Nintendo Switch

[neoELITE]

5 hours ago, simms said:

I thought this parody of the video game community by Francis was hilarious 

 

 

 

 

Why did Nintendo allow Wario to post this video? That's surely just another faux pas from their mindless marketing department. 

[pulsemyne]

14 hours ago, freezycold said:

Mysterious Nvidia hardware appeared on GFXbench recently. Outperforming both iPad Pro and Nvidia Shield by a fair margin. Could it be the Switch? Probably not, but may be an indication of the hardware it might use I guess.

 

 

Interesting. Would certainly be about the ballpark figure of a Pascal based Tegra compared to an X1 maxwell. Could be a reference chip sent out for benchmarking.

[Camel]

Can someone explain the universal acceptance of this idea that there just isn't any way Nintendo can support more than one platform and the only way forward is to stick to one format because they're spreading themselves too thinly?  Can't they just recruit more developers?

[phresh]

This would be amazing if it was also Gamestream compatible, it works really well on the shield tablet. With Nvidia so heavily involved it would seem like a plus for all involved, including Valve/Steam.

[mushashi]

14 hours ago, freezycold said:

Mysterious Nvidia hardware appeared on GFXbench recently. Outperforming both iPad Pro and Nvidia Shield by a fair margin. Could it be the Switch? Probably not, but may be an indication of the hardware it might use I guess.

 

 

 

If you click on the details from the website where that screenshot is from, the hardware is some internal Nvidia thing running custom Android 6.0, and unless the dev kits have 24" 1080p multitouch screens and 6 A57 ARM cores, then it probably doesn't come from the NS. The main conclusion is that whatever mystery Pascal-based chip it has gives ~100% performance boost over the equivalent Maxwell-based Google Pixel C tablet, and about ~50% faster than the mains powered X1.

 

https://gfxbench.com/custom.jsp?benchmark=gfx40&D=NVIDIA vcm31t186ref&id=RR-gK8O4SfiylkCGt90PfQ

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Keyboard Koala said:

Acc. to one rumour, the Switch will not replace both the WiiU and the 3DS.

 

A successor to the 3DS is apparently still planned as well.

 

 

Don't really believe it tbh. There's been talks about Nintendo merging their full console and handheld business for ages, and I think the Switch is the result of those plans.

 

The follow-up to the GBA was completed, they shelved it because the DS became a massive success, otherwise in an alternate universe it would have been released.

 

People misrepresent what was stated by Iwata about their game dev roadmap, they never said they were merging everything into the Nintendo console singularity, they said they were going to be making it easier to develop games for multiple form factors by using the same basic technology base:

 

Quote

 

When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brothers in a family of systems.

 

Still, I am not sure if the form factor (the size and configuration of the hardware) will be integrated. In contrast, the number of form factors might increase. Currently, we can only provide two form factors because if we had three or four different architectures, we would face serious shortages of software on every platform. To cite a specific case, Apple is able to release smart devices with various form factors one after another because there is one way of programming adopted by all platforms. Apple has a common platform called iOS. Another example is Android.

 

Though there are various models, Android does not face software shortages because there is one common way of programming on the Android platform that works with various models. The point is, Nintendo platforms should be like those two examples. Whether we will ultimately need just one device will be determined by what consumers demand in the future, and that is not something we know at the moment. However, we are hoping to change and correct the situation in which we develop games for different platforms individually and sometimes disappoint consumers with game shortages as we attempt to move from one platform to another, and we believe that we will be able to deliver tangible results in the future.

 

 

I suppose the bolded line can be used as irrefutable proof of the one Nintendo console future, but that would be a quote without proper context.

[pulsemyne]

3 hours ago, mushashi said:

 

If you click on the details from the website where that screenshot is from, the hardware is some internal Nvidia thing running custom Android 6.0, and unless the dev kits have 24" 1080p multitouch screens and 6 A57 ARM cores, then it probably doesn't come from the NS. The main conclusion is that whatever mystery Pascal-based chip it has gives ~100% performance boost over the equivalent Maxwell-based Google Pixel C tablet, and about ~50% faster than the mains powered X1.

 

https://gfxbench.com/custom.jsp?benchmark=gfx40&D=NVIDIA vcm31t186ref&id=RR-gK8O4SfiylkCGt90PfQ

 

It's an odd chip that's for sure. CPU wise it's not Parker as that has 2 denver cores as well as the four A57's. Unless the custom part of the switch is it's CPU not having Denver cores and just 2 extra A57's (which would make some sense for a games console). That 24 inch display thing is wierd though. Don;t think I've ever read of a mobile chip being tested with such a screen. On the other hand maybe this is a promo unit for the Switch, one with a big screen that'll be sent to stores for people to try. Also the filing says that there is a gyroscope and an accelerometer in the test unit as well as GPS and bluetooth so it's obviously for something very mobile.

 

EDIT: I'm wrong. The chip is almost certainly Parker as the reference number identifies it as so.

[gone fishin]

8 hours ago, Keyboard Koala said:

Acc. to one rumour, the Switch will not replace both the WiiU and the 3DS.

 

A successor to the 3DS is apparently still planned as well.

 

 

Don't really believe it tbh. There's been talks about Nintendo merging their full console and handheld business for ages, and I think the Switch is the result of those plans.

Nintendo merged the handheld and home hardware divisions in 2013, bringing them both under one roof in a new development facility.

 

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-01-16-nintendo-merging-handheld-and-console-divisions-on-february-16

 

"New ¥30bn Kyoto facility will allow R&D collaboration and tech sharing

 

Nintendo is to amalgamate its console and handheld hardware divisions in a brand-new Kyoto facility on February 16, 2013, the manufacturer has confirmed to GamesIndustry International.

 

The company hopes that, by housing the two arms of the business together in the new ¥30 billion ($340m apprx) offices, they will be able to share technological research and breakthroughs more efficiently, as well as perhaps working on further integrating the 3DS and Wii U"

[joe bazooka]

6 hours ago, mushashi said:

 

 

People misrepresent what was stated by Iwata about their game dev roadmap, they never said they were merging everything into the Nintendo console singularity, they said they were going to be making it easier to develop games for multiple form factors by using the same basic technology base:

 

 

I suppose the bolded line can be used as irrefutable proof of the one Nintendo console future, but that would be a quote without proper context.

Also there's that video they released this week that suggested the handheld and home console were literally the same machine.

[Camel]

35 minutes ago, muffin said:

Also there's that video they released this week that suggested the handheld and home console were literally the same machine.

 

Sorry, but can you translate that into business speak please?

[joe bazooka]

According to Nikkei "ain't no fucking way Nintendo are gonna continue making two machines, bro. Two machines that run completely different software? Two machines which appeal to the exact same audience? Are you fucking thick?Come on. Use your fucking brains. Each machine cannibalise sales of the other. It's totally fucked up. Only an idiot would think Nintendo haven't been waiting for a time when the tech allows for their handheld to be powerful enough to also be a home console. That time is now."

 

 

[Alex W.]

Nintendo will continue to sell - and probably do R&D on - additional portables until such a time as the NS makes them pointless and irrelevant. Which would be a shame because portable gaming is so much more than just "home console games you can carry around".

[scottcr]

My son saw a YouTube video of SMS today so he asked me if he could play the game... he's 9. He's no idea what a gamecube is. I goes down to the garage and pulls out my old gamecube stuff and hook it up; 4 hours later, I've played SMS, Fzero GX, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Rogue Squadron and Viewtiful Joe.

 

I'm getting a gamecube attitude approach to games vibe with the Switch..:

 

and I can't wait 

[dataDave]

25 minutes ago, Alex W. said:

Nintendo will continue to sell - and probably do R&D on - additional portables until such a time as the NS makes them pointless and irrelevant. Which would be a shame because portable gaming is so much more than just "home console games you can carry around".

 

That's what I said elsewhere. Handheld gaming is like stepping into new releases of last gen and retro offerings. Hopefully we don't lose that.

I'm glad for ALBW, but I always yearned for a new 3DS Zelda done 64 style.

[Keyboard Koala]

Do we have any funny Switch gifs yet? 

Although it might be a while until something beats this classic WiiU gif from 5 years ago:

 

[daifuco]

Spot on, arlo. I just subscribed to this puppet on YouTube.

 

 

[RubberJohnny]

I think their smartphone support will replace a smaller dedicated handheld with smaller budget games, and will be the second (and third) platform they still support.

 

A 3DS successor would just cannibalise the Switch.

[Harsin]

10 hours ago, scottcr said:

My son saw a YouTube video of SMS today so he asked me if he could play the game... he's 9. He's no idea what a gamecube is. I goes down to the garage and pulls out my old gamecube stuff and hook it up; 4 hours later, I've played SMS, Fzero GX, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Rogue Squadron and Viewtiful Joe.

 

 

This is is like Tom Cruise acting surprised that his son is interested in Thetans.

[Sarlaccfood]

15 minutes ago, RubberJohnny said:

I think their smartphone support will replace a smaller dedicated handheld with smaller budget games, and will be the second (and third) platform they still support.

 

A 3DS successor would just cannibalise the Switch.

 

I think that would be the smart move for sure. Maybe even offer joycon support for proper buttons (you could just grab one of them and pop it in your coat pocket) Sync over your virtual console games to your phone. Man, there's some great potential there. 

 

 

 

Nintendo 4DS confirmed then. 

[DC Lemon]

Even without Switch, there's an argument that the world doesn't need another dedicated Nintendo handheld. Or the current one. They're already releasing a Mario platformer that isn't coming out on 3DS.

[Darren]

Surely it's obvious what the strategy is from that Iwata quote. The Switch is the first Nintendo device to run their new unified platform, and all their future devices will also run that platform, and so games that work on one will also work on all the others. It's their own take on the iOS/Android model of multiple devices with different physical characteristics all being compatible with the same software. Let's call it SwitchOS (SOS LOL).

 

This means that in the future they can release a handheld-only version with a smaller screen, a home-only version with no screen, and whatever else they like. They will all play the same games, and if they also get the iOS account model right, we'll only need to buy each game once to be able to play it on any of them.

 

It sounds good to me, and I hope they make a success of it.

[Super Craig]

Games being shared across platforms isn't what they meant at all.

[Darren]

I think the point is there won't be multiple platforms, there'll be one platform with multiple devices. Like the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad. I think the games will absolutely be compatible across all the devices - that's the entire strategy, so anything they develop is for all their devices, rather than developing this game for the home console and that game for the portables.

 

If you mean they won't allow game sharing in the sense that you'll have to buy the same games again for each device - well yes, this is Nintendo, I wouldn't put it past them. But I hope that they've taken that aspect of the iOS model to heart too.

[buizel]

So what can we expect from the wii u re-releses?

 

With mario kart 8 it seems that it would include extra modes and characters at least shown by double item usage and King boo - as well as all DLC on disc as evident by Yoshis Circuit being demoed for Switch as thats a DLC course.

 

Smash bros would include all characters and DLC but what about new ones? They probably wont include new characters as sakurai is basically dead and i think he'd want to oversee development of them. Still I would love to see Bomberman or Rayman show up - even maybe some new 3rd party assist trophies like mr driller (hed work as a character too) or bub&bob.

[the_debaser]

On 22/10/2016 at 15:16, Camel said:

Can someone explain the universal acceptance of this idea that there just isn't any way Nintendo can support more than one platform and the only way forward is to stick to one format because they're spreading themselves too thinly?  Can't they just recruit more developers?

 

I suppose they could but there are surely a limited number of developers out there who are good enough to work to Nintendo's exacting standards. Don't want them pumping out a load of shovel ware. 

[Alex W.]

To answer my own question, the Joycons each have their own pair of shoulder buttons, along the edge that normally attaches to the console:

 

[buizel]

13 minutes ago, Alex W. said:

To answer my own question, the Joycons each have their own pair of shoulder buttons, along the edge that normally attaches to the console:

 

 

but they also have 2 shoulder triggers each for when held like a joypad together. so theres... anither one on the outside too? or on the inside so you couldnt access it if  it was attachd to the grip?

[JohnC]

That's the outside edge, not the inner edge that attaches to the console.

[Alex W.]

8 minutes ago, JohnC said:

That's the outside edge, not the inner edge that attaches to the console.

 

Nah, it's got to be the inner edge. The "blank" area is towards the bottom of the console, so the pad on the left side of that picture is the one for the right hand side of the console, and the edge that faces us is the one that attaches to the machine.

[JohnC]

It's on the side with curved corners. The inner side has sharper corners.

[JohnC]

Actually, they are on the inner side. The controllers in that image are different from other images. Must be a different version of the hardware.