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

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

#441

Post by nvarsj » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:54 PM UTC

sodafountan wrote: post #102

I just don't have faith in Nintendo anymore, they have a track record now of so many failed consoles and disappointments, lack of third party support, even the new Zelda doesn't get me that excited (and I've been a die hard fan for years, playing Ocarina of Time as a kid made me want to learn how to make games). We'll see how this one turns out.

Every one of Nintendo's consoles has had "must have" games that simply don't exist anywhere else. WiiU has games like Bayonetta, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Xenoblade, Splatoon, Mario Maker (which is simply amazing, and nothing like it anywhere else). Wii was even better - Mario Galaxy being the best Mario series ever and a must play. I don't think you can consider yourself a serious gamer if you don't like Nintendo consoles. With a PC you pretty much have the whole gamut covered (PC=FPS,RPG, Nintendo=Everything Else). I'm looking forward to getting my Switch - N has never let me down :).

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

#442

Post by joshschreuder » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:57 PM UTC

drawkbox wrote: post #373

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.

A big part of the 3DS launch was AR [1][2]. They actually used it in unique ways. They haven't yet gone to head based VR/AR but device level like mobile was part of the 3DS pitch/features. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43uSXA9qUe8 [2] http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/ar-cards

Don't know if you own a 3DS, but personally I never used AR again beyond the 5 minutes after unboxing and I got one pretty soon after launch. Is it used in titles in any meaningful way?

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

#443

Post by kbenson » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 10:58 PM UTC

adrusi wrote: post #227

deelowe wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Specs haven't been released, but nvidia has a press release claiming it is powered by a custom tegra processor: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/10/20/nintendo-switch/ It's probably safe to assume it will be a customized version the latest or an upcoming model. I believe this puts the system in the PS4/Xbone ballpark.

Very unlikely that this has performance that competes with Sony and Microsoft. This is an integrated GPU on a battery-powered device with limited thermal regulation. The PS4 and Xbox One are always plugged in to AC and have plenty of space for a proper cooling system. That's OK, this time the console actually takes advantage of weaker performance to offer a better form-factor. Whether that tradeoff satisfies consumer…

> This is an integrated GPU

You say that like it's supposed to imply it's worse for some reason.

> battery-powered device with limited thermal regulation.

The Xbox one and PS4 were both released about three years ago. Almost three and a half by the time the Switch is released. That's a long time for Moore's law to operate, and it's easier for GPUs to take advantage of that phenomenon, since they are extremely parallel.

At 14-15 mm, the portable portion is actually a bit thicker (if smaller) than a new MacBook. Without the need for a keyboard or a clam shell design, that's probably quite a bit of usable space. I'm not sure why we should be surprised by claims of performance matching three year old systems.

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

#444

Post by jbmorgado » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 11:04 PM UTC

jbmorgado wrote: post #90

eropple wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could be, sure. Which has minimum specs well south of even the PS4, release date merely three years ago. I'm not saying it's a bad game. (Skyrim is the last Bethesda game I enjoyed--man, FO4 was bad .) But it is not really a benchmark in 2016. This is a higher-end Tegra. It's impressive-for-a-mobile-chip, but mobile chips still aren't really impressive. Maybe the base has additional GPU muscle or something, who kn…

Special edition Skyrim is coming out this month, 28th of October, on the PC, not 3 years ago.

Why am I being donwvoted for making a factual comment? This is clearly an abuse of the downvote system. Any mechanism in place to report this?

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

#445

Post by jbmorgado » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 11:04 PM UTC

jbmorgado wrote: post #95

iamatworknow wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Skyrim came out in 2011. I understand this is the "special edition" but that usually just means better textures, not a new engine. The recommended hardware requirements are not exactly cutting edge for the PC version of the remaster (i5 2400, 8 gigs ram, GTX 780).

It's actually a new engine, the same one used in Fallout 4: https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/12/skyrim-hd-special-editio...

Why am I being donwvoted for making a factual comment? This is clearly an abuse of the downvote system. Any mechanism in place to report this?

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

#446

Post by JimmyAustin » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 11:05 PM UTC

mathw wrote: post #140

nkg wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't imagine how complicated it must be to develop a decent game that works with a full controller, half a controller, 2 full controllers, 4x1/2 controllers, etc

Wii U devs are already doing that kind of thing. Mario Kart 8 supports a ridiculous variety of controllers from both the Wii and the Wii U, which actually is great if you're me because you can suddenly do four-player Mario Kart thanks to those old Wiimotes lying around! I hope the Switch can still talk to Wiimotes. Even if they drop sensor bar and the ability to point (which will prevent most Wii games coming to Virt…

Given that the sensor bar is just two IR diodes spaced apart, it's not unimaginable that they could just integrate it into the body of the console itself. There exists a youtube video of someone using two Zippo lighters to emulate it.

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

#447

Post by blkhp19 » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 11:06 PM UTC

xwvvvvwx wrote: post #394

Seems like it will be a challenge to build games that are compelling on both a large screen while seated in your living room and on a small screen when you're out and about (from both a UX and gameplay perspective). With that said it's a smart move to use the same controller for both use cases. Overall looks pretty slick, interested to see how this plays out.

Why? It would just scale to the display size.

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

#448

Post by DominikR » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 11:06 PM UTC

freehunter wrote: post #318

mikeevans wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Biggest pain point for the Nintendo eShop? If you own a 3DS and a Wii U and want to own a Virtual Console game for both - you're stuck with buying it two times.

I agree this should be fixed, I can play a game on either of my iPhones without having to re-buy it, but do any other consoles allow you to do this? If I bought a game on the PS Vita that was also on the PS4, could I play without re-purchasing? Honest question, I don't know. Just wondering if Nintendo is continuing the trend or if they're still stuck in the past.

I don't know about PS Vita to PS4 compatibility but the reason why I decided not to buy a PS4 was that I'd have had to repurchase all the PS3 games that I've bought online before if I wanted to play them on the PS4.

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

#449

Post by dharma1 » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 11:10 PM UTC

Narishma wrote: post #431

dharma1 wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That is a good catch, double speed FP16, so FP32 perf should be half that on the X1. While useful for some things (like neural network inference and I guess some shaders) it's not directly comparable - NVidia style marketing

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

#450

Post by komali2 » Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 11:12 PM UTC

joshschreuder wrote: post #442

drawkbox wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A big part of the 3DS launch was AR [1][2]. They actually used it in unique ways. They haven't yet gone to head based VR/AR but device level like mobile was part of the 3DS pitch/features. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43uSXA9qUe8 [2] http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/ar-cards

Don't know if you own a 3DS, but personally I never used AR again beyond the 5 minutes after unboxing and I got one pretty soon after launch. Is it used in titles in any meaningful way?

I didn't even know the 3DS had AR features and I probably have 300 hours logged at least on it.