The Nintendo Switch Thread

[Quom]

23 minutes ago, Pizza said:

I still don't get the "I want a PS4 that plays Mario!" approach to Nintendo consoles.I could get wanting Nintendo became a 100% software company, but I don't want 3 consoles that do almost exactly the same thing with a small handful of exclusives instead of two. If they're going to make hardware, I want it to be different from the PS4 or XB1. Everybody already has one of those.

I think it costs them value wise. Most consoles have big annual releases from other publishers. Everyone might not love CoD, BF, AC, sports games etc. But the fact is a lot of people do and that's part of them purchasing a console.

Nowadays with young parents playing just as many games as kids I think it has become an issue. Especially when Sony has R&C and other games that are appropriate for children as well as first party exclusives (and 3rd party that never pop up on Nintendo). From a brand appearance thing, you walk into a video game store and look at new releases for each console and the games section in general. Nintendo has like 1/3 the footprint of the other consoles for Wii U. 

The question has become 'is it worth picking up a Nintendo as a second console' or 'Hmm looking for a new console, Nintendo's machine is 2/3 the price but has less games and I won't get any of the cross platform games that go to all the other consoles and PC but I love Mario/Zelda/Smash Bros.'

I don't know if that's a sustainable business model (which Nintendo seemingly agrees with since they've obviously reengaged other publishers.

[Gabriel]

I'm not sold on it yet, but it's a cool concept. I'm in the boat of wanting a Nintendo console that is a no-frills gaming machine, but I do like the idea of being able to take my game on the bus with me to work, or if I'm just being a dick and taking it with me to someone's house. I just don't have a lot of faith that things will be different. I joke that the Wii-U is really just a $330 Mario Machine, but it's become increasingly true over the years for a company that once had such wide selection in games. It feels like each Nintendo console since the n64 has had less games than its predecessor.

If they can put out a good game every month... keep the library fresh... keep the blood pumping... and the console doesn't have any major issues... I think this can work. I don't think that the idea is bad in any way, and I want to see it succeed, but as someone who grew up with Nintendo from the NES era, when big blocky white VHS cases were how you spotted your Disney fare, I just don't have any more faith in them to give me something that feels like it's worth my investment.

I am most definitely pre-ordering this though. If I don't like what I hear closer to release, I can always cancel it. It's always nice to be able to go out for dinner or see a movie because you collected cancelled pre-order money. It's a good consolation prize for the disappointment.

[RPS]

7 hours ago, Gabriel said:

If they can put out a good game every month... keep the library fresh... keep the blood pumping... and the console doesn't have any major issues... I think this can work. I don't think that the idea is bad in any way, and I want to see it succeed, but as someone who grew up with Nintendo from the NES era, when big blocky white VHS cases were how you spotted your Disney fare, I just don't have any more faith in them to give me something that feels like it's worth my investment.

 

With Nintendo merging handheld and home consoles, that presumably means you'll have all your studios and third parties making games for one piece of hardware, so presumably you'll be getting a lot more Nintendo/third party software on that one console as opposed to splitting between both of them. Right now if I want to play a Fire Emblem AND Splatoon, I gotta buy two pieces of hardware. Presumably, now I just have to buy the Nintendo Switch to get both. I mean, that is if Nintendo is ditching the 3DS and the WiiU, which I assume they are doing. I mean, at least we know for certain the WiiU is ditched, but is the 3DS dead? 

 

[apsham]

I don't know - I would like to see what's going on there for sure. I'm a huge 3DS gamer and if my digital purchases could be played on Switch I'd be really happy but the upscaling would be something that I would predict as unacceptable to Nintendo. The screen might be considered 'too big' to toss away the 3DS entirely as well.. some people like me just aren't going to want to travel out and about with a piece of hardware that can be 3 to 4 times the price of my 3DS.

What I saw suggested that I would really like to see is a subscription service that allows you access to NES, SNES, etc titles - I think that would be a key turn around point to the console. People are going CRAZY for the NES Classic with my local EB getting more calls about it than when the PS4/XB1 were coming out.

[Bobfoc]

Nintendo has a history of continuing its support for previous handhelds for a little while after their successors are released, so it wouldn't surprise me if the 3DS had a bit of life left in it. I do see Pokemon Sun and Moon being the last really major first-party games of the 3DS cycle, but I could imagine some of the more moderately popular titles staying there for a year or two.

[TheWho87]

 

[Schlitzbrille]

So far, eyeing this as a "first few weeks" purchase. What it could do with is a wrestling game or two.....OHMIGOD SOMEONE GET IN CONTACT WITH SERIOUS PARODY

[Skummy]

I think the biggest problem it will have won't be competing with the PS4 and X-Box One, it will be competing with other mobile devices - the appeal of playing games like Syrim on the go will serve it will in the short-term, but it needs something to make it stand out amongst other tablets and mobiles to win over the "casual" crowd that made the Wii and the DS such a massive success.

[Avenged Probably]

It looks fun. I will probably buy this.

[Pizza]

I think having an actual physical controller makes a huge difference over a tablet or a smartphone for gaming. I don't know what the functionality is beyond gaming, but if it can do music and video and Web browsing it could be a good replacement for a standard touch screen tablet.

[Bobfoc]

The lack of buttons on most smartphones and tablets is what puts me off buying one to play games on, and that's why I like dedicated handhelds. It looks as though the Switch won't have touchscreen functionality or gyroscopic controls, instead using just the buttons or detachable controllers for gameplay. For all the talk about gimmicks, this actually looks to be the most standard, no-frills games console Nintendo has made since the Gamecube. Whether or not it catches on remains to be seen, though, and the point about enticing over the more "casual" players to accompany the Nintendo die-hards, who can't carry the system all by themselves, is a good one.

[Quom]

It also depends on the cost of the bits and bobs and if they've finally settled on a controller. It's one of the main reasons why I gave up on the Wii U: you need the wiimote and nunchuck for this one, just a wiimote for that one, you can also use the pro controller for that one, but not a GC with adapter controller. It was just too much crap to have lying around all the time.

[MDK]

20 hours ago, Quom said:

It also depends on the cost of the bits and bobs and if they've finally settled on a controller. It's one of the main reasons why I gave up on the Wii U: you need the wiimote and nunchuck for this one, just a wiimote for that one, you can also use the pro controller for that one, but not a GC with adapter controller. It was just too much crap to have lying around all the time.

A good thing about the Wii is that you can use the Wiimote and the Wiibar (Wiibar? The thing you put on top of your tele) if you have an emulator on your PC. Its all Bluetooth and USB.

[Cactus Drags]

I can just see there being a gajillion different controller attachments by the end of its lifespan. 

 

I'm intrigued so far, it's not day one for me, but it looks pretty cool. One thing they need to clarify for me is how multiplayer works with half a controller, how do I fully control something as complex as as NBA 2k when I only have half the button inputs available? 

[Bobfoc]

It wouldn't surprise me if only certain games work with the half-controller setup, at least moving forward beyond the initial launch window. Otherwise, I think it would be a last resort for most players, especially with something as complex as NBA 2k.

[King Ellis]

I mean, NHL does have the whole '94/95 control thing. I guess they could make an equivalent in NBA...