Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#291

Post by colinthompson » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:20 PM UTC

Looks really cool. Too bad it’s not out in time for christmas. The thing would sell like crazy this year.

What I find most notable in the video is their nod to competitive-gaming / esports, which Nintendo has such a long history of shunning/disrespecting/mis-understanding. Maybe they’re finally trying to atone for the debacle around the whole Smash scene? (Then again, maybe it’s just the marketing people who put this video together thought that would be fun to add and have no idea about Nintendo’s history here.)

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#292

Post by hudell » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:21 PM UTC

delecti wrote: post #215

blakeyrat wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has a bad UI. But the real killer is: games are still tied to hardware, not user account. Which means, if your console dies, you lose all your purchases. (Unless that's changed VERY recently.) If you're used to the Xbox store like the grandparent, going to the Nintendo Shop is like stepping back in time a decade.

I'm fairly confident you're incorrect. There's a single shared account between the 3DS and Wii U online stores, and I also know for sure that 3DS purchases are tied to your user account, rather than your hardware. I suppose it's possible that it works differently for the Wii U than the 3DS ecosystems, but that seems unlikely. You can still only have an account attached to a single console (of each type) at a time, bu…

Your account is tied to the hardware (1 3DS and 1 Wii U). You can move your account from one hardware to another if you have both on the same room, or with a phone call.

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#293

Post by fazzone » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:23 PM UTC

agentdrtran wrote: post #279

Pxtl wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Realistically, I'm betting this one is going to lag the competition in terms of specs, and imho that's okay. Nintendo made a huge splash with the Wii while making a weaker device. This thing has to run on batteries. It has to include mobile-quality batteries and a screen, which is an added cost that other consoles don't have. With those components in mind, I fully expect it to have comparatively weak hardware so they…

It's using the next gen Nvidia Tegra (the X2, afaik)

I have seen this reported as a rumour with circumstantial evidence to back it up (why would they release a brand-new flagship product with a 2-year-old chip). Has it been confirmed anywhere yet?

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#294

Post by wingless » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:24 PM UTC

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #273

neals wrote: post #210

Maybe not a popular opinion right now... but I'm so glad there's at least one brand out there that isn't jumping the 'VR'/'AR' - bandwagon. I've tried to get into VR with the oculus and the VIVE, but no, it's just not for me. Happy to see Nintendo do what they do best: come up with a great formfactor, but let games be games.

I agree with you. I still firmly believe VR/AR will be tech niche. Nintendo seems to have built something they hope is simple, but entertaining.

If VR technology doesn't advance fast enough to solve its current issues (nausea, lack of DoF and gravitation) in the near future, we will likely enter a period of stagnation like the AI Winter.

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#295

Post by idealpersona » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:25 PM UTC

Skyrim was released almost 5 years ago, yet an updated version of it is used to advertise the capabilities of a next-generation console. It's really disappointing to see the amount of recycling in entertainment in the past 10 years. More disappointing that people eat it up.

Also, the entire selling point is being mobile crossover. That seems like a great secondary feature, but alone... that's it? Where is the imagination that brought us the Wii?

I can only hope Nintendo attracts enough development to make interesting (perhaps Pokemon Go-influenced) unique crossover use cases, beyond just playing the same game the same way on a TV and at the airport.

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#296

Post by squeaky-clean » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:26 PM UTC

delecti wrote: post #215

blakeyrat wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has a bad UI. But the real killer is: games are still tied to hardware, not user account. Which means, if your console dies, you lose all your purchases. (Unless that's changed VERY recently.) If you're used to the Xbox store like the grandparent, going to the Nintendo Shop is like stepping back in time a decade.

I'm fairly confident you're incorrect. There's a single shared account between the 3DS and Wii U online stores, and I also know for sure that 3DS purchases are tied to your user account, rather than your hardware. I suppose it's possible that it works differently for the Wii U than the 3DS ecosystems, but that seems unlikely. You can still only have an account attached to a single console (of each type) at a time, bu…

Sorry, but that's the way it is. You do share the 3DS and Wii U accounts, but game titles are tied to the console. Nintendo has no instructions on how to transfer games to a different 3ds system without having both of them physically there and working [0]. I wanted to trade in my 3DS for a discount on a "New 3DS", but wouldn't have both systems to transfer my games. (Though I've read most Gamestop's will let you do the transfer in their store when you do the trade-in, I haven't tried).

It seems a Kotaku author was able to get their games transferred by contacting Nintendo directly. So at least there's that [1]. There's no direct way to download your games onto a new 3ds. And additional source about transferring between systems [2].

[0] http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a...

[1] http://kotaku.com/salvaging-games-from-a-broken-3ds-is-surpr...

[2] http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/154883/how-to-get-...

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#297

Post by nkassis » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:30 PM UTC

dysfunctor wrote: post #275

Is Nintendo making a big mistake by missing Christmas with this thing?

I wonder if it really matters in year one for a nintendo console given they will probably struggle to push out enough to meet just standard demand anyway.

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#298

Post by striking » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:32 PM UTC

mkozlows wrote: post #247

striking wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They already have 360 parity. Tri-core PPC processors (Wii U is clocked to half of 360 speed but CPU was never really the problem with those games) with AMD GPUs bound directly to the southbridge (Xbox 360 has an R500 equivalent, Wii U has a Radeon HD 4000/R700 equivalent). Also, the Xbox 360 had 512MB of VRAM and no other RAM; Wii U uses 2GB DDR3 with 32MB transparent rendering cache. The Wii U does more than the 36…

Wii U was AC-powered and comparatively large. This is a battery-powered handheld. If it matches the Wii U, that will be good.

If you looked at that PDF, you'd see a battery powered tablet that has an Nvidia card matching the Wii U. And it was released some time ago, before Polaris.

As a user of AMD's current Polaris tech, I'm certain this next console will kick butt.

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#299

Post by ohhhwell » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:32 PM UTC

neals wrote: post #210

Maybe not a popular opinion right now... but I'm so glad there's at least one brand out there that isn't jumping the 'VR'/'AR' - bandwagon. I've tried to get into VR with the oculus and the VIVE, but no, it's just not for me. Happy to see Nintendo do what they do best: come up with a great formfactor, but let games be games.

I am a big believer in the future of VR (and possibly AR). But even if it succeeds, there's still a big market for a device like the Switch. It's just a completely different category and good to see what looks like an innovative game console focused on games as we know them.

Re: Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

#300

Post by swasheck » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 5:32 PM UTC

tvanantwerp wrote: post #35

Of the featured use cases, gaming on a plane is the only one that made a ton of sense to me. (Binging on Stardew Valley on a laptop during my last trip to China actually helped a lot with jet lag recovery.) The other featured cases, I'm not so sure. I definitely miss the days of my youth when my friends and I huddled around a TV split four ways. But I also don't see us returning to gaming together in person either. T…

rooftop patio party turns into ... huddled masses around a tiny gaming console? kinda unrealistic, imho. however, it's still quite innovative and i'll probably pick one up "for the kids." :)