Nintendo Switch

Nintendo's new console, codenamed NX, has been officially revealed as the Switch.

Thoughts?

 

Does it play Wii U games? If so, we know who's selling their Wii U.

 

it doesn't appear to have a disc drive, so enjoy paying for downloadable versions of titles you already owned again

 

Finally someone invents the console/handheld hybrid. I've been waiting for this to happen for over a decade.

 

yeah i was skeptical at first, what with it looking like "the wii u except not retarded" but that actually looks hella cool
only gripe is backwards compatibility is completely gone and that's actually pretty huge unless they allow you to do some shit with your nintendo account

 

Once the 3DS line begins the process of being phased out, which I assume will be moderately soon after the Switch is released, we'll finally not have to buy both a handheld and traditional Nintendo device. Plus Skyrim, and that's really all I wanted from Nintendo.

 

I hadn't really been following the NX rumors, but I really do like the decisions the company made in revealing the Switch. A nice, succinct, marketable name with all sorts of cheesy tagline possibilities (complete with a logo that fits in like 5 ways), a portability concept that seems both funkadelic and actually useful (even for stay-at-home folk, because playing Breath of the Wild or Skyrim in bed sounds kinda lovely), and a trailer that appeals to things Nintendo's downplayed for a few generations: being a grown person just playing video games with friends or on your own.

There'll be future details that make an impact, especially the price (because no one seems to want anything above $300 for reasons my economically weak mind doesn't know), but this is quite a nice start for the system that shows some awareness of what didn't really work with the Wii U.

 

This actually looks rather hype, enough to maybe even get me interested in standalone consoles again. I mean I'd probably wait until a later iteration with a decent backlog (or even full DS/other handheld integration oho) but I approve of the direction it's taking for sure.

 

The concept is fascinating, remarkable, and honestly extremely exciting.

My problem is that the execution will likely be disappointing. The only kind of "portable console to main console" connection I've ever even heard of was the PS3's ability to link up with PSPs and PS Vitas, but that was extremely dysfunctional and you couldn't even use it to play games. NOTHING like this has been done on this scale before, and honestly I don't think that the processing power could possibly be strong enough to run the console portion of the device on the handheld portion of the device without a serious drop in performance, especially at the ranges that they were claiming the system could operate at.

Additionally, I feel like the system will be... well, fragile isn't the word for it, but there's too much going on. Too many minute little details and parts, especially with the multiple click-together connections, that could easily break. There are just way too many accessories and I'm wondering what would happen if you lost one of those small side-controllers that go on the tablet-looking part, which if you used this in public like the advertisement suggests you could, is entirely plausible.

I'm also wondering how much of the console comes as standard and how much is sold separately. The commercial shows two controllers, one being a more traditional looking one and the other being the tablet with the mini-controllers. I'm sure the tablet comes in the box (if it doesn't, then there would be some serious problems) but what about that controller? What about additional mini-controllers for four player games, (since each individual mini-controller can separate from the tablet and act as its own controller)?

And that brings up the final concern - price. How much would getting the full kit-and-caboodle cost for this console? It's truly next-gen, and it has the potential to be ridiculously powerful. So will the average person be left out like they will be with PlayStation VR? Or will it be as affordable as previous Nintendo consoles? Speaking of consoles, is this the end of the Nintendo DS era? Or will a new DS release anyway?

 

From what I can tell the portable console *is* the home console - the dock just lets you charge it and easily connect it to a TV. So that's how they are probably dealing with that. And if you lose your controllers, that's not really anybody's fault but your own. You could say you'd lose your ds games too, they're smaller, but you probably will look after them because otherwise you can't play your games.

 

I really love the fact that the games are going to look weird at stores since they are cartridges now. A couple of concerns of mine are the battery life and whether or not the screen is touchscreen. For the battery life, I don't know that much about it besides the fact that it appears to have a fan exhaust, which means that the battery can get hot (Which means it will probably be good for performance and quality, but not for battery life, per say). However, Nintendo has said that in order to decrease the strain on the battery, the console will have a display of 720p when in portable mode, and 1080p when connected to the TV. As, for the touchscreen, it seems like a given that the Switch will sport a touchscreen, but my concern on it is whether it is capacitive or resistive. The Wii U Gamepad (And the 3DS) have a resistive touchscreen, which allows styluses to be run across its screen. Capacitive is what the Switch should have (Smartphone screens are like this), meaning more precision for those Mario Maker levels you'll be definitely making in the future, either with an enhanced port or a sequel.

Other than these concerns, I think the Switch will do great, and I definitely look forward to it in March.

 

the games are going to look weird at stores since they are cartridges now.

As a vita owner I very much disagree that this will be a given.

 

From what I can tell the portable console *is* the home console - the dock just lets you charge it and easily connect it to a TV. So that's how they are probably dealing with that. And if you lose your controllers, that's not really anybody's fault but your own. You could say you'd lose your ds games too, they're smaller, but you probably will look after them because otherwise you can't play your games.

Well then, this is probably going to be the single most powerful portable console ever then. It seems rather impractical for a portable console though - from the looks of it, it's a tablet with a giant slab on the back that makes it much, MUCH bulkier than a tablet.

Another thing I might add, I don't like how they're making their products look more and more like tablets and other i-devices, I like the aesthetic of a uniquely designed console. The Wii had a very distinct design that makes you say "Yeah, I know that's a Nintendo product" as does the DS. But this looks like it could've been made by any old company that sells smart devices.

 

The nitendo switch looks promising,its sad that i cant get it though.

 

The only reason I'm gonna want it is for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 

It looks pretty much what I had hoped, as I previously stated. Finally a system to play both Skyrim and 1st party nintendo games. Just the fact alone that Skyrim is on a mobile console is enough to make me buy it, and I'm sure many others feel that way as well. I think 3rd party support will still be limited, since big publishers are always wary about a console that isn't guaranteed to sell (although I feel the Switch will do well, it's still a risk for Nintendo and 3rd parties.)

I'm not someone who really worries about battery life because I'm rarely away from a charger for more than a couple hours. If it's as good as the 3DS or even the Wii U tablet controller I'm fine, but I can see why that can be an issue for some people. The thing I've wondered the most is if it has a touchscreen. "Yes" would seem to be the obvious answer, considering all their mobile consoles for the past 12 years have had one, but it was never shown in the teaser. I think it would be a very good decision to include a touchscreen because it allows it to be used more easily as a multimedia device, plus the fact that there are so many great Wii U games requiring one that could be ported to the Switch.

 

What do you guys think of the Switch after some time has passed? I really like it, but I have to admit I was pretty sceptical this time last year.