Nintendo NX Revealed As Nintendo Switch

[Transdude1996]

So the Switch uses cartridges, not discs.

I don't know how much cartridge technology has progressed, by I doubt they've reached blu-ray level.

https://www.sandisk.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2014/sandisk-premieres-worlds-highest-capacity-sd-card-for-high-performance-video-and-photo-capture

Single layer Blu-Ray discs only hold up to 25GB.

That's about 800$ though. The real question is, what's the largest cartridge size that's also cheap enough to manufacture that it can compete with discs.

Going by the pricing over on Best Buy's website, a 10 pack of regular Blu-Ray discs can cost $15 meanwhile a single 32GB SD card costs, at minimum, almost $20.

 

[Gizen]

So the Switch uses cartridges, not discs.

I don't know how much cartridge technology has progressed, by I doubt they've reached blu-ray level.

https://www.sandisk.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2014/sandisk-premieres-worlds-highest-capacity-sd-card-for-high-performance-video-and-photo-capture

Single layer Blu-Ray discs only hold up to 25GB.

That's about 800$ though. The real question is, what's the largest cartridge size that's also cheap enough to manufacture that it can compete with discs.

Going by the pricing over on Best Buy's website, a 10 pack of regular Blu-Ray discs can cost $15 meanwhile a single 32GB SD card costs, at minimum, almost $20.

Neither of those prices is even remotely accurate, because the price both those things are sold to consumers are subjected to all manner of assorted mark ups, some of which only apply to one or the other for various reasons. The cost of acquiring them for manufacturing purposes is different, and that's what will be the determining factor.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Wow. That is a really ugly design. I normally care about aesthetics for a console, but wow, that really is ugly. Also the rumoured name; Nintendo NX sounds way cooler than 'Switch'. I guess we will see in 5 or 6 months just how far the ball was dropped.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

I wonder if it's gonna have any optical media support. Probably not.

Power is a serious question. Will it be able to compete with the XOne/PS4's power at all? Then again, since it's fulfilling both a console and a mobile role, maybe it won't necessarily need to.

Splitscreen support looks very solid so thumbs-up for that. Just needs LAN support.

Probably won't have any of the extra in-game features that the XOne and the PS4 support such as multi-tasking and instant video capture. Will be a bummer but not a deal-breaker if the game line-up is solid enough. Knowing the industry now though, again, probably not.

 

[ghalleon0915]

Although I'm getting urge to eat some toast for some reason

Well we already have a purple lunchbox, so a toaster is only continuing the theme.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who referred to my GC as a lunchbox....

OT - I'm actually interested in this now, but as others have mentioned I'd like to know about the battery life, and of course the pricing for the different bundles/packages they may have for this. How the controllers handle/feel is a tad important too, so I'm looking forward to more info from Nintendo. I do like the "Switch" moniker, it seems to pique people's interest when I talk to them.

Don't screw this up Nintendo.

 

[loa]

Flashcards will be pretty great on this thing tho some months down the line once the fun police has been contained.
It should have so much power, it could be the portable plays-everything-machine.

Everything up to ps2 emulation as well as playing movies should be no issue, especially not with that giant screen and tv output although smartphones have kind of taken the luster out of it since they can just do it without all the proprietary big-N-breathing-down-your-neck BS for years now and we're better off for it.

It is not as desirable as it was back in DS times when watching a movie on that crappy little screen was mind blowing.
Now I just have my entire DVD collection on my phone.
So the fact that this is in nindendos grasp with their collective DS piracy PTSD kind of devalues it again.

The fact that so many youtube videos get flagged for daring to spread nintendos marketing alone speaks volumes about how much this dinosaur keeps wasting its potential.

 

[Yopaz]

This sounds cool,

But thing that worries me about the system is its power. Because if it's not to a similar level to the Xbox One or PS4, Then it's practically dead in the water before it even comes out.

It would be dead in the water if it tried to compete with the Xbox One or PS4 at this point. Nintendo is far too late to enter the home console race by now. Most of those who want a console to play those games already got it, even if Nintendo could play all the same games it wouldn't be compatabile with their existing games. I know I wouldn't buy a Nintendo console to play multiplatform games if I already owned a system that does that just fine.

The switch looks to have some pretty impressive hardware backing it up, like a priprietary version of the new GTX 1080 family plus it's doing something very new.

The GTX1080 family is very inaccurate. It uses the Pascal architecture which is the same as the 1000 series, which doesn't mean it will be even rmeotely similar to 1080, it is likely more similar to the upcoming 1050 if anything. It will use a custom chipset similar to that of mobile phones. It will probably be a good handheld, but I doubt it will impressive compared to any of the current consoles. Personally this console will probably be my favourite in a long time if they can get the games for it. I do most of my gaming away from my TV, but I would like the opportunity to do so. I have actually thought about how awesome it would be to continue playing my 3DS on the TV or if I could have used the Wii U in such a way. After the Wii U I will exercise some caution, but I am going to keep an eye out for this.

Neither of those prices is even remotely accurate, because the price both those things are sold to consumers are subjected to all manner of assorted mark ups, some of which only apply to one or the other for various reasons. The cost of acquiring them for manufacturing purposes is different, and that's what will be the determining factor.

It won't compete with discs on storage or costs, discs are a lot cheaper to produce because they can be mass produced with great accuracy. It will be competitive because a spinning disc in a portable controller would be a disaster. The cartridges are smaller and they won't get scratched by sudden jolts. I have experienced some games becoming useless after the console was moved slightly by accident (the Xbox 360 was known for that though).

OT: I will await further information before I make up my mind about this. In the pre-launch hype there's no telling what will happen. I got caught up in that with the Wii U and we all see how well that went. I am fairly satisfied with the Wii U, but there's no arguing that Nintendo didn't do a good job with any aspect of it.

 

[votemarvel]

This sounds cool,

But thing that worries me about the system is its power. Because if it's not to a similar level to the Xbox One or PS4, Then it's practically dead in the water before it even comes out.

Just like the 3DS..

Oh wait..

There is a world of difference between the two.

Think for a moment how many people you see out playing games on their phone versus the amount who are playing on their tablet, I'm willing to bet that there is a heavy lean to the former.

A phone, much like the 3DS can be slipped easily into your trouser or coat pocket. It is convenience, you don't need anything other than the system itself.

The Switch screen though requires you to not only carry a pretty big tablet around, which can't easily be slipped into most pockets, but also a controller. Less easy to carry and more peripherals to lose.

I can't help but feel that Nintendo should have gone along a route like the Dreamcast and its VMUs. A decently powered home system with a smaller, maybe 5 inch, detachable screen that could be used for side games to the main titles and maybe some virtual console titles.

 

[FalloutJack]

Half-intrigued, half-not. It looks like a solid piece of equipment (that splits up), but I'll wait on some games, of course. Also, are there any unnecessary and unwanted security measures on it? Hmmm?

 

[Chewster]

In all honesty, good controller that attach to a touchscreen device like a smartphone, or a tablet... That's something gamers have been demanding for years, with not much in the way of workable solutions.

Dude, dozens of Bluetooth controllers already exist and have for a while now. I own two iPegas (one of which is designed for tablets) and a Moga Pro Power, which is pretty much the gold standard for Bluetooth controllers. It even has a 2200 mAh battery so when I'm out and not using it, it can charge my phone. They all work brilliantly with my smartphone and the clips hold it just fine.

About the only drag is the lack of Bluetooth controller support from mobile developers. Deus Ex: the Fall would be brilliant to play with a controller, for example.

As for this thing, well, I sincerely doubt anyone going out to play basketball is going to be dragging this thing along to play with friends between games and the screen seems small to be playing multiplayer. Also, splitting the controller so two people can play looks annoying. I've used small Bluetooth controllers in the past and they're a pain in the ass to use if you have monster hands like I do.

Still, interesting concept. We'll have to wait and see what the reviewers say.

 

[Areloch]

This sounds cool,

But thing that worries me about the system is its power. Because if it's not to a similar level to the Xbox One or PS4, Then it's practically dead in the water before it even comes out.

It would be dead in the water if it tried to compete with the Xbox One or PS4 at this point. Nintendo is far too late to enter the home console race by now. Most of those who want a console to play those games already got it, even if Nintendo could play all the same games it wouldn't be compatabile with their existing games. I know I wouldn't buy a Nintendo console to play multiplatform games if I already owned a system that does that just fine.

The switch looks to have some pretty impressive hardware backing it up, like a priprietary version of the new GTX 1080 family plus it's doing something very new.

The GTX1080 family is very inaccurate. It uses the Pascal architecture which is the same as the 1000 series, which doesn't mean it will be even rmeotely similar to 1080, it is likely more similar to the upcoming 1050 if anything. It will use a custom chipset similar to that of mobile phones. It will probably be a good handheld, but I doubt it will impressive compared to any of the current consoles. Personally this console will probably be my favourite in a long time if they can get the games for it. I do most of my gaming away from my TV, but I would like the opportunity to do so. I have actually thought about how awesome it would be to continue playing my 3DS on the TV or if I could have used the Wii U in such a way. After the Wii U I will exercise some caution, but I am going to keep an eye out for this.

Looks to have a pascal chipset Tegra chip. So yeah, definitely not 1080 levels, but it should provide a good bit of meat, hardware-wise while still giving good energy efficiency, which is important for mobile mode.

Neither of those prices is even remotely accurate, because the price both those things are sold to consumers are subjected to all manner of assorted mark ups, some of which only apply to one or the other for various reasons. The cost of acquiring them for manufacturing purposes is different, and that's what will be the determining factor.

It won't compete with discs on storage or costs, discs are a lot cheaper to produce because they can be mass produced with great accuracy. It will be competitive because a spinning disc in a portable controller would be a disaster. The cartridges are smaller and they won't get scratched by sudden jolts. I have experienced some games becoming useless after the console was moved slightly by accident (the Xbox 360 was known for that though).

OT: I will await further information before I make up my mind about this. In the pre-launch hype there's no telling what will happen. I got caught up in that with the Wii U and we all see how well that went. I am fairly satisfied with the Wii U, but there's no arguing that Nintendo didn't do a good job with any aspect of it.

Other aspects that are boons for cards: Drastically faster read speeds - which cut down on load times significantly, and thus require smaller internal drives for installs - as well as fewer moving parts in the machine itself, which cuts costs as well as fewer things to break from wear and tear, which is good for longevity.

Add in that they could potentially go back to save files on the cards themselves, which would let them be more judicial with internal storage capacity(for better or worse) which would also help level out the price of the units.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Pretty stupid how people want home console specs out of a handheld.

Let's not sell them short, gamers want a console with graphics conjured by fairies due to the system being constructed from hihiirokane by super aliens, for it to be priced the same as a candy bar, for it have all third party games two montsh before launch at 1080p with 120 FPS and no lag, region free so they can play games they're never going to buy, games that are hardcore but not too hardcore with full voice acting in ten different languages, free online, etc etc. You see how this mindset is a problem.

 

[votemarvel]

No there isn't.

The amount of people playing games on a 3DS is far slimmer than the amount of people playing on a phone too. What's your point with this?

Yes there is.

There is a reason you don't see people gaming on a tablet when they are out. They are harder to carry, add in the addition of peripherals and you add another issue.

Yes phones are more used than the 3DS is somewhat simple, more people own phones.

That does not invalidate the point that ease of carry is important.

It's a portable handheld. And you need to ask yourself how often you carry a wallet, phone, keys and 3DS all in your pockets..

After the essentials, things like DSs tend to be carried in a bag.. Unless you're wearing something along the lines of cargo shorts/trousers... Which would also have enough pockets to hold the Switch.

3DS aside since I don't own one presently, every single day. Wallet and keys in my left hand pocket, phone in my right. I don't know a single person who carries their wallet or phone in their bag. A lot of idiots who carry them in their back pockets though.

IGN did a video breakdown of the Switch already.. It isn't that big.

At least a 7" tablet with the addition of peripherals. Doesn't matter about the size, it has stopped being easy to carry, it has stopped being convenient.

So Yeah, this is entirely the same as the 3DS. In no reality does the Switch need comparable power to the PS4/Xbox One in order to sell well.

Pretty stupid how people want home console specs out of a handheld.

But the Switch isn't just a handheld is it. It is a home console/tablet hybrid. And when in the home console market certain expectations need to be met or you end up with Wii U level of sales.

I hope I am wrong but Nintendo to me have put themselves in a very dangerous position. They compete with themselves in the handheld market, where they can't match the 3DS for ease of use or convenience. Also in the home console market they don't seem positioned to take on Sony or Microsoft.

The term 'Jack of All Trades but Master of None' springs to mind when describing the Switch at the moment.

 

[StatusNil]

Sorry to be negative and all, but I just don't see the point. If I see my friends doing some merry rooftop drinking, I'm certainly not tempted to take my expensive console there.

I play games instead of going out, as it should be done.

 

[Nazulu]

If those joy-sticks are anything like those on the 3DS, then this can go straight to hell for all I care. The design of the controllers already put me off as it is.

So... what's the chance this isn't going to be really expensive? Since this seems like a scam to force us to buy both.