Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Nintendo Switch – New Video Game System [video]

nintendo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 551 posts

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

#101

Post by gdulli »

mratzloff wrote: post #52

If there's a "switch" here, it's Nintendo finally taking feedback from customers and third parties seriously. Console with graphical power that rivals Xbox One and PS4. Check. Industry-standard architecture and tooling (Unity), allowing third parties to flood in. Check. Blends their successful portable division with their console division (this has been a common refrain for awhile now). Check. They already addressed…

> 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.

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

#102

Post by sodafountan »

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.

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

#103

Post by Cyph0n »

eropple wrote: post #89
Cyph0n wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any other console that can play Skyrim smoothly on the go? No, which is why this is impressive. We'll have to wait for the specs to be announced before we can confirm that the docked console is behind the rest.

Why limit it to "consoles"? An iPad could, depending on the desired render quality. The A9x is probably beefier than the Tegra in this, or is at least competitive. (edit: "Probably" is a strong word, given that this is coming out in early 2017, but at least in the ballpark.) Don't get me wrong, I think the device looks cool and I was already planning on buying one. But "playing Skyrim" just doesn't tell you anything,…

I've yet to see an iPad game at the level of Skyrim. Yes, you could get the same graphics, but I doubt you could get one with such scale onto an iPad.

I understand that the trailer is not meant to reflect the exact console. But remember that Bethesda is behind this, and so we have their seal of approval, so to speak.

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

#104

Post by monocasa »

sjm-lbm wrote: post #71
slantyyz wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> So the hardware is more standard but its still not the same standard as the other boxes. That could be a double edged sword. I think Nintendo doing a "me-too" console that is like the PS4/XBone/Steam would hurt them more than it helps them. And as it is, Steam already offers a portability element if you've got a decent laptop with a discrete GPU. >> That could hurt 3rd party adoption. At this point, I think Ninten…

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.

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

#105

Post by exelius »

So this is a good usage model, but I'm not sure people want to carry yet another tablet just for gaming. The only way I can see this thing taking off is if it can fall back into an Android tablet mode for web browsing, e-mail, etc. But as a portable gaming console, it seems pretty boss. I'm curious what the hardware specs are and how they differ from other tablets on the market.

Because if it can't do everything else my current tablet can, I'm gonna have to carry a tablet AND this thing. Done right, Nintendo can make this thing the first real challenger to the iPad for mass-market adoption. But they've gotta treat it as a first-party Android device and get updates out ASAP and not muck with the interface too much. I'm willing to bet they could work out a rev-share agreement with Google on the Google Play store and Google Play Apps (and keeping their own Nintendo licensing scheme).

But let's not kid ourselves here: Nintendo is a Japanese company and it operates like one. That means they'll try to own the entire value chain and miss out on any network effects, while simultaneously moving themselves from a market with a 5-10 year refresh cycle to one with a 2-3 year refresh cycle. While it means they could sell more tablets to repeat customers, it also means that they have less time to be patient for success (as happened with the Wii and WiiU) since it also increases customer churn. Network effects and platform lock-in are a lot more important when the refresh cycle is shorter, because there are more opportunities for your customers to jump off the train.

I wish Nintendo luck, and I think that this is a good usage model. But I'm not convinced it's compelling enough to displace the tablets that people are already carrying around with them unless it can also duplicate the capability of those devices.

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

#106

Post by Retr0spectrum »

jbmorgado wrote: post #86
Cyph0n wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about that first one. We'll have to wait for the specs to release first.

Well, it's coming 1.5 years late to the game, I hope the graphic power is at least on par with the original PS4.

In that form factor? Unlikely.

My guess would be somewhere around PS3/360 performance, perhaps with better graphics.

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

#107

Post by monocasa »

shuntress wrote: post #67
Raphmedia wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I also don't see us returning to gaming together in person either. Really? I gather with friends to play Smash on a gamecube every two weeks or so. Bring a few beers, play some good music, pass the controllers around and it's lots of fun. I also co-op a lot with my girlfriend.

I know theres something pleasant about the older smash games, but the new one is really just as much fun and supports 8-player matches. If you are already meeting >4 people bi-weekly get them to cough up some extra cash, or just buy cheaper beer for a few months and get yourselves a wiiu.

There's a crowd that prefers GameCube + CRT for the extremely low latency.

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

#108

Post by eropple »

Cyph0n wrote: post #103
eropple wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why limit it to "consoles"? An iPad could, depending on the desired render quality. The A9x is probably beefier than the Tegra in this, or is at least competitive. (edit: "Probably" is a strong word, given that this is coming out in early 2017, but at least in the ballpark.) Don't get me wrong, I think the device looks cool and I was already planning on buying one. But "playing Skyrim" just doesn't tell you anything,…

I've yet to see an iPad game at the level of Skyrim. Yes, you could get the same graphics, but I doubt you could get one with such scale onto an iPad. I understand that the trailer is not meant to reflect the exact console. But remember that Bethesda is behind this, and so we have their seal of approval, so to speak.

I'm not saying the games exist on the iPad platform. I'm saying that the hardware is certainly competitive with this and so it's not some super-impressive thing that this is coming out with Skyrim. Like, we have this hardware already.

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

#110

Post by bigtunacan »

erickhill wrote: post #93
bigtunacan wrote: post #62

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?

This is the same question that's in my mind. With it's form factor it could potentially replace both.

Part of the issue is going to come down to pricing. With a handheld each person needs their own device. If this can be kept sub $200 it's sort of a no brained. If it is priced similarly to consoles today it's a harder sell.

I am also left wondering if this could end up sold as different packages. It could be packaged as a full console edition and a handheld only lite edition at different price points.

Post reply on HN