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Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

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

#471
post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree that it will replace both. The DS brings ruggedness and a smaller form factor. I can't see me bringing this little flimsy tablet with probably max ~8 hours of battery life with me on one of my travels. My 3DS has had no trouble being thrown into a ruck and dragged across SE Asia needing a charge a week.

They could always release the same device in a smaller form factor at some point.

This is my guess. Since it uses cartridges and a single screen, there's nothing stopping them from selling a version which is a single smaller unit with better battery life but without TV/local multiplayer capabilities.

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

#472
post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Xbone and PS4 can both play Skyrim and Fallout 4. Nothing Nintendo's put out can come close. Just sayin'. Different people have different priorities when it comes to gaming.

Not sure if you noticed in the Switch launch video, but that's Skyrim they're playing. It looks like Nintendo is putting some effort into third party this time, and they'll be the only "console" which allows you to play "console" third party games portably. Pretty significant advantage.

That's quite a jump you made there: a port of a game that came out in 2011. I don't really think getting Skyrim is a big deal. If you were around for the Wii U launch, they got a ton of third party ports. Comically a game like Mass Effect 3 when I'm pretty sure the first two games didn't appear on any Nintendo platform.

I'd also be wary about battery life. The 3DS and its sleep mode aren't known for being very good on that front.

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

#473
Is it like a Wii U flipped? It's awfully resemble Gamevice controller for iPad - https://gamevice.com - except it's also an iPad, which is as big as 12 inches! How does Switch gets its content, by download, or old-fashion cartridge (I'm totally cool with that). And lastly, the battery lasts how long??

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

#474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the Nintendo Switch much different than the below; connecting a gamepad to your existing mobile phone, or streaming your phone to your TV? http://i.imgur.com/DlUMgxb.png The Switch might offer some advantages now, but it's not going to take long before mobile phones offer similar graphics, and gamepad experiences. At that point, what's the advantage of buying a Switch, when the phone in your pocket does all of the…

You could make the same argument about having an Xbox when Microsoft already deals with computers. Why have a separate console when you can have a PC that does the same and then some? Nintendo's first party IPs are partially what keeps it alive. Think about it. Mario and Mario Kart have more or less been the same for generations, yet people (including myself) keep coming back for more. Also, the Wii marked a decided…

There really is no financial reason on any side to keep the proprietary single platform console hardware for game releases. Nintendo would certainly (as demonstrated by Pokemon Go) make ludicrously more revenue if their games were on all platforms rather than just their own. Because nothing their hardware does is useful. They make nice peripherals (Wiimote, whatever the tablet for the Wii U) which could easily have (and often do) have driver support everywhere else already.

So what are you getting out of a Nintendo console? Lackluster proprietary software and crippled low powered hardware. Not a compelling offer to pretty much anyone, so they use their software to prop up the hardware and lose out on dramatically more software sales to maintain a dead hardware business.

If this console were just an Android handheld / console switcher device it would be immensely more successful.

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

#475

This is a pretty brilliant move in concept. While phones and tablets have encroached on the handheld gaming space, the DS is still a huge success and where Nintendo has continued to dominate the market. As a parent, I have 4 of the current gen DS systems. One for myself and one for each of my three children. Nintendo has really struggled to stay relevant in the console space though as seen by the Wii U's underwhelmin…

I'm assuming the Switch replaces the Wii U. But will the 3DS live on? I assume the answer there is yes as well, but the lines between the two products is getting really blurry, isn't it?

my assumption is that this will always cost at least 2 (3 even) times as much as the 3DS

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

#476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

When it first launched, that's basically all we had to play.

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

#477
post #37

This looks amazing, and the fact they got Skyrim in the trailer is a great promise of its graphical prowess. I just hope they take online gaming seriously this generation.

> the fact they got Skyrim in the trailer is a great promise of its graphical prowess Skyrim is a five-year-old game at this point. It's not exactly an indication of graphical horsepower.

it is for a portable device. This looks like a portable PS3, which is pretty excellent.

Unlike many others, I highly doubt this gets near PS4 performance. there are just too many reasons for it not to.

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

#478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 paralle…

Moore's law has been dead for about a decade bro. 3 years is a long time but IMO not enough to being a 100+ watt SoC down to ~20-30 required for that form factor. That being said, Nvidia is still much more energy efficient graphics wise vs AMD so I could see it getting fairly close - maybe 70-80%. CPU wise though I doubt they'll be as close just because of power.

The only reason to think Moore's law is dead now, much less a decade ago, is if you don't know what Moore's law actually is.[1] I don't blame you for that though, it was incorrectly explained for decades.

Moore's law refers to the number of transistors, not speed. We've consistently added more transistors to CPUs, but through separate cores,since there are problems related to doing that usefully with a single core. Now, that's been of mixed benefit to some programs, because not all problems, programs, or programmers can effectively take advantage of multiple cores, or at least not effectively. GPUs though, are doing work that is "embarrassingly parallel", and thus can effectively utilize this increase in transistors and cores. For example, the GeForce Titan X has 3072 CUDA cores.[2]

The GeForce GTX 760 (maybe a mid-range desktop part?) was released June 25, 2013 with a retail price of $249.[3] The GeForce GTX 980M (second newest generation mobile part) was released October 7, 2014 (two years ago!).[3] It trounces the desktop part from one year prior.[4] We've had a year since then. I don't think there's any problem hitting the performance of the last generation of consoles, at least as far as the GPU is concerned.

Edit: Switched from 980 to 980M to clearly indicate a mobile part, which only makes the release a year earlier for the mobile part, but doesn't really change the outcome.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law

2: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-tit...

3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nvidia_graphics_proces...

4: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-980M-vs-GeForce-GTX-760

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

#479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 paralle…

>You say that like it's supposed to imply it's worse for some reason. It does because of thermals.

Don't integrated units produce less heat? Do you mind expanding on this so I know what you are referring to?

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

#480
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 disagree. I think it's a massive lack of imagination on the part of manufacturers that has led to mediocre deployments. I think your comment reflects a sentiment that I agree with which is that HMD based systems today do not give the same degree of awe that happened when the NES came out - or even the playstation. I'd rather see Nintendo invest heavily ($5BN+) in an AR VRD and infrastructure that changes the landsc…

Sounds pretty risky, even if they solved the technical side of it there is by no means a proven market.
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