Nintendo Switch - your opinions

[stefcha]

1 hour ago, sir shrew said:

If the Switch solved the problems of the Wii U that would be something, but it doesn't.

 

The Wii U was expensive* due to the gamepad, which was compulsory to making the console function, limited by battery life and restricted to proximity to the base unit.

 

The Switch will be more expensive* because of the tablet, which is compulsory to making the console function, limited by battery life and needs to be attached to the base unit.

 

I get you don't like it, but trying to equate the fact that a mobile works-anywhere device must be attached to the base unit for use on TV to the awful range of the Wii U tablet is pretty ridiculous. That's obviously one problem solved, I was certainly disappointed to find I couldn't really use the Wii U outside of the room the base unit was in.

[Darwock]

My opinion:

 

I am totally bemused by the whole reaction.

 

It's stuff we have already, implemented in a rather clumsy/ugly way. Those little detachable controller things look terrible to use. The system is made of bits. You are going to have empty controller sections kicking around, to me it will just become like junk unless you always keep the system in that configuration.

 

Do people really care that they are able to take it out with them when they leave the house? My current experience of this concept is with crossplay titles on the PS3/4/Vita, but generally I'll find that I want to keep my games to play them on the big screen/best format, rather than burn through them on the portable just because I can.

 

Sure it's a nice option to have, but in my experience it's an 'emergency only' deal. Unless I'm going away for a boring trip or something, but I don't think I would be taking something so expensive with me on any long trips.

 

I also can't fathom the idea of playing at home, having to briefly do something else (like walk the dog) and being unable to detach myself from the game for even that amount of time. It's not exactly the healthiest approach to take.

[Mr Cochese]

So you don't have a smartphone or tablet?

[RubberJohnny]

OK, having slept on it - it looks like a nice machine, a better concept and pitch than the Wii Us muddled, "it solves people being alone together by letting them be alone together".

 

I don't see it being nearly as successful as they want it to be.

 

They want this thing to do Wii numbers, original DS numbers, and I struggle to see that happening. As a home console it's just Wii U again; as a handheld (which are sharply trending down) it's likely going to be more expensive meaning kids don't get onboard. Are parents going to buy something several hundred dollars with sixty dollar games for them to play in car journeys, or just let them play the free games on the phones they already have? And attempts to sell a high-end handheld to core gamers didn't work so well for the Vita.

 

I'm doubtful about this "loads of games" bit - they're clearly not abandoning 3DS just yet, and they're committing to iOS and Android so they're still going to have three or four different platforms they're split between - it seems it has "loads of games" by dint of abandoning software support for the Wii U for the last eighteen months and by doing some sequels heavily based on asset reuse from their most popular games like Mario Kart and Splatoon, i.e. Nintendo operating as usual.

[Darwock]

I see your point (Cochese), but I think it makes a difference if the device is just a slim book shaped object. In the early days I actually preferred not to take my Vita with me, because bad stuff tends to happen to things in my baggage. 

 

This has all the paraphernalia you need to bring, controller bits and so on. I'd say it's not comparable to a tablet. If the counter argument is that bringing that other stuff is optional then why does it all exist?

 

The other thing is, I maybe have a weird approach to my games consoles, but I kind of value them and prefer to know they are safe at home. Legacy of a deprived childhood maybe. This is selling itself as a main console, so I would feel differently about taking it out and about than I do with a tablet. It's just a state of mind but I bet I'm not alone in having that hang-up.

 

If they had just made this a Nintendo tablet, I think it would remove a lot of the cognitive dissonance. And why didn't they? An iPad can output to a TV with a tiny adapter. Why the need for that huge docking station?

[Mr. Gerbik]

11 minutes ago, Darwock said:

 An iPad can output to a TV with a tiny adapter. Why the need for that huge docking station?

Tremendous amount of horrible input lag and  a nasty drop in picture quality. You want console-level quality and not just 'acceptable for a mobile device your parents use' you need extra oomph in that set-up somewhere.

[Darwock]

I have used IPad VGA and HDMI adapters at work for several years, and I confess I've never noticed a drop in image quality. We're not showing HD movies or anything though.

 

I am sure their core concept could have been achieved a lot more elegantly than this hodgepodge of configurable bits. A tablet machine, discrete wireless controllers (that can be designed for comfort and don't have to be part of a jigsaw puzzle), a docking station disguised as a stand.

 

They would then be inviting comparison with Apple/Android devices though, and most likely coming up short. It seems a bit like Nintendo feel they have to create distraction through gimmicks.

[PaB]

I mainly use my Wii U on the game pad - So a continuation of this is a good thing for me. I'm not sure how much outside use it would get; I generally go somewhere for a reason. Of course maybe for jouneys it could have uses, but its not inside coat pocket sized like a 3DS, and I'm not sure I would be comfortable sticking it in a outside pocket like a kindle. Still , people use their iPad on trains etc all the time, so  maybe it will work for me in this regard.

 

I have no doubt about the hardware, it will be great it will work great and it will be beautifully engineered.

 

I have doubts whether I want to play WiiU games I already own on it, and I will never ever buy another Nintendo product at launch because they simply do not  have the games output and I don't buy Nintendo product  to play non Nintendo games.

 

 

12 minutes ago, sir shrew said:

 

The reason Wii U didn't sell wasn't due to limitations of the range of the gamepad.

Joe Public didn't want the gamepad.

And the console was too expensive because of it.

 

I think the Wii U abandoned the  thing that made Wii so popular with non gamers; waggle. and I think the Wii U name had a impact on sales with this market; I think that they confused a lot of people that had a Wii. By returning to a more traditional control method with Wii U, they effectively returned to the old market, and we already know the Nintendo market for traditional games in home console is not as big as it is for PS and Xbox.

 

I think that this will sell, in the long term, more like a Wii U, than a Wii, and I think it will not have massive third party support ; regardless of the publishers announced as supporting the machine, that soon dries up when they aren't selling multi million units.

[SpagMasterSwift]

14 hours ago, Harrisown said:

The whole thing looks dumb but cool.

Nobody is going to play this multiplayer in the back of car

[Lorfarius]

1 hour ago, Oz said:

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.

 

 

But there aren't VR headsets with Nintendo games on, emulators aside. Which is the point. You want their stuff.

[Harrisown]

Could this be nintendos last console then?

[gossi the dog]

I'm assuming it will be region locked, because Nintendo.

[stefcha]

49 minutes ago, sir shrew said:

The reason Wii U didn't sell wasn't due to limitations of the range of the gamepad.

Joe Public didn't want the gamepad.

And the console was too expensive because of it.

 

Switch is going to be technically inferior to PS1XBO but estimated to be just as expensive because of the tablet.

 

They're both attempts at portable functionality which bump up the cost of outdated hardware.

 

Fair enough (although the first couple of points are more than arguable), but that's something entirely different to the particular load of bollocks comparison you put forward that I was questioning. 

[David Kenny]

1 hour ago, Dudley said:

"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.

I didn't buy a Wii U because there are probably one or two games I'm interested in (I'm struggling to think of even one right now but I'm sure there were some), but if this plays them, as downloadable titles obviously, that makes it an even more attractive proposition. I'm buying one anyway because I struggle to get access to our TV, and this neatly solves that issue, but if it also saves me having to buy a Wii U at some point down the line so much the better.

[HarMGM]

36 minutes ago, gossi the dog said:

I'm assuming it will be region locked, because Nintendo.

Not so according to Emily Rogers (who leaked the entire design of the thing along with eurogamer). The Switch is going to be region free.

[smac]

3 hours ago, the_debaser said:

and it's got a cool name

 

Did you know that a 'Switch' is someone who can't decide if they're a dominant or a submissive in a BDSM relationship?

 

So 'Mario Switch' has ... connotations. Luigi's clearly a sub ...

[Oz]

59 minutes ago, Lorfarius said:

 

But there aren't VR headsets with Nintendo games on, emulators aside. Which is the point. You want their stuff.

yes but the point isn't that he wanted a Nintendo VR headset and did not get one. what was said is that he was "surprised they did not announce one" so.... seriously... what the flying fuck?

[dataDave]

They seem to be making a big deal out of it being able to be taken with you anywhere. If it's region locked that would be countering that massively.

 

I just want that new Mario on day one. Although deep down I reckon it will be delayed just like Galaxy was. It looked great in that reveal but also looked far from being done.

[Oz]

11 minutes ago, smac said:

 

Did you know that a 'Switch' is someone who can't decide if they're a dominant or a submissive in a BDSM relationship?

 

So 'Mario Switch' has ... connotations. Luigi's clearly a sub ...

I think we can agree that as Nintendo fans we are all subs.

[Down by Law]

Poll should have been ' will you switch on or off'

[smac]

9 minutes ago, Oz said:

I think we can agree that as Nintendo fans we are all subs.

[womblingfree]

Did people saying the mini controllers look shit miss the perfectly fine looking controller you can use when it's plugged into a TV, and presumably when you're out and about too.

 

For me the WiiU has the best exclusives of any console this gen, it's just that bugger all people have played them. Ported over Mario Kart, Mario 3D and Smash Bros would be enough for me to get this day one, let alone a new Zelda.

 

Much as I loved the WiiU's games, it just made no sense to have an oversized, un-portable controller constantly plugged in, turned on and lying around.

 

Switch makes sense.

[Vin]

1 hour ago, Darwock said:

My opinion:

 

I am totally bemused by the whole reaction. Do people really care that they are able to take it out with them when they leave the house? My current experience of this concept is with crossplay titles on the PS3/4/Vita, but generally I'll find that I want to keep my games to play them on the big screen/best format, rather than burn through them on the portable just because I can.

 

The whole "play anywhere" narrative is an odd beast I've struggled to get my head around. The way it's been adopted and pushed feels oddly forced. 

[the_debaser]

15 minutes ago, smac said:

 

Did you know that a 'Switch' is someone who can't decide if they're a dominant or a submissive in a BDSM relationship?

 

So 'Mario Switch' has ... connotations. Luigi's clearly a sub ...

 

No I did not know that because I'm not a deviant 

[PaB]

10 minutes ago, the_debaser said:

 

No I did not know that because I'm not a deviant 

Deviant

[Chooch]

Mario can't be delayed without having a release date first!  Just because it's in that video doesnt mean it'll be there at launch.

[scottcr]

The whole 'I only ever play games when sat in front of the big telly' is a strange concept for me to grasp.  I take my handheld(s) with me most places I go... especially on business trips.  It's the only way I managed to finish Xenoblade.  With a family, I don't get hundreds of hours to sit in front of a telly and finish a big game...  I'd have 100%ed the Witcher 3 by now, and probably finished GTA V as well if I could have played it on the telly in the evenings, or taken it with me, played it on the couch upstaris, played it on the train on the way too and from work.. taken it away for a week with me while I'm away on business.  

 

I *really* don't like gaming on my phone.  I can just about do it on the ipad for the right type of game... (banner saga, for example, works well on an ipad - but still selecting units is unecessarily fiddly).

 

 

[DeFiBkIlLeR]

Total garbage TBH.

 

If I wanted a Nintendo branded Nvidia Shield, I would have bought an Nvidia Shield and stuck a Nintendo badge on it.

 

However, I never wanted an Nvidia Shield and after this unveiling I know I'll never want one of these.

 

I know the Nintendo army will defend it and the company to their dying breath, but in the overall scheme of things you lot won't keep Nintendo in the hardware business so long as they keep releasing underpowered non entities like this that will quickly be forgotten by everyone outside the loyal Nintendo clique.

 

Pretty certain this will be as big a failure as the WiiU and will be Nintendo's last home console launch, the sooner they go software only the better.

 

Yeah,yeah I know...negs incoming.

 

 

 

[scottcr]

*sigh*

 

 

[rgraves]

18 minutes ago, DeFiBkIlLeR said:

I know the Nintendo army will defend it and the company to their dying breath, but in the overall scheme of things you lot won't keep Nintendo in the hardware business so long as they keep releasing underpowered non entities like this that will quickly be forgotten by everyone outside the loyal Nintendo clique.

 

Pretty certain this will be as big a failure as the WiiU and will be Nintendo's last home console launch, the sooner they go software only the better.

I honestly don't think the 'Nintendo Army' are anywhere near as radical as the 'Nintendo Attack Force' right now.

 

Honestly, most positive stuff in this thread is people saying it has potential, they can see a use for it etc. The negative stuff is generally so much more extreme and almost bitter.

 

It's games people - why on earth get so wound up that you'd rather see a company struggle than do something that doesn't exactly match your own very personal requirements.