Nintendo Unveils 'Switch', Its New Gaming Console and Tablet Hybrid (engadget.com)

And finally, we know what's Nintendo's next gaming console will look like. The company today released a "preview trailer" of the Nintendo Switch, or "Project NX" as we liked to call it before today. Engadget adds: Like the countless rumors previously asserted, it's indeed a hybrid mobile and home console with a tablet element and detachable controllers. The tablet itself (which Nintendo calls "the Switch Console" is thin and pretty attractive. It looks to have a screen measuring around 7 inches, of unspecified resolution. At home, it'll plug into the "Switch Dock," which in turn plugs into your TV. In the trailer, a gamer plugs in what looks to be an SD Card-style cartridge, meaning games are likely to be distributed both digitally and physically. It's powered by an unspecified custom Nvidia Tegra processor.Nintendo said it intends to launch the Switch in March of 2017.

Comments

Clever design

[Camembert]

The photo gallery makes it look like a clever modular design, curious how it will work in reality.

Re:Clever design

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> clever modular design

I disagree. Parents will hate it because kids will keep losing those damn controllers. Meanwhile gaming adults will hate the controllers because they have sharp edges that dig into their hands. And it there are any metal contacts (in the docking station, between controllers and pad, etc.) then everyone will hate it because they'll do nothing but wear out and get gummed up. (Remember the original consoles and blowing on the cartridges? Now add Cheetos-stained fingers if the contacts are on the controllers.)

Boo.

Re:Clever design

[Anubis IV]

Really digging the design for it, based on what the trailer shows. What's interesting, however, seems to be the fact that all of the computing is done in the tablet portion, which is itself relatively small, even by tablet standards, suggesting that it'll have some serious constraints in terms of the horsepower they can cram in there. That's par for the course with the last few generations of Nintendo consoles, of course, but it may also be an indication that they're continuing to target the casual crowd that they've been losing to general purpose mobile devices for nearly 10 years now.

I really hope Nintendo knocks it out of the park, but I have to admit that I'm slightly pessimistic about their prospects. Had they launched this console back in 2012 instead of the Wii U, they'd be in much better position today. The Wii sold a lot of people on having a console in their home and a 2012 Switch launch would have allowed them to take that experience to more places. But today? Their Wii customers went to Android and iOS instead of the Wii U. People were willing to give up the TV to get more mobility and they've grown to love those smartphones and tablets, so Nintendo is going to have an uphill battle to win people back. They'll really need to sell the "it can do both mobile and TV" angle, but even that path may be risky, since Apple or Google could very easily get into that space with an updated Apple TV or Chromecast that can do far more.

And while I know there are concerns about the horsepower, if I'm being honest, even the Wii U was already past the point of being "good enough" for the vast majority of their customers, hardcore gamers notwithstanding (but then again, those gamers will only be satisfied with a custom PC, since even the PS4 Pro and Scorpio next year won't be capable of running at or above 120Hz or doing above 4K, both of which are things hardcore folks are already asking for). What'll be more interesting is whether or not it has enough horsepower to fill open world games with NPCs that are each driven by their own AI routine, for instance. I recall Ubisoft showing the difference between consoles for one of their Assassin's Creed games a few years back and it was startling how much of an effect it had on the look and feel of the game to have the number of independently thinking NPCs doubled or tripled, thanks to the additional horsepower.

All of which is to say, I may pick one up eventually (depending on the price, games, etc.), but the Wii U is already one of the lesser-used consoles in our house (it's basically just there to play first party Nintendo games), so I'm not holding out much hope that the Switch will succeed in a market that has moved on.

Re:Clever design

[Big Hairy Ian]

Modular design=more things kids can break

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

Parents will hate it because kids will keep losing those damn controllers.

I guess parents don't like any modern console, or even TVs then

Meanwhile gaming adults will hate the controllers because they have sharp edges that dig into their hands

Oh you played it already since you know how comfortable it is?

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

The photo gallery makes it look like a clever modular design, curious how it will work in reality.

If it's anything like the N64, not well as they'll ultimately never release the add on modules before it's time to release the next console...

Re:Clever design

[AvitarX]

You had to blow the connectors because of oxidation (different metal types) and springy bits.

The top loading Nintendo, and the Super Nintendo, and Genesis did not suffer from said issues.

Nor do the metal contacts on nearly any other device I've used (electrical outlets, USB, Firewire, Parallel ports, HDMI etc,).

Re: Clever design

[hackwrench]

Well current devices aren't mobile with detachable controllers.

Re:Clever design

[KozmoStevnNaut]

We haven't seen the actual connectors in detail yet, knowing Nintendo it's probably going to be quite sturdy.

Or they may be using a wireless setup, even with the controller bits attached. Otherwise the controller sharing shown for Mario Kart and that NBA game won't work.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

You never had to blow on cartridges. That was a complete myth that somehow got spread around.

The real reason cartridges wouldn't work is because the design of the original NES made it so that the contacts in the slot would bend out of shape over time and wouldn't make contact with the cartridge PCB. Blowing on cartridges would make the problem worse because saliva, bits of food and other crap would get into the cartridge. The correct way to make a cart work on the original front loader was to put the cart in, then pull it forward so that when pressed down, it barely cleared the lip of the console, possibly scraping it on the way down. It worked every single time unless the cartridge was filthy due to idiots blowing into it.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

The top loader didn't have the NES10 lockout chip like the front loading console did. The cartridge not making a good connection with the chip is what caused the white and black blinking.

Re:Clever design

[harrkev]

I am actually less concerned about horsepower than I am with ownership. To me, current generation graphics are good enough. Would Mario be any more fun if you can see each and every pore and pimple on his face?

My last Nintendo console was a Wii, which suffered a mishap. I lost all of my purchased games because Nintendo tied downloadables to the console instead of the account. I honestly gave the Wii U a pass just because of this.

If I buy a Switch and some downloadable games for it, and it is destroyed, will I have to re-purchase all of those games, or can they be transferred to a new console easily? I really want the sane standards set by Steam. I am not a favor of DRM, but since some publishers insist on it, at least Steam does it in a manner that is least obtrusive.

Re:Clever design

[Khashishi]

Modular design=easier to replace said broken things

Re:Clever design

[Anubis IV]

To me, current generation graphics are good enough. Would Mario be any more fun if you can see each and every pore and pimple on his face?

Quite right. That's why I made a point of calling out concerns other than graphics regarding horsepower, since I agree that graphics are already good enough for most people.

To your other points, I definitely agree. Nintendo has a lot of work to do to catch up on that particular front.

Re:Clever design

[AvitarX]

Yeah, but I didn't want to go into all that.

Some cleaner on the cart would help too (clearing off some of the oxidation).

All in all, my point was that it was a design flaw, and not one caused by using cartridges.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

No, gog.com does it in a manner that is least obtrusive. Steam is crap.

Re: Clever design

[tepples]

The Microsoft Surface Pro tablet is a mobile device with a detachable keyboard controller. So is a smartphone or tablet with a clip-on MOGA controller.

Re: Clever design

[hackwrench]

The keyboard of the Surface tablet isn't small and easily lost.

Re: Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

Unfortunately, there are games on Steam not available on GoG. It is worthwhile checking first, though, before buying anything on Steam. A GoG purchase is DRM unencumbered, so always the better deal.

Re:Clever design

[elrous0]

curious how it will work in reality.

My guess would be it will basically function as a PS Vita that also plugs into your TV--only with much shittier online capabilities and much less 3rd party games. The detachable controllers just look like a gimmick to me.

Of course, this is Nintendo, so they will sell like crazy at first. Then a year or two later, they'll all be gathering dust in closets as people realize that the games suck, online play sucks, Xbox and PS are still way more powerful, and the novelty has worn off. A new Mario game can only carry you so far, after all.

Re:Clever design

[elrous0]

Really digging the design for it, based on what the trailer shows. What's interesting, however, seems to be the fact that all of the computing is done in the tablet portion, which is itself relatively small, even by tablet standards, suggesting that it'll have some serious constraints in terms of the horsepower they can cram in there.

To me, this looks like Nindendo's backdoor way of getting out of the home console business altogether. This is basically a handheld that you can also attach to your TV. It looks more like a rival to the PS Vita than the PS4.

Re:Clever design

[elrous0]

If I buy a Switch and some downloadable games for it, and it is destroyed, will I have to re-purchase all of those games,

LOL, this is Nintendo. Do you even need to ask?

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

Damn, I actually called this one right. I was hoping I was wrong, but it is essentially a new DS with the ability to connect to a TV....

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

Easy is also usually the oppostie of CHEAP or even REASONABLE

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

Actually, online play is a meaningless feature for me in a console.

If I want to play with others, I'll stick with local or use a computer....

Re:Clever design

[elrous0]

Still, it could work out for them. Their handhelds have been their bread-and-butter for some time now. Why bother competing in the much more competitive home console market when you can dominate in the handheld market?

Re:Clever design

[ThisIsAnonymous]

And while I know there are concerns about the horsepower, if I'm being honest, even the Wii U was already past the point of being "good enough" for the vast majority of their customers

You are probably thinking in terms of graphics but don't forget that more powerful consoles provide "horsepower" that can be used for any number of things like better AI, VR headsets, speech recognition, multitasking and so on. A lot of people seem to argue that we have good enough graphics and therefore do not need more powerful machines but this ignores all of the other things that more powerful processors etc. can be used for.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

DS stands for Dual Screen, this has a single screen. Switching between a TV and the tablet doesn't make it dual screen, just changes which single screen is in use at the time.

Re:Clever design

[Anubis IV]

You are probably thinking in terms of graphics but don't forget that more powerful consoles provide "horsepower" that can be used for any number of things like better AI [...]

Which I explicitly addressed in the very next sentence after the one you quoted, when I said:

What'll be more interesting is whether or not it has enough horsepower to fill open world games with NPCs that are each driven by their own AI routine, for instance.

And so on from there...

Re: Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

It wasn't back on my '82 Volkswagen Beetle.

Re:Clever design

[cfalcon]

> Parents will hate it because kids will keep losing

The gameboy cartridges? The N64 memory packs? The PS2 memory cards? The Wii controller? The Wii nunchuk? Their expensive Charizard card? Their fucking iPhones that kids have now?

Please. Kids aren't going to lose their expensive gaming tools any more now than before.

Re: Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

oops. '72.

Re:Clever design

[cfalcon]

The original Gameboy had:
A battery cover. Batteries. Headphones. Small carts. An AC cable with AC/DC converter.

It's reasonable to expect that the kids who will get toys will not break them at some new and amusing rate. Nothing has changed. Ever.

Re:Clever design

[tepples]

If I want to play with others, I'll stick with local

I'm curious as to how single adults find partners for local multiplayer after leaving school. Other gamers on Slashdot keep telling me local is for kids' after-school play dates and online in pickup groups of strangers is for adults.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

It was not oxidation. It was just the spring connectors wearing out. The SNES and N64 were top loading. The Famicom also did not suffer from those issues either (same tech as the NES) as it was also top loading.

Blowing on it did nothing. It was the act of pulling out and putting back in that did the trick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

You don't have friends already? Or you mean you like to play with total strangers?
Did everyone you went to school with die after you left school?
I mean local as in "C'mon over over man, we'll have some [insert drink of choice here] and play a few rounds of [game you all enjoy]!"

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

Oh yeah, agreed. Nintendo has always been behind the curve power/graphics wise on Sony and MS, but their games also tend be a lot of fun, as graphics aren't everything

If the games suck, the graphics don't matter

Re:Clever design

[ausekilis]

Please. Kids aren't going to lose their expensive gaming tools any more now than before.

Sounds like you've never been around a toddler.

Re:Clever design

[Alopex]

My friends all got jobs, relocated across the country/world, and then started having families. My coworkers are now all representative of what my other friends did, and they're all too busy raising young kids. I don't have the local co-op option like I did 15 years ago.

Re: Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

They changed that after lots of criticism. You can go back and get a Wii and all those games if you wish.

Re:Clever design

[CronoCloud]

This is basically a handheld that you can also attach to your TV. It looks more like a rival to the PS Vita than the PS4.

It is basically a Vita and PS TV Combo. You can ALREADY do practically everything shown in the commercial with a Vita and PSTV.

EXCEPT playing a Bethesda game. Screw you Bethesda! You do a game for this thing and never get around to finishing and releasing that Elder scrolls game you had for PSP or doing a game for the Vita...not even a port?

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

>Would Mario be any more fun if you can see each and every pore and pimple on his face?

Most Nintendo games don't benefit from textures like that, but significantly increased geometry and lighting helps a ton.

Just look at their old mascot renders from the 90s.

Nintendo could put to use increased horsepower very well, they'd just do it their own way/what makes senses to their art direction. And that's tough. It's actually easier to "make something look more realistic" than to successfully mature a unique art direction.

Re:Clever design

[aliquis]

I too thought the controller part looked like something which could possibly wear out or get full of dirt but I don't know of any Nintendo product which has really easily break down (ok, connector on the NES possibly require a replacement) so I wouldn't be too concerned considering they have most likely thought about that.

Re: Clever design

[spire3661]

Pogo pin designs inevitably suck. Its the worst interconnect and i wish everyone would stop using it.

Re:Clever design

[thegarbz]

suggesting that it'll have some serious constraints in terms of the horsepower

In a Nintendo console? I'm outraged. Surprised and outraged!

Re:Clever design

[spire3661]

"Would Mario be any more fun if you can see each and every pore and pimple on his face?"

More power doesnt have to mean more realism. More power means that you have more options on tap, and have to make less compromises. More particles, more dynamic lighting, larger maps, more enemies are all what comes with more power, not just more detail. Until we can simulate reality down the particle, more power will continue to add fidelity and depth to the experience. Saying its 'good enough' only shows that you have stopped trying to imagine more.

Re:Clever design

[Anubis IV]

Yeah, not surprising, and I'm personally fine with it being that way, but it does inform us as to which end of the market they're targeting and how likely it is to succeed.

Re:Clever design

[sexconker]

If by "always" you mean "for the last two consoles", then sure.

Re:Clever design

[sexconker]

Easy is also usually the oppostie of CHEAP

Counterpoint: Ur mom.

OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Re: Clever design

[harrkev]

GOG does not have any DRM, which is indeed best. However, as I said, some publishers demand DRM. If you have to have it, at least Steam makes it as unobtrusive as possible. Not perfect, but good enough to not be an annoyance.

Re: Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm gonna make hella friends with this. From the looks of the trailer, those friends will be from all races, sexes, ages, and walks of life. All of them will be trendy, fashionable, and well groomed.

My life is going places soon. Thanks Nintendo Switch!

Re:Clever design

[harrkev]

Possibly true, but better graphics and more horsepower does not automatically makes for better games. It is all about FUN, first and foremost. A bad game with great graphics and more particle effects is still a bad game.

Two of my favorite games are still Fallout 1 and 2. They play great on a 100 MHz Pentium. Add a patch to support wide-screen monitors, and the games are still every bit as fun today as it was 18 years ago. The graphics still look pretty good, and the story-telling and gameplay have not aged at all.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

My last Nintendo console was a Wii, which suffered a mishap. I lost all of my purchased games because Nintendo tied downloadables to the console instead of the account. I honestly gave the Wii U a pass just because of this.

If I buy a Switch and some downloadable games for it, and it is destroyed, will I have to re-purchase all of those games, or can they be transferred to a new console easily? I really want the sane standards set by Steam. I am not a favor of DRM, but since some publishers insist on it, at least Steam does it in a manner that is least obtrusive.

The trailer shows a person putting in a cartridge in it. As far as transferring content, who knows.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

The Wii was the last console where Nintendo tied downloadables to the unit. The 3DS started that way, but with the addition of the Nintendo Network ID on the WiiU, and the subsequent backporting of the same NNID to 3DS units, downloadables, and money stored in your account was finally tied to something other than the console. The NX is supposed to use a new ID system, but I would expect a similar association for digital content.

Re:Clever design

[Parker Lewis]

People play games, not hardware specification. Atari, NES, SNES, PS, PS2, Wii, all the weakest hardware specification, but great games. Just hardcore nerds cares about hardware specification.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

Give one of these things to a toddler and you deserve what you get.

Re:Clever design

[CronoCloud]

online in pickup groups of strangers is for adults.

That's not what I said. I said you CAN play with random strangers but you can also FRIEND those strangers and play regularly with them if your play well together and your schedules coincide. You don't seem to understand the concept of "online friends". I've known certain people online for over a decade.

Perhaps being stuck in the past, you don't know about things like "friends lists" or "guilds" that exist in online games these days.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

Stop being ableist. Not all us "socialized" and made "friends" in school.

Re:Clever design

[Anubis IV]

...I completely agree, which is why I addressed the existential threat to casually-focused consoles before I went into any of the details about hardware concerns, as well as why when I did finally talk about hardware concerns, I focused less on graphics and more on how the hardware can change the game itself.

Most people are completely satisfied with the gaming provided by Android and iOS (Hideo Kojima even said that his favorite game of 2014 was an iOS game called Framed). Targeting the casual end of the market at this point means a two-fold battle for Nintendo:
1) Going head-to-head against "needed" devices that people won't be ditching.
2) Convincing completely satisfied people that they need an additional device.

I just don't see them succeeding for those two, simple reasons. The other play they could've made would be to target a different segment of the market, but as you said, the hardcore nerds care about the hardware specs, so they'd need to have the specs to back a play like that, and by all appearances, they don't have them.

I REALLY hope I'm wrong.

Re:Clever design

[farble1670]

Sounds like you've never been around a toddler.

Sounds you like you haven't. If you had, you'd know better than to leave expensive electronic gadgets within reach (let alone GIVE them to the toddler to play with).

Re:Clever design

[farble1670]

Quite right. That's why I made a point of calling out concerns other than graphics regarding horsepower, since I agree that graphics are already good enough for most people.

Agreed. The graphics on the hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads already in peoples hands are good enough as well. That's the problem. Hardware-wise, this is going to be on par with an i-device. So Nintendo is again playing the game of selling us last-gen hardware in hopes that their software catalog is going to buoy their sales.

Their software catalog counts for a lot, but when it comes to consoles, it's a spec war. Just look at what's going on w/ Xbox and PS.

Re:Clever design

[dbIII]

This is basically a handheld that you can also attach to your TV

Way back when the Nintendo DS came out someone asked me if it could be connected to a TV. People have wanted something with this sort of capability for a long time.

Re:Clever design

[farble1670]

I agree that graphics are already good enough for most people.

Maybe you haven't heard, but there's this little thing called VR that all the kids are talking about.

VR is the latest thing in consoles, and it absolutely DOES need a lot of HP, and realism is very important. I think it's past the point where we need to question whether it will be a thing or not. It will. And releasing a console that isn't VR-ready is going to be a real tough sell when the other two Big Boys are building their platforms around the concept. Whether it's going to be a thing or not, it's what every consumer is going to be thinking about for the next 6 months.

Re:Clever design

[zerocommazero]

You're judging it as a console though. It's actually a portable. If you are familiar with their portables then you'd see it being a natural evolution and probably have a more positive perspective. The traditional console from them is no more.

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

I migrated all my Wii downloads to my Wii U. They were not console locked.

Re: Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

gog.com has been getting more and more games, many recent releases (I'm playing through Pharaonic now) so they are certainly picking up steam (heh). They also have some games that Steam doesn't.

What I love about gog is when I buy a game, I download the installer and can keep it forever knowing it isn't reliant upon any kind of copy protection checks or external service. It is MY game.

Re:Clever design

[Waccoon]

If I buy a Switch and some downloadable games for it, and it is destroyed, will I have to re-purchase all of those games, or can they be transferred to a new console easily?

I was under the impression that if you bought Nintendo download credits for your DS, they were not transferable to the Wii. If Nintendo's own faux money can't even be used universally on each of their consoles, I doubt their policy regarding the games will change any time soon!

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

Yes, but since they're friends, it's not like you'd be remote gaming with strangers, Some allowances must be made,

Re:Clever design

[Black LED]

N64 had worse graphics than the original PlayStation. GameCube had worse graphics than the original Xbox. Wii, Wii U and now Switch have worse graphics than the respective Sony and MS consoles of their times.

Re:Clever design

[tepples]

Online gaming with friends who moved away often becomes impractical due to time zone differences, intercontinental Internet latency, not owning the same games, or owning the same games but not on the same platform.

Re:Clever design

[tepples]

You don't have friends already?

Correct.

Did everyone you went to school with die after you left school?

No. But that's not the point because death is not the only way to lose contact with a former classmate.

I mean local as in "C'mon over over man, we'll have some [insert drink of choice here] and play a few rounds of [game you all enjoy]!"

And my question is how people who already graduated from college find people with whom to do that.

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

Well, granted there are 4 major gaming systems (XBox, Playstation, Nintendo, and PC). If you guys can't co-ordinate one at least once a month, you just may not have time for gaming any more....at least not multiplayer

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

You don't make new friends at work, or at the bar/club/activity that takes place outside of your own home?

Re:Clever design

[vuffi_raa]

>> clever modular design I disagree. Parents will hate it because kids will keep losing those damn controllers. Meanwhile gaming adults will hate the controllers because they have sharp edges that dig into their hands. And it there are any metal contacts (in the docking station, between controllers and pad, etc.) then everyone will hate it because they'll do nothing but wear out and get gummed up. (Remember the original consoles and blowing on the cartridges? Now add Cheetos-stained fingers if the contacts are on the controllers.) Boo.

the controllers work wirelessly so I would assume like all game consoles they are bluetooth controllers. I wouldn't knock the ergonomics ill I have them in my hands, there have been a number of controllers that have looked awkward but felt great and vice versa - so I would need to get my hands on it. My bigger concern is that if the main processing power is in the tablet - what happens if you break the screen since with how it is really not setup to use a case? will it still function, will replacing it be a pain? because it would suck to drop it and then you just broke both your console and mobile gaming platform.

Re:Clever design

[tepples]

You don't make new friends at work

Co-worker friends who are non-gamers don't help for this. I'll have to figure out how to approach my co-workers to ask if they're at all interested in gaming.

or at the bar/club/activity that takes place outside of your own home?

Finding a physical third place is the one thing I haven't figured out, especially for someone such as myself who has chosen not to drink alcohol and isn't interested in the more cult-like aspects of religious organizations such as Jehovah's Witnesses.

Re:Clever design

[MitchDev]

Yeah, that does make it tough. Dunno, maybe check for local gaming-type "conventions"/meetups, like at the local community college or something along those lines.

Best of luck with that, not sure what else to suggest.

Re:Clever design

[sexconker]

The N64 was more powerful than its competition. It typically had lower res textures and no FMV because of the storage limitations compared to CDs. In terms of graphical power it was superior.

The GC was superior to the PS2 and DC, and was fairly evenly matched with the Xbox. They had very different configurations, and each were better at certain things than the other. That's quite a feat considering the sheer size difference between the units. A big part of this was due to the GC's memory configuration. That 1T SRAM was a big deal when dealing with the lower clock speeds of the day.

You can find good and bad looking games on all of the consoles. If you want to talk about the hardware talk about the hardware.

Re: Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

Totally did this true statement

Re:Clever design

[Anonymous Coward]

So it was said, but the end result was that the PS1 could handle higher resolution textures and higher poly models. To its credit, N64 games did generally run in a higher screen resolution than most PS1 games but that usually accentuated the issues.

The GC could handle better visuals than both the DC and PS2 but not the Xbox. I have done side by side comparisons with various games on the two and the Xbox simply wins in the graphics department.

I was talking about visuals because that followed directly from the previous comments and really the hardware is irrelevant, only the end result matters.

Re:Clever design

[Kirby-meister]

VR still seems like a gimmick to me. Like waggle controls and the Kinect before it, people will inevitably prefer sit-down gaming in the long run, and I'm pretty sure VR will revert to merely simulating a 50"+ screen by strapping it to your face.

As long as the battery life is reasonable...

[Anonymous Coward]

...I'm sold.

Re:As long as the battery life is reasonable...

[Anonymous Coward]

...I'm sold.

I'm not. It looks like it's a Wii redux.

I'm sure it'll be a fine product

[PrescriptionWarning]

But I can't help to wonder if they are just a bit late to the tablet fad, haven't new tablet purchases slowed to a crawl because everyone already has one? I'm not saying they won't be able to sell it or anything, I'm just thinking it might lack that X-factor that rocketed the Wii to such success.

Re:I'm sure it'll be a fine product

[thegarbz]

But I can't help to wonder if they are just a bit late to the tablet fad

This isn't an extension of the tablet fad and more an extension of what their consoles were already doing. Currently removing the screen and freeing up the TV is limited in range and barely makes it more than a room or two away. This simply extends the concept by not tying it to one location.

This is not designed to replace your tablet. Actually it looks quite heavy for a tablet.

Re:I'm sure it'll be a fine product

[Anonymous Coward]

You're overlooking one simple thing... IT'S NOT A TABLET! People are not going to compare their iPad or Nexus to this device, because they do entirely different things. A tablet is more akin to a laptop whereas this is a gaming device designed for both living room use and mobile use. Why is this difference so hard to understand?

The answer is obvious...

[__aaclcg7560]

Given the choice between a Switch or my Wii, I know which one I want to play with.

Re:The answer is obvious...

[Black.Shuck]

Given the choice between a Switch or my Wii, I know which one I want to play with.

Erm... so which is it?

Re:The answer is obvious...

[Anonymous Coward]

His weewee.

Re:The answer is obvious...

[Anonymous Coward]

He likes to play with his Wii by using a Switch. ;)

Re:The answer is obvious...

[Stormy Dragon]

Isn't it obvious?

Re:The answer is obvious...

[Black.Shuck]

Isn't it obvious?

Unless this is some obscure lesson in grammar ("want" vs. "can"), then no, not in the least.

The next level

[Anonymous Coward]

This is going beyond Cinematic Gaming. What's the FPS on those screens, 15?

Re:The next level

[cfalcon]

The promo videos are showing Wii-U ports running at full speed.

Re:The next level

[SScorpio]

I'd hope it could run Wii-U software at full speed. The Nvidia Shield console uses a Tegra X1 and it is faster than the 360 and PS3. Wii-U was stronger than a 360 in some areas, but weaker in others. So it isn't much of a benchmark to hit now days.

Re:The next level

[cfalcon]

The Wii-U is the same console generation as the Xbone and the PS4. It lags both of those on specs, but that's not important. What is important is, the portable tablet thing they just showed can at least run games ported straight from their own console.

Re:The next level

[farble1670]

What is important is, the portable tablet thing they just showed can at least run games ported straight from their own console.

So your criteria for success is that it can run ports of the software from Nintendo's last-gen console, that was already under powered compared to the competition?

Hoping

[Daetrin]

I didn't think the Wii was that bad, but i never did really like the motion controls and always opted for classic controller whenever possible. I never did get around to upgrading to the Wii U (though there are some games on it that i really want to play) but i have been enjoying my 3DS quite a bit.

So i'm pretty glad that motion controls don't seem to be a big feature of the Switch. However i am worried about the graphical quality. If their "unspecified custom Nvidia Tegra processor" can't easily handle ports from the PS4 and XBone (for the base models at the very least) Nintendo may end up in a tough spot.

They're trying to go for a "best of both worlds" approach, but with phone and tablet games eating into their market at one end and the PS4 and XBone capping it on the other end i'm not sure if we still live in an era where Nintendo can continue to survive on console exclusives alone.

But it _does_ look like a more interesting concept to me than the Wii and Wii U, so i'll try to keep my hopes up.

Re:Hoping

[cfalcon]

> Nintendo can continue to survive

Nintendo will have no problem "surviving". Their profits are always high. Worldwide, Nintendo has like five thousand employees. It's difficult to compare that to the video game divisions of other corporations, but Nintendo runs pretty damned lean. Nintendo historically makes money when you buy their console, whereas everyone else loses money when you buy their console, and only goes into profitability when you have purchased several of their games.

> can't easily handle ports from the PS4 and XBone

It looks to be about as powerful as a Wii-U, if not more. I could be wrong- their video makes no claims except showing Wii-U games ported to the Switch. The big problem is this: ports fucking suck for Nintendo. When Nintendo has offered superior graphics in some case, the port doesn't use them. When Nintendo has offered different inputs, the ports ignore them. When Nintendo has offered different outputs, the ports ignore them. This is a BIG deal for them, because it basically means that ports are garbage. A game built for the Xbone will come over to PC with no optimization, shitty framerate, and bad controls. That same game will go over to the PS4 pretty damned well- maybe even better. But the Wii-U version will lack online features in many cases (even though Nintendo offers those), not use the motion controls, not use the tablet addition on the Wii-U, and instead just sit there with worse framerate, details, or levels. Because the port is just like a goddamned recompile and ship, apparently. If you have an Xbone and a Wii-U, you aren't playing ANY of those games on the Wii-U. You play Nintendo games on the Nintendo console- mostly.

There's ultimately no way for a portable to match the full consoles in power, right? So this is pretty clearly a departure from the Xbone / PS4 market, which they were only arguably sorta in to begin with.

The Wii-U was their best model before IMO. With more inputs and outputs than anything else, and the ability to just put most games straight on the pad and play portably anywhere in TV range, the console offered family friendliness and general coolness. Meanwhile, it was backward compatible with all Wii games and controllers. This thing looks cool, but I doubt it will work with everything. One of the screens shows it apparently using a Wii-U controller, but I can't be sure.

Will it be huge? Maybe, probably not. But it doesn't need to be huge for Nintendo to be profitable. That's always been the case. Nintendo will be fine with any manner of success. They have plenty of cash reserves if they bomb, but I doubt they'll bomb.

Re:Hoping

[Anonymous Coward]

Nintendo consoles have never been about ports from other consoles. They've just been about fun games.

Looking at the trash available on the 'bone and pisser, pretty happy for it to stay there.

Re:Hoping

[Rowan_u]

That looks like Skyrim in the trailer :)

Re:Hoping

[Anonymous Coward]

Every single generation people say the same thing. "If Nintendo's new console can't compete graphically, it's doomed!". And it never is, because it turns out people buy consoles for the games, and fun games don't necessarily need hyper realistic graphics.

Re:Hoping

[Daetrin]

"Nintendo will have no problem "surviving". Their profits are always high."

Not anymore they aren't. They lost $548 million in 2012 and $232 million in 2014, and their profits in 2013 and 2015-2016 only totals to $604 million. (Source)

"They have plenty of cash reserves if they bomb, but I doubt they'll bomb."

The Wii was obviously a huge success, but i doubt they'll be able to capture that kind of lighting again. Meanwhile the Wii U has been a failure from a sales and marketing perspective and is probably the biggest contributor to the huge losses above. I believe the New 3DS is doing okay now, but it had a very rocky start. So i don't have unbounded confidence that this time they'll get it right.

Yes, they made a lot of money before the Wii U and still have a lot in reserve, but if the Switch follows in the Wii U's footsteps and performs poorly Nintendo can't afford to keep losing money forever.

Re:Hoping

[elrous0]

There's ultimately no way for a portable to match the full consoles in power, right? So this is pretty clearly a departure from the Xbone / PS4 market, which they were only arguably sorta in to begin with.

There has been speculation for some time that Nintendo would get out of the home console business. To me this looks like a backdoor way of doing that, while still saving face by including a home TV dock.

Re:Hoping

[elrous0]

Looking at the trash available on the 'bone and pisser, pretty happy for it to stay there.

Yeah, "trash" like pretty much every top selling game for the last ten years.

Re:Hoping

[rogoshen1]

as a dude who grew up with an NES, and having a 2.5 year old kid -- i know what console i'll be getting in a year or so.
(hint: it's the switch, or a used WII U)

Partly the nostalgia, but truthfully, i'm more interested in fun games I can play with the kiddo than ultra realistic graphics (that's what my PC is for.)

I suspect there's a metric ton of 30 something year olds in a similar boat, with similar histories. Nintendo will have that as a market for years to come.

Re:Hoping

[Anonymous Coward]

Nintendo hasn't done a thing to pique my interest in literally 20 years. I guess when it came to N64's "Get N, or get Out!" slogan, I chose the latter. Different strokes, I guess. Let me know when the fun returns to Nintendo.

Your petty anti PlayStation and Xbox bias aside, I'd say the real trash heaps are the sham and self-absorbed indie games on EVERY platform.
Oh and I hope the unmangled spelling of PlayStation and Xbox doesn't burn your poor eyes too much.

Re:Hoping

[cfalcon]

> Not anymore they aren't.

Yea, they still are. I like how your cutoff for analysis is 2012 (a loss year for them), ignoring the billion dollar profit 2011 year, but I'll go into that later.

Their R+D is pretty big, and varies. When you spend 53 billion yen on just R+D and have a relatively small 7 billion yen profit, and the next year you spend 72 billion yen on R+D and have a 23 billion yen loss, what you are seeing is a company investing in the next few years, not a company that lacks sales or has huge internal expenses.
http://www.marketwatch.com/inv...

Meanwhile, they always keep bankrolls:
http://www.gurufocus.com/term/...

So if they do start screwing up, they have plenty of time to change course. Their conservative financials lets them take risks in the market, which they do pretty much constantly.

My point is this: they don't need to turn a huge profit to be happy. They don't require a Wii fad, they aren't counting on it.

Here's some companies that got into the video game hardware business, and then got out of it (or went out of business), all after Nintendo got into making video games:

3DO
Sega
Hudsonsoft / NEC
SNK ...basically stuff you was in the 80s and 90s that you don't see today. This list excludes guys who got in just a couple years before Nintendo and got blown out, of whom there were some (Mattel, Coleco, etc).

And here's some companies that have risen and fallen ENTIRELY within Nintendo's lifespan:

Pan Am
Atari
RCA
Compaq
Honeywell
Arthur Anderson (lasted a mere 89 years)

Hell, technically HP.

> Nintendo can't afford to keep losing money forever

They aren't losing money, though. Your link shows this:
2016: 136.99M
2015: +380.78M
2014: -232.22M
2013: +85.89M
2012: -548.7M
2011: +931.48M

Any analysis that tries to paint them in a shitty light needs to start at 2012. Start at 2013 and they are doing JUST fine. Start at 2011 and they are doing JUST fine. Even if you start at 2012, you are looking at a very small shortfall compared to their overall everything. They could screw up two more launches, if they really wanted to, and still be happy staying in business without hardware.

Re:Hoping

[cfalcon]

Top selling? Highest grossing? Most profitable? These are all different metrics. How do you calculate Niantic's Pokemon Go? It sold 0 copies, but made millions instantly. I guess it isn't a top seller. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 cost 200 million to make and market, and is in any top whatever list with its roughly 800 million-ish of gross income.

The top selling game is World of Warcraft. Wait, does that count? They constantly tweak and update the game. The original version of the game can only be played on private servers, and is only a very small subset of the original game- arguably the current WoW has nothing in common with the original WoW- the addons from then don't work, every aspect of the GUI has changed since then, how items are tracked has changed, every character model has changed, every spell and ability has changed, every class has dramatically changed, and even the old places you can walk to are completely different now, so not even the old maps from launch are around any more.

Hrm....

Re:Hoping

[Daetrin]

#1 You stated something that was factually incorrect. "Their profits are always high". I used as much data as was necessary to show that you were incorrect.

#2 I started at 2012 because I stated "Not anymore they aren't," implicitly accepting that earlier in time they were making money and arguing that a change had occurred. And 2012 was when that change occurred. Namely, the release of the Wii U. I never claimed that they never made money, only that they sometimes lose money.

#3 I then said "Yes, they made a lot of money before the Wii U and still have a lot in reserve, but if the Switch follows in the Wii U's footsteps and performs poorly Nintendo can't afford to keep losing money forever."

Thus explicitly acknowledging that they made a lot of money before 2012, but arguing that if they continue the trend of 2012 and on then they will continue to lose money.

Countering an argument of "recently they've been losing money or only making a small profit" with "but at times in the past they made large profits!" proves nothing other than that it's _possible_ for them to make money, which no one here was disputing. But if they're going to do that they're going to have to address some problems, and the question is whether or not the Switch will do that. Since it hasn't actually been released yet it's all just speculation.

Re:Hoping

[sexconker]

The top selling game is World of Warcraft.

No, it's Tetris.

Re:Hoping

[drsquare]

Actually it's Minecraft. Most Tetris sales were pack-ins.

Re:Hoping

[sexconker]

Actually, it's Tetris. By a landslide.

For example: From 2005 through 2009, on cell phones alone, paid purchases exceeded 100,000,000 copies.

Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" market.

[furry_wookie]

This announcement means Nintendo has officially left the console market and is now competing with ipads.

This device appears to be nothing but a 7" tablet with a little plastic charging/video-out docking port that can use external wireless controllers.

This might be the next thing in portable gaming systems, but there is no way this will be 'console' class. It is basically a PS-vita with a dock.

Personally if I was going to carry around a 7" tablet device, I would just carry a real tablet that can do so much more.

Advert aimed at wrong market?

[mccalli]

Looks to me, sorry to say, like a kid's console. They're playing on the TV, then the rest of the family needs the TV so they move over and carry on playing.

Must say doesn't look massively desirable otherwise. It's pretty big. Can't see this challenging the primacy of phones for mobile gaming, and already we see that even with controllers available most mobile players don't go for them.

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[cfalcon]

> They're playing on the TV, then the rest of the family needs the TV so they move over and carry on playing

That's actually the secret appeal of the Wii-U right now. Game is starting, the child presses the button that makes the pad into the output AND the input. You just can't go super crazy far from the console. This makes it into an actual portable, I guess. More compact than a Wii-U pad I think, though?

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[chispito]

Looks to me, sorry to say, like a kid's console. They're playing on the TV, then the rest of the family needs the TV so they move over and carry on playing.

Really? That makes it sound to me more like a gamers-with-kids console.

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[mccalli]

Hmm. Well, I am a gamer-with-kids. I use a Steam Link to get to the TV, or inside the house I'll use a laptop/steam streaming.

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[91degrees]

Nothing wrong with being a "kid's console" though. Kids like games. Nintendo typically addresses this niche as a primary market, whereas Sony and MS seem to see it as secondary to the hardcore gamer.

Nintendo tends to make cheap consoles, so it will appeal to kids. I'll not be surprised if this is priced low enough that two of them are competitive with a PS4/XBOne.

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[mccalli]

Totally agree - the "kid's console" thing has been rife since maybe the SNES. I thoroughly enjoyed my Gamecube, and the Wii as well. I'm not much of a 'hardcore' gamer, which seems to consist of endless first person shooters to me. That said, I think the kids market is shrinking because you have phones on the one hand, and then the powerful 'hardcore' consoles (and PCs) on the other. I have no market data to back this up with, it's pure opinion - it does seem to me though that niche has been taken by phones.

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[GuB-42]

Nintendo has always been about kids first.
And this is not a bad thing at all for adults as long as there is enough adult-friendly content.

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[gameboyhippo]

Maybe someday I'll be as grown up as a middle schooler and play games with lots of swearing, blood, and violence which requires running around and pressing the A button. But today, I'm happy to play rich, complex "kiddie" games that have incredible depth to them. I look forward to buying this and hanging out with my fellow coworkers and rocking some smash bros in the break room.

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[mccalli]

Kind of like another poster - that's not really what I meant. I'm 44 myself, have been gaming since the ZX Spectrum days (and slightly before in the arcades). I love Skyrim, but I love Pikmin as well and I still emulate a few C64 games to play. No, what I meant by the kids console bit was that it's putting it in a difficult position - I think existing phones and tablets occupy the niche it seems to be aiming for.

Re:Advert aimed at wrong market?

[gameboyhippo]

I would say then that you should look at the video game crash of the early 80s. Nintendo came along and rescued the game industry from obscurity. I think a similar story is unfolding. In the last generation, only 80 million home consoles have been sold between Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo combined. In the previous generation, Nintendo sold 110 million consoles by themselves (with the 3rd party companies selling 80 million combined) and in the previous generation, Sony sold 120 million consoles by themselves. So to have only 80 million consoles sold by everybody sends a message that the entire industry is losing to things like cell phones. Unfortunately, cell phone games are a race to the bottom. They sell for next to nothing and the quality often reflect that. So that industry too will inevitably crash.

What Nintendo is doing to rescue the industry is creating a console that has the mobility of a tablet with the quality of a console. The message is that you can be mobile without compromising quality. For a Dad like me this is huge. I never have time to game on the big screen, but I have time to game right before bed.

So many important unaswered questions

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm as excited about this as I can possibly be - it looks to be a device that, if they pull it off as well as I'm imagining it could be done, should make for a great experience. Not to mention, they've got some great support as far as developers go (glad to see the companies that wrote off the Wii U are back on board for this generation).

That being said, I'd love to know a few things:
-What kind of connectivity does it utilize for networking with other consoles? It seemed like they were advertising something similar to the DS where you can play against other Switch owners if they're close by.
-Does it have 3G connectivity?
-What's the battery life like?
-Is the docking station what gives it the console-level power? If so, what does it sacrifice to allow you to continue playing the game when you go mobile? If it doesn't sacrifice everything, does this mean only some games will be mobile-ready?
-It looks like it utilizes flash memory for games instead of DVDs/Blu Rays. This should result in much faster load times, but will the cost of games go up? Flash memory is still much more expensive than a CD. I imagine that the improved graphics would help convince people to pay the standard $60 for a game, instead of the $50 Nintendo has been sitting at for a while now.

I hope this console does extremely well - more competition in the market is better for all consumers!

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[furry_wookie]

>Is the docking station what gives it the console-level power?

Nope. Watch the video and freeze the screen. The tablet is all you get, what you see in the tablet is everything.

The docking station is a small cheap plastic thing with not connectors or ports or anything much at all it is clearly just used for charging and video out.

This is not a 'console' its a portable, and it will probably not be anything like console gaming or anything that can compete with Xbox or Playstation. Nintendo is clearly trying to compete here with iPads, not consoles.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Anonymous Coward 912]

If this means I can have one device that going forward will have essentially both the Wii and 3DS games then I'm already sold.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[KozmoStevnNaut]

How can you be so sure there's not an additional GPU in the base station?

Re: So many important unaswered questions

[hackwrench]

I can't tell from the video exactly how flimsy the dock is or whether there might be more storage or anything that can be handled by contactless connections.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Galaga88]

Even if there's not an additional GPU in the docking station (which does seem unlikely) I could see the device upclocking itself when docked.

On the go it runs in a slower, more power efficient mode; on the dock it runs at full blast. Performance probably suffers in portable mode as a result, but the smaller screen means they can compensate by cutting back on the detail without it being so noticeable.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Khashishi]

The advertisement shows people playing the same game on the TV and the tablet, picking up where they left off. Therefore, the games are developed to run on the tablet.
It's possible that the base station has additional hardware to drive a higher resolution TV, but I doubt it.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Anonymous Coward]

>Is the docking station what gives it the console-level power?

Nope. Watch the video and freeze the screen. The tablet is all you get, what you see in the tablet is everything.

The docking station is a small cheap plastic thing with not connectors or ports or anything much at all it is clearly just used for charging and video out.

This is not a 'console' its a portable, and it will probably not be anything like console gaming or anything that can compete with Xbox or Playstation. Nintendo is clearly trying to compete here with iPads, not consoles.

It makes sense that Nintendo competes with the iPad and other tablet devices. It's a market that's big in Japan, and has been growing for some time now. It's large enough that Square Enix started releasing games from the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises onto Android and iOS. Coupled with Nintendo's apparent incentive to innovate, their handheld devices outselling their consoles, and the PC/PS4/XBone juggernauts currently dominating the market, it's understandable that Nintendo would release something like this.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Anonymous Coward]

How can you be so sure there's not an additional GPU in the base station?

i am the unit run's a Nvdia tagra class SoC witch is amazing in the graphics space... for a Arm Processor it also has something close to last gen Geforce 9XX or current gen 10XX Class GPU... and at least 4 cores if not more for the CPU.

Re: So many important unaswered questions

[Anonymous Coward]

Yea right, and lock out the 3DS sales? No way, you will buy both and like it.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[KozmoStevnNaut]

But isn't it feasible that the games drop down to lesser graphical settings when played in tablet mode, and go full-fat when on the TV?

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Blaskowicz]

Let's say, it would be possible to allow the console to run at a higher temperature when it is docked. Or to clock it lower to save on battery. But I doubt they'd do, as it complicates things and doesn't help with the point they make.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Anonymous Coward]

>Is the docking station what gives it the console-level power?

Nope. Watch the video and freeze the screen. The tablet is all you get, what you see in the tablet is everything.

The docking station is a small cheap plastic thing with not connectors or ports or anything much at all it is clearly just used for charging and video out.

This is not a 'console' its a portable, and it will probably not be anything like console gaming or anything that can compete with Xbox or Playstation. Nintendo is clearly trying to compete here with iPads, not consoles.

That's not really accurate though.
iPads aren't really competing in the area this is designed to play.

The target for this is clearly more serious games than you can play on an iPad, but less serious than you can play on a PC. Which is roughly the same market for consoles, just they're aiming the main salvo at mobile not the livingroom.

It's also reminiscent of the Sega Nomad. Which was a pretty slick console for it's day (A Genesis in a handheld form factor).

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Anonymous Coward]

Except Nintendo filed a patent on it and external GPUs are a thing.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[cfalcon]

> one device that going forward will have essentially both the Wii and 3DS games then I'm already sold

Well, it's a capitulation in some ways. The 3DS offered stuff no console could do, besides portability. The Wii-U offers some things no console can do, and also has more capability than mobiles. Nintendo seems to be gambling that no one will be willing to risk this form factor before they have established a home there, and that they can get both the 3DS and the console stuff on board. It seems kinda likely, to be honest, but we'll see.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[thegarbz]

This is not a 'console' its a portable, and it will probably not be anything like console gaming or anything that can compete with Xbox or Playstation. Nintendo is clearly trying to compete here with iPads, not consoles.

I find it funny that people are talking about hardware capabilities and saying that this is now competing with lower powered portables rather than higher powered consoles... completely ignoring the fact that this could have been said about every Nintendo console since the Gamecube.

In terms of competition this isn't any less competing with the XBox and Playstation than their previous versions, but they are trying to get a share of the portable market too in a single device on one platform. This is a good move as far as I can see it. Why have 2 devices when you only need one.

Re:So many important unaswered questions

[Blaskowicz]

A patent on what, nvidia's thermal and power management features that they call GPU Boost 3.0 or something?

The dock is also some cheap $5 thing that I expect they'll sell at a moderate (perhaps) mark up. Have two TV and a desktop monitor in a large home : can have a dock for each.

If I was Nintendo....

[johnsmithperson123]

I would add Dolphin Wii emulator to the NX and sell the discs as downloads. The Tegra X1 can easily handle Dolphin and people will be more inclined to buy something that can both replace their current Wii and also be a portable tablet.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[furry_wookie]

Probably not a "X1", the press releases mentioned it is a 'customized' (translation very stripped down, low cost, low power version) of the Terga.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[Anonymous Coward]

Trust me, no one cares about your inane ideas. No one.

So do everyone a favor and STFU.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[Anonymous Coward]

The dock has a DVD drive in it, so Wii emulation is almost certain.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[ausekilis]

Probably not a "X1", the press releases mentioned it is a 'customized' (translation very stripped down, low cost, low power version) of the Terga.

Nintendo has never been about raw power for their consoles. None of their consoles thus far has even tried to match the competition there. The Wii was underpowered compared to the PS3 an X360, but it didn't need the power. Twilight Princess was still a very pretty game and a hell of a lot of fun. The big N has always been about spinning Mario in a new direction, not showing how many bullets can be simulated in Call of Modern Wargame 2099.

Sony has been pushing the "play anywhere" thing with their playstation streaming tech. Nintendo appears to have taken that a step further with "bring it anywhere". I like the idea of having a console within a car to amuse the kids for those long road trips. That's something Sony and MS don't quite have yet.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[KozmoStevnNaut]

The Gamecube certainly wasn't underpowered, it was on par with the Xbox for on-screen performance and superior in power to the PS2 (which was also notoriously difficult to program for).

N64 was more powerful than PS1, SNES was more powerful than Genesis. NES vs Master System is debatable.

It wasn't until the Wii that Big N said "you know what, we're getting off this graphics race and doing something weird and inexpensive instead!"

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[Anonymous Coward]

Nintendo already has a pretty good array of first party emulators. They've been doing it since the WII. PPC emulation is pretty mature and I'd be willing to bet that they have WiiU emulation ready to go on shipping day. - A portable console that has the entire Nintendo library available for sale? From NES to WiiU and from Gameboy to n3DS?

Industry standard ARM cpu to boot. Would be easy to write an API/shim to easily port Android/mobile titles too.

Yeah, this could sell well.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[Anonymous Coward]

Strictly speaking the Genesis was more powerful than the SNES, processor-wise. Where the SNES shone was the graphics (256 colors at once vs...what, 64?) and the soundchip.

Especially the sound. That was Sony's SPC700, an 8-channel sampling synthesizer with 64KiB work RAM and full control over ADSR envelopes. The Genesis, IIRC, was using some Yamaha FM2xxx-series part, I think the 2612, which is why it sounded so much like an arcade cabinet--that was specifically why it was chosen, I think, to make home releases of arcade titles possible.

There were a lot of good games on both systems though. Phantasy Star II and IV were some of the best ever, and those were Genesis exclusives. Nintendo got FF4 and 6, and Megaman X[1,2,3], Sega had Sonic...good times.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[GuB-42]

The Wii wasn't just underpowered, it was outdated before it came out.
Compared to the PS3 and X360, it was so weak (no HD...) that it significantly affected the game experience. Yeah, plenty of good games, but it doesn't excuse the blurry mess. You have to live with your times, Nintendo.
The other consoles are fine. The WiiU clearly isn't on the level of the PS4 and XBone but at least, it's HD so it doesn't look too jarring when coming from the competition. And it has the excuse of being the first to market.

So let's see what happens with the new console, but I don't want another Wii.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[KozmoStevnNaut]

But that's the same thing as the Gamecube vs. Xbox. Slower processors on paper, less memory. And yet it did very well in graphics comparisons.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[tepples]

Strictly speaking the Genesis was more powerful than the SNES, processor-wise.

In some ways, the Genesis's Motorola 68000 CPU was more efficient, particularly with 16-bit multiplication and division and 32-bit addition and subtraction. In other ways, it was tied with the Super NES's WDC 65816 despite the latter's 8-bit bus because the 68000 could access memory only every fourth cycle. Overall memory bandwidth was roughly the same in both systems, both for access by the CPU and for DMA to video memory.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[Anonymous Coward]

You care enough to reply, idiot.
Use your own advice.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[Anonymous Coward]

The dock has a DVD drive in it

I would love this to be true, but.. citation needed.

Re:If I was Nintendo....

[BigZee]

Never say never.

N64 was probably the most powerful console of its generation. It was certainly more powerful than a PS. The edge the PS had however was the CD based s/w delivery whilst nintendo went the cart route.

I think it'll depend on the price

[H3lldr0p]

More than your average 7" tablet? It'll be a tougher sell for me.

The brand just doesn't inspire the idea of good times with games anymore. Just more tired and uninspiring retreads of their old properties. Not to mention the constant problems they've had with third parties. The Wii was drowning in shovelware. The WiiU was too underpowered for anyone to care about it.

This thing is supposed to be powered by a custom NVidia chip. So I don't know. Is it enough to attract good devs? Who can say at this point?

Re:I think it'll depend on the price

[Anonymous Coward]

The brand just doesn't inspire the idea of good times with games anymore. Just more tired and uninspiring retreads of their old properties.

That's honestly your reasoning? They come out with new and innovative stuff all the time, by far more so than Microsoft or Sony who rehash the same Gears of Battlefield of Duty XXV every few months. Both Microsoft and Sony consoles are pointless to get since a PC is cheaper in the long run and has better performance. Yeah, Nintendo reuses their old properties, but so what? Every other company that has IP that is recognized by most people around the world is reusing that IP. At least Nintendo makes a valiant effort to innovate. Just because it has a Mario or Zelda skin on it doesn't mean it's "tired" and "uninspiring".

The Wii was drowning in shovelware.

That is such a stupid comment and a gross exaggeration. I have nothing else to say other than to reiterate how stupid it is.

The WiiU was too underpowered for anyone to care about it.

Uh, no. Third-party developers slowly backed out because they realized the Wii U was not getting anywhere near the same level of success as its predecessor. It had nothing to do with the hardware under the hood. Games on the Wii U look great -- crisp, clear, and sharp -- and they run at a smooth 60 fps. The Wii U's biggest problem was the marketing. The name is just bad, bad, bad. Nintendo should have taken a page from their classic playbook and called it the Super Wii. I mean, c'mon! Wii U? Nobody can tell that it's supposed to be a console from the name alone. Heck, there are still people out there that don't know it's a console. It could be Wii University, or some kind of game for the Wii. It's a confusing and stupid name. I truly hope their marketing team ALL got fired over this mess, because they're the ones that singlehandedly doomed the console from the start, when the name they should have used was so dead simple. Marketing disaster.

This thing is supposed to be powered by a custom NVidia chip. So I don't know. Is it enough to attract good devs? Who can say at this point?

The real benefit of using this architecture is that it makes it far simpler for developers to port their games to the console. So we should see a level of third party support comparable to the Wii. Most devs aren't interested in using "the most 1337 powerful hardware ever 0mG!!", what they care about is getting the most bang for their buck. If they can develop for or port to this console with enough ease, the hardware doesn't really matter, because they're still selling copies of their game. So I guess we'll see what happens, but I'm personally cautiously optimistic and excited for what's to come.

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[Oswald McWeany]

Personally if I was going to carry around a 7" tablet device, I would just carry a real tablet that can do so much more.

PC users say the same about consoles. "I'd rather have a device that I can do more than just play games on rather than just a console".

And you (and they) have a point, although this, specwise and softwarewise should be more oriented towards games.

Plastic vs metal on those controller rails?

[RyanFenton]

Fortunately, looks like the controllers will function disconnected - but I'm just wondering how durable those controller slide rails will be.

One of the problems with the NDS series has been that the screen hinge often gets stressed and broken through normal use.

Here, the 'hinge' will be the connection between the controllers and the device you're connecting them to. Just looking at the grip style, I'd thing it would be a constant thing for players to tighten/angle their grip during play. I'd be interested in seeing the hardware reviews before buying to see if stress on those rails might flex the entire shell of the device over time.

On a similar note, I'm wondering if those slide rails also function as a controller charging mechanism, and how that might play into durability.

Still, looking very much forward to playing the upcoming Zelda game someday, just have to decide if it'll be on this thing, or buying a cheap used WiiU eventually.

Ryan Fenton

Re:Plastic vs metal on those controller rails?

[KozmoStevnNaut]

I thinking mostly about the battery life, and if you can eventually replace them when they die.

I can fire up an original NES and plug it into a modern TV, and it will play perfectly just like when it was new, with no diminished performance. Can't do that with Switch if the batteries are dead and non-replaceable. Everything these days has nonreplaceable batteries, I guess we're just meant to throw devices away when the batteries die.

Re:Plastic vs metal on those controller rails?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why did you sign your comment like it was important, douchebag?

Re:Plastic vs metal on those controller rails?

[Anonymous Coward]

>Fortunately, looks like the controllers will function disconnected - but I'm just wondering how durable those controller slide rails will be.

How durable are Lego?

Re:Plastic vs metal on those controller rails?

[cfalcon]

> Can't do that with Switch if the batteries are dead and non-replaceable.

Pretty sure you can "plug it into a modern TV" in the future and do that. It may not be portable if the battery can't be changed, but it will still run on power.

I definitely wonder about the battery, though.

Re:Plastic vs metal on those controller rails?

[KozmoStevnNaut]

I guess you could just use full-size wired controllers for all players, but you lose the handy aspect of the splittable controllers.

Re:Plastic vs metal on those controller rails?

[Anonymous Coward]

> Everything these days has nonreplaceable batteries

Everything but Nintendo products:
How to Remove, Reseat, or Replace the Battery
How to Remove, Reseat, or Replace the Battery in a Wii U GamePad

Re:Plastic vs metal on those controller rails?

[KozmoStevnNaut]

Yeah, I know.

Let's just hope we can actually find the correct batteries ~20 years from now.

The knockoff GBA clones that use bog-standard Nokia batteries have a pretty good idea going.

Does it run Plan9?

[Anonymous Coward]

you feel me

Media

[JBMcB]

Headline: TABLET SALES PLUMMET!!!

Reality: 180 MILLION tablets are going to be sold this year.

Maybe there are fewer tablets being sold, but that's a lot of tablets. If Nintendo can grab a few percent of that, it ain't bad.

Re:Media

[PrescriptionWarning]

So maybe the problem isn't so much the total quantity, but that they will be competing in a very saturated market that is hard to stand out from when you have the likes of the iPad, or many cheaper options for those that don't want to spend much on a toy.

Re:Media

[rockout]

They're not competing with the iPad. They're competing with Sony PS and Xbox (sort of), except they're targeting a slightly different demo of the gamer market, and throwing in "hey it's a tablet too!"

Hard to stand out? I'd say this design stands out, as there's really nothing else quite like it. As to whether it will be successful, depends on the execution. All the old farts were poo-poohing the Wii before it came out too. That did okay.

Re:Media

[jbrown.za]

Nintendo can differentiate themselves ... Franchises like Mario and Zelda have massive followings that will drive sales.

What OS does it use?

[unixisc]

Will it be a new proprietary OS from Nintendo, or something like an Android or some other type of Unix/Linux? Also, which CPU architecture is it based on? ARM? MIPS? PowerPC? x64?

Re:What OS does it use?

[Jason Levine]

If they could run Android apps (even in some kind of speedy emulation), that would be a huge selling point. On launch, the tablet would have a vast library of games to choose from.

Re:What OS does it use?

[KozmoStevnNaut]

Probably something ARM-based, and since it's Nvidia-powered, probably the latest iteration of the Tegra SoC.

Re:What OS does it use?

[Anonymous Coward]

99.9% of which are garbage apps, not real games.

Re: What OS does it use?

[Anonymous Coward]

Nintendo has a lot of ARM experience, the ancient Gameboy Advance had an ARM chip. Loooong before any of the new mobile devices.

Re:What OS does it use?

[elrous0]

Nintendo is the king of the walled garden (even compared to Apple). There will be a snowstorm in hell before they'll let you run just any old Android apps and games on one of their devices.

Re: What OS does it use?

[tepples]

And Apple has even more ARM experience. The iPhone is a successor to Apple's earlier Newton MessagePad, which was probably the first ARM-powered mobile device.

Re: What OS does it use?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, a Slashdot post. Let’s bring up Apple.

Re:What OS does it use?

[dbIII]

The older machines didn't really have one, just a launcher for whatever was on the cart.

Re: What OS does it use?

[tepples]

It was the first user of an ARM CPU in a mobile device prior to the Game Boy Advance that came to mind.

Different Target Market

[The Raven]

I like how Nintendo isn't even attempting to compete with the other two still. Totally different demographics, different use case, different technology.

It is a little depressing to see Nintendo release a console on a different cadence than the other two, and even two years later their hardware is less powerful. I guarantee this thing won't be running any 4k resolutions or VR framerates.

But that's not their target. They have always emphasized simpler games with unique gameplay. I think the trade off will be a bit easier to swallow this time, with the mobile-tablet form factor.

I'm concerned about those tiny-ass half-controllers though. Not sure how that'll play out with adult sized hands.

Re:Different Target Market

[Anonymous Coward]

You know exactly how it will play- but its nice that you reserved judgement.

Re:Different Target Market

[KozmoStevnNaut]

I'm concerned about those tiny-ass half-controllers though. Not sure how that'll play out with adult sized hands.

We survived the original NES controllers, we'll survive the NES Classic controllers, so I guess we'll survive these too.

Either way, I think it's a really neat idea to make it so you can share "one" controller as two smaller, simpler controllers for some games.

Re:Different Target Market

[chispito]

The original controllers were sized appropriately, they just happened to have very uncomfortable edges (the SNES/SFC controllers were about perfect for their time).

Re:Different Target Market

[erapert]

It is a little depressing to see Nintendo release a console on a different cadence than the other two, and even two years later their hardware is less powerful.

If what you care about is power then why do you even care about PS4 or XBone at all?
Play on the PC if you want power.
Play on a console if you want convenience. This latest gadget from Nintendo seems to be quite convenient.

Re:Different Target Market

[cfalcon]

They showed people playing on a normal controller too, one that is ergonomic and wing shaped like all of them.

Re:Different Target Market

[thegarbz]

It is a little depressing to see Nintendo release a console on a different cadence than the other two, and even two years later their hardware is less powerful. I guarantee this thing won't be running any 4k resolutions or VR framerates.

I'm struggling to see what benefit Mario's perfectly bald cartoonish head would get from 4K. People seem to be fetishising the hardware while ignoring the fact that a large portion of the Nintendo catalogue not only are incredibly fine on their own, but actually use the lower powered hardware to their advantage by focusing on gameplay rather graphical masturbation.

Honestly I've given up on most AAA titles.

Re:Different Target Market

[KozmoStevnNaut]

I agree on the SFC/SNES controllers. That's why I bought the best modern equivalent, the very descriptively named Buffalo "Classic USB Gamepad". It's like playing with a brand-new SNES controller again, it feels just right.

Backwards compatibility

[phorm]

This seems more "portable" than "console", and from the video it seems there's not much in the way of peripherals to deal with legacy games.

Buuuuut, that would be a *huge* seller for me. If they come up with something that could replace not only my 3DS but any previous consoles, that's gold (and certainly something the competition seems to fail on). I wonder if the dock is going to allow peripherals, say like an optical drive and/or adaptors for old-style controllers.

Re:Backwards compatibility

[Anonymous Coward]

The commercial already shows it working with two different styles of wireless controller in addition to the sides-mount one. I have no reason to doubt it being able to emulate or simulate N.E.S. through GameCube. The side-grip controller might be able to simulate a Wiimote with the docking stand as the target, but I think I am stretching with that possibility. If this will have Wii support, I expect it will be in the form of being able to work with actual Wiimotes and target bars rather than re-implementing any of that technology in the new factor.

Re:Backwards compatibility

[Touvan]

I completely agree - this is more of a successor for the 3DS and the DS family in general, which has had it's lunch eaten by iPad.

Someone at Nintendo made a statement about how the tech is ready to remove the distinction between mobile gaming and living room gaming, and I think they were right (graphics are good enough on iPad/iPhone and higher end Android devices). This device makes tablet gaming look more like traditional tactile gaming, with it's funky built in controllers, and it's powerfull enough (as was the Wii U - which as a side note should have been named something more distinct).

What this console doesn't solve is the content pipeline - AAA studios are going to continue to produce content for the more powerfull standard bearers on XBox and PS4 (and PC). They're not going to want to port to the smaller market share of Nintendo Switch. We may see iOS and Android ports, but in order for this to really be successful Nintendo will either need to produce a TON of content in house, or find some other way to get third party support for this directly. Being a successor for the 3DS may provide the necessary market share to incentivize proper game development on the platform.

Nintendo does need to solve their ridiculous single console game install policy though, I don't want to re-buy my virtual console games for a third or fourth time. Steam, Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store are the right model. Nintendo needs to stop fooling around.

Not New

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't this just an Nvidia "Shield" tablet with a docking bay and snap-on gaming pads?
What is "new" about that?
I have had a Shield for two years (great little tablet BTW)

Re:Not New

[SScorpio]

It will run its own OS rather than Android. So you get the privilege of paying $6 for another copy of Super Mario Bros from the NES, or $9.99 for a SNES game.

Re:Not New

[KozmoStevnNaut]

Yes, with Nintendo quality and the Nintendo game library.

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[squiggleslash]

This might be the next thing in portable gaming systems, but there is no way this will be 'console' class.

The latest Nvidia Tegra X series chips have excellent performance, in the same ballpark as previous generation of game consoles. Now, while you might say "Yeah, but not the current gen", Nintendo has lately prioritized price and flexibility over having CPUs and GPUs comparable to Microsoft and Sony's. If the Wii and Wii U were considered console class at the time, so is this. Except they couldn't cluster, while this one can.

I don't think it's reasonable to suggest it's a PS-vita with a dock either. The video is at pains to suggest the technology is designed for a more fluid playing experience, with the type of thing you want to do (play against friends, play a conventional game at home in comfort, play in a plane or train, etc) determining how you configure your console.

Will it work? No idea. If they can keep the price down, conceivably yes. I think the big problem with consoles right now is that they're expensive toys for a committed minority. Nintendo misfired with the WiiU, but the biggest, most glaring, fault wasn't the hardware, but the price and pricing.

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[cfalcon]

> I would just carry a real tablet that can do so much more

Without knowing how much the Switch costs, let me assure you that it will be less than a "real" tablet. Also, the big game changer here is a useful way to actually have fucking CONTROLS instead of just touch touch touch touch. Controllers are huge, and control the types of games that can be made.

I don't see this as a tablet competitor just because it has the same form factor at a glance. Adding controllers effectively and usefully gives them a niche. You might point out, hey, buy this controller, it can talk to your iPad or Android tablet. And that's true, but few games make decent use of that.

Nintendo doesn't seem to think that this is in competition with them either, with them finally entering the mobile market with a Mario game, and finally allowing their licenses onto mobiles with Pokemon Go.

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[DarthVain]

Agreed. Nintendo left the "serious" console market years ago and hasn't looked back. They are simply looking to merge their console "lite" product with the mobile platform, which on paper would seem to make a lot of sense for a lot of different reasons. How it will work in reality remains to be seen. As I recall everyone made fun of the original Wii back in the day (for lack of power), and it easily outsold probably both PS3 and Xbox360 together by a fair margin as a light gaming device.

I also agree with the PC sentiment. I used to have a Xbox360, now I just use a PC. Sure there is the whole "I'd rather have a device that I can do more than just play games on rather than just a console" argument, but I would go much simpler than that. I have a PC that is probably like 3 or 4 years old right now, and sure it cost more than what you'd pay for a Xbox One or a PS4 new, but the simple fact is I see the commercials for games coming out TODAY for the new consoles, and they look like games that came out on PC 5 years ago. I get better looking games on a pretty old PC. In fact they only ones that don't look all that great are really just shitty ports of console games where they couldn't be bothered to make it look any better (never mind terrible UI meant for controllers).

That said, I'm more interested in getting a 60$ NES Classic when it comes out in November! Though it is too bad it doesn't include Blades of Steel, or wireless controllers (tho that last one might argue you need the wires for the true retro experience).

Tablet fad?

[Anonymous Coward]

This will be competing with game tablet/controller sets like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/IPEGA-Telescopic-Wireless-Bluetooth-Controller/dp/B00RE6FMD8/

But really, I'm sold, it looks great, I like having a dedicated game tablet, I currently play Zelda Occarina of Time on such a dedicated Android tablet with BlueTooth controller and would be happy to buy this. I don't use the tablet for general use, its there to play games, its setup for games.

As to Tablet stalling, they stalled because the software on them stalled. You'd be pushed to tell the difference between an Android 4 tablet and an Android 6 tablet. Both suck at running phone software (in full screen portrait mode, instead of a vertical window in landscape). Both sucked at multi-tasking (only one app full screen shown at a time, regardless of the screen size). Android 7 might change that, but Google has already clouded that market with its 'ChromeOS/Android' bullshit. So I'm still expecting that market to be stalled for a while. That doesn't mean its stalled for Nintendo too.

I like this, I want this. I loved the Wii but I didn't like the Wii U.

Looks good for frequent travelers

[Anonymous Coward]

If the price is right I could see myself getting one of these for work travel.

This is awesome

[Anonymous Coward]

Nintendo have invented possibly the most convoluted console system ever. It has all the gaming power of a portable tablet, combined with the expense of a home console system combined with expensive media with limited storage. Amazing!

Re:This is awesome

[AvitarX]

Is solid state really expensive media at limited storage in today's world?

Flash is $30 for 128 GB, $ 5 for 16.

I'm sure that non writable designed to work with a custom port could be even less.

Certainly the storage isn't a limiting factor at all.

Re:This is awesome

[DrXym]

You've answered your own question. A BluRay disc costs perhaps $1 to manufacture. It holds 50GB of content. Plus of course the likes of PS4 / XB1 come with HDDs that hold 500GB more for DLC, updates, cached content etc.

The cost of solid state media is so expensive that I would not be surprised if there is an incentive for games to use as little as possible, e.g. 2 or 4Gb. Tops. Aside from impacting on the game, it also encourages region encoding because there simply isn't space on the cartridge to support multiple locales.

We've also been down this road before. The Nintendo Switch is basically a glorified PS Vita / Playstation TV system - something which is portable but can play through a TV. The Vita used cartridges too. Most games were 2GB or less and I don't see much reason to think Nintendo are going to do anything different. It's also worth remembering that the Vita doomed itself to an early grave by using proprietary storage card format for downloads - people didn't like the carts but balked at forking out 4x as much as an SD card for downloads. I could easily see Nintendo's greed getting the better of them and going down the same proprietary route.

Re:This is awesome

[AvitarX]

I have no reason to think that 50GB of ROM couldn't be manufactured for around the $1 price point, I simply don't know (in small runs it's probably much more, which may be a problem).

I have no concept of the economics of ROM, and suspect (perhaps naively) that you don't either. But for flash memory, I see 32GB for $0.76 here (https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Bulk-micro-size-sd-card-32gb_60489692297.html). The economics of solid state are dramatically different than even a short time ago, and that's simply what I can find while quickly searching.

Definitely won't be as cheap as a mastered BluRay, but getting close enough that it's not an insane prospect to have the other advantages of solid state (no need to "install" games that still require disk swapping to play, and 500GB is pretty small when you point out that games use 10s of GB each.

The commercial reads like a dystopia.

[sackvillian]

Dog wants to go outside? No need to stop playing with your virtual animals! International travel? You can stay immersed in the same game world the whole time! Hip millennial friends invite you to come socialise? Don't forget to bring the screen!

But seriously, the ad is stunning for its honesty. Normally, video game ads go to pains to avoid reminding you of what it feels like to see another human staring blankly at a screen, but this ad was basically one example after another. Always the 3rd-person, with almost no focus on the 1st-person experience... amazing.

Re: The commercial reads like a dystopia.

[hackwrench]

All utopias turn out to be dystopias.

Re:The commercial reads like a dystopia.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dog wants to go outside? No need to stop playing with your virtual animals!

This was effectively my reaction as well. I found it funny that they started with that scene. I'm not even a dog lover or anything, but it really soured me to the whole concept going forward. The guy is so addicted that he can't even take ten minutes out of his day to play with his dog!

The only realistic use-case that I saw in the video was the group of kids in a circle, each with their own console. I could see it being a hit for that use. Every other use seemed unrealistic to me.

the ad is stunning for its honesty. Normally, video game ads go to pains to avoid reminding you of what it feels like to see another human staring blankly at a screen, but this ad was basically one example after another.

Just wanted to say I loved this quote. :)

Re:The commercial reads like a dystopia.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dog wants to go outside? No need to stop playing with your virtual animals!

Yeah, but man that dog was having fun running around the park wasn't it. Without the Nintendo Switch, that dog never would have had this wonderful life experience.

Re: The commercial reads like a dystopia.

[Anonymous Coward]

LOL came here to say this. No leash, a leash in 2016? Lul.

Re:The commercial reads like a dystopia.

[Anonymous Coward]

I really don't like this whole concept, and the commercial doesn't help. It makes me kind of sad. Won't be buying this, because I don't want to be THAT guy.

Re:The commercial reads like a dystopia.

[erapert]

I was more concerned that the depicted dystopia was a hipster Idiocracy where the whole world is populated by cool kids driving around in antique VW vans with their cool friends and oh-so-nerdy-but-so-cute girls in artfully ripped jeans and converse that are just so interested in that cool video game that the hipster douche du jour is playing.

What is wrong with me? Why am I so bitter?

Re:The commercial reads like a dystopia.

[DrXym]

I'm reminded of the ads for the Nintendo Wii. They showed people swinging their Wii controller around like a samurai sword because of course playing Red Steel exactly like that.

This time they're trying to pretend that a bunch of dudes are all going to have a spontaneous party huddled around a 7" display. That isn't going to happen either.

Look... SKYRIM! Woohooo...... wait, its not 2011.

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a huge disappointment esp to old Nintendo fans hoping that Nintendo saw the error of their ways. What I didnt think is that it would be a disappointment to everyone else as well. Its another toy. Cheap 1"x4" 'controllers' for multiplayer? How long can the battery life last? They do know we already have phablets/tablets/phones right? They will lose to the mobile market when in portable mode, and lose to consoles/pcs at home.

Nintendo Rocks.

[Anonymous Coward]

We have all of the consoles Nintendo put out since the N64. And all of them still work.

Hands down Nintendo is the best for preteens.

Wish I could say the same for the XBOX nightmares.

8 XBoxes laters - 1 still works - the rest disk problems etc.

I know where my money is going in March/2017

Dammit Nintendo

[in10se]

I've always been a Nintendo guy, but they just don't keep up anymore. For me to upgrade from or to any console, here's what it needs so that I don't have a stack of devices sitting under my TV.

• A device that supports full HD (or possibly 4K now).
• Support playback of DVD/Blu-ray
• Can also be used as a streaming device for TV content (Netflix, HBO Go, etc.)
• Stream from my PC/mobile device to my TV
• Has DVR functionality (Anyone? This seems like such an obvious feature for a device with a hard drive that connects to your TV, but no one does it.)

That would get me to pull out my credit card.

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[Anonymous Coward]

You're forgetting one:

• Has good games

:)

But for me, it really needs to be user-programmable so that I can run my own software on it. I like to write my own software, it's what I do. And being backwards-compatible with previous generations is ideal, too.

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[jxander]

No. Just, please, no.

There is one thing and one thing alone that this console needs: Good games (from both Nintendo and 3rd party devs)

I'd much rather play an amazing game in pixel art than a boring game in stunning 4k. Focus on games.
Half of the stuff you listed can be accomplished with a $50 Roku. Or for a few dollars more, get a blueray player with streaming functionality. Why add all that extra overhead to a gaming console? Focus on games.
DVR Functionality? Seriously? Anyone still on cable can get their DVR through the cable company. If you're streaming Netflix, HBOGo, etc. (per your own demands) it's already DVR'ed. Do we really need Nintendo to bend over backwards to save you $5 a month on your cable bill. Focus on games.

Any extra bells and whistles you add will take away from the core functionality: games (and the requisite cooperation with outside developers to make games)

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[Shane_Optima]

Here's what I would need to even consider it: functionality that they won't pull the plug on. Online Wii games stopped working just a few years after they were released... why? Because, uh, that costs a small amount of money, but we're done with the Wii. We want you to buy our other thing now. What, open it up so anyone can run a game server? Ahahaha... that's a good one. No no no, just buy our new thing, and go ahead and re-buy all your nostalgic games for your new system, though if you get any Wii games the online features won't work for them on the new system, either.

I even miss the little world weather thing. I'd often pop in to just twirl the globe for a moment... it couldn't possibly cost anything significant to run the freakin' weather server, could it? Silly me, of course it's not really about the cost; it's about convincing people to migrate. I'm half surprised they didn't just try to push an update that made all Wii consoles buggy or prone to overheating.

Walled gardens I get, and I even can accept Nintendo's preference for lower end hardware because what they're selling is the experience, but rule one in a walled garden is (or should be) never burn it to the ground and expect all your customers to obediently follow you to your next one. I suppose Nintendo can get away with it because they're so profitable and they still have so much nostalgia to build on (and still have a strong presence in portable gaming), but instead of using those things as a springboard to become a dominant powerhouse, they're content to milk them until they're dry... and who knows, perhaps those wells of nostalgia and inertia might last them another 40 years.

But I'm out.

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[KozmoStevnNaut]

A lot of people seem to have lost sight of the whole point of game consoles. They're meant to do one thing, and do it well: play games.

I don't want some kind of half-assed streaming support and all that other junk, I just want it to play games, and play games well. Nintendo understands that.

If I want streaming, I'll use my Chromecast. Substitute Roku or AppleTV if you prefer one of those.

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[KozmoStevnNaut]

Online gaming is a cancer and blight upon the world, anyway. Proper multiplayer is splitscreen or LAN.

(Tongue somewhat in cheek, of course. Personally, I can't really be bothered with online multiplayer anymore)

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[tepples]

Anyone still on cable can get their DVR through the cable company.

True, cable and satellite offer whole-house DVR. But a lot of people using antenna+Netflix aren't willing to upgrade to cable or satellite TV just to be able to record episodes that are on antenna but not Netflix, nor are they willing to pay $600 over the life of a TiVo DVR for the required service.

Not that it's Nintendo's responsibility to provide DVR functionality or anything.

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[tepples]

Online gaming is a cancer and blight upon the world, anyway. Proper multiplayer is splitscreen or LAN.

After you've graduated and your classmates have moved away, good luck finding partners for "Proper multiplayer" in your home town. How is that usually done, especially for people like me who don't drink alcohol and whose coworkers are non-gamers?

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[tepples]

Online Wii games stopped working just a few years after they were released... why?

Two reasons. First, Wii online multiplayer matchmaking was through GameSpy, and GameSpy went out of business a little over a year after the Wii U was released. Second, GameSpy's library was linked statically into each Wii game, and Nintendo neglected to include a patching mechanism for disc games in IOS, the operating system of the Wii. Nor could it issue an update to IOS to allow this because of the Wii's anemic (0.5 GB) internal storage. (The same lack of space is why downloadable "channels" (applications) were limited to about 40 MB.) So even if it wanted to issue a patch to allow use of third-party game servers, it had no official means to do so.

I even miss the little world weather thing. I'd often pop in to just twirl the globe for a moment... it couldn't possibly cost anything significant to run the freakin' weather server, could it?

Yes. Licensing current conditions and forecasts from a commercial service with worldwide coverage costs money. Some national government agencies, such as the National Weather Service in the United States, provide without charge, but those are specific to each country, and integrating all countries' weather information also costs engineering time=money.

Re:Dammit Nintendo

[KozmoStevnNaut]

Well, I basically burned my bridges twice, first moving away from my middle/high school friends, then 2½ years later I moved away from the new friends I had gotten.

Luckily, I moved to the same city as one of my best and oldest friends and reconnected. Now we go to whisky tastings, play retro games, go to concerts and play cards against humanity and joking hazard. And through him, I've gained a new circle of friends who actually share most of these interests, unlike the two previous circles of friends I had.

Took me a couple of tries, but I actually managed to find a group of people who would love to come over for 3/4/5 player Bomberman and Beer tournaments :-)

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[Nidi62]

This announcement means Nintendo has officially left the console market and is now competing with ipads. This device appears to be nothing but a 7" tablet with a little plastic charging/video-out docking port that can use external wireless controllers. This might be the next thing in portable gaming systems, but there is no way this will be 'console' class. It is basically a PS-vita with a dock. Personally if I was going to carry around a 7" tablet device, I would just carry a real tablet that can do so much more.

If they strike a deal with Amazon to allow the Kindle and Video apps, this thing would actually replace a lot of what I use my phone for. The use case for this that has me interested is more mobile at home gaming, letting me move from the bedroom to the couch to the kitchen and let me keep playing using a controller, or disconnecting the controller for more general tablet use. Of course, my interest does hinge on the usability of the tablet as an actual, separate tablet.

Re:Look... SKYRIM! Woohooo...... wait, its not 201

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait, what video game console isn't a toy?

Interesting controller layout choice

[sl3xd]

Interesting that they went with the controller layout used by the Xbox, rather than a Playstation or Steam controller layout.

Re:Interesting controller layout choice

[sexconker]

You mean asymmetrical sticks, the layout used by the GameCube?

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[account_deleted]

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Too clunky

[micahraleigh]

The Wii was simple, affordable, and didn't have a separate screen that could get carried around and dropped down the stairs.

When Nintendo started getting all fancy I switched to PS3. Sony does a better job at packing in hardware and gimmicks no one wants. They're also better at charging high prices.

Neat concept, but competes with smartphones

[TomR teh Pirate]

Here's what I see happening with this outdoor lifestyle that the linked YouTube video was driving at: people will figure out very quickly that now they have to tote *two* devices around instead of one. People can play some pretty excellent games on their Android / IOS devices, and those games are DIRT CHEAP. Now Nintendo has decided that in the war of consoles, the killer advantage is to turn the platform into yet another item that must be lugged around along with your cell phone. Sounds like a logistical PITA, and I believe people are smart enough to have the same realization.

Re: Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mar

[Anonymous Coward]

A "real" tablet is an 8" Galaxy Tab A, which is about $160.

It isn't a wet-dream fantasy for a marketing guy at Apple, though. Just a fully functional general purpose tablet.

Sometimes the NES freezes despite no blinking

[tepples]

The NES Game Pak edge connector has three parts: the CPU part, the PPU (Picture Processing Unit) part, and the CIC (Checking Integrated Circuit) part. Bad CIC connection (pins 34, 35, 70, and 71) causes blinking, as you mentioned. But bad CPU connection (pins 2-15 and 38-50) freezes the Control Deck on a blank screen, and bad PPU connection (pins 21-33 and 56-69) causes scrambled tiles, vertical lines, and even freezes in some games.

The PPU failure mode doesn't happen on later Nintendo systems, which have no dedicated PPU bus; all video memory is internal to the console. (In fact, the NES and Neo Geo AES are the only major home consoles to bring the address and data bus for the PPU to the cart edge.) Nor can CPU and CIC connection failure be distinguished on Super NES and Nintendo 64, where the lock chip in the console holds the CPU in constant reset until the CIC pair authenticates. The Game Boy connector has only a CPU bus, and the system authenticates the cartridge by matching the logo data. (Incidentally, Sega's similar Trademark Security System got ruled unenforceable in U.S. courts; see Sega v. Accolade and Lexmark v. Static Control Components.) Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS use block storage, similar to CF or SD, with an encrypted bus.

We are living in the future!

[sootman]

This is what you get when kids raised on Transformers reach adulthood and become product managers.

Re:We are living in the future!

[TomR teh Pirate]

I lol'd

Excellent!

[wjcofkc]

A new paradigm in forwarding the social ineptitude of humanity! That said, this will probably be the first console I will purchase since the mid 90's.

Skyrim is a 2011 game though

[Sycraft-fu]

I mean nothing wrong with having it on the platform, but it isn't exactly the pinnacle of modern tech. It was released in 2011, and the console versions were designed to target systems with 512MB of RAM (unified for the 360, 256/256 system/GPU for the PS3) at 1280x720@30fps. That was fairly low spec then, since the consoles were old (remember Oblivion released in 2006 as one of the first flight titles on the Xbox 360) and is really low spec now. It wouldn't at all surprise me if my Shield Tablet could handle it easily. It has more RAM, and its GPU seems to be at least as powerful as the 360/PS3 era stuff.

So while there's nothing wrong with Nintendo getting games like this, it isn't really some major win, or proof of a high spec system. We saw the same kind of thing happen with the Wii U where it got games that previously the Wii hadn't because of a lack of power.

The issue in the long run is that being too low spec can exclude games from being released on your platform. While people like to claim "graphics don't matter" they do and they sell games. That aside, there are a lot of things you could want to put in a game that will require more memory, more CPU, more GPU and so on. Developers aren't always going to be interested in either compromising on what they want to make, or producing a cut-down version to target the lower spec hardware.

Re:Skyrim is a 2011 game though

[Anonymous Coward]

It is showing Skyrim Special Edition, even while its portable.

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[drinkypoo]

Without knowing how much the Switch costs, let me assure you that it will be less than a "real" tablet.

How can you do that when it will likely cost at least as much as a typical tablet, because it will have faster graphics hardware? But at the same time, it will be poorly supported, because Tegra.

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[tepples]

How can you do that when it will likely cost at least as much as a typical tablet, because it will have faster graphics hardware?

The Nexus 7 (2012) tablet by ASUS had a Tegra 3 chipset, the latest at the time, and launched at $220. Or is the latest Tegra expected to cost more in 2017 than the Tegra 3 cost in 2012?

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Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[MitchDev]

"or wireless controllers (tho that last one might argue you need the wires for the true retro experience)."

Tape a string to the controller and the other end to the console ? ;)

Re:Look... SKYRIM! Woohooo...... wait, its not 201

[tepples]

They will lose to the mobile market when in portable mode

How so? Currently "the mobile market" is centered around touch screen gaming, which is far from ideal for game genres that aren't point-and-click or continuous runners. Even the widely panned Turbo Touch 360 would make a better game controller than the flat sheet of glass that is a typical smartphone or tablet. True, clip-on gamepads for iOS and Android are available from brands such as MOGA, but I haven't seen any manufacturer release sales figures. In fact, I'm surprised about the lack of figures on MOGA's developer landing page because I figured that a manufacturer of clip-on gamepads would use installed base to court game developers.

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[drinkypoo]

Or is the latest Tegra expected to cost more in 2017 than the Tegra 3 cost in 2012?

I expect they'll want to make money on it, as they have historically.

Nintendo unveils "Switch"

[Chris Mattern]

Jimmy Smits!

Once you go HTPC

[tepples]

You and in10se should consider upgrading from a video game console to a home theater PC (HTPC) with a BD-ROM drive and HDCP-capable HDMI or DVI display. It offers full HD video output, DVD-Video playback, BD-Video playback, Netflix playback, HBO GO playback, streaming from other devices, and DVR.* It also offers a good game library through GOG and Steam, user programmability in user mode under Windows,** and user programmability in both user and kernel mode under GNU/Linux.

* Recording encrypted cable is no longer supported as of Windows 10.
** Kernel mode driver development by individuals is no longer supported as of Windows 10. It is available only for corporations and LLCs holding an EV code signing certificate.

Re:Once you go HTPC

[KozmoStevnNaut]

You and in10se should consider upgrading from a video game console to a home theater PC (HTPC)
...
It also offers a good game library through GOG and Steam

Not to mention thousands and thousands of emulated games (that you obviously already own on cartridge/CD/DVD). USB controllers are widely available, and if you really want something like a SNES controller, modern versions for USB are inexpensive and easily available on Ebay. The Buffalo Classic USB Gamepad is particularly good.

Third Party Support

[jxander]

I contend that the success or failure of the Switch has already been decided, and it all comes down to 3rd party support.

Nintendo makes some amazing games that utilize the tech extremely well, or are just very good games (or both). Splatoon, ZombiU, Hyrule Warriors (esepcially the DS version), Bravely Default, Fire Emblem: Awakening, hell even the WiiU Tech Demo (Nintendoland) has some damn fine stuff in there. The games that leverage the WiiU's tablet to provide asymmetric multiplayer are brilliant. Luigi's Ghost Mansion in Nintendoland requires 2 seperate screens (Tablet screen for the ghost who can see everything, and the TV screen for everyone else who can't see the ghost), plus the game uses the rumble controllers so players can "feel" when the invisible ghost is near. And it is awesome.

But that game was made by Nintendo, for Nintendo, so it's well integrated. Any 3rd party company was left making a game that couldn't get much more integrated than "waggle the controller to win," or "the pause menu is on the other screen."

If Nintendo wants the new console to succeed, they need to make good friends with every outside developer they can: Capcom, Ubisoft, Activision, Naughty Dog, Bethesda, Obsidian, Rockstar, etc, etc, etc ... if all of these companies and more don't already have full access to the Switch hardware and software, it will fail. Personally, I'm hoping for a huge success. I was gushing over a game that was really just a tech demo. I can only imagine how amazing games could get if devs are granted proper access.

Re:Third Party Support

[ArtemaOne]

The third party developer list is readily available and huge. No need to wonder about it like this.

Re:Third Party Support

[jxander]

It's definitely looking that way, so color me optimistic.

Seeing Skyrim in the release video was a very welcome surprise.

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[Eloking]

Personally if I was going to carry around a 7" tablet device, I would just carry a real tablet that can do so much more.

*I would just carry a real tablet that can do differently stuff. /FTFY

Since when people use tablet to play AAA games? NVIDIA Shield's failure is a good example about how the AAA games are yet to enter the tablet market. This is a bold move from Nintendo to succeed where all other have failed. They look at the number of tablet on the marked and are thinking about how much money they'll make if this market were massively buying their 60$ AAA games.

In my mind, it's their last attend to lead that hardware market. If they fail again, the 'switch' (get it?) to iPad/Android is going to be a lot more simpler than WiiU.

Elok

Perfect

[KalvinB]

Nintendo should have had a TV out option on its portables long ago. The games are a lot of fun and if you have to play on a small screen, fine but I'd really like to play on a big screen when home.

Since they went with cartridges it wouldn't be a surprise if it's backwards compatible with 3DS games.

Also with flash storage vastly over performing spinning media, it's a very smart move to go back to cartridges instead of sticking to whatever spinning disks are currently available.

Re:Perfect

[silverkniveshotmail.]

Like the super Gameboy and the Gameboy Player?

Re:Perfect

[KozmoStevnNaut]

No, a TV output from the handheld itself, so you would only have to buy a cable. Not a complete portable device in a non-portable box that you have to plug into an stationary console that you also have to buy.

I feel the same way.

[aussersterne]

And the question wasn't addressed in the video.

Can this function like a normal tablet? Will I be able to remove the controller modules and carry it around and read email, use Chrome and Google Now and Microsoft Office apps and snap photos? Or is this a dedicated gaming machine that's just modular?

If the latter, I wouldn't buy it. If the former, I'd buy it to replace my current 8" tablet, as a tablet PLUS gaming experience. But I need a tablet, and I don't want to have to have TWO tablets just to get slightly better gameplay on one of them.

If it's a one tablet concept (would have to be Android, I assume, to have the ecosystem) then great. If it's just a game console with fancy industrial design? Pass. I have good enough gaming on my current tablet.

Hardware?

[slapout]

Will it run Pokemon Go? Does it have GPS and the other things needed for games like that?

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[thegarbz]

This announcement means Nintendo has officially left the console market and is now competing with ipads.

Why because the console is movable?

No. THIS announcement means that they have officially left the console only market and are competing on the iPads.

The switch still looks very much like a purpose built gaming device to me. Unless you're saying that the DS was also them just competing with the iPad because, portability?

Re:Nintendo OFFICIALLY has left the "console" mark

[Z80a]

When not being held back by the Open GL ES2.0, the x1 series are actually faster than the 360/PS3/WiiU, being able to run some games at the 1080p resolution, and the one being used on the Switch is most likely an even faster version.

Social Gaming?

[Anonymous Coward]

8 people multi player? Wasn't that what the last part of the trailer showed?

I suspect they trying to move to a form of social gaming.

May work out for them, may not.

Alot depends on games and prices.

Good luck to them.

If its open for homebrew i will buy it

[Anonymous Coward]

Because i love my DSI. But only because of a metric buttload of software, emulators, tools and other stuff that is available thru homebrew channels.

If this console does not allow homebrew it will fail.

Re:Cringe........

[Waccoon]

The 70's music was enough to do me in.

Conspicuously missing...

[Anonymous Coward]

I noticed a few things were conspicuously missing from the video:

1) Touch Controls - Was there any indication that this is a touch screen tablet? It's possible, but I never saw anyone use any input other than the controller in its various forms.

2) Motion Controls - Again, I only saw the transformable controller used as an input device. (Heck, I didn't even see tilt controls on the tablet used.) If that's it, then I can't see how there's any backward compatibility with old Wii or Wii U games that use the motion controls.

What? Not "The Swiitch"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Talk about a lost opportunity...

captcha: immense (!)

RIP Nintendo

[MrVictor]

"Guys! To turn the ship around, let's compete directly with the mobile device market that's been drinking our milkshake for the last ten years."

Nice knowing you Nintendo :(

Remember friend codes?

[tepples]

Of course, this being Nintendo, they're probably going to put serious limits on communication with strangers, ostensibly to keep children from adding would-be abusers to a friends list.

Re:Cringe........

[Anonymous Coward]

Apparently I'm their demographic, because I'm those douches in the ad. Or I'm the demographic their real demographic looks up to, so we make it look "cool" to them.

Regardless... I felt like I was watching a lifestyle ad or something. The physical design of the console itself looks cool... not so sure about anything else.

Battery Life

[kee16]

For hardcore games I'll stick with my PC, but I could see this being a nice replacement for my aging DS. I do like to mobile game now and then. My primary concern from there is battery life. Games typically eat my phone or tablet down pretty quickly. If the battery life on this thing is pretty good, I'll probably pick one up. If not.. ehhh...

Re:Battery Life

[KozmoStevnNaut]

Battery life will probably be around 5 hours, according to what I've heard. Not exactly stunning, but who knows. I hope it's at least charged by micro-usb or something, so you don't have to lug around a proprietary charger everywhere.