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

[Xyga]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017- ... back-to-us
Not sure if this is the best topic to post on, but it's the most active right now.

Wouldn't be the first time I think, and it's their IP anyway I bet they can download it from anywhere as much as they want, nobody will sue them (would be funny though).

[soprano1]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017- ... back-to-us
Not sure if this is the best topic to post on, but it's the most active right now.

Wouldn't be the first time I think, and it's their IP anyway I bet they can download it from anywhere as much as they want, nobody will sue them (would be funny though).

Hypocrisy aside...

[ZellSF]

Game publishers downloading pirated versions when they want to re-sell them is nothing new. Them being hypocritical about it isn't new either. Unless you're a Nintendo fanboy who believes Nintendo is your friend and has high moral values, you shouldn't be even mildly surprised about this.

[KennyMan666]

So you can have up to 8 user accounts on one Switch, and each account will have access to the eShop of the region they're created as. Since the system is region-free, sounds like all you need to get access to all eShop content are one user account for each region. Better than I expected from Nintendo!

Pretty sure I'll get a Switch eventually, when depends on when I get a job after getting my master's...

[ZellSF]

That's the first good news I've heard about the Switch, but the same article also states that video recording for sharing is planned but not available at launch and that no video streaming services like Netflix are available at launch and are only being considered (not confirmed).

Should've waited until E3 with the reveal and until holiday with the launch.

[soprano1]

Game publishers downloading pirated versions when they want to re-sell them is nothing new. Them being hypocritical about it isn't new either. Unless you're a Nintendo fanboy who believes Nintendo is your friend and has high moral values, you shouldn't be even mildly surprised about this.

Not a Nintendo fanboy, and i'm not surprised at all.

[HydrogLox]

Since the system is region-free, sounds like all you need to get access to all eShop content are one user account for each region.

People welcome the "region-free" announcement because they expect Nintendo to meet their expectations of what "region-free" means. I remain sceptical about Nintendo's implementation of "region-free" on the Switch. The announcement of their paid online service (which in itself is reasonable enough) creates plenty of opportunities for them to put barriers up against cross-region purchases. I'll concede that:

• Offline content of games will probably work on all Switch units regardless of the region of origin of the hardware and of the games.
• There will likely be a free tier on the online service to allow digital game purchases.

My concerns are:

• Any game related activity on the service could require a paid subscription - even something as basic as posting a score on a leaderboard.
• This in turn could motivate Nintendo to include more and more game content that requires some kind of online support. Now while this seems counter to the notion of it being a "portable" system they are already painting this picture of an urbanite pedestrian stopping for a coffee at a free Wi-Fi hotspot which can be easily extended to the suburban family travelling in the mobile hotspot equipped SUV.
• So games could become more and more "gimped" in the absence of a Wi-Fi connection. (On the other hand some game developers/publishers could choose to be "region-free" by not using the online service.)
• Games will probably still have region specific product IDs - so when you try to play a game from a different region on your domestic service the game will simply complain that it cannot contact it's support services for the full functionality - a likely scenario for games that aren't even sold in your region. This basically translates into having to have paid subscriptions for all the regions that you buy games from. People don't even want to pay for their domestic service.
• Ultimately Nintendo can still throw up IP locking around their regional services. It's not perfect but it's a deterrent to a lot of people.

So despite the announcement that the Switch will be region-free I don't be believe that Nintendo will support cross-region purchases nor that it will refrain from using policies and tactics that ultimately deter cross-region purchasing and use.

[Xyga]

Ok so Nintendo were really taking Europeans for idiots on launch day demanding distributors to display prices higher than everywhere else.
Then they saw all the angry feedback in the press and communities and now prices have settled down sigificantly, for instance you can order a Switch + Zelda bundle at 359€ on Amazon, exactly as I said they should have done day 1.

If they don't know how to price their products correctly you have to question Nintendo's ability as a company selling products worldwide, here they've made a shit move and got bad rep points they really didn't need, and for what results ?
Did they really make substential profit from a week of overpriced EU preorders ? I don't believe for second the shitstorm was worth it.

[Udderdude]

At least they listened. That's pretty new for Nintendo ..

[EmperorIng]

Now I hope they listen to the folks that want the dual-audio option for Zelda.

Oh who am I kidding.

[HydrogLox]

So I guess everybody with a pre-order in the US is breathing a sigh of relief ... however short lived that relief may be.

I thought the sales tax in the US was 5 to 10% over the $299 MSRP.

Polygon: Video game industry prepares for coming of possible trade tariff

Given that a lot of video gaming products are created/manufactured outside of the borders of the US they could become subject to a(n up to) 10% tariff - so the US $299 MSRP for the Nintendo Switch may be history if/when the tariff comes into effect.

Of course that is just the least of it when one considers how much these days is actually "Made in China".

[Zen]

So I guess everybody with a pre-order in the US is breathing a sigh of relief ... however short lived that relief may be.

I thought the sales tax in the US was 5 to 10% over the $299 MSRP.

Polygon: Video game industry prepares for coming of possible trade tariff

Given that a lot of video gaming products are created/manufactured outside of the borders of the US they could become subject to a(n up to) 10% tariff - so the US $299 MSRP for the Nintendo Switch may be history if/when the tariff comes into effect.

Of course that is just the least of it when one considers how much these days is actually "Made in China".

"IF"
Thats the overriding tone of the article. It's also worth remembering that; "if my aunt had balls, she would be my uncle"
Of course anything can and may happen but more concrete is the fact that the author of this "article" is Brian Crecente. Make of that what you will.

[bigbadboaz]

What is the issue with Crecente? I've heard him discussed in this tone before but don't know the backstory.

I frickin' hate Polygon, so if it's just the association, then OK. But I'm assuming there's more -

[ZellSF]

Been enjoying the PC version of Redout a lot. It's fun trying to figure out how to optimally control the ship for now, but I'm unsure how the game hold outs in the long run. Especially since it seems to still be sort of in active development.

When I get the Switch I'll definitely pick it up it manages to retain some of its presentation values and runs at 60FPS. Though I am worried about that, I've seen a few smaller indie titles with terrible performance when they come to consoles.

This and The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ worries me a bit too. I have a feeling these indie launch titles won't exactly get a large print and if you want them, you more or less are going to have to end up buying them for full price as close to release date as possible. They're not that cheap so since I'm going to wait with buying a Switch anyway, being able to wait for a price drop would've been nice.

On the subject of not cheap, the Bomberman game is a full priced retail title. Yeah it costs as much as Zelda. And from what I've seen from the game, it's not really justified.

Freedom Planet 2 has been showing of gameplay lately and it's eventually coming to unspecified Nintendo platforms. I'm thinking that means Switch, but thinking about this made me a bit worried about one Switch aspect: the screen. Indie titles for other platforms target 1080p, so 2D games ported to the Switch might have to settle for some blurry scaling on the Switch's portable mode (which is the only thing I'll be using). If you're doing a low resolution pixel game you can start out with a 640x360 scale for perfect integer scaling, but anything high-resolution 2D or not planned as a switch title from the start might not turn out optimal.

[dave4shmups]

The Wii U is a console that I'd still love to buy. It's got some great games, and it's 100% backwards compatible with the Wii, which is also a big selling point with me. But I can't believe that Nintendo has NEVER had a major price cut for it. Gamespot.com, and others have reported that all production of the Wii U is over and done with, worldwide. And yet, they still cost $299.99 new, and there's no way I'm going to pay that amount of money, when I could get a PS4 or an Xbox One for less. Honestly; not considering the Virtual Boy, the Wii U is their worst selling console of all time. What do they have to loose at this point by introducing a major price cut? I know that there are a lot of used Wii Us out there, and hopefully the prices on those will drop as more people trade in their Wii Us. I guess I'll just wait for that to happen. That or I'll just pick up a used Wii on eBay.

I do like what Nintendo's doing with the Switch, and I'm excited for Super Mario Odyssey. However, I can't think of any Switch exclusive titles beyond that that get me excited.

[BryanM]

What do they have to loose at this point by introducing a major price cut?

Money.

The tablet controller was a really bad idea.

[HydrogLox]

And yet, they still cost $299.99 new, and there's no way I'm going to pay that amount of money

Right now US$200.00 from Nintendo direct - I figure they are identified as "refurbished" to prevent being resold as "new".

What do they have to loose at this point by introducing a major price cut?

I think they rather have you buy a Switch so that you'll buy their stuff in the future. Can't make any money off you if you buy a Wii U at this point.

However, I can't think of any Switch exclusive titles beyond that that get me excited.

I suspect that most of the popular Wii U titles will in time resurface as ports on the Switch - especially if/once the Switch install base surpasses that of the Wii U. I also suspect that prices for many of the Wii U physical releases (even used) will simply will not drop, they'll just go up - at least until there is a superior version on the Switch. I'm even wondering if Nintendo will be severely limiting the Wii U print run for Zelda - Breath of the Wild - because they would rather have everybody pick up a copy for the Switch (and of course the Switch itself).

The tablet controller was a really bad idea.

... and it is ultimately the "Switch precursor" which explains why they never considered selling the Wii U without it - for them it was always about the gamepad controller - the console box was just there to hold the parts they couldn't fit into the controller at the time.

[dave4shmups]

And yet, they still cost $299.99 new, and there's no way I'm going to pay that amount of money

Right now US$200.00 from Nintendo direct - I figure they are identified as "refurbished" to prevent being resold as "new".

What do they have to loose at this point by introducing a major price cut?

I think they rather have you buy a Switch so that you'll buy their stuff in the future. Can't make any money off you if you buy a Wii U at this point.

However, I can't think of any Switch exclusive titles beyond that that get me excited.

I suspect that most of the popular Wii U titles will in time resurface as ports on the Switch - especially if/once the Switch install base surpasses that of the Wii U. I also suspect that prices for many of the Wii U physical releases (even used) will simply will not drop, they'll just go up - at least until there is a superior version on the Switch. I'm even wondering if Nintendo will be severely limiting the Wii U print run for Zelda - Breath of the Wild - because they would rather have everybody pick up a copy for the Switch (and of course the Switch itself).

The tablet controller was a really bad idea.

... and it is ultimately the "Switch precursor" which explains why they never considered selling the Wii U without it - for them it was always about the gamepad controller - the console box was just there to hold the parts they couldn't fit into the controller at the time.

Thanks for the link! And good points.

[ZellSF]

A PC demo of Freedom Planet 2 has been released and it has a native resolution of 640x360, which seems promising for an eventual Switch release. If the demo's anything to judge by it's going to turn out a pretty decent game.

[jandrogo]

A PC demo of Freedom Planet 2 has been released and it has a native resolution of 640x360, which seems promising for an eventual Switch release. If the demo's anything to judge by it's going to turn out a pretty decent game.

Never heard of it, but seeing a gameplay looks like a Sonic clone

[Tarma]

Well any interest i had in the machine has been killed off for the time being when I saw the price of the games and peripherals the other day on Game... £60 on average for either... for a console that would not be a primary source of VG entertainment in this household - no thanks.

[HydrogLox]

Here's hoping to a Switch Micro model.

Rumor Mill:
... well maybe not a "Switch Micro" but lets call it a "Switch Budget" - Twitter

1) Sorry for the Nintendo tweet storms, but here is one more news item. Thanks to @gypsyOtoko for alerting me to a Kyoto Shinbun article.
2) In it, Nintendo president Kimishima is quoted as saying he considers a 3DS successor because he sees a need and market for it.
3) He doesn't give more details, but he seems to actually mean an entirely new machine , not a 3DS update or refresh. /end

If this is genuine it seems a bit confusing at first as Nintendo seemed to want to consolidate their development efforts. But then this entirely new machine could essentially be to the Switch what the 2DS is to the 3DS - a budget version designed entirely for "low power mode" operation, without the dock and better battery life. If this is what they are planning, I think there is a good chance that they are going to confuse "the average consumer" again (they may have to give it an entirely different name even if it runs Switch software).

[ZellSF]

I read another similar message by another Nintendo employee. It's very concerning when one of the main strengths of their system they could be focusing on is unified development that they start talking about considering making another system.

Sure they could do a portable Switch with 100% compatibility with existing Switch games, but they need to make it clear that that is their consideration from the start, or not speculate about further hardware in public.

But really it's just one more in a huge line of PR mistakes Nintendo are doing. I believe this is the Wii U team hard at work.

[HydrogLox]

There is also the possibility that this entirely new machine† is the "The real McCoy". About a year ago there were rumours floating around that the NX handheld would launch before the NX console.

Macquarie Capital Securities in Japan suggest that handheld gaming will play a crucial role in Nintendo’s project and that the release will be split into two phases. The report predicts that the handheld component will launch in November 2016 and the home console half will follow in 2017.

Lots of sources claim that the March Switch launch has a rushed feel about it - almost as if Nintendo had to show the shareholders that they were addressing the Wii U situation and that they were actively working to stay in the console market by launching a US$300 product in the current financial year.

When the Wii U launched in November 2012 there was the US$300 "Basic" and US$350 "Deluxe" model - the "Basic" model fell soon by the wayside and today "Wii U" identifies the "Deluxe" model. So is the March launch hardware "Basic" or "Deluxe"? It feels "Basic" to me - and the price seems to confirm that. So it is possible that the entirely new machine is optimized for portability and introduced to the market for about ~$US250. Then ~12-18 months later a "console dock" for that hardware is introduced at ~US$200 - and that ~US$450 combo will likely perform better as a console than the March launch hardware (though likely it still won't rival PS4/Xbox One, much less PS4 Pro/Scorpio).

The media outlets have focused on the "fast charging" aspect of the USB Type-C connector but ignore the fact that that protocols like Thunderbolt 3 can implement data transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps over that connector. In the case of the March launch hardware the dock is a glorified Type-C Charging AV Multi-port Adapter but in future iterations that USB Type-C port may become a much more important implementation detail.

So we may not have to wait all that long for the "next iteration" of the March launch hardware.

†"entirely new machine is in reference to the 3DS, not the Switch"

DS (2004) - DS Lite (2006) - DSi (2008) - 3DS (2011) - New 3DS (2014)

[neorichieb1971]

You can win with strong hardware and weak launch, you can win with weak hardware and strong software. But as things stand I think NCL has gotten 2 weak links here (from a promotional standpoint).

Zelda as a launch game is not good. A strong launch title is like Mario 64 where you can zip around from level to level and see lots of things quickly. A story based game might not work as a launch title.

The hardwares strengths are offset by cost.

The hardware is behind the times to get that "wow" factor

Although strangely, the Mario game seems to be very moving very fluidly and i'm impressed with the level of detail.


If loading times are dramatically lower than other consoles and the card reading technology brings new possibilities otherwise impossible it may have a leading edge. My main excitement surrounding the console is the pick up and play style games that might make its way, and the fact its region free.

[HydrogLox]

Zelda as a launch game is not good. A strong launch title is like Mario 64 where you can zip around from level to level and see lots of things quickly. A story based game might not work as a launch title.

That's why Super Mario Odyssey's "Holiday 2017" release target feels like the "actual, commercial launch" of the Switch - the March launch and pre-orders seem to be primarily for the benefit of Nintendo shareholders and to maintain a certain amount of "consumer buzz" until things are actually ready to get rolling.

It's going to be interesting to see if Nintendo is going to pull 3DS hardware off the shelves (Wii U style) for the 2017 holiday season.

[Skykid]

It's going to be interesting to see if Nintendo is going to pull 3DS hardware off the shelves (Wii U style) for the 2017 holiday season.

Why would they do that?

[HydrogLox]

Because a (fresh) Switch customer is more valuable to Nintendo in the long run than a (fresh) 3DS customer. The easiest way to ensure that nobody picks up the "wrong" (cheaper) Nintendo hardware for the holidays is to only have products from the Switch line on the retail shelves and at online retailers.

Nintendo would still sell the remaining 3DS stock to people who know where to look over the Nintendo web site and their ebay outlet (just like they are selling those "refurbished" Wii Us right now).

At this particular point in time I don't think they are quite ready to risk alienating their healthy 3DS customer base. But if they can build up and maintain sufficient momentum for the Switch they may decide to totally commit to it for the holiday season.

Opinions like this are being voiced in a number of places - i.e. that it is critical for Nintendo to commit to the Switch by wrapping up the 3DS - and for all we know Nintendo may be planning to do exactly that once they are more confident about the Switch. Supposedly pre-order demand already got Nintendo to increase Switch production (Twitter).

[Skykid]

Wouldn't it make sense to let interest for the 3DS dry up first before pulling it from shelves? It has an enormous userbase.

I'm not sure why a console and a handheld from the same company can't exist side by side anyway, they have done for years.

Out of interest, what's your personal investment in the switch? I rarely see you post in any other thread and your speculation seems enthusiastic in frequency, to say the least. You buy shares or something?

[Xyga]

Yeah I too don't see why they would kill the 3DS, the two consoles are different an not overlapping.
Again the Switch is not a real portable, a home tablet console at best.

Rather I can imagine a new version of the Switch, after all the hardware is common, easy to upgrade, and has already received clear criticism, they don't even have to think about what they need to make better.
Same policy as Microsoft and Sony, release a perfectible product for a couple of years market test run, then if it works manufacture mountains of the perfected version ready for Xmas.