Nintendo Switch - Happy Switchmas Everyone!

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

I've made the move to download only games now, don't like having the clutter in my flat and it's handy to have them all in one place and easily accessible, so I'm quite excited at the thought of this. And it feels like they're tapping into that phone/tablet gaming market too with how accessible games are through the App Store.

 

Of the many errors Microsoft made during their One announcement, the thing I really actually liked the idea of that they scrapped was the always online feature of the console. My U and One are always connected to the net, so making it a kind of 'online only' thing would appeal to me.

 

They must make it a fully functional online machine though, if that's the case. The lack of VC has never bothered me (if I want chit chat I'll play locally ) but they need that, my often mooted Miiverse Messenger where you can message anyone at anytime asking to join games etc...basically everything the One and PS4 does now! Will Nintendo deliver on that though, that's the only question!

[Dcubed]

Dunno what this is, but it seems to be hinting at coming to NX whatever it is...

 

http://ingsoc.org/

 

 

According to some people on GAF, it's related to Kojima Productions...

 

Supposedly the site has been up since May and previously had the KojiPro logo...

 

 

clicking on it would bring you to this twitter account.

 

Could be an elaborate hoax (the Koji Pro logo being used is a bit of a red flag considering that it is owned by Konami), but either way it seems interesting.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Dcubed

[Ashley]

Nintendo patent has popped up.

 

 

Nintendo's documentation shows designs for a touchscreen controller similar to that of the Wii U, although with only two face buttons instead of four.

 

Each shoulder also sports a scrollable button to be used with the index finger of each hand, or with the thumb of one hand when the controller is held in portrait like a book.

 

The wheels could be used for scrolling through an inventory of items, for example, or zooming in and out of an environment.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-09-18-nintendo-patents-controller-with-shoulder-scroll-wheels

[Dcubed]

Yeah I saw that. Neat idea for the shoulder wheels/buttons. Can see it being useful for many things (even something as simple as a weapon/item scroll wheel)

[Ronnie]

Yeah really nice idea, although it's strange it only has two face buttons.

[FalcoLombardi]

Yeah really nice idea, although it's strange it only has two face buttons.

 

You may have to buy the other two.

[Ashley]

Still not feeling the screen, but we'll see where this goes.

[Fierce_LiNk]

The scrollable shoulder buttons sound interesting. But, there's a distinct lack of overall buttons there, especially on the face. Are we also thinking that those sticks are the 3DS-style circle pads, too? Not a fan of them really.

[S.C.G]

Lack of face buttons? Scrollable shoulder buttons? Flat form factor while presumably being small enough to fit in your pocket?

 

Sounds like it could be a "Nintenphone" to me.

[Dcubed]

Lack of face buttons? Scrollable shoulder buttons? Flat form factor while presumably being small enough to fit in your pocket?

 

Sounds like it could be a "Nintenphone" to me.

 

I don't think that the shown form factor is meant to be representative of any specific upcoming device really (notice how it lacks even start/select buttons?), but just for demonstration purposes focusing on the actual innovation (the shoulder wheel buttons)

[S.C.G]

I don't think that the shown form factor is meant to be representative of any specific upcoming device really (notice how it lacks even start/select buttons?), but just for demonstration purposes focusing on the actual innovation (the shoulder wheel buttons)

 

But it's all so mysterious... hard to know just what to make of it really.

[Hogge]

Nintendo patent has popped up.

 

 

 

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-09-18-nintendo-patents-controller-with-shoulder-scroll-wheels

 

Could be interresting if you can both scroll and press the shoulder buttons. And of course, if this is intended for a home console, it better have analogue shoulder buttons.

[ReZourceman]

Jesus fu....

 

 

Awful. No.

[Hogge]

Am I the only one wanting Nintendo to use solid state cartridges in the NX?

[Fierce_LiNk]

Am I the only one wanting Nintendo to use solid state cartridges in the NX?

 

Everybody I know wants them to use Cassette Tapes.

 

It should make it easier to record your own soundtracks to your favourite games. Just insert it into any Radio/Cassette player, hit Record and rap like you're LL Cool J.

[bob]

I'm quite partial to the zip drive, but I know Nintendo will never listen to us fans.

[S.C.G]

I'm quite partial to the zip drive, but I know Nintendo will never listen to us fans.

 

I was hoping for 3.2" Floppy Disk drive personally, complete with an Amstrad 6128+ emulator added to the Virtual Console complete with the ability to play games from the original physical media.

 

But alas, it will never happen.

 

In all seriousness though I would love to see some Amstrad games come to the VC even though licensing would be a nightmare.

[Hogge]

I know that cartridges are a big part of what scared the third parties away from Nintendo and that it's the probably foremost reason Sony got a foothold in the game industry.

 

However, we must ask ourselves if old truths are valid. At the same pace as consoles have become more PC-esque, their future has become increasingly dark. I think that if consoles are to avoid fading away, they need more of an identity. Over the next few years, Smart TV's are going to emerge, so the point of having Netflix, Skype and other non-gaming applications are going to be pointless.

My vision is that next gen consoles should be a simpler, quicker, more convenient and cheaper way to play games than they are now. Clunky operating systems have increased the ammount of button presses and time to start a game and reduced the ammount of graphical fidelity you get for your money.

 

Solid state storage has dropped in price over the past years, while discs have increased. The major problem with cartridges on the N64 was that Nintendo had a monopoly on production, with waiting times so long that developers often didn't order second batches, even when their games had sold well. That problem has remained, since Nintendo have been using proprietary discs for all of their systems. And solid state cartridges have several pros which could be relevant today.

Of course we have the quick loading times, which has more relevance now than ever, with many high end games streaming textures. A cartridge could easily store patches, DLC's and make other really cool uses of writeable storage.

 

Am I saying that the game industry should pursue SSD's? Not neceserilly. I'm just saying it's a brighter idea now than in 1996. In the same way as electric cars being considered obsolete for most of the 20th century, but now are considered to be THE future.

[Mr_Master_X2]

I know that cartridges are a big part of what scared the third parties away from Nintendo and that it's the probably foremost reason Sony got a foothold in the game industry.

 

However, we must ask ourselves if old truths are valid. At the same pace as consoles have become more PC-esque, their future has become increasingly dark. I think that if consoles are to avoid fading away, they need more of an identity. Over the next few years, Smart TV's are going to emerge, so the point of having Netflix, Skype and other non-gaming applications are going to be pointless.

My vision is that next gen consoles should be a simpler, quicker, more convenient and cheaper way to play games than they are now. Clunky operating systems have increased the ammount of button presses and time to start a game and reduced the ammount of graphical fidelity you get for your money.

 

Solid state storage has dropped in price over the past years, while discs have increased. The major problem with cartridges on the N64 was that Nintendo had a monopoly on production, with waiting times so long that developers often didn't order second batches, even when their games had sold well. That problem has remained, since Nintendo have been using proprietary discs for all of their systems. And solid state cartridges have several pros which could be relevant today.

Of course we have the quick loading times, which has more relevance now than ever, with many high end games streaming textures. A cartridge could easily store patches, DLC's and make other really cool uses of writeable storage.

 

Am I saying that the game industry should pursue SSD's? Not neceserilly. I'm just saying it's a brighter idea now than in 1996. In the same way as electric cars being considered obsolete for most of the 20th century, but now are considered to be THE future.

 

There's potential for sd/cartridge or something familiar due to larger capacities and cheaper price. No idea if they're down to "would only make a 5 pound store price a game" dffernce sort of thing yet, though. Wouldn't it bring the actual console price/size down though, since no disc reader, lighter smaller fan (if even neccessary). It'd cut the console price down, and allow it to have more power for less cost. Something I've also heard is devs don't compress their games proper anymore due to large blu-ray sizes, so the space actually required in a compressed game card would be much less than a blu-ray so the cards wouldn't need to reach blu-ray size anyway (no idea IF that's true). But then again we can get bloody big cards now.

 

EDIT: Well, there's this article...

 

http://gamingbolt.com/nintendo-nx-why-not-having-a-optical-drive-could-potentially-work-in-the-big-ns-favor

 

Seems positive, and I would hope IS where Nintendo are going, but...I have no faith they will. It's likely just people getting excited or nothing.

Edited September 27, 2015 by Mr_Master_X2

[Kounan]

I hope that the article is on right track as it sounds really good.

 

I didn't know that cartridge could improve the specs of the console (I don't mean space, but processor speed, RAM,...., or did I missunderstood it?). But I do still hope that the console will be powerfull enoungh on it's own as it would help with third parties (I know that the abilitie to make games for handheld and home console on one cartridge should be enough, but some power is still needed)

[Kounan]

Sources Suggest Nintendo NX Is A Fusion Of Home And Mobile Hardware Powered By "Industry-Leading" Tech

 

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/10/sources_suggest_nintendo_nx_is_a_fusion_of_home_and_mobile_hardware_powered_by_industry-leading_tech

[gaggle64]

Merging the home & handheld into a single device is the only sensible way for this thing to go. If y'all still hoping for a console you can play the big usual 3rd party series on though you're laughing out your own ass.

[canand]

Sources Suggest Nintendo NX Is A Fusion Of Home And Mobile Hardware Powered By "Industry-Leading" Tech

 

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/10/sources_suggest_nintendo_nx_is_a_fusion_of_home_and_mobile_hardware_powered_by_industry-leading_tech

 

So there is going to be a Nintendo NX Console and a Nintendo NX Handheld?

[Dcubed]

So there is going to be a Nintendo NX Console and a Nintendo NX Handheld?

 

Yup, that's the one thing we've known since it was announced. A new console and a new handheld that share the same OS and hardware architecture, like the iPhone/iPad (allowing game code/assets to be shared across both devices - allowing for much more efficient development; and the easy ability to make multiplatform titles). Supposedly based on the Wii U's hardware archtecture (so the NX console should be able to run Wii U/Wii/GCN/VC software out of the box).

 

Anyway, I reckon that devs have actually had SDKs for a while now. If they're planning on launching the first NX device next year (probably the handheld), they had better have gotten them out before now if they want to have any sort of semblance of a decent launch lineup!

[Blade]

@canand is back!!