Media Nintendo Switch Discussion

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PG24

<Pride> I'm my wildest fantasy
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Nintendo will be hosting an official presentation online showcasing aspects of their upcoming console, the Nintendo Switch. This will include upcoming games for the system, such as Breath of the Wild. The event will start at the times listed below and should last roughly an hour. It will be in English, or at least with English subtitles or voice-over. There will also be a showing of Nintnedo Treehouse Live the day after the event to showcase games and talk about the system. Feel free to use this thread to discuss your predictions and thoughts before and after the event.

Locations:
Nintendo - http://nintendo.com/switch
YouTube - http://youtube.com/nintendo
Twitch - http://twitch.tv/nintendo


Times:
P.T/L.A (U.S) - 20:00 / 8 PM (January 12th)
Mountain (U.S) - 21:00 / 9 PM (January 12th)
Central (U.S) - 22:00 / 10 PM (January 12th)
Mexico City (MX) - 22:00 / 10 PM (January 12th)
E.T/N.Y (U.S) - 23:00 / 11 PM (January 12th)
Manaus (BR) - 00:00 / 12 AM (January 13th)
Argentina (AR) - 01:00 / 1 AM (January 13th)
Brasilia (BR) - 02:00 / 2 AM (January 13th)
Lisbon/London (EU) - 04:00 / 04 AM (January 13th)
Paris/Madrid (EU) - 05:00 / 05 AM (January 13th)
Hong Kong (HK) - 12:00 / 12 PM (January 13th)
Tokyo (JP) - 13:00 / 1 PM (January 13th)
Sydney (AU) - 15:00 / 3 PM (January 13th)
Wellington (NZ) - 17:00 / 5 PM (January 13th)
 
Honestly, I'm not really sure what to think of the Switch yet. Tomorrow will likely change my opinion drastically, but for now, there's not enough for me to base an opinion on. Despite that it seems to use cartridges, I hope that it will have backwards compatibility, because I like being able to play my older games as well (I'm a bit of a big retro fan) and I want to be able to do it on one system, not have to switch between systems. Another thing I want to know is how long the battery will last when it's portable. Nintendo's systems have normally been pretty good with battery (at least, for me), so I hope that standard continues to be held.
 
Oookay we got lots to report

Basic Stuff
The Switch will launch Worldwide on March 3. There is no pack in game. There will be two versions available, and the only difference is the joy con colors (one is black, the other is neon red/blue).

The launch price is 299 USD.

There are also two special BotW editions.

Launch titles are so far confirmed to be a new game called 1-2-Switch (which is the Nintendo Land clone) and Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Online services allow you to connect with friends on smart devices to chat and arrange battles. However, online will also require payments. This is done through a smart device app.

That said, being a paid subscriber will award you with a free NES/SNES game each month, as well as special subscriber discounts.

Joy-Cons are designed to be full out controllers with multiple buttons. They also come with wrist straps.

Motion controls and a touch screen are confirmed.

The Switch will be region-free.

Up to 8 consoles can connect for local multiplayer.

Pro Controller retails for 70 USD. Additional Joy Cons can be bought 50 USD each or 80 USD for two. You can also buy a dock for 90 USD. Joy-con charging grips are 30 USD.

Other Games
Arms was a new IP they showed, featuring long range boxing revolving around motion controls. It will be available this Spring.

A Splatoon sequel was announced as Splatoon 2. This features new maps, weapon types and character customization, as well as a totally new control scheme. It launches this summer.

Mario is confirmed to have a new game called Super Mario Odyssey, which appears to draw from Mario 64 heavily. It features a unique hat that allows for different gameplay mechanics. It launches this holiday.

Mario Kart 8: Deluxe was shown. This is an enhanced port of Mario Kart 9, featuring new items, characters, tracks, karts and a new battle mode. Coming in April.

Other Games
- Skyrim
- Xenoblade 2
- Fire Emblem Warriors
- FIFA
- Shin Megami Tensei
- No More Heroes 3 (name TBD)
- Sonic (name TBD)
- Minecraft
- Bomberman
- Street Fighter
- Square Enix game in the style of Bravely Default

My head is spinning right now so I probably forgot a bunch.
 
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The games and the console itself look great!
$299 is a decent price, but like don't like the payments to play online.
 
Unless I missed it, I am disappointed that there wasn't much said about the backwards compatibility of the Nintendo Switch. That's a big thing for me, and I could see it happening with an add-on hardware for the home consoles, but I would've liked some clarity. Will games from the 3DS be compatible with the Switch, considering they both use cartridges? I sure hope so. My other concern would be that all these extra features might add up to be costly, as old Wii remotes clearly cannot be used, and for the pro-controllers, I'm unsure. These two things would probably be my deciding factors on whether I upgrade my Wii U to a Switch.

On that note, I am excited to see Splatoon 2 coming soon, and a new open-space Mario game (as Super Mario 64 is quite nostalgic for me) is certainly interesting. However, I do find the integration of Mario and the human world a bit... off-putting nearly. Sonic did it - and did it successfully - but this just feels a bit weird. I suppose I was thinking more of a 64 style of game, but fingers crossed. Anyway, as someone who has never owned a DS, I am excited to be able to see both console games (Splatoon, Zelda) and traditionally portable games (Fire Emblem) being put onto the same system, and am looking forward to other portable classics that might arrive. Unfortunately, beyond Breath of the Wild and Splatoon 2, there really isn't that much that I'm particularly looking forward to... but we'll see.
 
bbninjas said:
Unless I missed it, I am disappointed that there wasn't much said about the backwards compatibility of the Nintendo Switch. That's a big thing for me, and I could see it happening with an add-on hardware for the home consoles, but I would've liked some clarity. Will games from the 3DS be compatible with the Switch, considering they both use cartridges? I sure hope so. My other concern would be that all these extra features might add up to be costly, as old Wii remotes clearly cannot be used, and for the pro-controllers, I'm unsure. These two things would probably be my deciding factors on whether I upgrade my Wii U to a Switch.
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The answer to both is no.

3DS and Switch have different size game cards. And nothing from the Wii U is compatible with the Switch in terms of controllers.
 
Professor Palutena said:
The answer to both is no.

3DS and Switch have different size game cards. And nothing from the Wii U is compatible with the Switch in terms of controllers.
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The thing that I'm hoping for is some attachable hardware that allows for backward compatibility. Perhaps some attachable disc drive that allows for Wii U games to be played on the Switch in dock mode, providing it is plugged into the dock, or something. I'm sure it's possible, however I'm not sure if it will happen.
 
Since I actually was able to sleep until my normal time today, I wasn't awake for the presentation, though I got to see it afterward. Overall, it really exceeded my expectations, probably because I was keeping them low in the first place. :p

Things I'm excited about:

1) Fire Emblem Warriors! I've never actually played a Warriors game yet (though hubby and I do own the Wii U version of the Zelda one), but it's FE so of course I'm excited. :p Looks like Chrom is finally getting his chance to shine. The 5 swords shown in the opening section were Lord weapons for Marth, Chrom/Lucina, Corrin, Ryoma, and Xander, which is kind of interesting.

2) Octopath Travelers! As apathetic as I am about Final Fantasy, I find that I really enjoy Square Enix's non-FF works, especially the recent Bravely series. There's not a whole lot yet to see about this game aside from the awesome 2D artwork and the fact that it features multiple paths, but I'm pretty excited nonetheless.

3) No More Region Locking! I really loved this aspect of the original DS since I got to play some awesome Japanese games that wouldn't get western releases (like Ouendan). I might also be able to pick up some NA region versions of games for cheaper than PAL prices while visiting the States. >_> Hopefully this will encourage regions to have similar release dates for games, too, so we won't have weird several-month gaps between NA/PAL releases, or even the pointless 1-week wait for Pokémon Sun/Moon.
 
I'm surprised at the negativity I've seen around Nintendo's fanbase surrounding this event, I thought it was good. Yeah, there wasn't a lot of games, but there typically aren't at launch, and the lineup seems to be quality over quantity. Think about it, we've got a big 3D Mario, a big 3D Zelda, Mario Kart and Splatoon which are also huge sellers, and a new IP which looks pretty interesting. How often do we see all of that in the first year?

Anyway, I'm definitely excited for the Switch. I don't think I'll buy one at launch, but definitely sometime this year. Thinking of getting Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Yooka Laylee, both Sonic games, and maybe ARMS.
 
I think that the main reason why this console hasn't been super well received is because it doesn't feel very Nintendo, at least to me. Having to pay for online, while standard for other companies, is a new cost for Nintendo fans, and I know a few people who are incredibly disappointed in it (not least my Dad). The lack of backwards compatibility has frustrated some consumers who maybe didn't pick up the Wii U but still had one or two games they wanted to play on it. The price of the joycons is also simply not worth it, meaning the majority will only be able to play with 2 players at most, and that's only in the games where both joycons aren't necessary to play; each joycon (or maybe pair of joycons, can't recall) is a higher cost than an actual video game. This random up-selling has led a lot of people to be worried about things like paid DLC in the future. The Mario Kart 8 DLC was amazing value for money, and while SSB4 wasn't the greatest value in the world it could have been substantially worse from another company. This gave Nintendo credibility, if nothing else, during the Wii U's era, but this positive reputation is now at risk.

Personally I take issue with the ergonomics of the product. It looks thin, small and uncomfortable to hold, and from the feedback we've had about it, those feelings seems to be right. I know some people disagree with me on this point, but I don't consider it a handheld. Sure it's portable, but there will be several games which simply won't be playable. If a game requires motion controls it's not really playable in a car, a plane or a waiting room, because humans are stuck with 2 hands and you need somewhere to put the tablet screen. In the original trailer for the console there was a stand to hold the screen up in something like a car which, while awesome, doesn't come with the system, and still doesn't exactly make it handheld. The DS is something you can play for 5 minutes, close the system to put it on standby, and then open it again and play for 5 more minutes. This is awesome when doing things like travelling, because maybe you have to take 2 trains to get to your destination and you need something to do while you briefly wait, or an easy way to play on your DS until your train pulls into a halt. The Switch runs more technical games, so will take a little while to load up and switch off. These changes are minor, but generally seems quite unnecessary.

Everyone seems to be focusing on the portable aspects of the system, ignoring the fact that the home console looks just as disappointing, if not more. 4 and a half years on from the Wii U, we are seeing no graphical advancement. I love the Wii U's graphics, but technology is improving at such an exponential rate right now that not harnessing it is frustrating. Of course, a world as big as BotW being portable is impressive, but we've only seen it on the big screen. We don't know the graphical capabilities of the tablet afaik.

The Switch seems to be an awkward chimera of the Wii and the DS, and I just can't see it working.
 
Celever said:
Personally I take issue with the ergonomics of the product. It looks thin, small and uncomfortable to hold, and from the feedback we've had about it, those feelings seems to be right. I know some people disagree with me on this point, but I don't consider it a handheld. Sure it's portable, but there will be several games which simply won't be playable. If a game requires motion controls it's not really playable in a car, a plane or a waiting room, because humans are stuck with 2 hands and you need somewhere to put the tablet screen. In the original trailer for the console there was a stand to hold the screen up in something like a car which, while awesome, doesn't come with the system, and still doesn't exactly make it handheld. The DS is something you can play for 5 minutes, close the system to put it on standby, and then open it again and play for 5 more minutes. This is awesome when doing things like travelling, because maybe you have to take 2 trains to get to your destination and you need something to do while you briefly wait, or an easy way to play on your DS until your train pulls into a halt. The Switch runs more technical games, so will take a little while to load up and switch off. These changes are minor, but generally seems quite unnecessary.
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I've actually heard the opposite regarding the ergonomics. People seem to be praising its size and, surprisingly, how comfortable the joy cons are. I've heard a few people who don't plan on picking up a Pro Controller for a while just because the Joy Cons are comfortable enough for Zelda, and they're the right size.

My main ergonomic concern with the joy cons is the position of the stick, but I guess I'll have to wait until March to experience it myself.
 
Adding to the list to announced games.

A Fire Emblem game for the Switch was announced in today's Fire Emblem direct. It has no title yet and is planned to release in 2018.

FE Warriors was confirmed with a Fall 2017 release date.
 
Bumping this because it comes out in two days!

And there is a bunch of info that hasn't been reported here. Namely, the online subscription price is approximately $20 USD. Which is around half the price of the competitors.

This image has about 85% of the announced games for it. It's so exciting to see that this console is getting so many high quality games in its first year of life. Certainly a break from another console that will go unmentioned. :p

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Who else is getting it on launch with me?
 
Professor Palutena said:
Who else is getting it on launch with me?
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Possibly me and my husband! We pre-ordered, but we're on the "second batch" pre-order, so depending on production amounts, we may be able to pick one up on release or we might not.

Personally, it doesn't matter much to me, since all the games I'm interested in are coming out later, but I know my husband is really looking forward to BoTW, so for his sake, I'm hoping we can get one this weekend.
 
Breath of the Wild is probably the best game I've ever played, and that's not just the honeymoon phase talking. If I'm at home or away, there hasn't been a single time this game hasn't been glued to my hands. I haven't enjoyed a game to this level in years. Outside of the drops in the frame rate, it's hard for me to find a single fault in this game.

As for the Switch, I'm not too fond of it at the moment. Outside of the portability, which is a godsend for how addictive BotW is, there aren't too many positives that make me happy with my investment. This should normally be expected with a launch system, but something about it seems really lackluster. Outside of BotW, there's really not much to do with the Switch. Snipperclips is fun for a short time with a couple of friends, but that's really it. It seems even worse when you consider that the next major game to come out is Mario Kart 8 at the end of April. If anyone is looking to pick up the system (implying you can find it), I urge you to wait until after Splatoon 2 or ARMS release unless you're okay spending $360 for a Zelda machine.

ps: the pro controller is the comfiest controller i've ever had my hands on.

pss: joycon grips are literally satan. i feel like im breaking my controller each time i take them off.
 
I read a theory about the Switch launch on another forum of mine that made a lot of sense to me. Basically, the idea is that Nintendo is soft-launching the Switch now for early-adopters and people who have been waiting ages for Zelda, and that they will gear up for a fuller launch in time for Holiday 2017. Just in time for the holiday rush, there will be a lot more titles available, and there will also likely be support for other things the Switch is currently lacking, such as VC and other non-game apps (like Netflix).
 
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