Looking forward to "NX"? (aka The Switch Thread)

[PC Engine Fan X!]

According to Hori, it's upcoming arcade joystick based on the Real Arcade Pro series for the Nintendo Switch console/handheld hybrid is officially titled as "Hori Real Arcade Pro SW". The joystick & push buttons used in this newest RAP setup is based on Hori's Hayabusa brand used in their current RAP series lineup. Pricing for this latest Switch RAP joystick is listed as follows for the European gaming market is at a respectable 149.99 euros. No official date has been given as to when it'll be sold to the general public at this current point in time.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[GaijinPunch]

Nintendo Shares up 30%

[Skykid]

Nintendo Shares up 30%

I called this.

I swear I should be a market analyst, but nobody will pay me to do it.

[HydrogLox]

So Hori is releasing a Splatoon 2 headset and it seems some people are still up in arms about it - even though it should have been clear that this would be coming. The "odd adapter" makes it pretty clear that the smart device app is only responsible for voice chat audio and that the game audio is still coming from the Switch and that the adapter has to mix both together.

This approach still just seems to be designed to offload the processing and power burden of voice chat from the Switch. Now granted there could be a wireless solution but that would be somewhat pricy:

• Even now you need to attach a bluetooth transmitter (with an independent power source) to the Switch to get game audio to a bluetooth headset (enabled bluetooth tends to drain most mobile devices faster - so a built-in solution would negatively impact the Switch's battery life).
• To add voice chat you would need a headset that can receive bluetooth audio from both the smart device app and the Switch bluetooth transmitter and mix both (multipoint bluetooth only lets you switch between two different sources but not necessarily mix them - at least as far as I'm aware).

[Udderdude]

Got to hand it to Nintendo, they sure know how to sell those accessories.

[bigbadboaz]

I'm not handing anything to Nintendo - especially money.

[BryanM]

Holy hell, have you guys seen those queues?

In Japan, they have this thing where 3,000 people will stand in line just to have a chance of maybe, possibly, winning a lottery and therefore gaining the privilege of being able to buy an NX.

It's a bit understandable why their EmuBox line isn't a top priority.

[Immryr]

the japanese love standing in long queues though. half the people in there probably just saw a big line, thought it must be for something cool and joined it.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

On the JPN region Switch eShop site, you can d/l the cool niconico app (still no 3rd party apps on the USA region Switch eShop though).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Skykid]

I finally got to play a Switch firsthand the other day, for fhe first time.

Felt a bit underwhelmed tbh. Not sure if that was because of hype, but I doubt it as that sort of thing didn't normally affect me. I suppose I was expecting something with a little more wow.

I feel happy to wait for the inevitable revision and all round improvements before getting one of these, by which point hopefully the library has some interesting new titles.

For now I just got a Wii U. Decided to go for it when I heard second hand prices were already starting to creep up. It's almost completely unavailable in Hong Kong which is highly unusual for such a recent machine. Happy to say it's surprisingly solid and exceeded my expectation, so that will do for a while.

[BryanM]

I agree it'd be better to let it simmer for awhile, unless one has an absolute compulsion to play Disgaea 5 portably right now.

Hopefully an industrious fellow will invent a Queue Simulator by then, which will be the next hot genre for the next three years before we come full circle to VR pogs.

[bigbadboaz]

Just curious, what were you expecting to wow you? It's been pretty clear this is another "modest power" Nintendo machine, and many of the games have been seen before. Even the form factor has been done before - many times - even if not with the "switching" ability.

I too am sticking with the Wii U. BoTW, MK8, two other Zeldas, FAST Neo, etc. Don't care about portability and Nintendo's philosophy ensures that these "old versions" are fully graphically competitive with the Switch ports.

Also allows me to stop funding any further Nintendo tomfoolery. Now that's something to feel good about.

[ZellSF]

The communication app (or a preview) is out and there's impressions of it available. Spoiler: it's really terrible.

"The voice chat will disconnect while you're talking on the phone or using another application, but your voice chat will restart in the same room once you open the Nintendo Switch Online application again as long as the game session is still ongoing."

This is maybe more because it's early in development and rushed out for Splatoon 2, but:

"What's more, early testing confirms that the app won't work if your phone goes into power-saving "sleep mode," with the screen inactive. And don't bother trying to use the app to chat with your Switch friends while away from the system, either: you can only join chat rooms with people when you're actively playing a specific, supported game with them."

Nintendo Switch definitely still wows me. Not in a positive way though.

[Udderdude]

Sounds like alpha quality if it can't even keep itself active with the screen off.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Blatantly it only exists to keep the Switch's battery life workable. Expect it to go onboard at the inevitable hardware revision.

Only one game is supported right now anyway so it basically is an alpha. Right now a lack of games and lack of stock are more relevant things to bash Nintendo on!

[bigbadboaz]

Nintendo Switch definitely still wows me. Not in a positive way though.

LOL. Nintendo always in top form.

[Udderdude]

Holy shit, what a mess. What a kludge. There's no excuse for this. This looks like something I'd slap together out of spare parts I've got lying around the house, not a first party solution.

[ZellSF]

To be fair, those are third party accessories.

Nintendo doesn't really have any solution. You can't claim it's bad if it doesn't exist.

[Udderdude]

Looks pretty official to me. https://www.ebgames.ca/Switch/Games/731148

[HydrogLox]

Hori - "Official Nintendo Licensed Product"
https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/licensed.jsp

Doublespeak for "Nintendo can't be bothered to develop their own product/solution" for now?

"Official Nintendo" merchandise only has Nintendo on the box - though I have to agree, you have to squint severely to see the difference.

[BryanM]

Capcom sold half a mill copies of Super Duper Ultimate Whizbang Streetwalker 2 Disco Turbo Hyper Fighting With A Vengeance. In a quarter. This was above their projections, and I'd guess at least twice what they thought it'd do.

They're preparing more games for the platform.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Resident Evil Revelations is getting a PS4/xbone version... and it's coming to Switch along with the sequel:

http://m.uk.ign.com/articles/2017/08/01 ... ndo-switch

Old games are still games I guess... is portability enough to sell something the target market likely own already? Mind, the original Revelations HD port was a bit grotty so there's that I guess.

[Strider77]

What was "grotty" about the first HD port?

[TransatlanticFoe]

Graphically it wasn't up to standards at the time (inconsistent texture quality, framerate issues) and control was quite sluggish. It's a solid game but as an HD update it's a bit naff (see also Final Fantasy Type-0 HD).

[ryu]

That's what happens when you go from 3DS or PSP to 1080p. They'd have to redo all art assets from scratch to make those games look proper HD.

[ZellSF]

So big surprise, the Doom 2016 port runs at 30 FPS. I wish Bethesda would spend their time on a good version of Doom 3 BFG Edition (and the included Doom I & II ports) rather than porting Doom 2016 to a device that can't run it without heavy compromises. I'm not saying 60 FPS is required for everything, there's a lot of games where 30 FPS is acceptable. Doom 2016 is not one of them.

[TransatlanticFoe]

There's talk of stuff running locked at 30 FPS on the xbox one x, the industry doesn't want "super-smooth" - it wants "looks well fancy". It's still mighty impressive for a quickie port to a system that's only been out 6 months. Mind, I've never had a problem with low framerates and find SNES Doom playable.

Did anyone do a portable original Doom after the GBA ones (lazy Jaguar port and "Doom II: cataract simulator" respectively)?

[ZellSF]

There's talk of stuff running locked at 30 FPS on the xbox one x

Lots of games run at 30 FPS. It's fine as long as the games aren't designed around a higher framerate. Doom 2016 definitely is.

Did anyone do a portable original Doom after the GBA ones (lazy Jaguar port and "Doom II: cataract simulator" respectively)?

Unless you count mobile ones, no. Even the homebrew ports aren't all that good.

It's still mighty impressive for a quickie port to a system that's only been out 6 months.

Sure it's impressive, but that's a qualification it shares with 3DO Doom.

[BryanM]

Did anyone do a portable original Doom after the GBA ones

Officially, no. Unofficially, of course. They released the source to the public.

Which makes them very classy people. Blizzard ain't exactly sharing its ancient relics with zero economic and security value.

[Tarma]

Bought a Switch for my son's birthday - ostensibly so he'd stop using my PS4, and because Nintendo is usually a lot more child friendly (he's only 7).

I have to say, I'm not very impressed with it as a games console. The dock feels cheap and nasty, the HDMI connectivty is a joke - won't work on my main TV, but fortunatley works on the cheap Samsung lcd in my son's room (originally wanted it in the main living room for better multi-player experience), and going into two player by using the "split" controller seems un-necesarrily cumbersome (I got the impression from previews it was an "intuative" action for the console to understand - it isn't).

As a handheld, I think it's pretty good, expensive, but good - like a next gen 3DS... The screen is great and it's comfortable to hold. As a main console, it's not for me, but I'm sure my little man will get use out of it.