667 replies to this topic

[Magi_Hero]

I figured out the flavor.
https://www.instagra.../p/BRT9b-tjkg0/

[Item]

Who in the hell makes a video of a game flavor? That's funny.

[Naru]

So I visited together some friends of the family. A bit like visiting an aunt, though we are not related and most of my relatives suck compared to them. Anyway, the man just had to show off breath of the wild, I got spoilered big time

 

And I find the amibos rather lame, just using his 13 to get extra-items, not my style. Anyway, that guy is kind of a maniac regarding Nintendo and has a small collection, especially of the main-series including franchise and limited editions. Not that I really care for limited editions, but I have not even the normal games afterall. I am especially envious of the two extra switches and four extra (limited) botw-games

[Ben]

I still can't find one for sale without a massive markup. Here's hoping that supplies are replenished tomorrow...

 

I'd have preordered one but at the time I didn't have enough money saved up.

[Cukeman]

I think it's really interesting to ask if the Switch is a console that's not the most powerful we have or if Nintendo decided to switch over to portable gaming entirely* and we should look at the Switch as the most powerful handheld available.

 

*Sure you can argue it's both, but it makes a difference in my mind (seems more impressive) if you see it as a portable that has TV capabilities.

Edited by Cukeman, 16 March 2017 - 01:37 AM.

[Shane]

I think it's really interesting to ask if the Switch is a console that's not the most powerful we have or if Nintendo decided to switch over to portable gaming entirely* and we should look at the Switch as the most powerful handheld available.
 
*Sure you can argue it's both, but it makes a difference in my mind (seems more impressive) if you see it as a portable that has TV capabilities.

A lot of people see this as a terrible idea for some reason. But marketing wise, a powerful handheld that can be played on TV sounds more appealing than a underwhelming console that can be taken anywhere you go.

That said, I've encountered a bizarre problem with my Switch regarding the battery, but it seems I don't have the worst of the problems so yeah. Breath of the Wild really is the only good thing about the Switch so far so hoping more great games arrive soon.

[DashSim]

So I have some thoughts on Switch after having it since launch! In fact, I have maybe too many thoughts about it, so I'm going to try to limit my musings in this post to just Switch's approach to portable gaming and how it looks in the overall history and scope of portable game machines.

 

Nintendo's positioning of Switch as a console first and portable second is completely accurate. It's just not marketing, it really does feel like a console that can act as a portable, rather than the opposite. Its short battery life, its tablet-like size -- problems on a strictly portable device, but taken as a console, the point of comparison isn't other portable devices, it's other consoles, which have zero battery life and enormous sizes even in their slim revisions. It's not a portable with less portability, it's a console with more portability. It's an important distinction for Switch's success and perception.

 

It's interesting to see the 'it's like a console you can take with you!' angle being played up by Nintendo, though. Traditionally, Nintendo stomps competition in the handheld market by eschewing sheer power for greater portability and a lower price. From Game Boy to 3DS, there's a long line of competitors trying to offer more powerful, more console-like experiences on the go that failed against Nintendo's modest little machines. And here, now, Nintendo is essentially embracing the very model that consistently failed against them.

 

But I think it will actually work this time.

 

Yeah, the hybrid aspect helps it a lot; again, being perceived as a console first alleviates a lot of would-be problems that sank their competitors for decades. But let's put that aside for a moment and look at what the console-on-the-go devices actually did. From their hardware to their libraries, these devices never really gave a genuine console experience. They achieved a closer approximation to consoles than Nintendo's devices, absolutely, but that only works in that direct comparison. From Game Gear to Vita and everything between, they never fully got there. There's hardware sacrifices like resolution, buttons, sticks, rumble, etc. to just general power. Switch feels like perhaps the first time anyone has tried the console experience on a portable without its execution coming off as half-hearted.

 

But I think this is the core issue: Despite Sega's/Sony's/etc. relatively more console-like portables, they were always, clearly a second tier to their consoles. They were blatantly treated as such. The big releases from their A-Teams were on their consoles, and the portables got maybe a downport or a spin-off put together by their B-Teams. Consider how Vita didn't get The Next Uncharted, it got a spin-off by another studio. Vita didn't get Uncharted 4; Naughty Dog made that for console, while Vita saw Golden Abyss by SIE Bend Studio. And this was sold as the genuine console experience on a portable? This is what a no-sacrifices handheld experience looks like? And that's happened over and over again for 20+ years, while Nintendo puts their A-Teams on their portables just as often as their consoles and treats them like superstars. 3DS didn't get a Mario spin-off contracted out to the Bubsy 3D developer (seriously, look up SIE Bend Studio), they had EAD Tokyo, the main Mario developer, put The Next Mario on it, with all their talent and all their effort.

 

The hardware might be much weaker and the games might take on a different style, but Nintendo has always put a console-like effort into their portable games. Maybe, in that sense, not only has Nintendo been putting real console-like experiences on portables all along, they've been the only ones to do so.

 

So maybe Switch isn't such an outlier for them, after all.

[Cukeman]

I know people are talking about the Switch replacing the Game Boy/DS line of portables, but I feel there's still a place for them. First, they're more affordable than the Switch, and second, they have a much longer battery life, which is important for portables.

 

With that in mind I could see a "3DS Two" being viable (I'm just gonna pretend the New 3DS counts as a 3DS to keep things simple). But it might make even more sense to release a stripped down version of the Switch (no joycons, no motion control, no dock compatibility, no HD rumble, etc.) as their follow up to the 3DS. Sure it's kinda pointless for Switch owners, but I think it'd be a good option (like the 2DS) for people who want a Nintendo portable, but want something more affordable that can play virtual console and possibly even run Switch games in lower res/lower poly mode. I'd be down for that.

 

Personally I want to see the 2nd and 3rd generation Pokemon games on the 3DS eShop, but don't know how long Nintendo plans to keep supporting the 3DS. I could see myself getting a stripped down "2DS" version of the Switch, so to speak.

Edited by Cukeman, 01 April 2017 - 09:48 AM.

[Nicholas Steel]

I think it was demonstrated that the Switch has a longer lasting battery than the Nintendo 3DS. Approx. half an hour longer lasting.

[Cukeman]

I think it was demonstrated that the Switch has a longer lasting battery than the Nintendo 3DS. Approx. half an hour longer lasting.

 

I heard Switch lasts 3 hours for intense games, 7 for non-intense. I just assumed 3DS lasted 10 hours because... well I must be thinking of a previous Nintendo handheld. Still, I find it hard to imagine a game draining the 3DS in 3 hours.

Edited by Cukeman, 01 April 2017 - 04:44 AM.

[Daniel]

Finally seen six at Best Buy, three of each color. That is the first time I have seen them in stores. Also I had signed up for alerts when they are in stock online (before my 7 hour Toys R Us wait to get mine) and they have been blowing up my emails now. It looks like the supply is picking up pretty quickly.

[Jared]

Anyone have any luck with pairing their pro controller with a computer over bluetooth? It says mine is connected, but I can't get it to work with Yooka-Laylee on Steam.

[The Satellite]

http://www.theverge....ales-numbers-us

 

Now those are some solid numbers, in March no less. More interesting are the Zelda sales. Probably too many people eating the cartridges.

 

(before you say anything about the Kaz Hirai Twitter I made that joke before the Twitter did)

[DashSim]

but how can a console be successful when it doesn't have the most powerful hardware ever this is impossible they must be lying

[Daniel]

Last Monday I spotted seven at Target in the display and several at GameStop. They are doing a pretty good job dishing out new consoles.

And I seen a NES Classic at Target the same day for the first time I ever seen one in a store, and it was the only one. Of course I got it.