I wonder if it can do augmentation games like Pokemon GO...because that was a great tech demo that showed what is possible and the interest in it. This thing will then be in a space all by itself, more gaming capable than other mobile devices, and no competition from MS/Sony who are pushing 4K/VR first.

I'm going to name this the pinnacle point at which Nintendo stopped making consoles.

It'll be dubbed, "The Nintendo Ditch" in the years to come.

Verno wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 13:08:

PHJF wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 12:52:
Advertising a new console launch with old games?

But look, it's got Zelda, too!

Yep, what's the issue? It hasn't been released yet and people want it.

Zelda looked like it ran at about 12fps undocked so clearly the dock has some sort of processor/GPU built in.

Interesting concept but I need more info to make up my mind.

The dock doesn't have to have a processor/GPU built in it. If.... big IF here but IF Nintendo was smart the whole console is the tablet itself. When its un-docked it goes into a slower speed state to conserve battery consumption.

From the looks of it, this will be a high end tablet with TV dock and controllers.

Interesting concept but not sure how well it will fly. As you mentioned need more information on this.

"Battery life also tends to be on the high side."
Ha ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha. LOL! ROFL!
On my Wii, that I barely used, I was constantly replacing the batteries. So much so that I got rechargeable batteries that I was constantly charging and changing half way through a gaming session. This combined with another person talking about always having to have the tablet of the WiiU plugged in makes me think this will be as much of a disaster in design.

Then I see all the people with the handhelds with massive external batteries to try make it so they can just play while they are in transit.

Fortunately I was able to sell off my Wii at a reasonable price, but for what was supposed to be a cheap console, I payed more for it than my PS3 and I was a fairly early adopter of the PS3.

Bumpy wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 13:17:
Hmmm...connect a bluetooth gamepad to your phone or tablet and you, for the most part, get the same thing.

Or am I missing something obvious?

And play what? The processing power might be there but the games aren't.

Jivaro wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 14:39:
Ballsy move Nintendo. Doubling down on "we don't compete with the other consoles because we are so different from them".

Like Apple for phones and computers.

I don't know guys and gals.
I thought cell phones and tablets won the portable entertaining war a while ago.
They just need a better streaming-to-tv vehicle.

Me? I'm happy to play on my PC or to stream Steam games in my living room when I want to use a joypad.

Anyway... Good luck big N.

jdreyer wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 14:30:
Pretty sure it's the latter. No one is going to want to carry around yet another device. I don't see anywhere that this can connect to the internet. Does it replicate other tablet functions? Is the screen multitouch? People will expect these things. And cartridges???

I'd be shocked if the tablet didn't have wi-fi connectivity. I would similarly be shocked if the tablet was not multi-touch although that functionality wasn't demoed so who knows. As for cartridges, I generally appreciate it when mobile devices have a flash card slot. Maybe you prefer the baked in capacity of an iPad?

Look I don't know if this thing will be worth getting or not. But I can say that basically everyone in my peer group of 30-something non-gamers is buzzing about it, just like they were buzzing about Pokemon Go. I can easily see this system being a thing, or it could be another Wii U. The fact that it's not a PS4 and likely has less powerful hardware is not what's going to kill it though. The seamless transition, or not, between use cases and ease of use being equally compelling in all use cases is.

The Half Elf wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 13:52:
And Nintendo's first party games are generally pretty good..... there isn't enough content for a gamer who grew up with Nintendo to keep going back for 1 or 2 games.

Sure there will be. They are effectively merging the 3DS and Wii U lines. This will mean more content and opens up stuff like Pokemon to the living room space. It is a really big deal in terms of their ability to iterate on content and will stop this split focus problem they've been having. It will also make it easier on third parties to do cut down games on their platform since many are already dipping their feet into mobile and reduce the pressure to compete with PC/PS4/etc at the high end.

This lets them keep the mobile crowd, however large or small it is and still retain some relevance in the living room. It's a really smart bet and they will get a lot of mobile ports for the touchscreen crowd to boot. They can also produce content for their platform and backport to other mobile devices.

Ballsy move Nintendo. Doubling down on "we don't compete with the other consoles because we are so different from them". Let's see if they get a "Wii" reception or a "Wii U" reception this time around...

jdreyer wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 14:30:

Scottish Martial Arts wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 12:43:

SirKnight wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 12:15:

The Half Elf wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 12:04:
Looks like yet another underpowered console (that finally gets Skyrim, and does it get mods?).

Dear Nintendo.
Keep your mobile gaming market. Kill off your consoles and start making your awesome IP's for other systems/pc's.

*wonders how long before a kid looses the controllers*

Raw horsepower isn't everything. Sometimes you have to scale the power back a little to bring up other areas. This is obvious by what Nintendo is trying to do with the Switch. It's also obvious with cars where what good is 1000HP if you can't hook up? You'll end up getting beat by someone with <= 500HP.

The Switch looks incredible in every way and I will be pre-ordering this ASAP.

Indeed. This won't appeal to the Bluesnews crowd, but it does seem very nicely targeted to how most casual gamers -- which is basically everyone in their teens, twenties, and thirties -- play games these days. And from a hardware design standpoint, the seamless transition between different usage modes is very, very cool. Whether it's effective at making gaming wherever seamless, or just a gimmick, remains to be seen though.

Pretty sure it's the latter. No one is going to want to carry around yet another device. I don't see anywhere that this can connect to the internet. Does it replicate other tablet functions? Is the screen multitouch? People will expect these things. And cartridges??? The '80s called, wants its tech back. And those minicontrollers are unuseable.

It's interesting that this video is pitching this to adults, when children are much more the target audience. Hard to imagine adults shelling out for this for their kids though, when a tablet offers gaming and so much more functionality for much less money.

Don't get me wrong: it's cool tech. It's just completely impractical.

Agreed on most, though I think too much heat is being put on the cartridges, or rather as they should be called, a cheap flash drive w/ proprietary connector. Give me flash over a disc any day of the week.

El Pit wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 13:42:
Nintendo's Switch is gonna make you its.. Hm... Rhyming isn't one of my strengths. John Romero, could you lend a hand?

Well played.

Bumpy wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 13:17:
Hmmm...connect a bluetooth gamepad to your phone or tablet and you, for the most part, get the same thing.

Or am I missing something obvious?

And with a tablet you can surf the internet. And watch movies. And take pictures. And post on Blues News!

Scottish Martial Arts wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 12:43:

SirKnight wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 12:15:

The Half Elf wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 12:04:
Looks like yet another underpowered console (that finally gets Skyrim, and does it get mods?).

Dear Nintendo.
Keep your mobile gaming market. Kill off your consoles and start making your awesome IP's for other systems/pc's.

*wonders how long before a kid looses the controllers*

Raw horsepower isn't everything. Sometimes you have to scale the power back a little to bring up other areas. This is obvious by what Nintendo is trying to do with the Switch. It's also obvious with cars where what good is 1000HP if you can't hook up? You'll end up getting beat by someone with <= 500HP.

The Switch looks incredible in every way and I will be pre-ordering this ASAP.

Indeed. This won't appeal to the Bluesnews crowd, but it does seem very nicely targeted to how most casual gamers -- which is basically everyone in their teens, twenties, and thirties -- play games these days. And from a hardware design standpoint, the seamless transition between different usage modes is very, very cool. Whether it's effective at making gaming wherever seamless, or just a gimmick, remains to be seen though.

Pretty sure it's the latter. No one is going to want to carry around yet another device. I don't see anywhere that this can connect to the internet. Does it replicate other tablet functions? Is the screen multitouch? People will expect these things. And cartridges??? The '80s called, wants its tech back. And those minicontrollers are unuseable.

It's interesting that this video is pitching this to adults, when children are much more the target audience. Hard to imagine adults shelling out for this for their kids though, when a tablet offers gaming and so much more functionality for much less money.

Don't get me wrong: it's cool tech. It's just completely impractical.

Nintendo systems tend to be designed to be very durable so not too concerned about contacts wearing out. Battery life also tends to be on the high side. But after what happened with WiiU it makes no sense to be a early adopter.

There was one improvement mentioned elsewhere that does make a lot of sense. If this thing is a hybrid portable/console then it might mean they no longer have two platforms to deal with anymore. All their dev teams can focus on one system and every game can be played by everyone. That's a pretty major improvement. the WiiU library was anemic, but if it also had the 3DS's library?

So let's see:

Constant wear on contacts between base and those paddle things ("Contact corrosion, wear, and fatigue? What the fuck is that?" asked Nintendo's engineering department)
Small parts that are going to be easily lost or broken
Extremely unlikely to be competitive with either the Xbox or the Playstation (Did you see those Skyrim visuals? They're on par with the Xbox 360 version)
The cognitive dissonance that people who actually go to parties and pick up basketball games want to suddenly all stand around squinting at a screen the size of Note or similarly sized phablet
Battery life that will be measured in the low to middle single digit hour range
A kickstand that looks about as robust as a toothpick holding up a boulder

The Half Elf wrote on Oct 20, 2016, 13:52:
Ok so lets go back to say the NES... you had your hits (and amazing 3rd party games). Same with SNES N64, and started off strong for the GameCube, and some decent games for the Wii and Wii U.
I bought a Gamecube just for Wind Waker, played it and returned or sold the system (can't remember which). Wii and Wii U have about 2 or 3 games I would play on the system and then let it sit and collect dust.
Nintendo consoles (especially the Wii) were great for young kids, elderly and party games. But both my nephews (yeah my awesome demographic) loved the sports games on the Wii (bowling to out of the park baseball), but Daddy has a PS3 360 and a PS4, and now they are totally into the sports/driving games on the big boy consoles because they are more closer to the sports they play (they are 7 and 11 and into soccer, baseball, basketball).

And Nintendo's first party games are generally pretty good..... there isn't enough content for a gamer who grew up with Nintendo to keep going back for 1 or 2 games. And no matter how badly Nintendo is trying to market this to 20-30 somethings on the go (or that horrible e-sports part at the end), adults will stick with a tablet, smart phone or laptop. Why would I want to carry around another device, especially one with detachable parts (and you thought loosing a 3DS stylus was bad)?
They are creating a market that's half-way between mobile 3DS and full blown console like the big boys but not hitting the mark.

Exactly what I was thinking.

This system doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. It actually pisses me off, I see controllers that will break, the half controllers for playing with your friends will be hand cramped and limited buttons for a dumb down version of full controls.

What they needed to do was make a generic console with the same specs much like the PS4 or Xbone with backwards compatibility and better online part systems. Support for video codecs and that would pretty much secure you as the new super power release dwith a mario/zelda/metroid.

Ok so lets go back to say the NES... you had your hits (and amazing 3rd party games). Same with SNES N64, and started off strong for the GameCube, and some decent games for the Wii and Wii U.
I bought a Gamecube just for Wind Waker, played it and returned or sold the system (can't remember which). Wii and Wii U have about 2 or 3 games I would play on the system and then let it sit and collect dust.
Nintendo consoles (especially the Wii) were great for young kids, elderly and party games. But both my nephews (yeah my awesome demographic) loved the sports games on the Wii (bowling to out of the park baseball), but Daddy has a PS3 360 and a PS4, and now they are totally into the sports/driving games on the big boy consoles because they are more closer to the sports they play (they are 7 and 11 and into soccer, baseball, basketball).

And Nintendo's first party games are generally pretty good..... there isn't enough content for a gamer who grew up with Nintendo to keep going back for 1 or 2 games. And no matter how badly Nintendo is trying to market this to 20-30 somethings on the go (or that horrible e-sports part at the end), adults will stick with a tablet, smart phone or laptop. Why would I want to carry around another device, especially one with detachable parts (and you thought loosing a 3DS stylus was bad)?
They are creating a market that's half-way between mobile 3DS and full blown console like the big boys but not hitting the mark.

I dunno, this tech geek thinks it looks pretty fucking sweet. I'm wondering about backwards compatibility, though... Video shows loading a cartridge into the tablet, but I'm really hoping the base station takes Wii(-U) discs.

Nintendo's Switch is gonna make you its.. Hm... Rhyming isn't one of my strengths. John Romero, could you lend a hand?

Depending on how well the new Zelda runs on it, the system specs, and battery life, his may be a day 1 purchase for me. I'm guessing it's probably the same specs as the WiiU, judging from the size.. but we'll see.