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

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

#431

Post by Narishma » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:18 PM UTC

dharma1 wrote: post #283

cdash wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless there is a separate GPU contained within that docking station that is extremely unlikely to have the processing power of a PS4/Xbox One and especially so the PS4+ and Xbox One+. That would mean that either some games could not be played while in mobile mode or they will be degraded significantly performance/graphics wise when in mobile mode. There is just no way they could pack the hardware/cooling/battery int…

Nvidia X1 already is 1 tflops GPU and the X2 (which is likely to be in the nintendo) is going to be around 1.5 tflops. Those are mobile SoC's with CUDA cores, fit OK in tablets (Pixel C has one), X1 peak power consumption is about 10 watts. Xbox one GPU is 1.3 tflops and PS4 is 1.8 tflops. So in the same ballpark

That 1 TFLOPS on the Tegra is for 16-bit floats I believe while the TFLOPS on the Xbox One and PS4 are for 32-bit floats.

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

#432

Post by mediocrejoker » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:22 PM UTC

blakeyrat wrote: post #171

mcphage wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Dropping LMP isn't just dumb from a "fun" perspective, it's also a stupid business decision [...] By tossing it out, you're tossing away a major selling point for your system. It seems to have worked out pretty well for Sony and Microsoft—and the manufacturer that does still focus on LMP (Nintendo) is struggling. So I don't think it's actually a major selling point. I mean, I wish it were; that's one of the things…

Microsoft never dropped local multiplayer. Just as many kids younger than you have those same nostalgic memories about going over to a friend's house and playing 4-player Halo 2 or Rock Band. They might not "focus" on it (whatever that means-- it has the feature, it works, what more "focus" do you need?), I suppose.

Halo 5 drops local multiplayer altogether

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

#433

Post by beernutz » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:23 PM UTC

Does anyone else think the controller stick on the right looks like a problem? I can't help thinking that I will keep bumping the analog stick if I attempt to use my thumb to press the buttons at the top.

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

#434

Post by r-w » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:28 PM UTC

monocasa wrote: post #104

sjm-lbm wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually totally disagree. Their mobile products are, in essence, "me-too" products that are larger and less powerful than a smartphone - and they sell well because they have great software and excellent (for games) interfaces/controls. This seems like an attempt to take that concept into something higher-end/something that is designed to connect to a TV (at least sometimes). I've got to think that will go quite we…

I don't know, their mobile products are so anemic that it's hard to call them "me too". A RPi2 is more powerful than a 3DS.

And so was the PSP, but you don't see anyone discussing the legacy of that console.

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

#435

Post by astrange » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:30 PM UTC

slantyyz wrote: post #99

ianai wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would be the business decision for them allowing cross device purchases? They might be selling the console at a loss for game revenue.

IIRC, it was a huge issue for the 3DS. If you lost or damaged your 3DS, it was a real pain to get all your downloaded games back on a replacement device.

It's no problem since they introduced actual accounts (Nintendo ID). But you still lose your 3DS friends list, and games can only be installed on one system at a time.

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

#436

Post by r-w » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:32 PM UTC

jerf wrote: post #81

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…

Despite the non-existence of children in that video, don't forget they still sell a lot stuff to children. My kids aren't old enough to be running around with 3DSs with all their friends yet, so I don't know how prevalent it is in practice. But if everyone who had a Wii could also that easily pick it up and cart it somewhere, that would be a huge network effect compared even to the 3DS. There is a very good chance th…

> Also... since no one else has mentioned it yet and it's not really worth its own comment... this is a wildly better name than "Wii". The Wii was a success, but I'd say in spite of the name.

Swiitch? ;)

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

#437

Post by chx » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:34 PM UTC

macspoofing wrote: post #429

ben174 wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of speculation in the community that when docked, additional video processing will be available in the hardware within the dock. When undocked, they can scale down resolution and frame rate for the smaller screen.

>There is a lot of speculation in the community that when docked, additional video processing will be available in the hardware within the dock. Doubt it. Not a trivial problem to solve technically and console pricing is inflexible - they need to sell this thing for under $400, and Nintendo hates subsidizing hardware.

USB C connector Alternate Mode can be used to carry PCIe signals (without Thunderbolt). Switching GPUs is a well solved problem for nVidia, they call it Optimus. By now this is a technically solved problem, no problems.

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

#438

Post by oldmanjay » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:41 PM UTC

vegabook wrote: post #124

gdulli wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Console with graphical power that rivals Xbox One and PS4. Check. Where do you get this from? The specs haven't been released and they're showcasing some previous-gen games. I doubt this will have the processing power of the original Xbox One or PS4, let alone the souped-up versions of those consoles that are coming soon.

yet to be fair, the very modest gamecube had some of the best franchises around (Metroid Prime a total classic), and even the PS2 did wonders on Shadow of the Colossus. It's almost as if, when the hardware is not supreme, creativity becomes more important?

An easy way to reject that hypothesis is to consider the utter load of shovelware that Nintendo consoles attract, because top-tier studios stay away in droves.

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

#439

Post by slantyyz » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:44 PM UTC

qwertyuiop924 wrote: post #408

slantyyz wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you're saying is technically true, but for the vast majority of people it's about the convenience of not having to carry a second device. In the same way that a real camera is better than a smartphone, convenience trumps quality. >> If you're looking for something cheap to carry your retro games around on, might I recommend a GBA? I have a 3DS because I wanted to play Street Fighter, Tekken and Dead Or Alive on…

Of course. But I find it more of a pain. And it's harder to hack than a PSP, and less capable, AFAIK. Also, I actually don't have a 2/3DS, because I have no money. A GBA costs ~$20.

Price aside, it's actually easy. Just buy a micro-SD card and the right "accessory" (there are maybe only two worth buying) and it takes a few minutes. With the most popular accessory, you can also run any home brew .3ds files very easily.

It only gets hard if you want to play online, which means you need to do .CIA files, which becomes difficult (it also requires a new SD card). But if playing online isn't a priority, it's not even an issue.

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

#440

Post by vegabook » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:53 PM UTC

macspoofing wrote: post #430

vegabook wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yet to be fair, the very modest gamecube had some of the best franchises around (Metroid Prime a total classic), and even the PS2 did wonders on Shadow of the Colossus. It's almost as if, when the hardware is not supreme, creativity becomes more important?

Having horsepower doesn't hurt, no matter how much Nintendo PR will try to spin it that way.

More horsepower can hurt because it's more expensive to produce content for (textures/polygons/realism expectations), and more money on the line for the studio means less creative risk taking permitted.