Unity system platform should make 3rd party development more desirable, but that strong in-house support is their ace in the hole.

Edited January 20, 2017 by toptenmaterial

[Flojomojo]

Now they are tiny but to the kids of the future they may look huge compared to what they can fit in the same space.

The microSDXC spec goes up to 2TB (which the Switch will support) so that definitely feels true to me. I have a 16MB SD card that just seems silly nowadays. I would guess that it's no more than ten years old.

[Tanooki]

EDIT: The NOA head Phils-Amie said with unusual candor that 3rd party support is an Achilles heal for Nintendo. He stated that the Unity system platform should make 3rd party development more desirable, but that strong in-house support is their ace in the hole.

 

I appreciated it when he threw that out there as they're usually so shady about that problem living in an outward appearance of a cross between blindness and sheer self believing denial. Unity will go a large way, but also keep in mind what I said in that post many hours ago up a ways (the big one) is that it's also a system setup due to Tegra for the VULKAN API and also in turn OpenGL and OpenGLS. Also not noted through that resource, it's also ready to roll with a non-gutted version of Unreal Engine 4 too.

 

I have no idea what they coded RIME in, is it out there? I never looked as I don't really care about 3D engine e-peen fighting. But it's on there and side by side it looks quite good. Even the conversion of Dragon Quest Hereoes 1 looks amazing, just a little bit more angular since the game pulls less triangles than the PS4 version does, but the other lighting, etc effects are there in place. Nintendo for once hasn't gone goofballs with their setup. Very easy to code for, very easy to drag and drop Android apps/games as well, and it uses the same code source tree as those I just mentioned on top of Unity you brought up with that quote. I think it's going to really come down to if third parties want to battle for profits with Nintendo, not Nintendo being a-holes, throwing up coding walls, throwing up backwards working parts that don't like ports, etc. It's the stupid box, easy to make things work on, so it will come down to developer preference more than offense (offended) due to obstruction.

[Guest LiqMat]

Just caught this today. No surprise, but really need to be so crass?

 

https://www.vg247.com/2017/01/20/titanfall-2-developer-laughs-at-the-idea-of-releasing-the-game-on-nintendo-switch/

Edited January 20, 2017 by LiqMat

[toptenmaterial]

Just caught this today. No surprise, but really need to be so crass?

 

https://www.vg247.com/2017/01/20/titanfall-2-developer-laughs-at-the-idea-of-releasing-the-game-on-nintendo-switch/

What a dick!

[Tanooki]

And as I said in my closing bit of the last post.

 

It will come down to preference more than offense (offended) due to obstruction. That fool there is one who prefers not to and act like a visible obstructionist to be an aggravating visible force. He's not even using anything new but the same old tired ass lies and misdirection quoting this gem from the story covering his video bit: "the company has its own “niche”, catering to the handheld market and “the kids.”" Again it's Nintendo the niche, Nintendo the kiddie box, Nintendo the underpowered piece of garbage hardware unworthy of large game support. It's the same garbage crying game from the same set in stone loudmouths who have been dumping on them ever since the Ninteno64. It's almost impossible to ever take a person like that seriously with such behavior. They don't bother to come out and say, their hardware won't get my game because...hardware X Y and software Z can't do this justice... It always goes back to 'niche, 'kiddie box' and 'limited hardware.'

 

Sorry but I don't buy it. The tech information is out there what the TegraX1 can handle and the Switch is somewhat (somewhere) above it in customization. Have you ever heard the Shield called an underpowered, niche, box for the kids? NO. Throw a Nintendo stamp on a Tegra...suddenly it's weak and unworthy of their grace. F them. Titanfall was a Microsoft XB1 and PC exclusive and the sequel only added PS4 out of necessity so it's really not much of a surprise. But I was surprised to see EPIC turn around and support Nintendo after saying the exact same insulting jargon for the last couple generations going as far as wishing Nintendo would go under with hardware in interviews. I was equally surprised to see some of these old guard companies that blew off Nintendo consoles for a decade or longer completely or with front line IPs of theirs making stuff. I think it paints somewhat a picture of a corner being turned as long as the hardware sells, because if it moves they move more software, and if it doesn't (like WiiU) they'll bail justifiably so a couple years from now.

[Guest LiqMat]

Considering the Atari 2600 got ports of games that were originally on machines many times more powerful and capable this whole "Switch is not good enough" is total crap. Yeah, the 2600 ports did not look as good as the arcade or newer consoles, but the gameplay was still there (usually).

[Keatah]

Holy cow, I had no idea these cards were already up to 200GB!!

 

SanDisk has demo'd 512G MicroSD, and 1TB SD.

 

Thing is.. capacity is not increased by geometry shrinks, but by printing additional layers. A chip on top of a chip. And these layers are only micrometers thick at best. So there is a lot of room to grow. Storage technology can leverage vertical construction better than ASIC or CPU because of repeating patterns.

 

And we haven't even tapped into diagonal intermesh lithography yet. Not in a large scale commercial product anyways. Don't worry, it's not a funky new laboratory thing like holographic crystal memory that's "just around the corner" for the past 30 years, it's just a different layout and pattern - that's all.

[Osgeld]

even if the chipset can do 4k it doesnt mean its going to do it while producing hard hitting 3d graphics, thanks to the new norm of upscaling consoles just cause it claims 900p doesnt mean its actually going to render in that outside of menu's and maybe if your lucky video

 

back to the onboard app's thing, I think it would be foolish for them to forget those exist, maybe some of you don't care but

 

the reason I bought a PS2 is cause it had the games I wanted and ALSO played DVD's

the reason I bought a PS3 is cause it had the games I wanted and ALSO played BR's and amazon and netflix and hulu

the reason I bought a wii is cause it had amazon, netflix, hulu etc AND had some games I might want to play, and it was the same cost as a set top box that cant play games (for the other room)

 

so from a home console its pretty important to me that it serves more than a mario player, especially for the price, and from a mobile console its got to compete with my phone and laptop, which both play movies and games in HD

 

THEN, on short trips either I don't need entertaining every second of my life, else my phone will do just fine for a bit.. Likewise my 129$ hp "off lease" core2 quad hp laptop runs skyrim just fine, maybe not at ultra graphics, but its "900p" and its a 15 inch screen ... and does a lot more

[Osgeld]

Considering the Atari 2600 got ports of games that were originally on machines many times more powerful and capable this whole "Switch is not good enough" is total crap. Yeah, the 2600 ports did not look as good as the arcade or newer consoles, but the gameplay was still there (usually).

 

The world has changed a little bit since pac-man 2600

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Their N64 emulation seems to have been lackluster and take a lot of title specific effort to get a particular game working. So it hasn't even approached seeing all 1st party releases appearing on either the Wii or Wii U, and has been a deterrent for 3rd parties like Natsume.

 

They'd love to bring Harvest Moon 64 out, I'm sure. But they've reported that technical issues have made it impossible for two generations now, while other Natsume classics have regularly appeared on Nintendo's Virtual Console storefronts.

 

Going to take Nintendo making an emulator that's basically plug and play rather than having to be heavily customized for each individual title, before any significant improvements can happen here for this particular platform.

If they can run Donkey Kong 64, they can run anything. I've heard the RARE games were the hardest to get the emulation right on traditional emulators.

 

Banjo Tooie is the only one that still needs a trainer to run on the Everdrive 64. I thought my NO_INTRO ROM was a crack with the particle intro, but nope, Krikzz had to throw in an IPS patch on the SD card in order for the game to run.

[Schizophretard]

Considering the Atari 2600 got ports of games that were originally on machines many times more powerful and capable this whole "Switch is not good enough" is total crap. Yeah, the 2600 ports did not look as good as the arcade or newer consoles, but the gameplay was still there (usually).

Also, back then the Atari 2600 ports were written from scratch. Today it is more like taking a game out of your PC, putting it into another less powerful PC, and then adjusting the graphical settings down to fit that PC's specs. In other words, before ports were completely brand new versions for every machine when today it is more like optimizing the original version for every machine.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

It is impressive. Even more impressive is that someday kids will laugh them off for holding so little while being too big and bulky.

 

 

 

These things are already the size of my pinky nail. How much smaller do they need to be?!

 

 

 

Now they are tiny but to the kids of the future they may look huge compared to what they can fit in the same space.

 

 

I agree, I don't think going much smaller is physically practical. You have to be able to easily insert and remove one and have something that you can easily hold with your fingers.

They are already way too small. I much prefer the standard size of SD card, less likely to get lost in the couch and sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. I wish more devices stocked the full size slots. Really getting sick of the miniaturization trend. Smaller than Micro? What, you want to pick them up with tweezers? As a chronic nail biter with stubby man fingers, I have a hard enough time lifting a MicroSD card off a smooth tabletop.

 

Heck, even the Nintendo DS/3DS and Switch cards are a bit too small for my liking. I would prefer something more Game Boy sized for a home console, but hey, I'm a retro geek who likes em big!

[Guest LiqMat]

 

The world has changed a little bit since pac-man 2600

 

 

Missed my point. Any title can be adapted to any platform. Nasty press from top developers is so unnecessary even before a platform is released to market. It makes me wonder why a developer would bash a possible new revenue stream?

Edited January 21, 2017 by LiqMat

[Schizophretard]

They are already way too small. I much prefer the standard size of SD card, less likely to get lost in the couch and sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. I wish more devices stocked the full size slots. Really getting sick of the miniaturization trend. Smaller than Micro? What, you want to pick them up with tweezers? As a chronic nail biter with stubby man fingers, I have a hard enough time lifting a MicroSD card off a smooth tabletop.

 

Since I started the huge to the kids of the future thing let me clarify. I'm not saying that they would have Micro SD cards the size of a grain of sand that they use for expandable storage. I'm saying that storage getting smaller and cheaper could get to the point that all you need is the internal storage of a device because it has so much space you can never fill it. So, in the future our Micro SD cards would look like these huge bulky things like a VHS tape or something would look to kids today because they would be thinking about how much storage is in their devices and then think about how to get the same storage with our old Micro SD cards would take thousands of Micro SD cards. Therefore, they would be wondering how it was ever practical to use them because it would seem like they would have to have a shoe box full of them to even come close to a useful amount of storage.

 

Heck, even the Nintendo DS/3DS and Switch cards are a bit too small for my liking. I would prefer something more Game Boy sized for a home console, but hey, I'm a retro geek who likes em big!

I like how the Game Boy carts have the plastic protectors but don't like that the boxes are cardboard. So, I prefer the DS/3DS boxes because they are plastic and also work as protectors. But when taking either with me I leave the boxes behind. So, if I went on a trip I would have a duffle bag full of Game Boy/Advance carts(protectors when available) just randomly tossed arounds in there that I have to dig through. But with my DS/3DS games I have these carrying cases with slots for the manuals and games that I can flip through. So, the DS/3DS games seem more practical for portability because they are easier to store in an organized and compact way.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Also, back then the Atari 2600 ports were written from scratch. Today it is more like taking a game out of your PC, putting it into another less powerful PC, and then adjusting the graphical settings down to fit that PC's specs. In other words, before ports were completely brand new versions for every machine when today it is more like optimizing the original version for every machine.

One reason why I love to cross-collect games that came out on NES/SNES/Genesis. Sometimes in the case of Genesis and SNES ports, the games might have similar engines but have entirely different levels, or have other nuances that while both good ports, warrants collecting the game for both systems and playing through each.

 

Often it was the case that different development teams worked on porting arcade title X to two different platforms. So the Genesis and SNES ports might be built from the ground up twice. The SNES CPU was more capable and had a sample soundchip that lent itself towards orchestrated soundtracks, and the Genesis CPU was faster but less capable, and had a synth soundchip that lent itself towards heavy rock / techno soundtracks. This often lead to differing play styles and feel to Genesis or SNES games. And Turbografx was an NES with loads of sprites and colors and a 4x clocked processor, basically on steroids. Hands down the best 16-bit SHMUPs were on Turbo/PCe.

 

One big issue with the Wii-U was their reliance on Power PC processors, which were all but dead in 2012 due to backwards compatibility. So while games like Mario Kart 8 and 3D World would put most PS3/X360 games to shame, very little code was portable between XB1 and PS4, and even many games which got PS3/360 ports got skipped on Wii-U. Going forward with the Switch based on ARM CPU, industry standard development tools are easily adapted between x86 and ARM, and the use of semi-standard chipsets makes everything easier to port over. Just map to the variety of controller standards and port the code from x86 to ARM, then minor bugfixes and tweaking the graphics engine quality settings for optimal performance.

 

Much of the heavy lifting for porting codebases over to ARM has already been handled by most engines which also port to mobile devices. NX is practically a Shield 2, so devs saying they can't port stuff over are being incredibly lazy or don't give a flying flip about losing any Nintendo market share. They seem to be developing an online infrastructure that makes sense, and charging for said service, so let's hope it doesn't suck.

 

I'll give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt. They have 3rd party support. All that is needed is a fierce advertising campaign and a continual influx of games, and a Mario release in time for the holidays...

[Schizophretard]

I'll give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt. They have 3rd party support. All that is needed is a fierce advertising campaign and a continual influx of games, and a Mario release in time for the holidays...

 

I hope a lot of the ads are like this. It is basically a copy of their original reveal to show the idea while also being an ad for a specific game which in this case is Zelda. So, for awhile with each game they should show all the modes for it like that so that people understand what the Switch is about while getting an ad for a game:

 

[toptenmaterial]

 

I hope a lot of the ads are like this. It is basically a copy of their original reveal to show the idea while also being an ad for a specific game which in this case is Zelda. So, for awhile with each game they should show all the modes for it like that so that people understand what the Switch is about while getting an ad for a game:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3XmVt27RI4

Ha! Kind of reminds me of this one time where I set my Wii U up on an Amtrak coming from Maine to Boston. It was a bit bulkier that the Switch and I made use of the food tray. I got some befuddled looks from passengers.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Ha! Kind of reminds me of this one time where I set my Wii U up on an Amtrak coming from Maine to Boston. It was a bit bulkier that the Switch and I made use of the food tray. I got some befuddled looks from passengers.

What you use for a power supply? Since you don't actually need a TV for most games, a 12V Sealed Lead Acid battery wired into the DC port would work for a camping trip or something. Prolly last a while too...

[toptenmaterial]

I used my kerosine generator of course! Jk I burned coal

 

Amtrak cars around my way have ac outlets at each seat.

[toptenmaterial]

Here is an article where it's argued that the Switch must have a successful launch in order to be a success, and that the first two weeks are critical. I'm admittedly ignorant in economics, but I'm wondering whether or not these types of forecasts are correct.

 

 

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170121/business/170129929/