Nintendo NX finally revealed as Nintendo Switch

What are your current thoughts? I personally think the concept is fantastic and the system itself looks highly attractive. Its like they basically took Wii U's concept of playing anywhere from the TV and expanded and improved upon it 10 fold. I also like the name, it feels pretty catchy and has a nice ring to it

It also looks like it will support Unity which is also a plus

 

Cool, Unity is on their partners list:
http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/first-look-at-nintendos-new-home-gaming-system

 

The Nintendo Homeboy seems okay. I'm more impressed with VR.

 

Yeah sounds pretty rad

 

It is a cool idea if it can perform well enough to play some modern titles. I actually like that they chose not to chase after the VR trend, since VR hides players in their own private bubble. This new Nintendo device looks like it will actually get a lot more people interested in gaming. The original console gaming let people gather in living rooms to play together. This new device does that plus makes it easy to take that experience anywhere. This new device is very on brand for Nintendo.

 

Bethesda too. That better explains the release of a remastered Skyrim.

 

Full list of announced partners so far

• 505 Games

• Activision Publishing, Inc.

• ARC SYSTEM WORKS Co., Ltd.

• ATLUS CO., LTD.

• Audiokinetic Inc.

• Autodesk, Inc.

• BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.

• Bethesda

• CAPCOM CO., LTD.

• Codemasters®

• CRI Middleware Co., Ltd.

• DeNA Co., Ltd.

• Electronic Arts

• Epic Games Inc.

• Firelight Technologies

• FromSoftware, Inc.

• Frozenbyte

• GameTrust

• GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC．

• Gungho Online Entertainment, Inc.

• HAMSTER Corporation

• Havok

• INTI CREATES CO., LTD.

• KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.

• Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.

• LEVEL-5 Inc.

• Marvelous Inc.

• Maximum Games, LLC

• Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.

• Parity Bit Inc.

• PlatinumGames Inc.

• RAD Game Tools, Inc.

• RecoChoku Co., Ltd.

• SEGA Games Co., Ltd.

• Silicon Studio Corporation

• Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.

• SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

• Starbreeze Studios

• Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

• Telltale Games

• THQ Nordic

• Tokyo RPG Factory Co., Ltd.

• TT Games

• UBISOFT

• Ubitus Inc.

• Unity Technologies, Inc.

• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

• Web Technology Corp

 

If it can run something like Skyrim remastered then it must be farily capable. From what I have read the system uses Nvida's Tegra architecture rather than AMD like past Nintendo systems. Apparently the system uses a custom API specially designed for the Switch as well

https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/10/20/nintendo-switch/

 

For being gimmicky as S***, this at least looks like they stopped forcing their games to be gimmicky as S***. It even seems like they realize their bread is buttered by the core market.

 

The local multiplayer controllers look tiny and limited - but I'll hold off judgement until release. I begrudgingly bought a Wii and passed on the WiiU. Hope Nintendo becomes relevant again - to my household.

 

Cool, looks like at least part of the trailer was filmed in Vancouver.

 

I fully expect them to utilize the formal remote for local multiplayer as well. It's just more convenient to pull off the side remotes to share when outside.

 

Yes, it sounds like you'll be able to pair other remotes to this thing. You won't be limited to the two little slide-thingies that it comes with. It would be nice if they made it possible for third parties to allow their controllers to be paired as well. I have an 8bitdo that would go perfectly with this thing. It's likely using Bluetooth for the wireless pairing, both the Wii and Wii U used that.

That said, it's kind of cool that it will allow two-player play right out of the box. While using those tiny controllers isn't exactly optimal, it is very easy to get a basic one-on-one pickup game going. There are a lot of simpler arcade titles that would work really well with that sort of thing. Let's see someone get a Metal Slug or Metal Slug-like game on this thing.

 

I'm reminded of Dominos pizza boxes.. coincidence I think not.. looks like Nintendo advertisers took the board meetings with Reggie while eating a certain brands Pizza and they probably had conversations about maybe bailing out of the gaming industry and getting into the fast food industry instead.

I think Dominos should sue.. well just wait a bit, this logo exposure could be good for business, let Nintendo do all the advertising first

Interestingly enough Reggie did marketing for Pizza Hut in his early days lol

 

Oh cool they invented a tablet that can use joypads and connect to a tv! So unique
The best thing out of this news is that we will finally get a push for local multiplayer for Android too, cause with Unity it's going to be easy to port, so we will have the same experience on regular phone and tablets without the need to purchase the console WIN

 

I like it!!

Switch's OS is going to be based on Android??

Another thing that the video doesn't say is, is it going to be touch screen?

 

No I don't think so, probably based on linux. There is no reason for them to use Android since they want a closed ecosystem.
App developed with Unity for it, will be easily ported to Android and iOS, so it will be the final nail in the coffin in my opinion for consoles once Android TVs became more mainstream.
I bought an Android TV few weeks ago and I was amazed at how close they are to a real console experience, if only google would make a joypad a requirement(maybe something like the wii, not that useless thing of Apple TV) for TV manufacturer it would be a breakthrough.

 

Considering how often people are shown only holding a controller and without that screen in reach, I'm guessing no.

 

One of the BSDs wouldn't be a bad choice and the license wouldn't require them to share source either.

 

And will there be a gyro/accelerometer in the device? Camera?

If these features exist, it would put the Switch in a more direct competition with the mobile market- And I think that's kind of the opposite of what nintendo is doing here- they are kind of putting all their chips in one basket here since they won't be dividing their market into a mobile and console. That means they don't have a 3DS to rely on to carry them through console slumps. They don't want to have to compete directly with anybody on this one. So by losing mobile "gimmicks", they keep the things on the "premium mobile gaming experience" side. Not to mention having a more exclusive library- no need to worry about low quality f2p games with this mobile experience.

I'm wondering if that basketball game clip is showing us a networked game between two separate devices with four players, or two separate games of two players each. I mean, they're certainly close enough to be connected via bluetooth. I doubt it (who needs Local Networks with wifi and high speed internet?), but I do like the idea of bringing LAN parties back.

 

Unreal too.

 

Just heard the news, totally in love with the idea behind the Switch and really like the design. Now how do we start developing for this bad boy, common Unity we need an update. The Nintendo Dev Port still only shows WiiU and 3DS. Cant wait to make games for this thing, so excited

 

And it's powered by Tegra...

 

So what?

 

That's going to be a special kind of hell to develop for. You will require games that support multiple, dramatically different screen resolutions. Multiple widely different controllers. Possibly even different hard ware specs, depending on what was actually in the cradle.

Still, its Nintendo. They have pulled off crazier things in the past. And they do seem to be able to capture a wider market then any of the other consoles have been able to hit.

In all it's a bold move, attempting to compete with mobile devices and gaming consoles in a single device. No matter what else you say about it, they have guts.

 

There's nothing in the dock aside from an extra set of fans.

 

I just now realized I don't see a disc drive! Who knew that we'd go back to cartridges? The quick clip of the thing being loaded makes it look super tiny and easily lose-able... like dogs and children under 3 are sure to choke on it. However, maybe they keep the bulk of the game online and the physical media is more a ticket to download & anti-piracy measure than anything. Wouldn't be a big deal I guess.

 

That's cool. Might not be a big issue there.

The whole thing looks easy to loose pieces of. I can see my kids loosing half a controller or destroying the clips.

 

Unless Nintendo chooses an unusual screen for the handheld the resolution will likely be 720p or 1080p. After all screens for those resolutions (or rough approximates like 1280 by 800) are commonly manufactured and televisions are made to scale them well.

 

As opposed to.... development for what?

 

True enough.

It is rare for a platform to require a 4 inch screen and a 40 inch screen in one product.

 

This looks pretty cool. Makes me think of the PS Vita, and I love my Vita.

Sure, but the type of games shown being played on it don't actually need different GUIs for those screen sizes. If you measure the screen size as an angle instead of in inches then 4 inches at arms length and 40 inches at living room distance aren't that different, and if the design accounts for use of gamepads to navigate (so that you don't need to cover part of the screen with your hand, even if that's an option) then that doesn't change either.

Of course it does, it has to. How else could you do anything with it?

If you give them a chance there's probably some news coming. In fact, I'm pretty sure I got a thing from Unity in my Facebook feed saying that this will be available as a target platform.

 

Either you have very short arms or a very long living room.

It's the top most post right now. No time frames though.

https://www.facebook.com/unity3d/

 

Imagine making games for this badboy. I hope they have a indie developers program.

 

No real news, pretty much what we already knew from the rumours.

As a gamer, yuck, seems like Nintendo embraces Mobile gaming more and more. An anemic mobile SoC, which is about 2-4x slower than even the PS4 Old/Slim, and up to 3x slower than the XBox One (depending on IF the GPU part of the SoC has doubled in power compared to the X1 or not).
The whole "Tiny screen, weird controllers" thing is there. Yes, the screen seems to be more reasonably sized than the usual phone sized screen, and at least there ARE physical controls.

But compared to a 50" TV, and a real controller this is a clear step back (And yes I am aware that you CAN connect the thing to the TV and you CAN get a Pro Controller).

Sure, the mobility is nice, and BECAUSE of the anemic SoC you can hope for at least reasonable battery life (I would guess 4 hours, maybe 6. Could be 10, but that would be a stretch given the Nvidia SoCs were never known for their battery life).
Sure, the controller swapping and stand is clever. Still I had to chuckle about the video. Who in this world cannot break away from playing Zelda to go for a walk with his dog? Not even mentioning continue to play with a way smaller screen and more cramped control, sitting on an uncomfortable bench in the park instead of, you know, just getting his dog out there and entertained, and getting home as fast as possible to continue his play session on his TV at the best possible expierience! Fits the current generation of people glued to their phones I guess... yet will these guys pick up a NX/Switch, given they are already busy with their phones?


In the end, what remains is yet another underpowered TV Console from Nintendo that cannot decide what exactly it is, and tries way to hard to be innovative.
I could see this thing having some value as a 3DS replacement, but then it is larger, and the price has to be seen. As a mobile gaming console, it could be good... Given you get at least 5 hours of playtime out of that SoC. Which is also to be seen.

Some Problems I can see instantly:

• Too slow for current games at Full HD: even the PS4 Slim/Old struggles with 1080p/60Hz for modern games. No way a console with half or even a quarter of the power to even reliably hit 1080p/30Hz or 720p/60Hz. Not without serious compromises, Smoke and Mirrors... which could do the job, but again means more work for devs.
  
• Uncomfortable standart controller: I think we know by now what an ergonomic controller is. its not the squarish thing that you get as a default controller with this new Nintendo thing. So serious players will have to chuck in at least 50 bucks more for the real controller. Not a biggy, still something to keep in mind
• Mobile play most probably gimped: Even if you are happy with the power of the mobile SoC on the TV... keep in mind that the gameplay might be severly hampered when going mobile. And I am not talking about ergonomics, or short battery life alone. The SoC might clock down to get to a reasonable battery life. Which means the power might be cut in half again. Then I read "HD Screen"... which most probably means 720p. Not a biggie in my book, might still catch some people off guard.
• nonstandart APIs: seems like Nintendo does it again. Custom APIs developed by Nvidida for the Switch. Combine this with a non-x86 mobile SoC, and you can start to guess how happy thirdparty developers are with the new offering from Nintendo. Just after Sony and MS finally moved to x86 for their consoles, and MS even started using DX as graphics API, Nintendo has to come up with some weird custom solution again, making porting games to it more of a hassle than it needed to be. If it is as bad as with the PS3 remains to be seen, but you can guess WHY Nvidia had to come up with a custom API. Devs will be hard pressed to squeeze EVERY ounce of power out of that SoC to get their games running at even 30Hz.
• Nintendo: yeah, when talking about thirdparty devs, Nintendo in itself is the problem. Lets see if they for once were able to swallow their pride and started treating their "partners" as... partners.

I really hope Nintendo can keep afloat. And given the price of the switch is considerably below 300$, and games are 50$ and below, and there is a good selection of good firstparty titles, I might still buy this mobile SoC thingy...
After all, I have a ton of retro consoles I still play games from the 90's on. The weak power of the console, and the most probably gimped graphics do not hinder me from enjoying a new Zelda, given it is good from a gameplay perspective.
I don't think I will ever use the console mobile, so for me its really just an underpowered console with useless innovations tacked on that just cost extra.
A "Nintendo Tax" I pay to get access to their firstparty titles even though I already have a powerful Steam PC and at some point most probably a PS4 Pro hooked to my TV.

Still, lets hope its not their next Wii U.

 

You just described mobile development. Nothing new here
At least on the Switch you have:
1-Known aspect ratio
2-Known and limited type of joypads.
3-A single GPU with just two profile to support you can easily test both.

All luxuries you don't have with mobile.

 

Nintendo targets a different demographic. Competiting for the same demographic that Microsoft and Sony target would likely be too difficult and would be completely ignoring those who have too active a lifestyle to spend a great deal of time in front of a television.

I've wanted to pick up a Nintendo console for a while and this might be it for me. Between the flagship games they always have with their console and support for Skyrim and other possible Bethesda titles in a mobile format it's very tempting.

End of the day the people who want high end games with good resolutions and refresh rates won't be on a console. They'll be on a desktop or laptop with dedicated graphics (the 1060/70/80 GPUs for laptops are almost identical to the desktop models).

 

This. Nintendo hasn't properly targeted the core gaming market since the core market since the N64. And they have done incredibally well off of non core gaming.

I don't see this one doing well. But then again I wouldn't have predicted the Wii's massive success either.

 

Not *that* rare. See Android (phones) and Android TV. A lot of games support both. And in addition, on phones you have to support touch, while on TV you have to support controllers.

(EDIT: Also, afaik, the Nintendo Switch screen is like 6+inches)

 

We don't even know which of the Tegra range they are using, the top ones (and the about to be launched new one) are not "anemic". Also you do realise NVidia have just put their desktop class GPU's in laptops right? With hugely improved battery lives? Also who mentioned a 4" screen? Did I miss something? That looks closer to a 6-7" screen to me!

One thing I agree on is price of games. The Mobile market (and dare I say it Steam) has changed the expectations of the market in that regard, the price *has* to come down. Even for me, shopping for a new version of PES or FIFA and I refuse to pay the PS4/XBone prices.

 

Now you play your first party nintendo game at your house or at the bar, or at the bus stop with good controllers (or at least better then touch controls which suck rocks).

 

1) Its a mobile SoC... the X1 had a GPU Power of 512 GFlops, max. When thetered to the power outlet, most probably. AFAIK that SoC never got built into a mobile device, so we don't know how much the GPU would clock down when untethered.

The new Tegra, if there is one, might as well double that number. Its still anemic. The XBox One which is anemic by 2016 standarts would still beat the GPU power of that theoretical Tegra by 20-30%...

Now, doubling the GPU power is NOT so simple, even IF they have gone with Pascal and 16nm for the new Tegra. And going above that would mean a bigger SoC, which isn't out of question of course (going by the PS4 / XBOne SoC being "kind of" two Jaguar APUs tacked together).... but that would make the battery life take a big hit.

Meanwhile, not even the PS4 Old/Slim is really powerful enough for 1080p/60Hz for MODERN games.... which in 2016 is the minimum power I would expect of a TV console.

2) The Desktop GPUs in laptops are just that... slimmed down, tweaked desktop GPUs with selected GPUs. Their TDP is like madness. Which is why you will NOT get that power on the move (at least for Maxwell mobile parts the driver would about half the GPU power on the move... wouldn't expect the Pascal drivers to do anything less severe given the hefty TDP of mobile GPUs like the 1070, or 1080).

Granted, getting desktop grade power thetered and still usable GPU power on the move is not bad. But we are talking about GPUs with about 4-8 times the CUDA Core count than this SoC has (depending on if they double the core count for a theoretical new Pascal based Tegra, or leave it at 256). We are talking about MXM GPUs that are about as big (with the cooling) as this Nintendo Console.
You really want to compare an MXM GPU That hardly fits into 15.6" laptops and needs beefy 17" laptops to get enough air to not clock down with a mobile SoC built into a glorified tablet?

3) Since when is 7" or 8" a big screen? Wat? When did we get so used to hold our screens one inch from our eyes that 7" counts as "big"?
Now, I am not saying that I want to lug around a 15" gaming device as a handheld (though 10-12" sounds about right for a serious handheld console for serious players, hint hint Nintendo... how about Switch XL?)...

But compared to gaming on the sofa on a 65", that Screen is still laughable. Especially when Nintendo wants to push this ridicolous "social gaming on the move aspect".... 10" would have been the minimum for that to feel comfortable.

And again, BECAUSE this thing is so undecided on what it want to be is why I am even comparing the screen to 65" TVs. Unless you MUST be on the move and don't care about a smaller screen and cramped controls, why not leave your Zelda game at home and enjoy it at its best, while taking other games on the move that are NOT adapted for the big screen?

On the other hand, 720p on a bigger screen than 8" might have been making the mediocre graphics power of the thing even more obvious.


Look, I think it will make a fine Handheld. Given the price is right. Who cares if a handheld device cannot keep up with the current TV Consoles, as long as the battery life is right.
The TV console part is what I am not so sure about. Seems like Nintendo Fanboys will not care (given the firstparty games are usually good, cannot fault them for that), some people might feel the need for a 2-1 console. Most usual console people will either look for a handheld, see that it is the most powerful on the market and buy it based on that and price (given missing thirdparty support is not again gimping another Nintendo console), or will compare it to other TV Consoles as a fixed device, and will buy a PS4 Pro / Slim or XBox whatever instead (unless Nintendo undercuts the price of the other consoles by a big margin).

I can see it being a bigger success than that weird contraption that was the Wii U. But I think they will still be the distant third in the current trinity of game consoles, as long as they don't a) push the switch as a handheld or b) something extremly disruptive is still unknown, like a 199$ pricepoint, a Tegra SoC that is powered by magic and fairy dust and way more powerful than anyone suspects, or Nintendo for once is not a total dick to thirdparty devs (yeah right )

Granted, trying to compete with Sony and MS might be suicidal. But then, Nintendo still has those firstparty titles, so it can always one-up the other consoles.
Of course, having said that, I don't think a Mario Party game will ever need as much Oomph! as the newest CoD, so for that purpose this mobile SoC might be perfectly fine.

I am just a little bit concerned that this console might yet again struggle to get considerable thirdparty support, given that you will struggle to port games optimized for PC or more powerful consoles to the console, and the 2 in 1 nature of the console might ask for a different UI or even gameplay concept altogether.
If Nintendo does not up its game when it comes to woeing thirdparty devs, they might run again into the chicken and egg problem of the Wii U when it comes to thirdparty support. And how well Nintendo games alone can support a console we have seen with the Wii U....

And then there is the question is this new "demographic" actually exists. Do mobile yongsters that are constantly on the move want such a rather chunky handheld instead of just using their phones? Do they actually WANT to play a Basketball Game while being at the Basketball field?
I have my doubts at least the demographic portrayed in the vid actually exists. It might fill the needs of other demographics, but the video from Nintendo was cringeworthy if you ask me.


True, consoles haven't been powerhouses for a long time. But we start seeing consoles that are finally true "Full HD Game Consoles" thanks to the PS4 Pro and the XBox Scorpio. IF they really attract the powerhungry, but PC Part illiterate Gamers that see a prebuilt PC with the same power as a PS4 Pro costing 800$+ and thinking of the new console iterations as good deals, has to be seen. But at least they are there now. And I for one feel more tempted by a PS4 Pro than the Nintendo Switch, given I get to finally see exclusives that I cannot get on Steam and actually interests me on both of them.

Mario Kart is dead to me since they dropped the battle mode, other Mario games do not interest me, and I am not sure if the new Style of Zelda really is for me.

Well, a Metroid game that harks back to the good old days of Super Metroid might sway my opinion. Until then, I will have my eyes on Horizon: Zero Dawn and the PS4 Pro (Please don't make this game suck like so many other AAA failures of lately! )

 

So in short: "Nintendo releases bulky tablet, includes controllers". What a yawner.

 

I've been waiting for a reason to buy a Nintendo console since the Wii, but this isn't it. If it was the same price as the Wii, it might be worth it, but you know it'll be minimum $300/£250. I wouldn't pay more than £199.

 

Surprised no one has mentioned the Nvidia Shield, when I saw this that is first thing that popped in my mind. It's not a new idea, we'll see how it does I guess. I would be much more interested in it if it played Steam games.

 

This! Nintendo has always had difficulty loosening its grip to be in utter/complete control of all content on there systems. Would love to see a more robust indie program that is setup for those - other than the 30 man indie teams.
And I question the requirements to 'port' any game available on other consoles and PC to this unique system. Hope it isn't similar to the half-assed attempts to port console/pc games onto wii, though I fear Nintendo didn't learn from those mistakes.

I believe the goal of that part of the video was to sell - game at home or on the go - it's the same experience regardless of where your at. Although I also found it humorous.

Honestly - Nintendo's first party titles haven't been interesting in 2 console generations. It might be my age - or desire to see new fresh content, but Mario = old worn out hat. Galaxy, World, Soccer, Kart, even (blasphemy) Smash Bros - there all retreads of the same games that we already played before with a couple new features and better graphics. I haven't had any desire to play any one of those games beyond the first 30 minutes of checking it out. IMO all Mario titles are tiring and rehashed.
Link/Zelda does look fun so far, but they have to bring something new to the table. Metroid - after the last game I'm guessing we won't see a new one for 3+ years.

Would love to see some new - non-Mario IP coming from Nintendo that doesn't pander to the 'family friendly' label.

 

I agree that some of the examples in Nintendo's video do not seem realistic. For example, most dog owners are not going to continue playing a video game while taking their dog to the park. But I do think the video shows the core feature set well enough to entice the real potential users. The main ones I can see are people who would like to take their video game to the bathroom and kids that got kicked out of the living room by their parents. Those two use cases will be far more common, but would not have played as well in the video.

I do like the core message in the video, though, which is that the on the go feature can translate into amazing social gaming experiences for groups. I doubt too many people will bring it to a basketball court to play a basketball game on it, but many people will take their favorite games to places with lots of other people and that will be cool.

As for why people will choose this over just using their phones, it will come down to the game controllers. Some games simply don't work well on a touch screen, yet play great with game controllers.

 

Some questions I have for Nintendo so far:
1) Will indie developers be welcome on this platform?
2) Will there be digital distribution, or only the physical cartridge?
3) Is the cartridge a standard flash memory card, or is it a custom ROM card?
4) When will dev kits be available?
5) Will indie developers be able to get dev kits?
6) What is the relative performance of the device? (which existing console is it most comparable to performance wise)

 

Here are a couple links about it:
https://mynintendonews.com/2016/10/...-cortex-a57-4gb-ram-32gb-storage-multi-touch/
https://www.wired.com/2016/10/nintendo-switch-everything-we-know/