News: Nintendo Switch Hardware and Developers Revealed Page 1

Sonic_13 20.10.2016#1

Echoes221 20.10.2016#2

For the first time in a long while I'm really really impressed by Nintendo. It's the perfect move from the WiiU but adds all the flexibility of a handheld into the mix. I think this might actually be a day one purchase for me...

RudyC3 20.10.2016#3

I didn't expect the full system to be inside the handheld. Or maybe it isn't? Maybe the dock does more than managing inputs and outputs, perhaps it also increases the performance of the system? Whatever the case may be, I want to hear exactly what's powering this beast.

Cubed3 Limited Staff :: Review and Feature Writer

Azuardo 20.10.2016#4

I like it a lot... except for the d-pad buttons on the left side of the detachable controller. I can't see that being good for me in fighting games.

( Edited 20.10.2016 15:55 by Azuardo )

Sonic_13 20.10.2016#5

With so much focus on the hardware it's easy to miss that glimpses of games shown in the trailer.

- Brand new 3D Mario game!
- New Mario Kart (that's not Mario Kart 8)
- Skyrim
- NBA 2K
- New Splatoon

RudyC3 said:
Whatever the case may be, I want to hear exactly what's powering this beast.

Here's some info via NVIDIA
Nintendo Switch is powered by the performance of the custom Tegra processor. The high-efficiency scalable processor includes an NVIDIA GPU based on the same architecture as the world's top-performing GeForce gaming graphics cards.
https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/10/20/nintendo-switch/

( Edited 20.10.2016 16:08 by Sonic_13 )

RudyC3 20.10.2016#6

Sonic_13 said:
Here's some info via NVIDIA
Nintendo Switch is powered by the performance of the custom Tegra processor. The high-efficiency scalable processor includes an NVIDIA GPU based on the same architecture as the world's top-performing GeForce gaming graphics cards.
https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/10/20/nintendo-switch/

Damn. Nintendo digging their grave again. Once again, they go for a non x86 compatible CPU when all developers want to develop only on that. Sony listened. Microsoft listened. Nintendo won't listen. I'm disgusted. It was their one chance to make porting easier and get more third party support but they once again go for something complely exotic. All right, maybe not as much as PowerPC, but still. Developers make their games for PC and console running on x86 and they'd have to craft entirely different code for Nintendo alone? I don't see them making much of an effort there, since it would be too costly for potentially no profit if the system doesn't sell, and Nintendo systems don't necessarily sell well these days.

Cubed3 Limited Staff :: Review and Feature Writer

Marzeee 20.10.2016#7

Looks better than Wii U, but I'm pretty neutral on it at the moment. I really want to see more. There's some good things though, like region-free and the pro controller looks awesome, they finally returned to squishy shoulder triggers.

devidise 20.10.2016#8

It might be okay, but it looks a bit off putting right now. Nintendo definitely knows how to make me curious, so I'll have to try it out before before I decide, but for now, meh.

RufDogRacing 20.10.2016#9

Well, seems unclear about what's inside of it, and I think the wave of returning third-party support has to be seen to be believed, but considering all the first party games that we'll see.. it's pretty exciting. Definitely looking forward to seeing more!

( Edited 20.10.2016 17:10 by The Strat Man )

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Snowtwo 20.10.2016#10

I know I didn't say anything here but...

Seriously, right down to how it would function with the snap-on devices. I'm a bit worried about durability and connectivity but, since this stuff will likely be made of Nintendium, it could probably take a bomb blast and still work. However controller size will be an issue in ensuring a good porable experience. Nice to see Skyrim will be supported on the new Wii U.

Echoes221 20.10.2016#11

RudyC3 said:
I didn't expect the full system to be inside the handheld. Or maybe it isn't? Maybe the dock does more than managing inputs and outputs, perhaps it also increases the performance of the system? Whatever the case may be, I want to hear exactly what's powering this beast.

It looks like the tablet is powered by an Nvidia Tegra Chip which is why you can see the res/framerate drop quite a bit in tablet mode. As for the docking, i'd imagine it works something similar to the Razer Core which is an external graphics dock for laptops. You plug it in and you get better graphical performance as now it's using the discrete chip instead of the onboard of the tablet. It also looks like all games are cartridge based instead of disk based which is fine by me (the amount of storage/speed these days is pretty good).

davyK 20.10.2016#12

This would certainly enable Nintendo to streamline its manufacturing overheads. One device for handheld and home markets.

Stulaw 20.10.2016#13

I'll probably pre-order it as soon as it's available, it looks nice and modern, and the third party support should be better than the Wii U (I mean, it already has Skyrim confirmed), I'm looking to downsize the amount of stuff I play games on and this could be perfect along with my PC.

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crackedthesky 21.10.2016#14

RudyC3 said:

Damn. Nintendo digging their grave again. Once again, they go for a non x86 compatible CPU when all developers want to develop only on that. Sony listened. Microsoft listened. Nintendo won't listen. I'm disgusted. It was their one chance to make porting easier and get more third party support but they once again go for something complely exotic. All right, maybe not as much as PowerPC, but still. Developers make their games for PC and console running on x86 and they'd have to craft entirely different code for Nintendo alone? I don't see them making much of an effort there, since it would be too costly for potentially no profit if the system doesn't sell, and Nintendo systems don't necessarily sell well these days.

I'm more optimistic for a few reasons. Namely the partner list. EA and Epic Games are both on there. These companies don't have a good relationship with Nintendo; EA famously snubbed the Wii U over the whole Origin thing, and the Epic guys flat out bash Nintendo at every opportunity. I doubt they'd get back on board if this thing was remotely difficult to develop for.

But more than that, it's seeing Bethesda on there. Pete Hines has said over and over that he has nothing against Nintendo, but that as long as Nintendo's hardware took any extra effort to port to, it wasn't going to happen. Seeing Skyrim on there makes me think this thing is ridiculously easy to port to, or at least easy enough.

I think the prospect that this is a handheld, aka Nintendo's moneymaker, but is possibly on par with the Xbox One is probably enough to make any developer at least take a second look, but here we have some companies coming out with support for it at launch, despite how poorly that went for the third parties who got on board with Wii U at launch. I think that's a very good sign that the Switch hardware is probably pretty easy to work with.

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Sonic_13 21.10.2016#15

crackedthesky said:

I'm more optimistic for a few reasons. Namely the partner list. EA and Epic Games are both on there. These companies don't have a good relationship with Nintendo; EA famously snubbed the Wii U over the whole Origin thing, and the Epic guys flat out bash Nintendo at every opportunity. I doubt they'd get back on board if this thing was remotely difficult to develop for.

Speaking of Epic, they tweeted this out.

We're thrilled to partner with Nintendo to help Unreal Engine 4 developers bring their games to Nintendo Switch! https://t.co/MWL29xhb90
— Unreal Engine (@UnrealEngine) October 20, 2016

https://twitter.com/UnrealEngine/status/789201443731288066

Sandy Wilson 21.10.2016#16

This is so goddamn awesome looking! With this announcement and the Zelda Symphony yesterday I am hyped for Nintendo stuff. The third party support gives me so much hope!

I own all the consoles, ask me anything

Chantiment 21.10.2016#17

It's neat! I'll definitely be picking it up. Not sold on the new Pro Controller layout, but the grips look much better.

Interested to see what they're working with some of the named devs on.

Phoenom 21.10.2016#18

Damn, I want this so bad.

RudyC3 said:
I didn't expect the full system to be inside the handheld. Or maybe it isn't? Maybe the dock does more than managing inputs and outputs, perhaps it also increases the performance of the system? Whatever the case may be, I want to hear exactly what's powering this beast.

My guess is in handheld mode the screen will be in 720p resolution, and when docked an additional bit of hardware in the dock will help output to a full 1080p.

Ofisil 21.10.2016#19

Apart from a couple of things that I would like to know about it (especially the price Smilie ) this is the first time in eons that I'm intrigued to get a console.

Can't a fella drink in peace?
-Farnham

Trepe 21.10.2016#20

I'm actually surprised that it's almost exactly what I expected it to be.

I've written before that I thought it would take DS style cartridges because the price of solid state memory has come down and can potentially hold more than a disk. Also, Nintendo have always preferred cartridges because they're harder to pirate.

I love it, but must admit that it doesn't look that portable. Still great that it can be taken out at all though. Also, the screen is very exposed. I hope it's toughened glass and not some plastic. I also hope it comes with a screen cover to protect it.

The only things that sadden me a little are that it looks like it's not comparable to the other consoles in terms of power and that the direction pad + is missing! For the first time ever Nintendo are releasing a console that doesn't have a direction pad. End of an era.

J4K 21.10.2016#21

This is the best idea Nintendo has had in years. Fantastic showing -- truly interested in this. Couple things on my mind with it:

- Does each controller have gyros? ie can they each be a wiimote?
- What's battery life on those controllers like?
- Battery life of the unit + controllers needs to be at least in 3DS range, I think. "A full hour of gaming on the go" just won't cut it
- Guessing those cartridges come in 4-32GB sizes
- Any guesses on onboard storage? Hoping for more than the 32GB Wii U came with, but thinking it'll be 32GB with an SD slot.
- I'd bet money that screen is 720p. Which is fine. Will help battery last longer and will still be an upgrade 3DS users. We're all just a bit spoiled by our smartphones these days, though, in terms of sharpness.
- Online services will be critical to this machine's success
- Less worried about skipping out on x86. Battery efficient x86 is hard to come by anyway so it probably wouldn't have been viable in this form factor. 3rd Party Games will not make or break this system. That is true now for Nintendo perhaps more than ever. The reality is I'll be buying the next Mass Effect for PS4, and I'll be buying the next Mario Kart on this.

( Edited 21.10.2016 18:32 by J4K )

RudyC3 22.10.2016#22

What I do find worrying is that they're clearly saying it's a home console and not a handheld, yet most people I know who are not Nintendo fans are seeing it as a handheld and nothing more, thus not planning to buy it. And Nintendo themselves are not making it any better by saying this won't be the only system they develop for going forward, as in this is NOT an attempt from them to bridge both worlds, this is definitely just a home console that you can carry with you, but they will continue handhelds in parallel, since they say it's not a replacement for the 3DS. One of the very few good things I could see coming out of this was Nintendo finally being able to concentrate on one front of development but no, they're saying themselves that won't be the case. What's the point of forcing people to pay for portability on a home console then, when that money could have went into making the system more competitive and simpler for third parties to develop for?

Trepe said:
The only things that sadden me a little are that it looks like it's not comparable to the other consoles in terms of power and that the direction pad + is missing! For the first time ever Nintendo are releasing a console that doesn't have a direction pad. End of an era.

The Pro controller has one. They had to make it separate buttons on the joy con grip so that when used as it's own controller, the left half of it has proper action buttons in addition to a single stick.

( Edited 22.10.2016 01:03 by RudyC3 )

Cubed3 Limited Staff :: Review and Feature Writer

Azuardo 22.10.2016#23

RudyC3 said:
What I do find worrying is that they're clearly saying it's a home console and not a handheld, yet most people I know who are not Nintendo fans are seeing it as a handheld and nothing more, thus not planning to buy it. And Nintendo themselves are not making it any better by saying this won't be the only system they develop for going forward, as in this is NOT an attempt from them to bridge both worlds, this is definitely just a home console that you can carry with you, but they will continue handhelds in parallel, since they say it's not a replacement for the 3DS. One of the very few good things I could see coming out of this was Nintendo finally being able to concentrate on one front of development but no, they're saying themselves that won't be the case. What's the point of forcing people to pay for portability on a home console then, when that money could have went into making the system more competitive and simpler for third parties to develop for?

I can see where you're coming from with this.

Nintendo is saying this is a home console. But my mate was getting kind of the wrong message with this, saying he doesn't like it because he wants a home console and not a handheld that connects to the TV. I told him "but it is a home console." It just so happens to have a feature that lets you play it on the move, too. Choice is good - play it on your TV or don't play it on your TV. No one is forcing you to play it on the move, so play it on the TV instead. So if the PS4 had a feature that let you play it on the move, you wouldn't have bought it (it kind of does anyway, with the Vita connectivity)? I made him see some sense in the end. But clearly there is already some confusion and misinterpretation there.

I don't think it will be too big of a problem, given the positive feedback from what I've seen, but clearly the exact message is not being passed across here.

It doesn't bother me too much, because I am content with what this is. It's a system with good power that lets you play games either portably or on the TV. Not too much more needs to be said.

However, this concerns me:

And Nintendo themselves are not making it any better by saying this won't be the only system they develop for going forward, as in this is NOT an attempt from them to bridge both worlds, this is definitely just a home console that you can carry with you, but they will continue handhelds in parallel, since they say it's not a replacement for the 3DS. One of the very few good things I could see coming out of this was Nintendo finally being able to concentrate on one front of development but no, they're saying themselves that won't be the case.

I mean, shit, really? They are saying this?

This is the time when we can now get a 2D Metroid that thrives on portability, but will also satisfy those that played Super Metroid on their SNES consoles, too. And that goes for numerous games. I thought this was the point of this console - to now let devs concentrate on making one single game, instead of splitting into handheld and console versions. It would also allow devs that make simple 2D games to now have their games played on the TV. That will still be the case for many indies, but what is the point in Nintendo bringing out another handheld console and having separate teams make separate games? They are really screwing up if they are thinking this.

If I can only buy the next 2D Metroid on their new handheld, and not the Switch, then I will not be happy. I know they have had good success with the DS/3DS line, but I was under the same sort of impression - the Switch would be the chance for Nintendo devs to focus on game development, and not separate versions and whatnot.

Edit this post:

[quote][b]RudyC3 said:[/b]<br/>What I do find worrying is that they're clearly saying it's a home console and not a handheld, yet most people I know who are not Nintendo fans are seeing it as a handheld and nothing more, thus not planning to buy it. And Nintendo themselves are not making it any better by saying this won't be the only system they develop for going forward, as in this is NOT an attempt from them to bridge both worlds, this is definitely just a home console that you can carry with you, but they will continue handhelds in parallel, since they say it's not a replacement for the 3DS. One of the very few good things I could see coming out of this was Nintendo finally being able to concentrate on one front of development but no, they're saying themselves that won't be the case. What's the point of forcing people to pay for portability on a home console then, when that money could have went into making the system more competitive and simpler for third parties to develop for?[/quote]
I can see where you're coming from with this.

Nintendo is saying this is a home console. But my mate was getting kind of the wrong message with this, saying he doesn't like it because he wants a home console and not a handheld that connects to the TV. I told him "but it [b]is [/b]a home console." It just so happens to have a feature that lets you play it on the move, too. Choice is good - play it on your TV or don't play it on your TV. No one is forcing you to play it on the move, so play it on the TV instead. So if the PS4 had a feature that let you play it on the move, you wouldn't have bought it (it kind of does anyway, with the Vita connectivity)? I made him see some sense in the end. But clearly there is already some confusion and misinterpretation there.

I don't think it will be too big of a problem, given the positive feedback from what I've seen, but clearly the exact message is not being passed across here.

It doesn't bother me too much, because I am content with what this is. It's a system with good power that lets you play games either portably or on the TV. Not too much more needs to be said.

However, [b]this [/b]concerns me:

[quote] And Nintendo themselves are not making it any better by saying this won't be the only system they develop for going forward, as in this is NOT an attempt from them to bridge both worlds, this is definitely just a home console that you can carry with you, but they will continue handhelds in parallel, since they say it's not a replacement for the 3DS. One of the very few good things I could see coming out of this was Nintendo finally being able to concentrate on one front of development but no, they're saying themselves that won't be the case. [/quote]
I mean, shit, really? They are saying this?

This is the time when we can now get a 2D Metroid that thrives on portability, but will also satisfy those that played Super Metroid on their SNES consoles, too. And that goes for numerous games. I thought this was the point of this console - to now let devs concentrate on making one single game, instead of splitting into handheld and console versions. It would also allow devs that make simple 2D games to now have their games played on the TV. That will still be the case for many indies, but what is the point in Nintendo bringing out another handheld console and having separate teams make separate games? They are really screwing up if they are thinking this.

If I can only buy the next 2D Metroid on their new handheld, and not the Switch, then I will not be happy. I know they have had good success with the DS/3DS line, but I was under the same sort of impression - the Switch would be the chance for Nintendo devs to focus on game development, and not separate versions and whatnot.

Save Changes Cancel Full Edit

Marzeee 22.10.2016#24

The thing is, it IS a handheld, all the hardware is in the tablet. The Tegra is a "mobile" chip. Everything about it is handheld. It just so happens it can be plugged into a TV. However if the dock can provide extra horsepower, than I'd consider it more of a home console.

Yeah, that worries me Az. This seemed like the perfect merge of both handheld and home console. It meant they can put all their developers onto one console and that could mean better polished games and a more consistent release schedule. It all makes perfect sense. It will blow my mind if they go against this.

Trepe 22.10.2016#25

RudyC3 said:

The Pro controller has one. They had to make it separate buttons on the joy con grip so that when used as it's own controller, the left half of it has proper action buttons in addition to a single stick.

Yeah, but the pro controller is a separate accessory. A lot of people won't buy it, they just buy the console and use the provided controllers. It's the first time a console has shipped that doesn't have the direction pad. It won't bother me for most games but I do think a lot of 2D games are better with a direction pad.

One thing I find kind of a cool idea is that because the controllers are detachable future games could release with different style controllers if they need them or unique custom designs or ever themed shapes (e.g. Half pokéball shapes on each end for a Pokémon game that could be used as controls, then taken off, clicked together and taken out as a pokéball with extra features like pedometer/PokémonGo features etc.)

Just me thinking out loud really but I do think it's a good idea and would add extra features and longevity to it as a console.

( Edited 22.10.2016 11:28 by Trepe )

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