Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

http://www.nintendo.com/switch

by ocdtrekkie • 10 years ago

942 539 10 years ago

revjx4• 10 years ago

I'm quite excited by this. The video was a bit lengthy but it demonstrated the concept quite well.

Glimpses of Mario, what appeared to be Skyrim, too - more third party support this time perhaps?

I'm most interested to see the price and the spec of the machine. Xbox One and PS4 seem to have become more homogenised in terms of architecture than the last generation of consoles (PS3 was especially weird), if the Switch follows suit it would hopefully encourage more third party support. Assuming the power is there.

qwertyuiop92419• 10 years ago

I doubt they'll homogenize quite as much: Nintendo has always done their own thing, which is both their greatest strength and their biggest weakness.

As for price, I'd expect it to undercut the competition, but also to be less technically capable: That's usually how they play it.

stormbrew• 10 years ago

The game he's playing at the beginning is the new Zelda, which is kind of Skyrim-esque, if that's what you're talking about.

Edit: oops, watched it again and yep skyrim is also in there. Sorry.

gagege• 10 years ago

Pretty sure revjx was talking about the first-person sword wielding game.

cfj• 10 years ago

Skyrim (possibly the Skyrim Special Edition remastered version) was also shown in the video.

jamstruth• 10 years ago

Its not running x86 like the PS4 and XBone that's for sure.

Its apparently running a Tegra chip[1]. Exact specs... well we can only guess at this point. So its more similar to an Android tablet than the other consoles.

So the hardware is more standard but its still not the same standard as the other boxes. That could hurt 3rd party adoption.

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

marrone12• 10 years ago

It did look like they had NBA2k as well, which has an iphone/android port. Maybe the game developers are planning on porting their mobile version of the games onto the Wii instead of the platform versions?

slantyyz9• 10 years ago

> So the hardware is more standard but its still not the same standard as the other boxes.

That could be a double edged sword. I think Nintendo doing a "me-too" console that is like the PS4/XBone/Steam would hurt them more than it helps them. And as it is, Steam already offers a portability element if you've got a decent laptop with a discrete GPU.

> That could hurt 3rd party adoption.

At this point, I think Nintendo is going to struggle no matter what they do. They're in third place and unless Nintendo can make it worthwhile for 3rd parties with huge hardware sales, it's not going to be pretty.

sushiwarrior• 10 years ago

So the hardware is more standard but its still not the same standard as the other boxes. That could hurt 3rd party adoption.

If Nintendo is smart, they will find a way to let console devs leverage the power of Nvidia's libraries like GameWorks which may actually be a huge boon to 3rd party adoption. But that all depends on what kind of OS and stack they choose to go with, and whether they consider developer effort an issue. If it's going to fit a different use-case with mobile and docked performance profiles, it may be difficult to port games to it with AMD hardware anyways.

pimeys4• 10 years ago

Their stock price also went up over one billion today.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/10/20/13344202/nintendo-nx-share...

theDoug• 10 years ago

Close concept, but it's important to know that market cap is different than stock price!

pimeys4• 10 years ago

Some day I learn how to write a comment before submitting :) Nice catch.

eriknstr• 10 years ago

Yeah Nintendo seem to be doing pretty well I'd say. I don't know how they compare to Sony or Microsoft, but I have no doubt that Nintendo will keep producing video game consoles well into the future. (And I think Sony will as well. Probably Microsoft too.)

eganist• 10 years ago

https://youtu.be/f5uik5fgIaI

Direct link to the trailer video

ianai4• 10 years ago

Only way I could get it on hotel wifi (bad connection). Thanks!

6stringmerc5• 10 years ago

Very clever. Anchor for home, and again trying for the mobile area where their creativity really worked (3DS). I'll be curious in the system specs and the decisions they made - such as having that apparent card slot. Hooray for the headphone jack.

I'll never understand the marketing motivation to show a bunch of people getting together for a social gathering and togetherness, then cram together to watch / play on something with a screen the size of a hardback novel.

qwertyuiop92419• 10 years ago

We usually all bring our own. ;-D.

But I'm glad Nintendo doesn't seem to be giving up local MP: It's the best part of having a console, and dropping it is a REALLY BAD IDEA.

pimeys4• 10 years ago

I still have fond memories when we gathered together after school with friends to play some Mario Kart or Smash Bros. It's still damn fun!

emehrkay• 10 years ago

I recently watched a long video for a Kirby game for DS and not only was it like 8 games in one, it was setup so that one person could have a physical copy, but four people could play on their own DS'. Amazing in the age of micro transactions.

throwaway18922• 10 years ago

Also if a game does not have local multiplayer, people who want to play together will buy more than one game. At least I think it's the rationale behind this decision.

Also local split-screen multiplayer is harder to do since you have to do two (or more) graphic rendering at the same time, so dropping it allow the dev to spend more time on the rest of the game.

wmeredith• 10 years ago

Yeah, the two people playing Mario Kart split screen on that thing was laughable.

hprotagonist• 10 years ago

with half a controller each, too.

scrabble2• 10 years ago

It's brilliant. I have kids, and I could definitely see it coming places like the car where the kids are able to play together, or where I am able to play with the kids.

TulliusCicero2• 10 years ago

I've used the Wii U Gamepad to play multiplayer games in the car with my son (you don't need a monitor at all). Yeah it's a bit of a tight squeeze, but still fun.

sergiotapia2• 10 years ago

I'm a parent - I think it's brilliant and probably the #1 usage the console is going to get!

Bahamut• 10 years ago

This looks amazing - nice form factor for easy use on the go (demonstrated in many ways in the video, including on airplanes), but still letting you have a classic game experience. It shows smart usage of now standard wireless tech and highly portable & fast storage.

It's amazing how slow game consoles change minus beefed up computing capabilities, and while Nintendo has had some hit or misses, this shift looks like a vastly superior improvement over the initial ideas brought forth by the Wii U.

nol13• 10 years ago

Agree, my first reaction is, "I want one."

KaoruAoiShiho• 10 years ago

dharma14• 10 years ago

probably the same X1 SoC as Nvidia Shield? Or a new X2?

Thought AMD would be their supplier before, but I don't think they have any mobile chips

revjx4• 10 years ago

It says a custom Tegra, I'd be very interested to find out more about the specifics though.

technologia2• 10 years ago

Its the X2, its supposed to be one of the first major releases for it. I hope that means we can start to order Jetson X2 modules in the near future

r-w7• 10 years ago

Thought AMD would be their supplier before, but I don't think they have any mobile chips

What about the A[n] series? Not sure whether those include GPUs.

emdowling2• 10 years ago

It is so reassuring to see Nintendo create a modern gaming machine that doesn't try to be a living room hub or an iPad competitor. Going entirely by the video alone, every single design decision has been made with a clear focus on gaming. The simple docking action for transitioning it to the TV, the versatility and portability of the controllers, the reasonable size, etc all combine to make this (again, judging entirely from the video) a focused, confident release that finally embraces the changing way people play games.

Besides an original Gameboy (which I loved), I've never owned a Nintendo console. After seeing this trailer, it is an instant buy for me in March.

The only thing I want to know more about is the online store. From what I understand, Nintendo's eStore has a lot of shortcomings in a lot of weird areas. I hope they address those. I have an Xbox One and about 25 games, all of which were purchased digitally. I'm not sure I could go back to physical versions of games.

revjx4• 10 years ago

The Nintendo Shop on the Wii U is reasonable, actually. It's fairly easy to use, discoverability is decent. It's pretty basic but it's (in my opinion) their best attempt yet.

Assuming they build on what they've learn from that, I'd hope the store for this system will be even better.

My most-wanted feature for the shop is for them to stop forcing me to buy the 'classics' on every bloody Nintendo system I buy! I must own Super Mario World 3 or 4 times by now.

(Obviously they're not actually forcing me, but it would be good to have cross-platform pass for that kind of content)

TulliusCicero2• 10 years ago

The Wii U shop isn't completely awful, but it's pretty bad. Both the 3DS and Wii U shops suffer from two major problems:

1. They're slow.

2. There are far too many screens/taps necessary to do things.

Loading each new screen seems to take at least a few seconds, and there are way too many of them. I'd estimate you could remove like half the screens in the 3DS shop purchase flow through better UX design. Just compare how long it takes to buy something on either system to how long it takes on Android or iOS.

edit: oh yeah and downloading takes large games takes a REALLY long time. I downloaded the new Sonic game for my 3DS the other day on the guest wifi at a Google office and it took like 3 or 4 hours. It definitely wasn't the wifi that was the constraining factor, speed testing on my phone showed it at like 200 mbps.

ocdtrekkie5• 10 years ago

I think that's a big part of why Nintendo still has purchases tied to devices. As a way to push people to buy the same content over again. They don't push out new digital content fast enough to keep the income flow up if they aren't getting you to repurchase things.

blakeyrat5• 10 years ago

It has a bad UI.

But the real killer is: games are still tied to hardware, not user account. Which means, if your console dies, you lose all your purchases. (Unless that's changed VERY recently.)

If you're used to the Xbox store like the grandparent, going to the Nintendo Shop is like stepping back in time a decade.

vlunkr4• 10 years ago

And the thing about the virtual console games is that after you've bought them 3 or 4 times from Nintendo, piracy starts to look real appealing.

tiglionabbit• 10 years ago

The worst part of buying stuff on the Wii U shop is that you can't store it on a tiny SD card. You have to plug in a full external hard drive. This seems like a pretty obvious thing for them to fix in this iteration.

voltagex_• 10 years ago

I've heard you can't transfer games from console to console - no word on backwards compatibility yet but I must have some eShop titles from ages ago.

i_am_viet2• 10 years ago

Correct me if I am wrong. I believe eshop purchases are still tied to the system and not the account. This makes transferring of content more of a hassle than it needs to be. You'll need to do a system transfer of the games if you want to maintain your library.

ocdtrekkie5• 10 years ago

AFAIK, that is still how it works as of the Wii U. And yeah, there's awful processes for if say, your device dies, and you need to recover your digital purchases.

emdowling2• 10 years ago

This is exactly what I'm concerned about. It seems ridiculous. Not sure if it's enough to be a deal breaker, but it seems so backwards especially as they control the whole platform.

jakebasile6• 10 years ago

Yes. If you can't have both systems available at the same time and location you need to call in to have your account transferred. This requires you to answer some questions about the account such as what games do you own and when did you buy them. Then they take a few days to get around to unlocking your account. It's awful and easily the most user hostile of the modern gaming platforms' stores.

jguimont• 10 years ago

The video/gallery shows a gamecard and gamecard plug. Maybe there is no estore.

squarf• 10 years ago

The Wii, DSi, 3DS and Wii U all had both physical media and downloadable software. There were e-shop exclusives for all of those systems from mini-games to obscure games that were localized from JP and were too niche for a physical release.

jakebasile6• 10 years ago

That's far from likely. Not having digital purchases would be a terrible decision for a gaming system. The slot will be there to allow the choice to buy physical media, and to placate brick and mortar game stores.

msbarnett2• 10 years ago

Every current system, and the last several Nintendo systems, have had physical media and digital purchase options. That the system accepts physical media tells us nothing.

creshal• 10 years ago

The only thing I want to know more about is the online store. From what I understand, Nintendo's eStore has a lot of shortcomings in a lot of weird areas.

Haven't run into any as a casual user – Nintendo managed to make the purchase workflow easy even on a 3DS, which is impressive.

Guest981232• 10 years ago

Is the Nintendo Switch much different than the below; connecting a gamepad to your existing mobile phone, or streaming your phone to your TV?

http://i.imgur.com/DlUMgxb.png

The Switch might offer some advantages now, but it's not going to take long before mobile phones offer similar graphics, and gamepad experiences. At that point, what's the advantage of buying a Switch, when the phone in your pocket does all of the same things, and more?

I think Switch will sell enough to be profitable, but Nintendo is going to be squeezed out of the hardware market. They can't compete with Playstation and Xbox for the console market. They can't compete with Steam on the PC and laptop market. They'll also lose the mobile market to the iPhone, and Pixels of the future.

Personally, I think Nintendo should move away from hardware and focus on game development. Imagine Mario, Mario Kart, Pokemon, Metroid, Zelda, Smash Bros, and Kirby games distributed on Playstation, Xbox, Steam, iPhones, and Android. That's a huge market waiting for them.

slantyyz9• 10 years ago

> it's not going to take long before mobile phones offer similar graphics, and gamepad experiences.

But they already do now. The only problem, albeit a big one, with gamepad experiences is the constantly changing form factors of phones over time.

> At that point, what's the advantage of buying a Switch, when the phone in your pocket does all of the same things, and more?

It's not about the hardware, it's about the software. And in Nintendo's case, it's about having the latest and greatest first party Nintendo games. Which, with few exceptions, are not available on other platforms. The bottom line, enough people are still willing to pay for proprietary hardware to play Nintendo's games.

noxToken• 10 years ago

You could make the same argument about having an Xbox when Microsoft already deals with computers. Why have a separate console when you can have a PC that does the same and then some?

Nintendo's first party IPs are partially what keeps it alive. Think about it. Mario and Mario Kart have more or less been the same for generations, yet people (including myself) keep coming back for more.

Also, the Wii marked a decided family-friendly focus for Nintendo. Everyone complains about Nintendo's online ecosystem being so abysmal. This is rightfully so. If you look at it from the perspective of a parent with children, it's basically the perfect platform. Aside from their IPs, Nintendo consoles don't offer much for older gamers that Sony and Microsoft does way better. However, Nintendo consoles do get tons of games that are child- and family-oriented.

derefr• 10 years ago

Is the Nintendo Switch much different than the below[...]

Yes: Nintendo's offering allows for "couch co-op" and/or "party games"—that is, local multiplayer. It's Nintendo's bailiwick, and always has been. Every feature in that video (each device supporting two players; ad-hoc pairing of N devices to get 2N players) is about local multiplayer.

Phone hardware is generic; you can force it into a gaming mould, but it won't support gaming experiences out-of-the-box in a way that a gaming console does. And because of that, devs will make single-player or online-multiplayer games for phones (for the people who care to specialize their devices themselves), but no devs will bother making local-multiplayer games for phones (because that assumes everyone in your friend group has bought into the same specialized peripherals.) This is why the Ouya failed: it assumed the Android ecosystem had local-multiplayer titles, or that devs would build one once offered a TV "target." It doesn't, and they won't.

Apple does want into the local-multiplayer space (they're working toward it with paired iOS+tvOS apps) but as I said, iOS devs just aren't interested; meanwhile, Nintendo consoles have Nintendo developing first-party "flagship" local-multiplayer titles to prop them up, and to encourage and provide a role-model for third-party devs who want to do the same.

Personally, I think Nintendo should move away from hardware and focus on game development.

The other thing Nintendo is "about", in the modern era, is developer lock-in. You buy Nintendo consoles mostly because of their exclusives. How do they achieve so many exclusives? By making them in-house, yes, but also by designing their consoles to do unique things, such that third-party devs will write games that exploit those unique console features... and then find themselves unable to make a sensible port to any other console. Every Nintendo console is designed with the idea in mind that "if it was a plain-and-simple PC, you could just enjoy the same game on another console, or on an emulator. So let's make it not just a PC."

The Wii's Wiimote is a pretty good example of this lock-in effect; but it was eventually cloned—by Microsoft and Sony both. (They never intended anyone to make games just for the Kinect or the Move; instead, their strategy was effectively just to cancel out Nintendo's de-facto exclusivity and encourage devs to make their "motion" games into cross-platform releases, rather than Just Dance et al remaining Nintendo-exclusive.)

But the best example is the DS. Make a game for two screens, with touch-interaction only on the bottom screen? it's going to just look plain silly if you do a direct port of that to iOS or Android. It's a "natural" barrier in the way of porting.

And keep in mind that [3]DS games still vastly outsell iOS games in the mobile gaming market. Nintendo's strategy works. They make mobile hardware specifically for gaming, and people buy it. And they make money on the hardware, not just the games!

The Switch, though, creates a second, higher rung to Nintendo's mobile strategy—like the iPad is to Apple's. This isn't a home console, it's a mobile console for people who want a high-def gameplay experience and local-multiplayer.

---

In Nintendo's previous generation, we saw Super Smash Bros 4 and Mario Kart: two titles that were developed in parallel for both the 3DS and the Wii U (a lot of work!) They did that work because the Wii U was "a thing attached to your TV", while the 3DS was "a portable thing", and they wanted people to be able to play in both contexts. Other games that would have been perfect for this setup (e.g. Splatoon, Pokken Tournament) were left behind.

Effectively, those were all just Switch games that were released before the Switch was ready for them. They'll play better as ports to the Switch than they played on either the Wii U or the 3DS.

mikeevans• 10 years ago

Biggest pain point for the Nintendo eShop? If you own a 3DS and a Wii U and want to own a Virtual Console game for both - you're stuck with buying it two times.

freehunter4• 10 years ago

I agree this should be fixed, I can play a game on either of my iPhones without having to re-buy it, but do any other consoles allow you to do this? If I bought a game on the PS Vita that was also on the PS4, could I play without re-purchasing?

Honest question, I don't know. Just wondering if Nintendo is continuing the trend or if they're still stuck in the past.

flukus6• 10 years ago

I've lost count of how many copies of the original LoZ I own.

FullMtlAlcoholc4• 10 years ago

What's wrong with being a living room hub? Since cutting the cord, my PS4 has been the ideal set top box and is the only device attached to my TV.

Blu Ray Player (that I never use), check. Plex client, check. DLNA client, check. Digital Optical Out, check. Netflix, Amazon Video check. Gaming machine, yup.

It completely removes the need for a HTPC.

vlunkr4• 10 years ago

There's nothing wrong with that. But this solves a different problem. You can't (easily) bring your ps4 set up on the bus with you.

tekklloneer• 10 years ago

When I moved, I didn't build a "living room hub". In fact, I don't have a TV. I find it much more gratifying to hang out on the couch with my 3DS nowadays in hour long bursts.

hbosch• 10 years ago

And it can even access the new-ish Playstation Vue (https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/), making the PS4 a relatively viable cable replacement box.

Splines• 10 years ago

Game consoles don't ship with TV remotes, and the remotes that you can buy are overly complicated affairs.

The WAF of using a controller to control video playback is low. We have a Roku 3 and it's far simpler to use than our 360 or PS4. Plus it's never "off". Side benefit is that I can remote play the PS4 when someone is using the Roku ;-).

The Switch could plausibly fill this gap, but I guarantee that those little controller thingies are going to get lost.

dpeterson• 10 years ago

Uh, this sounds like a paid advertisement.

Tiktaalik4• 10 years ago

It looks very promising. Nintendo's strengths are in portable and local coop play, and they've managed to create a new product that excels at both.

ericzawo• 10 years ago

This looks amazing, and the fact they got Skyrim in the trailer is a great promise of its graphical prowess. I just hope they take online gaming seriously this generation.

eropple12• 10 years ago

the fact they got Skyrim in the trailer is a great promise of its graphical prowess

Skyrim is a five-year-old game at this point. It's not exactly an indication of graphical horsepower.

norea-armozel4• 10 years ago

It's likely the Special Edition Skyrim release which uses Fallout 4's engine.

rtpg2• 10 years ago

it is for a portable device. This looks like a portable PS3, which is pretty excellent.

Unlike many others, I highly doubt this gets near PS4 performance. there are just too many reasons for it not to.

iamatworknow2• 10 years ago

Skyrim came out in 2011. I understand this is the "special edition" but that usually just means better textures, not a new engine. The recommended hardware requirements are not exactly cutting edge for the PC version of the remaster (i5 2400, 8 gigs ram, GTX 780).

jbmorgado6• 10 years ago

It's actually a new engine, the same one used in Fallout 4: https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/12/skyrim-hd-special-editio...

GrumpyYoungMan3• 10 years ago

One wonders how they managed to get Skyrim to fit onto a cartridge.

nlawalker2• 10 years ago

Skyrim is probably, what, 10GB roughly?

You can get 16GB micro SD cards (which are phsyically much smaller than the cartridges appear to be) on Amazon for $7, and double that size for about $10.

wodenokoto3• 10 years ago

The way the switch controller can be used as 1 full controller or two mini controllers is brilliant.

However, it looks as big as an iPad mini. So logging it around, I might actually want it to have tablet functions too.

Pxtl5• 10 years ago

Nintendo is always firmly in the gaming market - they're quite stubborn about it. I don't expect it will ever be useful as a general-purpose tablet other than supporting Netflix.

Hopefully as the technology develops in a couple of years we'll see a Switch Mini to take the place of the NDS, so at least it will be small-enough to lug around easily.

cableshaft3• 10 years ago

Maybe we'll get another Mario Paint, though. That's all you really need.

Pxtl5• 10 years ago

It's perfect. It was the obvious direction putting together the ideas that the Razer Edge and various snap-on-phone gamepads and the controllers of the Wii and the Wii-U implied, as well as Nintendo's attempts to create input-parity with the Wii-U and the DS by having them share the same "2 screens, one is touch" layout.

zelias• 10 years ago

Nintendo has been trying to blend mobile and console gaming since the Gamecube (anyone else remember the GBA link??). I think they've finally succeeded in a way that can make the transition between the two seamless.

In a space currently dominated by two nearly-identical competitors (XBONE and PS4), I think Nintendo has the opportunity to capture a large portion of the market.

slantyyz9• 10 years ago

I'm very intrigued by this console. I switched to Steam after the PS3 and thought I'd never get a TV based console again.

I really love the slide-in controllers.

A few things I hope for would be:

* Open specs for the slide-in controllers so that third parties can satisfy various niches (like the fighting game community)

* A standard USB-C or micro-USB charging port so that people can use their existing power banks/chargers

* A well implemented eStore (with purchases that aren't bound to a single device) with a huge back catalog of games from their older consoles

* Compatibility with Nintendo's older wireless controllers

ianai4• 10 years ago

What would be the business decision for them allowing cross device purchases? They might be selling the console at a loss for game revenue.

PrimHelios2• 10 years ago

Compatibility with Nintendo's older wireless controllers

Well, it looks like it uses bluetooth. If it uses a standard bluetooth stack, they might let other BT controllers (such as the PS4, Wii U Pro and Xbone) work with the system.

I really have a lot of high hopes for this, but I don't wanna get super excited without knowing any of the specs.

ianai4• 10 years ago

In my experience those customers have a windows/Mac fanboy style visceral reaction to Nintendo's "different" consoles.

monocasa6• 10 years ago

Even before that, they had the N64 Transfer Pak. And before that they had the SuperGameboy. They've been trying to blend mobile and console since they had both.

r-w7• 10 years ago

I wouldn't call that blending. That's just making it convenient to have both. What they're doing now is combining them into the same device.

city415• 10 years ago

And the Gameboy Player for the GameCube.

daodedickinson3• 10 years ago

Well, the Super Game Boy and the Transfer Pak were right along that continuum with the GBA link.

blakeyrat5• 10 years ago

The Xbone and PS4 can both play Skyrim and Fallout 4. Nothing Nintendo's put out can come close. Just sayin'.

Different people have different priorities when it comes to gaming.

touristtam2• 10 years ago

Yeah but then would you really restrict yourself to this kind of hardware?

rafaelvasco• 10 years ago

Well, Nintendo is all about Exclusives. The moment they change that they're doomed.

ben1744• 10 years ago

Not sure if you noticed in the Switch launch video, but that's Skyrim they're playing. It looks like Nintendo is putting some effort into third party this time, and they'll be the only "console" which allows you to play "console" third party games portably. Pretty significant advantage.

ihuman• 10 years ago

It looks like the Switch also has Skyrim, though.

jmkni2• 10 years ago

Sega did this before with the Dreamcast

Jamieee2• 10 years ago

Is this an upgrade for the 3DS, the Wii U or both? I was looking at picking up a couple of the new 3DS, doesn't seem worthwhile now.

bananicorn• 10 years ago

To me this seems like an entirely new console, actually. I wonder if this is the "Nintendo NX" they were talking about or if that was only the codename for this project...

Jamieee2• 10 years ago

So you don't see it as a replacement to either line? You think nintendo will continue to develop and maintain all three?

mratzloff3• 10 years ago

Yes, this is the NX.

mratzloff3• 10 years ago

Both. If you don't own a 3DS yet, you should buy one anyway; it's an incredible system with a huge catalog of great games.

nf05papsjfVbc2• 10 years ago

There's also a healthy market for second hand 3DS game cartridges. It helps that it is backward compatible and can play a bunch of games from older handhelds (for which the games are cheaper).

whostolemyhat• 10 years ago

Yeah I was wondering about this too - will the 3DS be carried on and essentially be the low-powered option?

jerf2• 10 years ago

Looking carefully at the cartridge when they slide it in (0:53 in the video), it looks to be perhaps twice as thick as the 3DS cart. But it would be very easy to make both go in the same slot, just make the new carts ever so slightly thinner. I can't see if the controllers have all the 3DS controls, but it looks like it's at least close. And a modern chip, with the option to be at least partially designed for the task, could easily either emulate or ship with hardware support for running the 3DS, which still is not that powerful in modern terms. Losing the 3D support is all but a non-issue in practice. I don't want to predict this is the case, but I see no major technical reason why this couldn't run 3DS games fully backwards compatibly.

The only thing I can't see is whether the screen is a touch screen, which would be necessary. Which may also preclude using 3DS games in TV mode. (Unless they do something weird with Wiimotes or something. But I'm not sure that would play well enough to be worth doing.)

If it's backwards compatible with both 3DS and the WiiU, and perhaps even the Wii, this thing will come out of the game with an absolutely killer lineup. ('Twould be a pity there would probably no way to port the physical disks that you already own across, though. The 3DS games would just slip in, so they'd have an ironic advantage over "real" Wii games.)

tvanantwerp• 10 years ago

Of the featured use cases, gaming on a plane is the only one that made a ton of sense to me. (Binging on Stardew Valley on a laptop during my last trip to China actually helped a lot with jet lag recovery.) The other featured cases, I'm not so sure. I definitely miss the days of my youth when my friends and I huddled around a TV split four ways. But I also don't see us returning to gaming together in person either. The most bizarre use case featured is for esports--I see no advantage to using the Nintendo Switch versus a more powerful console or PC in competitive gaming.

As a piece of hardware, this looks really cool and innovative. But I don't actually know if the product-market fit is there.

Raphmedia2• 10 years ago

But I also don't see us returning to gaming together in person either.

Really? I gather with friends to play Smash on a gamecube every two weeks or so. Bring a few beers, play some good music, pass the controllers around and it's lots of fun. I also co-op a lot with my girlfriend.

shuntress4• 10 years ago

I know theres something pleasant about the older smash games, but the new one is really just as much fun and supports 8-player matches. If you are already meeting >4 people bi-weekly get them to cough up some extra cash, or just buy cheaper beer for a few months and get yourselves a wiiu.

jerf2• 10 years ago

Despite the non-existence of children in that video, don't forget they still sell a lot stuff to children. My kids aren't old enough to be running around with 3DSs with all their friends yet, so I don't know how prevalent it is in practice. But if everyone who had a Wii could also that easily pick it up and cart it somewhere, that would be a huge network effect compared even to the 3DS. There is a very good chance this could become a Thing for that age group, and given how children are, it could simply become expected that you have a Switch.

Also... since no one else has mentioned it yet and it's not really worth its own comment... this is a wildly better name than "Wii". The Wii was a success, but I'd say in spite of the name.

r-w7• 10 years ago

Also... since no one else has mentioned it yet and it's not really worth its own comment... this is a wildly better name than "Wii". The Wii was a success, but I'd say in spite of the name.

Swiitch? ;)

tdb7893• 10 years ago

I vastly prefer gaming with people locally to doing it over the internet so there definitely is some market there for it but it remains to be seen how big it is

swasheck2• 10 years ago

rooftop patio party turns into ... huddled masses around a tiny gaming console? kinda unrealistic, imho. however, it's still quite innovative and i'll probably pick one up "for the kids." :)

norea-armozel4• 10 years ago

I read somewhere it seems the Switch won't be region locked which is very interesting. I wonder if Nintendo is cutting the initial 3rd party devs a deal on the new cartridges then (considering they'll likely be still more expensive than your standard Bluray DVD).

dogma11383• 10 years ago

Battery life on tegra devices is abysmal I'm really wondering if the guy can get from the gate to the plane without it running out if you run full 3D graphics games like those.

greenshackle23• 10 years ago

Yeah that's an excellent point. The Nvidia Shield (Tegra K1) can pull 15-20 watts while gaming. I can play hearthstone for like 3 hours when plugged in.

5V usb port at 2.1A = 10.5W = battery gets drained even when plugged in.

It has a 20Whr battery, if I'm at 90%, and I'm wary of draining it below 10%, that leaves me with 16Whr = an hour at most of gaming on battery alone, on a brand new full capacity battery.

dogma11383• 10 years ago

And Hearthstone isn't a demanding title, the streaming works fine but any of the "native" Tegra AAA 3D games kill the drain the device before you finish a level (30min~ and honestly even under that, some games are going to flat out at like 10).

Doesn't help that the device gets pretty darn hot also.

Portable gaming sounds fun until you remember that batteries suck, sure they've improved much but what improved is also the power management. 3D/Graphics are still a power hog, so you get a tiny package with almost no battery to speak off and a heating element all in one.

Hey but if you play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tt2kgames.... or somethig similar at least you know you can defer hypothermia by about 10-15 min if you are on batery :)

devonkim• 10 years ago

I guess they left out of the video that their backpacks, purses, and luggage are entirely filled with external and replacement batteries.

flukus6• 10 years ago

I'm guessing they won't be playing the "make it as thin as possible" game that tablet makers are. And it's a two handed device, so weight isn't as much an issue.

bergie• 10 years ago

My Pixel C tablet is powered by the Tegra X1 and has excellent battery life. With that and JuiceSSH I can easily get through a 10-12h hacking session.

bitwize2• 10 years ago

For a second I wondered, is Nintendo building network hardware now?

My worry here is that Nintendo may be making the same mistake that BlackBerry made: doubling down on hardware when they should be building out their app ecosystem on dominant mobile platforms.

That said, the Switch looks cool. Really freaking cool. I just wonder if it'll be enough.

xyzzy_plugh2• 10 years ago

Huh? BlackBerry's mistake was not embracing their weird hardware. They'd still be relevant if they doubled down on their hardware without trying to be a "me too" and embraced Android.

ben1744• 10 years ago

Maybe you missed the Super Mario Run announcement?

https://supermariorun.com

bitwize2• 10 years ago

Obviously playing second fiddle to the main series. It reuses assets from NSMBU, one of the least loved of the 2D series. It's a good early attempt on mobile from Nintendo, but they're clearly testing the waters still, not all in.

jmcdiesel2• 10 years ago

So instead of a portable screen/controller like the WiiU that's separate from the main machine - the main machine IS the portable part that could easily be dropped/broken, now? Or am I missing something?

Im failing to see how this design is superior to the Wii U's approach

scrabble2• 10 years ago

You can't take the Wii U tablet with you. It's not the core of the system. This allows Nintendo to combine their console and handheld divisions so that they can unify their focus and have a steady stream of software, even if third parties don't show up.

jmcdiesel2• 10 years ago

Ok, Fair enough... I guess I just looked at the size and didn't get to "mobile device" to take with you... so I just missed the point completely.. :)

cableshaft3• 10 years ago

Yep. They specifically mentioned the difficulty of keeping up with software for both consoles (which both have different architecture) this generation and that they weren't going to make that mistake again next generation. And clearly they aren't.

shuntress4• 10 years ago

The wiiu gamepad is only functional when it is within line of sight or about 15 feet of the home console. It isn't really portable. The advantage is that it can still be used while the TV is displaying something else.

Yes, this device would have more opportunity to suffer physical damage based on the nature of its design but I think that cost is easily justified.

joeax3• 10 years ago

I have 4 kids and they like to drop things. The very first thing I'm doing is buying a case for it.

astrostl• 10 years ago

My family has a Wii U, and it's connected to the only TV we really use in the house. The Wii U game pad permits pad-only play on some, but not all, games and doesn't have any capacity for multiplayer on it. I think this addresses the, "someone is taking over the TV" and, "take it outdoors" kind of use cases very nicely. Surprised they didn't play up the family aspect of it for that, but I guess that's an (only?) already-captured demographic.

mratzloff3• 10 years ago

If there's a "switch" here, it's Nintendo finally taking feedback from customers and third parties seriously.

Console with graphical power that rivals Xbox One and PS4. Check.

Industry-standard architecture and tooling (Unity), allowing third parties to flood in. Check.

Blends their successful portable division with their console division (this has been a common refrain for awhile now). Check.

They already addressed multiplayer, although they could go further with that.

This is going to be a major windfall for them.

Cyph0n6• 10 years ago

Not sure about that first one. We'll have to wait for the specs to release first.

jbmorgado6• 10 years ago

Well, it's coming 1.5 years late to the game, I hope the graphic power is at least on par with the original PS4.

gdulli• 10 years ago

Console with graphical power that rivals Xbox One and PS4. Check.

Where do you get this from? The specs haven't been released and they're showcasing some previous-gen games. I doubt this will have the processing power of the original Xbox One or PS4, let alone the souped-up versions of those consoles that are coming soon.

vegabook4• 10 years ago

yet to be fair, the very modest gamecube had some of the best franchises around (Metroid Prime a total classic), and even the PS2 did wonders on Shadow of the Colossus. It's almost as if, when the hardware is not supreme, creativity becomes more important?

deelowe• 10 years ago

Specs haven't been released, but nvidia has a press release claiming it is powered by a custom tegra processor: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/10/20/nintendo-switch/

It's probably safe to assume it will be a customized version the latest or an upcoming model. I believe this puts the system in the PS4/Xbone ballpark.

JackOverflow2• 10 years ago

I seriously doubt its going to be as powerful as Sony or Microsofts current consoles. Eurogamer did a decent anaylsis of a Tegra processor http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-ninten..., which should be similar to what nintendo are using in the Switch. I would assume Nintendo chose a processor that can give good battery life, rather than raw horsepower.

touristtam2• 10 years ago

See one of the comments: nVidia is providing the graphical hardware. https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/10/20/nintendo-switch/

ceronman• 10 years ago

I honestly don't care too much if the graphical power is not up to PS4 or XBox One. Probably doesn't because of the mobile capabilities. If there are great games it doesn't really matter if they are hyper realistic. We saw that with the Wii.

2muchcoffeeman• 10 years ago

Unfortunately developers care. I loved the Wii, but with very few serious games for it, I stopped playing it.

It's too bad, FPSes on the Wii with the motion controllers were so natural even with the tiny lag.

Pxtl5• 10 years ago

Realistically, I'm betting this one is going to lag the competition in terms of specs, and imho that's okay. Nintendo made a huge splash with the Wii while making a weaker device.

This thing has to run on batteries. It has to include mobile-quality batteries and a screen, which is an added cost that other consoles don't have.

With those components in mind, I fully expect it to have comparatively weak hardware so they can hit a comparable price-point.

city415• 10 years ago

Lagging in specs is a major reason 3rd parties shun Nintendo's consoles. Porting a game between XB1, PS4 and PC is relatively easy due to them all being of similar caliber. But the cutbacks required for porting to Wii U usually means they just don't bother.

apolymath• 10 years ago

I'm guessing they will ship an Nvidia chipset. Even if this isn't true, we are reaching an age where GPU technology is nearly identical for PC, console, and mobile.

agentdrtran• 10 years ago

It's using the next gen Nvidia Tegra (the X2, afaik)

BoorishBears• 10 years ago

The Wii U dev program for Unity and HTML5 wasn't that hard to join even before they fully opened it up.

The native program has been what major publishers use though, and that one is harder to get into (It was known as Warioworld)

serge2k2• 10 years ago

Console with graphical power that rivals Xbox One and PS4

Does it?

Industry-standard architecture and tooling (Unity)

I'm struggling to think of a Unity game that actually looks as good as one of the other modern engines.

freehunter4• 10 years ago

Verdun (http://store.steampowered.com/app/242860) looks pretty good. Maybe not AAA good, but close. Normal mapping, particle effects, HDR/bloom, etc.

Umbrella Corps is darn close to AAA as well (http://store.steampowered.com/app/390340/).

Just because most Unity games are indie doesn't mean that AAA studios can't make a good looking Unity game. It just means that most studios using Unity don't have the money to make a good looking game.

macspoofing5• 10 years ago

Console with graphical power that rivals Xbox One and PS4.

Why would you think that? It's a mobile system, running mobile CPU/GPU with a price target of a mid-market smart-phone. It's isn't going to match the PS4 or XboxOne, no way.

This is going to be a major windfall for them.

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know if they'll be able to run the latest AAA titles, especially with the new MS and Sony consoles coming out soon. So they'll have the same problem as they had with the Wii and WiiU - you buy the console for Nintendo games and that's it.

ClassyJacket• 10 years ago

Console with graphical power that rivals Xbox One and PS4. Check.

Almost certainly not. It's a tablet, it's very unlikely it's going to equal the home systems with 100W power supplies and huge fans.

SadWebDeveloper• 10 years ago

I didn't get it... is it a handheld or a phone/tablet device? my question whatever it would replace my phone or just be another device on my backpack like the iPad, Laptop and tons of extra chargers, i carry to almost everywhere?

kodt3• 10 years ago

Seems to be a gaming device and not a tablet or phone replacement.

I would say with 100% confidence there is no way it would replace your phone.

And I would say with 90% confidence it will not replace a tablet. It may have a web browser, YouTube, Netflix, and a few token apps but don't expect full Android or anything. I could be wrong of course.

anotheryou2• 10 years ago

What is so big in the dock? Speakers (not really needed with hdmi TVs, no?)?

Also an interesting decision to cover the docked screen (probably to keep 100% compatibility to the single mobile screen and not waste resources while powering the big screen).

saganus• 10 years ago

Could it be that they have a more powerful GPU in the dock so that it's easier to drive higher-resolution displays? just a thought.

mbreese• 10 years ago

Power supply for charging? Wired ethernet port? (doubtful) Maybe a hard drive for local game storage? Discrete/external GPU for pushing more pixels? I doubt 4K, but its possible... also, the portable screen might not be 1080.

I'm sure we'll learn more over the next 6 months... but there's a lot of things you could do with a dock like that.

anotheryou2• 10 years ago

Just thought that it would be amazing if it overclocked in the dock and it was mostly heat sink :)

bigtunacan4• 10 years ago

This is a pretty brilliant move in concept. While phones and tablets have encroached on the handheld gaming space, the DS is still a huge success and where Nintendo has continued to dominate the market.

As a parent, I have 4 of the current gen DS systems. One for myself and one for each of my three children.

Nintendo has really struggled to stay relevant in the console space though as seen by the Wii U's underwhelming sales.

If this device is priced right and can continue on their virtual handheld monopoly then they become a sort of defacto console system for the masses. For the first time in ages I'm curious to see what is going to happen with Nintendo.

erickhill• 10 years ago

I'm assuming the Switch replaces the Wii U. But will the 3DS live on? I assume the answer there is yes as well, but the lines between the two products is getting really blurry, isn't it?

bigtunacan4• 10 years ago

This is the same question that's in my mind. With it's form factor it could potentially replace both.

Part of the issue is going to come down to pricing. With a handheld each person needs their own device. If this can be kept sub $200 it's sort of a no brained. If it is priced similarly to consoles today it's a harder sell.

I am also left wondering if this could end up sold as different packages. It could be packaged as a full console edition and a handheld only lite edition at different price points.

wodenokoto3• 10 years ago

I doubt it will be priced as cheap as the DS, but hopefully it'll play DS games so you don't need to own both and will be able to play multiplayer against DS owners.

MollyR2• 10 years ago

Its on purpose. The Wii U did horribly (comparatively) and 3DS did really well. This seems like clever business move to me.

Pxtl5• 10 years ago

Presumably the 3DS will march on for a year or two until Nintendo can make a smaller, cheaper version of the Switch.

rtpg2• 10 years ago

my assumption is that this will always cost at least 2 (3 even) times as much as the 3DS

GrumpyYoungMan3• 10 years ago

Looks intriguing, although, as always, it boils down to what games will be available. I'll reserve judgement until we hear more about them.

In handheld mode, one wonders if they were able to keep parity with the battery life and the touchscreen capability that the DS/3DS had. Losing those would be a significant minus.

candl• 10 years ago

Hopefully the docking station provides additional CPU/GPU power, otherwise this would be no different to a PS Vita.

loulouxiv• 10 years ago

Since at multiple times the video shows you can walk away with the console with the game still running, I don't think the dock will do anything more than charging/HDMI

Roboprog2• 10 years ago

Maybe it's a heat sink, too.

slantyyz9• 10 years ago

> Hopefully the docking station provides additional CPU/GPU power, otherwise this would be no different to a PS Vita.

Only if you make game console purchasing decisions based on hardware alone.

I would think that the hardware matters less if your primary interest is in having access to the latest and greatest Nintendo first party games like Zelda, Mario Kart, etc.

yumaikas• 10 years ago

There are two major things that I'm curious about:

Price point: How much is this going to cost per unit? I'd imagine it's going to be much cheaper than the other current gen consoles

Battery life: If it doesn't get more than 1-2 hours, or else come with some way to extend the battery life via an accessory, it will be kinda underwhelming.

That being said, this is a very intriguing idea, and is a good focus on an easy to understand concept. Funny image: Two people playing on a Switch with the controllers snapped onto it, doing some top down game like air hockey or something.

joshmn• 10 years ago

I'd like to expect battery would be at least 3 hours while gaming. Considering that we know it's using a Tegra chip like the Nvidia Shield and the Shield gets ~2 hours, and Nintendo has a track record for battery-optimized gaming (Gameboy).

With the Shield's battery saver setting, it gets about 4 hours, and 7 hours for streaming. Again, I'd like to think Nintendo is doing better than this here.

nameless912• 10 years ago

The internet is saying 4 hours+, and I'm inclined to believe them. After all, they were right about everything else (seriously, go check out /r/nx: it's 90% shit posts, but the rest is speccing this thing out to an almost insanely detailed degree, even months ago).

finstell• 10 years ago

Am I the only one who found it funny that people, all dressed up, playing a basketball game on the device right in front of a basketball field?

shkkmo• 10 years ago

The video sports games and live sports games have a certain potential for synergy, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/sports/soccer/the-scouting...

namiller2• 10 years ago

What's a basketball field?

lewisl90292• 10 years ago

It's where they place the basketball rings.

sodafountan• 10 years ago

I just don't have faith in Nintendo anymore, they have a track record now of so many failed consoles and disappointments, lack of third party support, even the new Zelda doesn't get me that excited (and I've been a die hard fan for years, playing Ocarina of Time as a kid made me want to learn how to make games). We'll see how this one turns out.

Joof• 10 years ago

Really? 3DS has been a huge success and while the WiiU didn't sell well, it's a pretty fun console.

mcgrath_sh2• 10 years ago

So, the Wii U is so many failed consoles now? The Wii was a raging success. The 3DS is a wonderful mobile gaming platform that I have poured hundreds of hours into. The Wii U wasn't great and was more of a half iteration than a full one. Yes, Nintendo made a mis-step there. But the Wii, DS, and 3DS were far from failures.

cableshaft3• 10 years ago

Meanwhile, their software game was pitch perfect during the Wii U and they released mostly excellent first party and arguably best in the franchise games, like Mario Maker, Splatoon, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, Yoshi's Wooly World, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, and Pikmin 3.

They even managed to get 3 new IP on the system, where in previous consoles they were berated for never coming up with new IP and simply rehashing things over and over again. Splatoon in particular looks like it will stick around for a long time, Mario Maker probably as well (they even mentioned possibly doing a Zelda Maker in the future...I really hope that comes true).

kodt3• 10 years ago

The Wii was very successful. But was very underpowered when compared to the 360 and PS3. As a result it did not get many popular AAA multi-platform games such as Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Assassins Creed, etc.. and when it did get games from those franchises it was a simplified or less feature filled version of the game.

It meant that the Wii was not really viable as your "only" system if you were interested in those games. While the NES, SNES, N64, and Gamecube were either competitive or the leaders technically in their gen.

wvenable2• 10 years ago

The Wii was a success the way the pet rock was. They sold a huge number of them but it didn't take long before they were mostly just used as paper weights. It was under powered, had almost no 3rd party support, and wasn't even HD. The OS design was crazy and the store was virtually unusable.

The Wii was a huge opportunity for Nintendo but they couldn't adapt to modern game play or sales to take full advantage of it. So perhaps it wasn't a failure but it was a huge disappointment.

city415• 10 years ago

The DS is the second most successful console of all time (the PS2 being #1).

But still, Nintendo just hasn't been "king" ever since the SNES. The N64, GameCube, Wii and Wii U all disappointed a lot of people and each stumbled in significant ways.

(I'm not one of them, I'm a huge Nintendo fan)

nvarsj• 10 years ago

Every one of Nintendo's consoles has had "must have" games that simply don't exist anywhere else. WiiU has games like Bayonetta, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Xenoblade, Splatoon, Mario Maker (which is simply amazing, and nothing like it anywhere else). Wii was even better - Mario Galaxy being the best Mario series ever and a must play. I don't think you can consider yourself a serious gamer if you don't like Nintendo consoles. With a PC you pretty much have the whole gamut covered (PC=FPS,RPG, Nintendo=Everything Else). I'm looking forward to getting my Switch - N has never let me down :).

exelius• 10 years ago

So this is a good usage model, but I'm not sure people want to carry yet another tablet just for gaming. The only way I can see this thing taking off is if it can fall back into an Android tablet mode for web browsing, e-mail, etc. But as a portable gaming console, it seems pretty boss. I'm curious what the hardware specs are and how they differ from other tablets on the market.

Because if it can't do everything else my current tablet can, I'm gonna have to carry a tablet AND this thing. Done right, Nintendo can make this thing the first real challenger to the iPad for mass-market adoption. But they've gotta treat it as a first-party Android device and get updates out ASAP and not muck with the interface too much. I'm willing to bet they could work out a rev-share agreement with Google on the Google Play store and Google Play Apps (and keeping their own Nintendo licensing scheme).

But let's not kid ourselves here: Nintendo is a Japanese company and it operates like one. That means they'll try to own the entire value chain and miss out on any network effects, while simultaneously moving themselves from a market with a 5-10 year refresh cycle to one with a 2-3 year refresh cycle. While it means they could sell more tablets to repeat customers, it also means that they have less time to be patient for success (as happened with the Wii and WiiU) since it also increases customer churn. Network effects and platform lock-in are a lot more important when the refresh cycle is shorter, because there are more opportunities for your customers to jump off the train.

I wish Nintendo luck, and I think that this is a good usage model. But I'm not convinced it's compelling enough to displace the tablets that people are already carrying around with them unless it can also duplicate the capability of those devices.

mcgrath_sh2• 10 years ago

I'm in the opposite camp as you are. I'm thrilled that this appears to be a gaming only device. I have devices that do what my tablets do. My 3DS has hundreds of hours into it. I love having a portable device that is for gaming only. I don't want notifications popping while looking for Rupees or a phone call when trying to hunt for legendary birds.

I also have no issues carrying a separate device for that. IMO, touch gaming for anything beyond the basics is terrible. Even Minecraft is way better with a mouse and keyboard or controller.

Having an all encompassing device from a company that has continually nailed portable gaming is something I will continue to buy. The big screen of this, for me, is an added bonus.

joeax3• 10 years ago

I'm sure it will be gaming + apps like Netflix and YouTube (maybe Kindle too), the same apps that you see on the Wii U and DS currently. But yeah, it's better if the thing sticks to gaming.

troncheadle• 10 years ago

Yup. I've been bringing my 3DS instead of my Ipad on flights for a couple years now, and it's just a better experience. If I need to get real work done wherever I am flying to, I'll have my laptop with me.

hendryau• 10 years ago

Let's be honest, no one has ever had to farm for Rupees in Zelda :)

ocdtrekkie5• 10 years ago

Yeah, this has been my challenge. I've bought basically every Nintendo console ever (Zelda fan here, obviously), but I stopped playing their mobile games/consoles when I turned 16, because I was now driving myself places. Being in my parents' cars a lot, it made sense to carry a portable game console. In the world of working people, it doesn't. I don't have enough free time outside my house to justify hauling a dedicated gaming device around.

GuiA• 10 years ago

Being in my parents' cars a lot, it made sense to carry a portable game console. In the world of working people, it doesn't.

In the world of non US working people, many sit in a bus/metro 2x a day, 30-60 mins each way :)

grillvogel• 10 years ago

In the world of working people, it doesn't.

ever heard of mass transit?

maxsilver• 10 years ago

I'm not sure people want to carry yet another tablet just for gaming. The only way I can see this thing taking off is if it can fall back into an Android tablet mode for web browsing, e-mail, etc. Done right, Nintendo can make this thing the first real challenger to the iPad for mass-market adoption.

If Nintendo did what your asking, it would be a pretty compromised experience. The hardware for gaming is significantly different than generic tablet hardware. (For example, high-res displays are great for Web / Facebook / Twitter / e-Books, but are drawbacks for a gaming console. High power GPUs are great for games, but are often underutilized in tablets. Any non-casual game needs high quality, thick controls, but traditional tablet users favor very thin hardware).

Perhaps in the future, technology will advance, and there won't need to be a trade-off between these two usages. But today, by asking Nintendo to make this a generic Android tablet product, your asking them to compromise something their fairly good at (gaming), to give you a tablet experience that still likely won't be competitive with the iPad anyway.

---

I think it's better to position the Switch as a gaming console (as Nintendo is doing). That way, the Switch doesn't really need to do any tablet stuff to be successful. The Switch only needs to provide a great gaming experience that convinces the 65 million people who own a 3DS or Wii U to buy a new Switch in the future.

timdorr• 10 years ago

So this is a good usage model, but I'm not sure people want to carry yet another tablet just for gaming. The only way I can see this thing taking off is if it can fall back into an Android tablet mode for web browsing, e-mail, etc.

I'm sure I'm wrong about this, but the video didn't show any touching of the screen or a stylus (which the 3DS and Wii U both have). I wonder if this thing is even capable of being used without the controllers.

Fej3• 10 years ago

According to the unconfirmed spec sheet, 10-point capacitive touchscreen.

ndesaulniers4• 10 years ago

The only way I can see this thing taking off is if it can fall back into an Android

That's actually a great idea. Someone else pointed out this press release [0] from Nvidia saying they're making the chip. Tegra's can run Android (Nexus 7, 9) which has the latest OpenGL ES and Vulkan support.

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

pbhjpbhj• 10 years ago

Running Android would provide competition at the bottom end of the game spectrum. I could see them having a [virtualised] Android that was not openly Android so they can run Facebook and such without giving people access to put Android games on the thing.

Waterluvian2• 10 years ago

I feel like it will be mediocre at both living room and mobile gaming.

How can it possibly be powerful enough to attract third party developers?

Doesn't this compete with 3DS?

cmrdporcupine2• 10 years ago

I actually think you're quite wrong.

My NVIDIA Shield Android TV box is Tegra based, and it drives 4k games pretty darn decent. It's no PS4 but I don't need that (and PS4 can't do 4k games) and you don't need that to run good (non-VR) games. And Nintendo is apparently using their own custom Tegra SoC so it's likely a step above the couple year old Tegra that is in the Shield.

Also the promo video shows Skyrim being played on it. Whether it's real footage or not, I don't know, but it doesn't look bad at all, and requires some decent GPU heft.

And if they're smart about this the switch to an ARM SoC means they'll be able to iterate more quickly and produce new higher spec'd or cheaper models to follow up and keep market, like they should have done with the Wii.

Waterluvian2• 10 years ago

Thanks for sharing. Maybe my perception of what mobile-sized hardware can do is out-of-date.

nilkn• 10 years ago

This actually looks amazing. I haven't bought a game console in a while and have in fact been actively avoiding them in favor of PC gaming and Steam, especially now that we've got the Steam Link and Steam Controller. However, this has enough value add that I could totally see myself buying this. This might just be the best thing I've seen from Nintendo in a long time.

okonomiyaki3000• 10 years ago

I'm not a gamer but it looks pretty innovative. I wonder about the strategy of announcing 2 months before Christmas and launching 3 months after though.

Roboprog2• 10 years ago

I suppose it gives them time to get it right, rather than rushing to wrap it up, but also tries to pull the old "vaporware" trick of trying to get potential customers to delay purchasing a competitor's product.

josho• 10 years ago

That's a smart strategy.

Lots of consoles are going to be sold this xmas, so Nintendo announcing now may help hold people off from switching to msft/sony.

The only better strategy would have been an Xmas launch, a spring launch means they aimed for xmas but the schedule slipped.

sssilver2• 10 years ago

I often wonder whether it would be a good idea for Apple to acquire Nintendo, and have them focus on building phenomenal gaming experiences on the iOS platform through focusing on software and device accessories (e.g. controllers). For some reason Apple and Nintendo in my head feel like they share important DNA traits.

maherbeg• 10 years ago

That would be a great partnership. In my mind though, I feel like Disney would be the better acquirer. Think about how awesome it would be to goto Disney World and get to see Spiderman, Luke Skywalker and Mario all at the same time. They'd be able to take the Nintendo brand even further with the cross overs, merchandising, movies etc.

sssilver2• 10 years ago

That doesn't speak to me too well, to me all Disney work seems like a clone of each other -- you've seen one, you've seen them all. They are even stylistically (nearly) identical. The plots are all the same. The characters are all the same (and very shallow). I loathe that they now get to milk the Star Wars cow. I'd be very upset if Disney acquired Nintendo, even worse than I was when they got Pixar (and ruined it).

This may be naive, but while Disney strikes me as profits first, and nothing else really matters, and everything else is a byproduct, both Nintendo and Apple strike me as companies that actually give a shit about the final product, and profits are just a vehicle to achieve excellence in that.

daodedickinson3• 10 years ago

I dunno... I never play games except at home now, so there's nothing interesting here for me. It's just gonna come down to whether I want to play Smash / Mario Kart / Mario, like it pretty much has since the GameCube.

mentos• 10 years ago

Heh this is how I feel, Nintendo Switch is the on the go gaming system for the generation that doesnt leave home

wvenable2• 10 years ago

Kids.

daodedickinson3• 10 years ago

I mean, back in 2002 I bought a power converter once so I could hook up my small CRT and GameCube and play Wind Waker in the back of our truck on a 10 hour road trip so I understand the appeal, just commenting that it's not longer there for me.

protoster• 10 years ago

Oh my god, a sane name for once. It was really getting out of hand with the DS and Wii when the same name referred to several different generations of hardware in a non obvious way. (DS, DS Lite, 3DS, 2DS, New 3DS, try making heads or tails of that).

captainmuon• 10 years ago

Very promising. I like how haptic it is. Part of the magic of old Nintendo was the feeling of slotting in a cartridge, and handling a well-designed device and controller. They will not go back to cartriges obviously, but it seems like they put a lot of thought into this... like car engineers do when the have the doors make a specific sound when they close.

shawndellysse• 10 years ago

haptic

I think the word you're looking for is "tactile".

morley• 10 years ago

They will not go back to cartriges obviously

It does indeed use cartridges:

http://www.polygon.com/2016/10/20/13344618/nintendo-switch-n...

chipperyman573• 10 years ago

Aren't SD cards and cartridges different? I thought that cartridges used ROM while SD cards can be written to.

questionr• 10 years ago

https://youtu.be/f5uik5fgIaI

technologia2• 10 years ago

I wonder if the Tegra X2 in here would be at all able to use any other nintendo devices as an external gpu since they no include the pascal architecture. For example possibly using the new nintendo nx with the switch somehow. Just a thought.

kodt3• 10 years ago

The Switch is the NX. NX was just the code name, now it has been revealed.

xyzzy_plugh2• 10 years ago

This is the NX.

sergiotapia2• 10 years ago

Day 1 purchase for me. I want one for the car so my kids can play Mario Kart in the back.

justicezyx• 10 years ago

I personally feel this is going to be mediocre at best: 1. Limited appealing to main stream consumers 2. Awkward physical spec, tablet's down fall pretty much proved that how big a mobile device should be 3. No one would want to write games for this...

PrimHelios2• 10 years ago

I disagree completely with your second and third points. Look how well the New 3DS XL is doing, the Switch seems to be about the same size.

Nobody needs to write games for it, it already runs Unreal, Unity, and the creation engine, which covers about 90% of the AAA games on the market right now.

r-w7• 10 years ago

What happens if multiple people from the same household want to use local multiplayer on different screens? That's the only case where the one-to-one relationship between console and portable screen breaks down.

MollyR2• 10 years ago

This reminds me of the nvidia shield tablet but done right.

Tiktaalik4• 10 years ago

If they've switched to a capacitive touch screen instead of resistive then there's the potential for easily porting Unity based Mobile iOS/Android games to this.

This could be a great new marketplace for indies that make pay up front mobile games.

F2P mobile games monetization strategies rely on huge install bases that the Switch is unlikely to reach, so porting these games over may not make as much sense, but it could still be worthwhile to port to the device in order to provide more gameplay options to existing users.

jasonkostempski• 10 years ago

I couldn't find anything that shows/says it has any kind of touch screen. I hope it doesn't. I also hope there isn't any kind of indie market, there's already plenty of options for that and it would be nice not to have to sift through a hundred FNAF rip-offs to find something worth playing.

eridius3• 10 years ago

I really doubt it will have a touch screen. You wouldn't be able to use it when it's docked, which means games would have to be designed such that touch is completely unnecessary to the experience, so why even bother trying to cram it in?

slavik81• 10 years ago

You know, I always thought the idea of a hybrid console/handheld was a terrible idea. I expect that mobile considerations are going to make it graphically underwhelming compared to the next Xbox and PlayStations. I also figure that graphical considerations for TV play are going to make it eat battery. We'll see if the jack of all trades is master is any.

But, on the other hand, Nintendo's games are just plain fun. I didn't buy a Wii U because I didn't want that giant tablet controller and its charging stand taking up space on my coffee table, but every time I saw Splatoon I wished I had room for it.

Perhaps this can fit in my life.

neals• 10 years ago

Maybe not a popular opinion right now... but I'm so glad there's at least one brand out there that isn't jumping the 'VR'/'AR' - bandwagon.

I've tried to get into VR with the oculus and the VIVE, but no, it's just not for me. Happy to see Nintendo do what they do best: come up with a great formfactor, but let games be games.

kdamken• 10 years ago

I like VR, but I agree with you. I'm happy Nintendo is trying something different again, even moreso that this actually looks like a good idea (as opposed to the trainwreck of product and marketing that was the Wii U). It's great to have companies focused on different things, helps make gaming better overall.

JustSomeNobody• 10 years ago

I agree with you. I still firmly believe VR/AR will be tech niche.

Nintendo seems to have built something they hope is simple, but entertaining.

wingless• 10 years ago

If VR technology doesn't advance fast enough to solve its current issues (nausea, lack of DoF and gravitation) in the near future, we will likely enter a period of stagnation like the AI Winter.

whatgoodisaroad• 10 years ago

Nintendo tried VR in 1995, but it did not go well.

shogun21• 10 years ago

Then they tried AR in 2011 with the 3DS. It went better.

ohhhwell• 10 years ago

I am a big believer in the future of VR (and possibly AR). But even if it succeeds, there's still a big market for a device like the Switch. It's just a completely different category and good to see what looks like an innovative game console focused on games as we know them.

CobrastanJorji• 10 years ago

Meanwhile I'm sitting here wondering if I can shove this thing into a Google Cardboard.

drawkbox• 10 years ago

A big part of the 3DS launch was AR [1][2]. They actually used it in unique ways. They haven't yet gone to head based VR/AR but device level like mobile was part of the 3DS pitch/features.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43uSXA9qUe8 [2] http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/ar-cards

joshschreuder• 10 years ago

Don't know if you own a 3DS, but personally I never used AR again beyond the 5 minutes after unboxing and I got one pretty soon after launch. Is it used in titles in any meaningful way?

rtkwe3• 10 years ago

They might have made a big deal of it at launch but there's barely any gameplay there and I personally didn't use the AR for more than 10 minutes after I first got the 3DS.

jswny• 10 years ago

Totally agree. The nature of VR is such that it's as immersive an experience as possible, which just isn't best platform for every type of media consumption. I think it will become more of a niche thing once the hype dies down.

flycaliguy• 10 years ago

This seems prime for AR to me. Head out with your device, catch some pokemon, then plug it into the big screen.

Natanael_L2• 10 years ago

Most plausibly you could connect it to your phone for the AR experience á la Pokémon Go

AndrewKemendo3• 10 years ago

I disagree. I think it's a massive lack of imagination on the part of manufacturers that has led to mediocre deployments.

I think your comment reflects a sentiment that I agree with which is that HMD based systems today do not give the same degree of awe that happened when the NES came out - or even the playstation.

I'd rather see Nintendo invest heavily ($5BN+) in an AR VRD and infrastructure that changes the landscape. But nobody seems to want to do that. Again I chalk it up to lack of imagination/leadership.

robryan• 10 years ago

Sounds pretty risky, even if they solved the technical side of it there is by no means a proven market.

Natanael_L2• 10 years ago

AR needs better hardware still. It needs very powerful GPU:s and processors, running at very low power with good and yet lightweight batteries.

While we probably can produce great AR content today and produce headsets to display it, it will likely take almost another decade before it can be made portable in something you WANT to use.

shmerl• 10 years ago

If Nintendo will support Vulkan on Switch, that would be good.

This looks more interesting though: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smachteam/smach-z-the-h...

And it's supposed to run Linux. Recent AMD GPU means it will work with amdgpu/radeonsi for OpenGL and radv for Vulkan eventually.

However after disastrous Jolla tablet crowdfunding, I'm not so eager to back hardware campaigns anymore. But I'll surely buy such device if they'll pull off making them in the end.

djhworld2• 10 years ago

Light on details, outside of the association with nvidia there's still a lot of questions that need answering

Saying that though, I am almost certainly going to get one.

lucaspiller• 10 years ago

Direct link to the YouTube video. It doesn't load with uBlock Origin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5uik5fgIaI

vonzeppelin• 10 years ago

It loaded with my uBlock Origin.

fwn• 10 years ago

I don't think it has anything to do with uBlock Origin.

EasyPrivacy apparently breaks some Youtube embeds and only fixed it partially. In the end, it's almost never the content blocker but the lists you choose to enable.

edit: but thank you for the link!

calferreira• 10 years ago

Is it just me or the console mechanism looks fragile ? If you keep pulling and putting the side remotes, it looks like it might break in the future.

Also, it will be quite the challenge for nintendo to gain momentum with the handheld part of the console. Everyone plays on phones and tablets these days, so i don't see much incentive on that part.

They should've stalled pokemon go and launched it with the new console.

That would create a massive demand for the new console.

jedimastert• 10 years ago

Also, it will be quite the challenge for nintendo to gain momentum with the handheld part of the console.

They're also the only company in the handheld market right now, with a surprising amount of sales, (even with the 2DS), so they don't really have to gain momentum as much as keep it.

I think putting their next handheld and console in the same basket means massive sales, especially for one side or the other that hasn't really crossed over yet. It's gonna be really interesting, and I'm pretty curious to see it in real life.

Tiktaalik4• 10 years ago

Weird. Was the thread title edited? "Switch – New Video Game System [video]." I'm pretty sure everyone knows who Nintendo is and it's more descriptive to say that in the title.

dingo_bat• 10 years ago

I most excited by the prospect that this supports local WLAN multiplayer. At least that's what it looks like in the video.

chejazi• 10 years ago

Exciting product. Criticism: the detachable controllers don't appear very ergonomic. They are small in size and the detaching mechanism look looks somewhat flimsy.

djhworld2• 10 years ago

It looks like they're offering a more traditional gamepad style controller, like the Wii Classic Controller

eridius3• 10 years ago

It's called the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, and if you want to compare it to previous controllers, you should compare it to the Wii U Pro Controller (which is actually one of my favorite controllers).

rebootthesystem3• 10 years ago

It's interesting to me to watch a video about a new gaming platform and have that video show me all the ways in which said platform will destroy nearly all forms of real human interaction with others, reducing us to unthinking drones looking at screens moving little virtual characters around while our brains whittle away.

This is the problem with the gaming industry. It's the equivalent of very smart engineers using their skills on the web to find ever more effective ways to make people click on ads. It's such a waste of human talent.

Gaming is different but not really. Most of the popular games have no real redeeming qualities. They are black holes into which youth can get sucked into, burn hours, days and years and, in extreme cases, ruin their lives. This, I think, is despicable.

If you want to do well in gaming you have to use your skills to find ways to create addictive games that shift a person into a Pavlovian state where they want more, they keep clicking the buttons and, eventually, they send you money. This has certainly been proven by the iOS space. Games like "Clash of Clans" is one of many examples of this.

Getting truly creative to find ways for people to engage with more intelligent and useful activities is very, very difficult. And so, to usurp part of a phrase that paints an amazing image...when they go low, we go lower.

I have long been disenchanted with what the gaming industry has done to kids. It's making money at the expense of their brains and emotions. It's selling drugs in digital form.

I didn't used to think this way until I saw the effect on my own kids. To make a long story short, my two little ones started to lie to us and play a couple of these addictive games on their iPods.

We have a simple rule at our house: On Saturday's you can play the available games for a couple of hours. The rest of the week play with legos, go outside, play with the dogs, etc.

This worked very well for many years (almost 18 to be precise). In fact, in a lot of cases they'd play less than two hours because they'd get sick of it and prefer to go for physical play.

Until a couple of games surfaced. And they, like evolved bacteria, became immune to the mechanism that made my kids decide to stop playing. Soon we would discover them playing the games in secret under their blankets at 11 at night instead of sleeping. Warnings did not work. And, after a couple of them we took the iPads and iPods away. They had become destructive devices rather than the opposite.

My kids were lying to me in a manner which I would imagine was no different than kids lying about taking drugs.

They've been off the iOS devices and these games for a year. They get their devices back in January. Cleared of all the addictive games. We'll see what happens.

So, yeah, I look at a video like the one for the Switch and immediately imagine how many lives it will destroy if used as portrayed.

ketpat• 10 years ago

I actually agree with you, a lot of games are being designed to keep you hooked. Which is not the fault of the developers as they have no choice but to try and extract money from their users if they are to survive. Those addict like qualities you saw in your kids, I saw in myself a couple of years ago and made my self go cold turkey. My drugs of choice were team fortress 2 and left 4 dead. I have thousand of hours logged between the two. I've made a lot of positive steps in my life since then and can't help but wonder how far I would have come if I had stopped playing a long time ago.

rebootthesystem3• 10 years ago

Congratulations, at least you were able to extract yourself from that road-to-nowhere and have positive things to look forward to. I am sure you'll be very aware of this in the future and help your own kids not get hooked.

As far as this not being the fault of developers. OK, sure, at a basic level, you are absolutely correct. Just like it is far easier for thugs to sell drugs to kids than to go find a real job or start a real company with real products.

The issue here is that all of these game studios go for easy-and-addictive without a care in the world about what damage they are causing. Trying to find new creative and positive gaming experiences is much, much harder. The formula for addictive games is known and relatively easy to implement these days.

mercer• 10 years ago

I share your feelings when it comes to many games, but I don't think it generally applies to Nintendo.

The problem is that the word 'game' is too vague. Nobody would think to put 'viral videos' and 'Tarantino\'s latest film' in the same pile (except perhaps those who really dislike Tarantino), and yet that's what we do with gaming.

Some games were as good as some of the best novels I've read (Planescape Torment, Thief, System Shock). Some multiplayer games left me with friends for life (UT, Quake, Halo). Some games offered a creative outlet just as rewarding as the Lego or tin soldiers I had growing up (Minecraft, Neverwinter Nights level creation, Chip's Challenge), and some games actually tricked me into learning interesting things (Assassin's Creed 2, Civilization, etc.)

I'm not a parent, but if I had kids I'd probably limit their gaming too, but I'd put way more emphasis on controlling the kind of games they played. Cow Clickers (or most MMORPGS)? Not so much. Minecraft with coding mods? Hell yes!

All that said, if you'd be making an argument against sitting inside and media consumption in general, I'd probably agree a little more. There is still something fundamentally different about playing outside and interacting with other kids directly, and I hope I can make my kids do that instead of just staring at screens all day.

rebootthesystem3• 10 years ago

Of course, there are no absolutes. There are good games out there that, with moderation, do no harm. That's what I tell my kids. It's not that I don't want them to play. They need to have fun and some of these games are fun. It's about moderation.

Here's reality, it is well documented that gaming addition is hard for adults to kick. There are stories of people wasting years of their lives on this stuff. Young kids don't have any self moderation skills whatsoever other than physical exhaustion. Addictive games are a perfect match for young one's.

I wish I had taken videos of my kids lying about their "use". The look on their faces was that of addicts. Nothing less, nothing more. You could tell a mile away they were in denial and their little brains just wanted more drugs. Dangerous stuff.

LargeCompanies• 10 years ago

I don't get it... what is exciting about a GameCube/iPad hybrid?

Why not create a VR/AR console hybrid that lets you create things at home and then experience them in the real world... digitally graffiti your town at home then go out and check out your art work and or messages? Maybe that's an app already... leave your friends messages in certain locations seen via an AR app?

webkike• 10 years ago

Because someone is already doing that and probably a million times better. I'm sure the VR/AR console you dream of would be exciting, but ultimately not something I would play regularly. I play games for the challenge, for the competition. You need two controllers and a screen to play with your friends.

city415• 10 years ago

That's just not Nintendo's style. They pretty much always shun new tech and instead prefer to use established tech in new ways.

And yes the 3DS has some minor AR, but that was just a tiny little gimmick/experiment.

ChrisClark• 10 years ago

Well, except for the Virtual Boy, and we all know how well that went. In fact, that could be the reason they don't do that anymore.

dysfunctor• 10 years ago

Is Nintendo making a big mistake by missing Christmas with this thing?

nkassis• 10 years ago

I wonder if it really matters in year one for a nintendo console given they will probably struggle to push out enough to meet just standard demand anyway.

sebringj2• 10 years ago

Might be a good time to buy Nintendo stock.

sebringj2• 10 years ago

I went all in with Nintendo's Wii offering after watching the Japanese commercials and made a nice chunk of change. The Wii was a game changer at the time and I get the same happy tingly feeling offering on this as well. Nintendo innovated again in the completely sideways manner we are used to, bucking the VR roadmap.

Unbeliever69• 10 years ago

I must be very out of touch with the gaming habits of millenials. The intro movie itself seemed like some nerdy wish-fulfillment. Who acts like this? Where can I meet some stunning gaming hottie like the one in the airport? Will the Switch make my life this fantastic?

fullshark• 10 years ago

Yeah the video seems to be selling a use case that likely isn't very common. How often are people going to go a bar and sit around a switch playing video games? Maybe once or twice? I imagine the dominant gaming habits are what Xbox/PS focus on (one person in a room, possibly connected by internet to others).

eridius3• 10 years ago

I dunno. The Switch seems to have a lot of focus on local multiplayer. And with how portable it is, I can definitely imagine heading over to my local gaming store to find someone else that I can play with.

wingerlang• 10 years ago

To be fair, this is what all commercials do. Trying to sell you the perfect life.

shanusmagnus• 10 years ago

Not really relevant to anything, but I'm so grateful the movie includes the guy on the plane playing the Switch while ACTUALLY WEARING HEADPHONES. People who play videogames (or movies) on planes while piping audio through the speaker for everyone to "enjoy" should be force-ejected through some kind of special chute.

colinthompson• 10 years ago

Looks really cool. Too bad it’s not out in time for christmas. The thing would sell like crazy this year.

What I find most notable in the video is their nod to competitive-gaming / esports, which Nintendo has such a long history of shunning/disrespecting/mis-understanding. Maybe they’re finally trying to atone for the debacle around the whole Smash scene? (Then again, maybe it’s just the marketing people who put this video together thought that would be fun to add and have no idea about Nintendo’s history here.)

idealpersona• 10 years ago

Skyrim was released almost 5 years ago, yet an updated version of it is used to advertise the capabilities of a next-generation console. It's really disappointing to see the amount of recycling in entertainment in the past 10 years. More disappointing that people eat it up.

Also, the entire selling point is being mobile crossover. That seems like a great secondary feature, but alone... that's it? Where is the imagination that brought us the Wii?

I can only hope Nintendo attracts enough development to make interesting (perhaps Pokemon Go-influenced) unique crossover use cases, beyond just playing the same game the same way on a TV and at the airport.

thom• 10 years ago

Skyrim being there was a very powerful signal to me. I've played RPGs since the 80s, and almost exclusively done it on PCs and Xboxes. I've never had any interest in Japanese games or hardware. The fact that I could now play Skyrim on a bus is cool, but the implication here is much wider, whether or not it's a flagship launch title.

aikah• 10 years ago

At the end of the day it's not about the console, but the games running on it. Not going to buy this if the only thing I can play on it is Mario or Zelda. I wish Nintendo a lot of success though.

joeax3• 10 years ago

Anybody have any info on how the Switch will be backwards compatible with Wii U discs (i.e. a portable drive perhaps), and 3DS cartridges? I have a stack of Wii U games that hopefully will still be playable.

lewisl90292• 10 years ago

I skipped the last few generations of Nintendo hardware, but there are a few 3DS and Wii U games that I still really want to try. If Switch is backwards compatible with Wii U and 3DS then it's an instant buy for me.

ben1744• 10 years ago

Since all Wii U games are available as digital downloads, I'd expect that's the only compatibility you're going to get. They might have some kind of trade-in-your-disc-for-a-digital-download offering, but I seriously doubt it. It would be very un-Nintendo of them.

Fej3• 10 years ago

Switch uses a different architecture (ARM) than the Wii U (PowerPC) so straight-up playing games off the original discs won't happen. They'll have to be re-released.

s3r3nity• 10 years ago

This might be a dumb question, but can someone elaborate on how you can get such good graphics like they were showing in the Skyrim and Zelda images on such a small cartridge (i.e. not a disc?)

tuccinator• 10 years ago

My thoughts are that the small cartridge is relative to an SD card, or a USB flash drive. The reasons other companies don't use them is because they are expensive to use unlike discs. The speed of the cartridges are faster than discs as well.

ThatGeoGuy• 10 years ago

IIRC this is basically the same way the PS Vita handles it. Although in that case you can definitely smell something fishy with the way those "custom" save cards are priced. It's only a tiny bit larger than a MicroSD card and has 1/2 the capacity of one? But twice the price?

Hopefully the cartridge usage in the Switch doesn't drive prices up too much because of it. I get that production is more expensive, but after a certain point there are definitely some questions about why standard flash storage solutions aren't good enough.

cmrdporcupine2• 10 years ago

The "Switch" appears to mean many things, but also a "Switch" (for their non-gameboy/DS systems) to the ARM platform and a break from the PowerPC-based systems of the past.

Which means breaking compatibility, but certainly makes it possible for them to lower costs reduce power consumption and iterate more quickly.

fiatjaf• 10 years ago

Multiplayer solved in all the ways possible.

nlawalker2• 10 years ago

The most interesting thing to me is a design decision that combines an important aspect of the original NES with an important aspect of all of Nintendo's portable machines since the DS: a reduced barrier to entry for multiple people to play. In 1989, every NES sold came with two controllers out of the box. Similarly, every portable Nintendo system since the original DS has supported Download Play, which requires each player to have their own console, but only a single copy of a game.

It looks like you'll be able to use the standard Switch controller as two "half controllers." Sure, you get limited functionality, but one person with one standard (portable!) console and one multiplayer game like Mario Kart can say those all-important words to anyone, anytime: "Want to play?"

Someone• 10 years ago

https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/20/switch-is-nintendos-next...: "The Switch will be released worldwide in March 2017."

Can I interpret that as "we missed the holiday season, and pre-announce this because we think its Osborne-effect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect) will be smaller than its effect on the sales numbers of our competitors?

gwbas1c• 10 years ago

I like how they emphasize that the Switch uses a standard headphone jack.

microcolonel• 10 years ago

Here's the link to the video on YouTube, I tried to load the linked page about 12 times and it failed each time, turns out the video is on YouTube anyway.

https://youtu.be/f5uik5fgIaI

xwvvvvwx• 10 years ago

Seems like it will be a challenge to build games that are compelling on both a large screen while seated in your living room and on a small screen when you're out and about (from both a UX and gameplay perspective).

With that said it's a smart move to use the same controller for both use cases.

Overall looks pretty slick, interested to see how this plays out.

blkhp19• 10 years ago

Why? It would just scale to the display size.

FullMtlAlcoholc4• 10 years ago

This looks like a very well designed console and I appreciate that Nintendo takes chances does try to offer something different with each console release.

The crucial element that is going to determine whether I purchase this or not is will it support location-based gaming? Touchscreens, gyros, and cameras aren't necessary, but location based-gaming and the spontaneous, real-world social interactions it generates was the only reason I played Pokemon GO. I do understand that designing games with this in mind and making it fun for all players is a difficult if not impossible problem to solve for those who don't live in dense urban areas

I'm also disappointed that Nintendo isn't developing for VR yet. While I respect them for not following the herd, if any developer is going to lay the foundational design patterns for VR gaming, it's Nintendo. Mario 64 and Zelda: Ocarina of time did this for 3D.

It'll be interesting to see if this becomes more than a gimmick.

bane• 10 years ago

Looking at the concept video it's clear that Nintendo is doubling down again on the idea of personal, physical interaction as the concept for multiplayer activities -- the "you and a friend in the living room" idea. I applaud this, but online gaming is something that Nintendo really struggles to "get" and has cultural issues with as well.

There was a an article (gamasutra maybe?) about how the N with the Wii, fundamentally had no idea what their competition was up to or understood gaming notions that had become very commonplace by that time -- like online matchmaking for gaming, etc.

However, as a gamer, I think this is definitely setting a differentiable and right path that doesn't tie Nintendo to just selling another port target for games.

I'm reminded of this old Reddit post that presages some of what's in this video:

https://www.reddit.com/r/FutureGaming/comments/2eox69/the_un...

https://pdf.yt/d/J5nSHPu5dzdpWwvn

pluma• 10 years ago

I think it's really cultural. Nintendo doesn't "get" online gaming because it's fundamentally different from Nintendo's DNA.

Nintendo is about children and families and friends playing together. Online gaming is about playing in a global community of millions of strangers who may become friends or turn around and spoil everything.

That risk is accepted by gamers who play multiplayer online games, especially competitive games with online matchmaking, but it doesn't fit in the "we're all friends and family" narrative.

I think it's brilliant. Looking at the concept video, it seems like local coop multiplayer is built right into the controller but they also show local network multiplayer for parties and competitions. It's trivial and emphasised by the design choices.

Games that do online multiplayer well generally don't work well with local multiplayer. What works well for one doesn't necessarily work well for the other. This reminds me of GameBoy link cables and 1990s LAN parties -- and I think that's an aspect of gaming that has been neglected by other companies who favoured the online experience.

Also it makes perfect sense for Nintendo not to attempt to get a foot in the door in an oversaturated market they don't have any experience in. This is the first time since the original Wii that I've been genuinely surprised by Nintendo and it looks a lot less gimmicky.

beernutz• 10 years ago

Does anyone else think the controller stick on the right looks like a problem? I can't help thinking that I will keep bumping the analog stick if I attempt to use my thumb to press the buttons at the top.

chenster• 10 years ago

Is it like a Wii U flipped? It's awfully resemble Gamevice controller for iPad - https://gamevice.com - except it's also an iPad, which is as big as 12 inches! How does Switch gets its content, by download, or old-fashion cartridge (I'm totally cool with that). And lastly, the battery lasts how long??

white-flame2• 10 years ago

No touch controls or motion controls in sight! I think they'd ultimately be incompatible with this anyway.

You can't have good local portable multiplayer if one player always has their fingers on the screen, blocking the other's view.

Motion would be very haphazard, due to all the usage styles. Where would the motion sensors go? If it's part of the tablet, you can't play while docked to your TV. If it's part of the joycons, you'd probably have to remove them to play some games, which would be again annoying if it's docked. If the pro controller has motion controls as well, some games requiring both joycons wouldn't bother using it. You'd have to have at least 4 sets of motion controls across the parts for it to work ubiquitously.

All in all, it makes a lot of sense that we might not see those 2 clunky features returning, which is great.

But all the bits (dock, tablet, 2 joycons, joycon mounting stump, pro controller) is a bit too clap-trap for me. I had used Wii Fit for a while on someone else's Wii and liked it, so I got a Wii U version. The addition of the touchscreen plus wiimotes in the Wii U made it a mess of always picking up and putting down things, which was super annoying. Having fewer input schemes, and using them well, would be preferable, in my opinion.

4minute• 10 years ago

Everyone is worried about graphics. Nintendo systems have never been about graphics. It's all about the games. They are combined two of the best selling consoles EVER. The 3D is the second highest selling console ever. The wii is fifth. The Switch brings both of them together. You can experience the awesome Nintendo literally anywhere at anytime. You can't get that with any other console. Now they are bring in major titles and giving us multiple good controllers for when they are needed. That's fucking awesome. I was about to buy the PS4 Pro edition, but fuck that I'm waiting for this. I'm hoping they still alway 3DS controllers to connect to the console so I can play with my 3DS friends with the portable device and the dock.

apricot13• 10 years ago

I'm so excited for this, I've (eventually) owned every nintendo console/handheld (I'm looking at you badly marketed WiiU).

I really hope they fix some of the issues with the eShop - it needs work, but its improved a lot!

What happens when you lose the right part of the controller? can you buy them individually or do I need a whole new pad?

If my screen gets scratched - can I just replace the screen section?

What happens to my save data - if my bag gets damaged/stolen, will I lose all my save data or is backed up in the cloud/the switch device?

will it come in different colours - I like that the 3ds is so customisable!

jacobmischka• 10 years ago

This is a good idea and seems well-executed. While still essentially a gimmick, the portability is a much better and more useful gimmick than the Wii's motion controls or the Wii U's touchscreen controller. It seems to get in the way of gaming much less than those did.

Unfortunately, while it's a rather good gimmick, it seems like Nintendo is repeating its usual mistake of sacrificing gaming power for it. Releasing a device with a 720p screen in 2016 is almost as bad as releasing a device with a 400x240 screen in 2011, in my opinion.

Nintendo has a very bad habit of making devices that compete with the previous generation of its competitors' devices instead of the next one.

SZJX• 10 years ago

I pretty much doubt the graphics quality could be that nice as shown in the demo while maintaining excellent battery power. Guess the final graphics won't be that much better than PS Vita. Still, looks like a really exciting concept so am really looking forward to the release and would like to see how it goes.

Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

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