Let’s be shitty in the Axe, let’s be keen in here.
what if we lived in a beautiful magical world, where i could transfer all my already purchased Wii U/3DS/VC downloadable e-shop games to this thing and play them, both in house and on the go? that would be too insane i’m sure. we don’t even know if that screen is a touch screen but frankly i don’t see why it wouldn’t, considering it’s built like a Nintendo Surface Pro.
anyways, this thing looks neat. i guess it really is the Final Draft of what the Wii U maybe should’ve been all along? the triple threat of a new Splatoon along with the sure bets of a new Kart and Mario 3D World game make this thing an instant purchase already, but i like its whole modular philosophy and use of the side controllers as little tiny controllers for whatever dumb party games you wanna force on your friends at parties where they just wanted you to come, and not your fuckin nintendo system.
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Best console name they’ve come out with in a while
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It plays… Skyrim?
look at all these people getting hype for a screen that is literally smaller than their hands
glurble glurble
cynical remark
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Ugh, even in the worst case scenario where this thing is underpowered, launches with a bunch of ports, doesn’t have a touchscreen, doesn’t support existing software and controllers, and fails to win over third party developers, I’m still going to buy it to play that new Mario on a plane.
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Yup, just gimme that Mario. Looks like they’re finally combining the tighter platforming levels of 3D Land with the more open Sunshine-type worlds. Gimme gimme gimme.
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yeah i want that kart 9 baby
thing looks like it’s made out of some nice plastic
i’m in
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Looks like he’s in Mexico this time.
Possibly the home of Maria and Luise?
The brothers are Italian. The sisters are Mexican. Of course.
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I’m certain this console thing is gonna have people Smashing in public. Like, Smash Bros tournaments are no longer limited by where you can lug a CRT to, but as soon as it’s ported to Switch it’s not even gonna be limited by where you can plug in a small LCD TV; Smashing could happen anywhere.
(Note: I like Smash but it’s fanliest fans have a deserved reputation.)
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None of the proposed control schemes for this seem particularly comfortable?
I’m also expecting Mario Kart and Splatoon to be enhanced re-releases of the Wii U versions, not entirely new games in the series. Also hoping the Splatoon arena scene means they’re going to be taking Splatoon e-sports more seriously, but I doubt it.
Can this thing even handle more than 2 controllers? The NBA footage shows them playing a 2v2 game with two players on each Switch, presumably over wireless networking. Maybe they can rely on 3DS as additional controllers like Smash 4 Wii U did?
Where my next Crystal Chronicles at, tho
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idk man, that kart has them holding two items at a time, which you couldn’t do in 8!!
Switch x Switch
Everyone who wants to play Nintendo games are going to buy it guaranteed just like they bought a Wii-U just for Nintendo games.
This looks more interesting as a product when considering its benefits for handheld titles than it does for traditionally home console releases. No one needs a third home console after Xbox and Playstation, especially if the Switch is not as powerful as those. The Switch would let you play your titles on the go but so would the Wii-U. With the PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio coming out I imagine the Switch will still suffer from the power disparity like past Nintendo home consoles have and not get all of the big, graphics-pushing AAA relases.
But if/when the 3DS dies out and a lot of those handheld franchises do start coming to the Switch instead of devs opting for mobile cell phones then handheld games gain an actual user experience improvement due to the typical enhanced specs and the TV-output. Nothing revolutionary, but a nice quality of life improvement.
I also wonder how big it is because it looks a little large in the videos. It doesn’t look to be as easily portable as something like the 3DS, which can close itself to protect the screen and fit in a pocket, or even a Vita.
We don’t know anything about it though so maybe there are cool OS features to get excited about later, which will probably be hampered by typical Nintendo stubbornness and inability to adapt.
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Here’s what I posted in response to this thing on Facebook:
Looks like another miscalculation in the direction of the Wii-U to me. So many expensive yet necessary parts to break or lose. Lack of a clear audience or reason for all of this complication beyond the abstract awareness that Nintendo has handled portables more well than home systems since the late '90s.
I’m sure there will be weird and interesting things that make use of the system’s properties and attempt to sketch out an identity and justification. But this looks like Nintendo’s last dedicated console.
The problem is that the focus is on creating new problems instead of solving old ones. The trade-off in new potential is unclear, compared to the nuisance and education factors. There are other places to play videogames that don’t require you to follow a flowchart to understand what the system does, how, and why.
Nintendo is going to go all-in with mobile games soon.
Someone balked at the “flowchart” thing and said, look, it was simple: it was a portable with a docking station. It’s exactly like hooking up your computer to a television set and then playing a game with a bluetooth controller. To which I responded:
No, they’re hedging a space between a console and a portable, lacking the simplicity of either. It’s either an expensive, huge, breakable portable system with parts that can come off and get lost or it is a home system that you carry around and potentially damage or misplace. Not for kids, not for adults.
Again, I’m sure someone will do something neat with it to try to justify this nonsense, but it will attract one of Nintendo’s smallest ever user bases. Especially following the confusion of the Wii-U, this will be a write-off for all but the obsessive. One last step into irrelevance.
Incidentally, “hook[ing] a laptop to a tv and us[ing] a bluetooth controller” is exactly the sort of thing a casual or mainstream audience will never do. You kind of proved my point there. The Wii, this ain’t. This is not an expansive concept; it is a reductive and exclusionary one.
I dunno. Probably reacted too strongly, as I do. I stand by the basic shape of it, though. This is sort of interesting on a gizmo level, but the only thing it has going for it on a mass cultural level is that it isn’t named the “Wii U Hoo” or some shit.
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A thought that I didn’t put in there:
This strikes me as Nintendo’s very own PSP.
The symmetry on the two controller halves is kind of hilarious, though. Not sure what to make of it, but it’s clever. It must come from whoever designed the button layout on the Wii remote.
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During Mario Kart when the players each took a Joy-Con recalled the Famicom to me with its hardwired controllers.