Nintendo Switch - your opinions

[Jamie John]

I thought it looked...ok. Not terrible, but not especially exciting either. I was surprised there was no VR aspect to it actually.

 

Ultimately, as others have mentioned, its success will depend on a number of factors: the quality of the launch lineup and first-party games, the third-party support, the price, the battery life, the ease of accessibility, and Nintendo's marketing strategy, among other things. If they can get it down to sub £250 and market it to families, commuters and people who don't want to pay megabucks for uber-specced home consoles for their 4k HDR screens, then it might be a success. If it's over-pried, lacking any third party support, marketed at teenagers and COD players as a PS4 Pro/Scorpio competitor with a line-up comprised of £50 Wii U 'remasters', it'll deservedly crash and burn.

 

Personally, I do all my gaming from home as I commute by car and am lucky enough to have a man cave, so the portability/play anywhere aspect doesn't interest me. However, if it's backwards compatible from the get go with all of my Wii U games and has an interesting first party lineup, and is closer to £250 than £300, I'll likely sell my Wii U and buy one within a few months of launch. Although I haven't touched my Wii U for a while now, I got the best part of a year's quality gaming out of it, so even if no one else buys one apart from me and it turns out to me the Wii U 2, I won't mind so much if the games are of a similar quality. It won't do Nintendo any good if that happens though.

[robdood]

56 minutes ago, sir shrew said:

 

The daydream of it, the idea of it, is imo far more attractive than the reality of actually doing it, based on my experience of similar hardware forms.

 

We shall see.

Heh, don't tell me you're self-conscious! 

 

BTW I am the kind of person who went through a period of playing n64 emulators on my phone during my commute.  I gave no shits  about being  sat  holding a PS3 controller while balancing my phone on my laptop bag, completing Star Fox 64 and Ocarina of Time* 

 

*not in one journey! 

[RubberJohnny]

Yeah, I download all these games on my phone and say, "I'll play these at some point", and I just don't. I could easily game on the go, but I generally am not really interested in trying to insert gaming into every spare second of my life.

[Uzi]

My work train commute is 3 mins so I might make it to a main menu and past the splash screens if I'm lucky

[angel]

I wish they'd stop doing these controllers to the side of a screen things, I want my hands together on a pad. Also, what happens to the 3ds line now, phased out?

 

Will still get one, but it's not going anywhere portably, so all that dock and fancy screen is entirely a waste of hardware, and would they ever make just a screenless box? It would be the size of a PSTV, and therefore people would think there's no value in it (especially the US market, they need big boxes for things). I mean my idea version would be that little box, no screen, no clipping on controls, a pro pad, for about the price of a 3ds XL.   But they cant do that as that would be 'admitting' the concept isnt quite all there.

 

I'm very mixed on this to be honest. And adults don't behave like those dicks in the video, dropping it in about of their luxury penthouse to visit various parties and social events, driving around playing MK8 in a van fill of hipsters.  We come home from work, grab some tea and crash on a couch ready to forget the day's bullshit.   The dock is a waste, just gime a console and a pad.

[RaoulSilva]

If you want just a console and proper pad you've got that and 80% of the time i'll probably use that. 

 

But if someone else wants to watch tv or i want to play in bed, or just take it with me for the day I can detatch it. 

 

Wii U is the first Nintendo console I skipped buying since I got into games with the N64. I'm getting this day one.

[MW_Jimmy]

Even though it is exactly what I expected it would be (see Gaming Predictions 2016 thread), and I think it's probably got more of a chance than WiiU, it still has some issues.

 

It looks and feels like a continuation of the Wii line and ignores their more popular 3DS. The sell is older crowd (that system won't last five minutes in a 6 year old hands), which doesn't feel like the best thing for them.

 

For me, I struggle to see what it will add. I already do what Nintendo is selling here. I've been playing plenty of content between PS4/PSVita and using cloud saves to continue progress. Nintendo games are not the selling point it is to others, and if most games are rehashed WiiU games I feel I should probably pick one up on the cheap instead of skipping it.

[the_debaser]

You'll get loads of Nintendo games on one platform as they won't have to split their resources over two. And you only have to buy one system.

 

It's gonna be awesome. 

[sid]

Anyone questioning 'do I need gaming on the go' is clearly not someone who has kids, a wife, and one living room.

 

bring this the fuck on, pronto. So much adhoc gaming on the bed......

 

fancy playing mario kids? See you later the wife!

[kensei]

Sub £250 is doable, I think. Even £199 isn't impossible (well maybe, who knows what thats worth in March). The Nvidia Shield is £169. The processor here is going to be far superior, but Nintendo could have got a good deal from Nvidia.

 

You've no disk drive and have only 32GB internal storage. The screen is 720p, which is nowhere near top end. The detachable controller is obviously all you are getting in the box, the pro controller and any accessories will be more. I think Nintendo will want to price this to sell this per kid rather than per household.

 

But maybe I'm wrong, and they've decided they are selling you one combined device rather than a Wii and 2 3DSes, and that £350 is a good value proposition. But I think its more likely there's no pricing information so they can go below expectations.

[HarMGM]

Best thing about the Switch is easily that it's cartridge based. Whilst it won't eliminate loading times it can reduce them quite a bit.

No installs either and the lack of moving parts means that this baby will be quite durable as a piece of kit.

 

Nintendo Switch: the return of plug and play console gaming. Day one purchase, quite frankly.

[womblingfree]

I think this looks brilliant and very practical. Like a WiiU that actually makes sense, not one that was released before R&D had finished with it. Looking at my PS4 now and the concept of the Switch already makes it seem dated to have a static console.

 

If all it ever played were WiiU games and the back catalogue that would keep me going for about 20 years alone. Hope the screen is touch and can act as an iPad alternative too.

[Azrael]

First thoughts

 

 

I've actually been considering buying a WiI U, probably not worth it now? 

[pulsemyne]

6 minutes ago, sir shrew said:

So is the majority of the memory gonna be in the carts? Will they be 50-100GB carts? Because 32GB in the tablet is pitiful.

The tablet can probably house an SD card as well. The carts will likely have a basic capacity of 16-64 gigs, maybe more in the future. I do wonder if the carts can be written to as well. That could help with such things as DLC or patches etc.

[womblingfree]

Considering how much Nintendo rely on their online store for games and dlc these days I imagine there'll be some kind of storage solution to attach to the dock.

 

Despite loving the look of this, I still find it weird how Nintendo more or less abandoned waggle after the Wii behemoth.

 

If they can tap into the portable market here though I guess it could sell an absolute shitload.

[Rob G]

The WiiU is a big hit in our household with a 6yr old, 3yr old and myself (34 if that matters).  This is an insta-buy for me as I will do pretty much anything to play the next Mario 3D World, Mario Maker, Mario Kart etc.

 

My only concern is one that was highlighted just tonight when my 6yr old managed to drop/throw the WiiU gamepad onto our hardwood floor.  The 'Switch' looks a lot less 'toy-like' and more fragile and I wonder if it will survive long in the hands of kids?

 

Still hyped.

[kensei]

There'll be a slot for massive SD cards, but I think it'll target 720 rather than 1080. That will reduce the size of assets, and lower the amount of memory needed. It will also mean that XB1 - PS4 levels of power stretch further. I think they'll have calculated the mainstream market doesn't really care about 1080p, much less 4k. 

 

I think the most likely explanation of "custom Tegra" is they've cut off some stuff that doesn't make sense for a console to reduce cost. Maybe they've done the Wii U thing of adding some graphics processing for free too.

[Theholyhogg]

Lose the portable screen and pad knock £100 off and I'll buy day one 

Surely they will make that an option further down the line?

Nintendo must know most people like to play games at home on their comfy chair or sofa watching a blue shell approaching on a big 50 inch telly 

 

[Mr. Gerbik]

2 hours ago, Jamie John said:

 However, if it's backwards compatible from the get go with all of my Wii U games 

How are they going to manage that without a second screen? The thing is docked when it's connected to the telly.

[JPickford]

33 minutes ago, Mr. Gerbik said:

How are they going to manage that without a second screen? The thing is docked when it's connected to the telly.

 

They aren't.  

 

But they do have a library of excellent Wii U titles which never sold in great numbers due to the failure of the console itself.   It looks like they are porting those over and enhancing them somewhat (extra features, characters, levels) to create special editions which might sell well on a new, more popular console.  A great strategy and will ensure there are plenty of games early on.

[rafaqat]

7 hours ago, Retroid said:

Nothing wrong with the design, looks trendy as fuck - but at what price? If it's not even competing with the PS4/XB1 specs what's the point?

 

The point is nintendo games.  What is this obsession with Power.  Let MS and Sony duke it out on that front.  Nintendo will do a different thing and it'll be fun.

[Jamie John]

7 hours ago, Mr. Gerbik said:

How are they going to manage that without a second screen? The thing is docked when it's connected to the telly.

 

I didn't think of that. Lots of games don't really use the second screen, however. All I know is that I'm gonna be pissed if they ask for £50 for a slightly shinier looking 3D World or MK8, but then I'll probably pay it anyway. 

 

One thing I'd really like to see this gen from Nintendo is no more limited runs on its first party games. Trying to get some of the Wii U games at a decent price last year took up hours of my life. 

[the_debaser]

It solves a load of the problems the wiiu had. For starters it should have way more nintendo content now that they can focus on one device, there is now effectively a standard controller when playing at home (I think the wiiu suffered from only having one gamepad as kids would hate to be the other one playing with a wiimote), and you can now play all your home games on the go anywhere and presumably play multiplayer on the go too. That's a huge differentiator from the PS4/XB1, something the wiiu struggled with. 

 

Not it only that but the branding is on point this time, no one is wondering what on earth the console is (and if it is actually a new console) and it's got a cool name with what looks like a load of developers signed up to develop for it. 

 

All that from a 3 minute advert. 

 

I can't wait to see what they're going to show next. 

[Sardan]

16 hours ago, The Hierophant said:

I have a Wii U and I love it. I haven't played it enough (busy life) but the games are great. 

 

When I have played it more I will get a Switch. 

 

I should have said, if this has Backwards Compatibility with Wii U games I would likely buy much sooner but that doesn't look likely.

[HarryBizzle]

I don't see the point in speculating on how powerful it is. We'll see in due course. 

 

Not keen on the name though. 

 

Have they said when they'll announce more info? Not that much time between now and March in terms of a console release. 

[Vorgot]

Day one for me this. Not had a Wii U due to life problems and miss my Nintendo gaming, which is what really got me started on games years ago. The message is really clear this time about what this console is, and that's a big step on from last time.

 

It represents something different from the other consoles, and could pull in an audience that would not have considered getting something like this before. There are a lot of people used to gaming on their tablets who could get access to much more in depth experiences with this. Nothing like the Wii U experience, so people should not be saying that the remote playing thing has already been tried, because this is different. It doesn't look like a toy, it looks like what people already use in a tablet. Once the kids go to bed, a couple can be together, one can watch TV, once can have console quality gaming, in the same space. Thats a nice option for a lot of people, my wife and I would have loved the concept. The Wii U screen was too small and still required the main console to be on, this is very different.

 

I think the HW is spot on, all depends on the games, price and marketing now!

[Oz]

12 hours ago, Uzi said:

My work train commute is 3 mins so I might make it to a main menu and past the splash screens if I'm lucky

you'll need about a month's commute to download your first patch. 

[NickC]

If the battery last 5hrs+ I'm in.

[Oz]

12 hours ago, Jamie John said:

I thought it looked...ok. Not terrible, but not especially exciting either. I was surprised there was no VR aspect to it actually.

just what the flying fuck. there are multiple VR headsets on the market and several others announced and still coming. they are ALL under-performing massively in terms of sales of hardware and software. Nintendo has been struggling with production/manufacturing of this console as they have delayed multiple times the announcement, postponed the launch in earning calls, etc. the console looks hot as shit. and your comment is that you are surprised they did not decide to announce their VR headset.

 

[Dudley]

"I won't buy it unless it's backwardly compatible with that other thing I didn't buy"

 

The only thing dumber than that is expecting BC with a disc based console from a device without a disc drive.