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Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

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Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#251

Post by seanmcdirmid »

throwaway91111 wrote: post #224
nilkn wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Switch is basically a high-powered tablet with proper gaming controls. I'd love it if it could actually replace "real" tablets. As it is, we're going to have two separate classes of tablets: those that are actually good at gaming (Switch), and those that are good at everything else (iPad, etc.). That said, it's easy to see why Nintendo's focusing on gaming: it's their core competency, nobody else in the tablet sp…

I already have a tablet. I certainly don't want to browse anything with shitty Nintendo software. They should focus on games. Hell, this is the best sign yet that the switch will have SOME value beyond "you can play the latest Mario here"

Do you really want to carry both an iPad and a switch in your bag, though?

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#252

Post by k__ »

__david__ wrote: post #188
everling wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Gamecube, yes. But the N64 analogue stick was the first of its kind, no?

And don't forget the rumble pack on the N64. It cracks me up that Sony still calls their controller the "DualShock", since that was a direct "2 is better than 1!" response to the N64 rumble pack. On the other hand, Sony's one-upmanship also added the 2nd analog joystick to controllers and that turned out to be incredibly important.

Well, when they added it, it was rather useless.

I think I only played one game on the PSX that really used 2 sticks and that was Ape Escape.

Only when FPS became a thing on consoles, the second stick was finally used in more than a few games.

And when did this become the case? With the XBox?

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#253

Post by HeavenBanned »

slantyyz wrote: post #157
jdcarter wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's precisely why I'll be buying one: my daughter wants a 3DS, but I said let's wait for the Switch instead. Then we'll get to use it on our main TV (replacing our Wii U, which we rarely use) and have games that work in both settings. Win-win.

If your daughter wants a 3DS to play portable games (with nothing specific in mind) then waiting for a Switch instead of getting a 3DS is probably worthwhile. If, however, your daughter wants a 3DS for specific titles, you're still better off getting her the 3DS. For example, if all of her friends are currently playing and trading on Pokemon Sun/Moon, getting a Switch will basically have her feeling left out.

Have you heard of Pokemon Stars? It's the Switch "Yellow" version of Sun/Moon. It will be amazing, and it will be a 3DS killer. You're making the right move. Pokemon 3D is coming to the Switch.

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#254

Post by MadcapJake »

jclardy wrote: post #16
coldpie wrote: post #2

This is a good review. Nice pictures, and some real-world usage scenarios, especially concerning battery life. I really wanted to like the Switch, but the addition of and focus on motion controls during their January press conference really killed it for me. Alternate input methods for games have failed, but Nintendo keeps pursuing this. My worry about the fact that the console supports motion controls is that games…

Hmm, I have to disagree here. I'm actually really excited about the Joy-Con's and the Switch's portability. Mainly because you take the tablet with you and you have the ability to do same-screen co-op just like that. For a game like Towerfall or Mariocart (Or a launch title, like Snipperclips) that is amazing. And the ability to play Zelda on an airplane sounds awesome. I do think they flubbed a ton of stuff on the s…

> I do agree on disliking motion controls for a console like this, but motion controls do have their place in VR, so maybe Nintendo has some future plans in that space...

I could see them doing something like the Samsung Gear VR for the Switch.

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#255

Post by blkhp19 »

Retr0spectrum wrote: post #105
pyi wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC the Switch doesn't ship with a web browser at all. This could change down the line, of course.

Apparently the day-1 update will include a browser applet for connecting to captive portal wifi networks.

Hopefully they rushed and used an outdated version of Webkit ;)

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#256

Post by chasing »

So I wouldn't buy a Nintendo console as my first console. But I have a PS4 that covers me for most of my gaming (and Netflixing needs) and the Wii U was a great addition to get access to all of Nintendo's stuff. So I'm excited to swap out the Wii U for a Switch -- although there's no rush for me.

One thing that has changed my opinion a bit about Nintendo's products, though: Having a kid. Suddenly it's very clear what it means for Nintendo to make a family console as a product subtly different from a gamer's console or a more adult console, which is what I would consider my PS4 to be.

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#257

Post by squeaky-clean »

iamatworknow wrote: post #108
danso wrote: post #101

As a late Wii U owner, I'm willing to wait until the Switch proves to be a success. The horror stories of the Wii U's launch, combined with lackluster support and signs that Nintendo didn't know how to adapt to the Internet age haven't exactly been mitigated by what we know of the Switch so far: no web browser, no Virtual Console nor movie services like Netflix at launch. Everything smells rushed...in the meantime, I…

Lack of a virtual console I can understand, but are you really being dissuaded from purchasing a Switch based on its lack of web browser and Netflix -- two things that run on half a dozen or more devices that the typical HN reader probably already owns?

> but are you really being dissuaded from purchasing a Switch based on its lack of web browser and Netflix -- two things that run on half a dozen or more devices that the typical HN reader probably already owns?

It's competing against those devices though. And not just for sales, but pocket/bag space. If I'm bringing a Switch somewhere, I don't really want to carry an iPad with me too if I want to watch something on Netflix.

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#258

Post by SimeVidas »

usertrjx wrote: post #237
SimeVidas wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Xbox One controller is 60. Paying $10 extra for HD Rumble seems like a bargain.

The xbox one/ps4 controllers are packed in, pro controller is not.

That’s because Nintendo decided to include a different kind of controller with the system, and have the “normal” controller be a separate purchase. I think, this was a good decision. My point was that the price point for the Pro controller seems fair.

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#259

Post by zupreme »

Apologies to the naysayers and even the inevitable down voters but iOS and Android have already crushed the portable gaming market. The likelihood of dedicated hardware EVER getting back its previous glory is unlikely.

Console gaming retains its luster because mobile simply cannot compete against consoles regarding graphics, audio quality, and so forth. Nintendo Switch enjoys no such benefits.

There are already controller cases for both iPhone and iPad which are just as good, if not better, than the one Switch ships with. iOS already has a mature app store with TONS of quality content (not gaming and otherwise).

I'm sorry but I just don't see a solid future for this kind of thing anymore.

Re: Nintendo Switch review: pure potential

#260

Post by OD_ »

agumonkey wrote: post #140
GuiA wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is mostly credited to Gunpei Yokoi's philosophy: "Yokoi articulated his philosophy of "Lateral Thinking of Withered Technology". [...] "Withered technology" in this context refers to a mature technology which is cheap and well understood. "Lateral thinking" refers to finding radical new ways of using such technology. Yokoi held that toys and games do not necessarily require cutting edge technology; novel and fun g…

The SNES CPU was underpowered compared to the Genesis. But the overall system yielded better gaming experience. It's similar to Apple lesser RAM numbers compared to the market, yet iPhone are still smoother globally.

The SNES is not underpowered compared to the genesis if you compare them as a whole and not just spec for spec like comparing mhz on a CPU. Console hardware is made for running games and are not general computing devices. The snes hardware had many hardware supported graphical modes that allowed it to push the envelope without relying on a beefier CPU, the most famous of which is Mode 7 which allowed the pseudo 3d you see in games like F-Zero, the FF world maps, Mario Kart, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG and so on. And then there was this very common practice on SNES to embed coprocessors and DSP on the game cartridge, which is what allowed the graphical effects of Star Fox and Yoshi's Island notably. There was no such practice on the Genesis.

> The list of Super NES enhancement chips demonstrates the overall design plan for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, whereby the console's hardware designers had made it easy to interface special coprocessor chips to the console. This standardized selection of chips was available to increase system performance and features for each game cartridge. As increasingly superior chips became available throughout the SNES's vintage market years, this strategy originally provided a cheaper and more versatile way of maintaining the system's market lifespan when compared to Nintendo's option of having included a much more expensive CPU or a more obsolete stock chipset.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Super_NES_enhancement_...

As far as graphical capabilities were concerned, the SNES ecosystem was definitely more powerful. By the time Sega considered the idea of extending the Genesis with the 32X it was already too late into the console lifecycle to matter and flopped (very close to the release of the Sega Saturn and 1 to 2 years before the Nintendo 64, depending on your region [NA, EU, JP]).

There was also the Sega CD but all it did is enable a library of not-games pseudo-interactive movies.

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