Behold Nintendo Switch (March 2017, Hybrid w/ Dock, Detachable Controllers, Nvidia)

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$50 sub

really now

There's been some rumors about having a subscription service for the VC ala PS Now.

I assume they meant that, not a PS+/Xbox Gold pay for online and some "free" monthly games type service.

I just don't see how having a dockless version at launch is compatible with their own preliminary push about this being a device for both the home and on-the-go. A year or so down the line, sure, but I think doing it at launch at best muddies the clarity of the message and at worst makes it seem you're almost back-tracking on your key selling point.

But stranger things have happened.

I could see a dockless Sku in Japan I guess. Portables/mobile rule over there with lots of younger folk not even having a TV or monitor, and the reveal add was in English and focused on the western market so they could do something different over there when they do a fuller reveal.

But yeah, I can't see a dockless sku in the west around launch. Maybe by the holidays, but then probably only if sales are lagging. Sometime in 2018 would be more likely.
 
hmmm a Mario Kart switch bundle would be amazing or Smash bundle to get everyone to buy one

Zelda ain't getting bundled since that will sell on its own so either mario kart or smash
or........
the esport x twitch streaming x twitch tourament splatoon bundle D:
infinite streaming and playing splatoon at launch
 
If we're talking about price, this article about what's the expected revenue for Nvidia might be helpful:

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtrader...eries-sees-370m-per-year-in-nintendos-switch/

While Nintendo has been largely uncompetitive against the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox, we think the Switch has the potential to see more shipments. There are very few details on the price point, but we think the Wii and Wii U case studies are instructive. In the first 12 months of launch, Wii shipped 13m units and the Wii U shipped 4m units. Assuming 5-8 million units at a $40 ASP for Tegra translates to $200-320m in revenues and $0.11-0.16 in EPS.

Thanks to BY2K who signal it yesterday.
 
When in 2017 do you think Nintendo will announce the price, launch lineup, and additional features of the Switch? I'm guessing January?
 
There's been some rumors about having a subscription service for the VC ala PS Now.

I assume they meant that, not a PS+/Xbox Gold pay for online and some "free" monthly games type service.

Got a link to any rumors? I had thought the VC subscription idea was speculation only.
 
I'm hoping for a screen-less version to be honest. Mine will stay plugged in 99% of the time anyway - and doing that will absolutely tank the non-user-replaceable battery (unless there's some smart-tech I've missed here).

That's a common misunderstanding about rechargeable batteries. Devices that stay in a charging dock do not actually lose battery capacity over time.

Batteries only lose capacity from enduring thousands of charge cycles. When docked items are fully charged, the charging device powers the unit directly and does not touch the battery - it stays fully charged from the initial charge cycle.

In other words: the length of time that a battery is charged does NOT affect the battery. Rather, a battery's capacity decreases after being recharged thousands of times. Nevertheless, a deep discharge stresses the battery more than a partial discharge. It is therefore better not to discharge the battery fully but charge it more often.
 
When in 2017 do you think Nintendo will announce the price, launch lineup, and additional features of the Switch? I'm guessing January?

You'd think, right? They need to have some type of marketing idea for the Nintendo Switch and it would have to start a least a few months before the console's launch. I'd say they beef it up around the 15th of January with pre-orders starting around then. Then they'll announce the game lineup that week and launch into their full marketing campaign. Whatever that will be.

At the very least, I'm not expecting a huge line-up of games. Breath of the Wild will be the biggest game on the system at launch.
 
The price itself was a huge error, not communicating about it. Do you think that if you communicate a bad price closer to release is better?

It's wrong to announce the price without specifics, unless of course the price is really good. When you say people they'll have to pay X amount for something, you also have to explain them why they should pay that much.

When in 2017 do you think Nintendo will announce the price, launch lineup, and additional features of the Switch? I'm guessing January?
Yup, late January I expect a good direct followed by 2-3 days of treehouse live.

edit: I'd also expect mid February Switch events with in many stores.
 
So what should have Nintendo done?

I don't know.

Nintendo is in a pretty bad spot right now like Sega was after the Saturn. Most important difference is that Nintendo is still a healthy company and can change after the Switch gamble without losing its core competence.
 
I think it would be better for Nintendo to just have one SKU at launch at one price, like the Wii. Come out with one package and make it as attractive as possible. I sort of hate it when they release useless models to make the price seem artificially lower.

Like the WiiU was technically $300, but it was a garbage sku with no memory, missing a lot of attachments and parts, didn't come with a game that cost $60. So you might as well have forked out the extra money and gotten the $350 version. Which was a crazy price for Nintendo to launch at back then. No way in hell, bundle or no can they go that high
 
I know people think this will be the next Wii at $199, but I don't know if Nintendo can take a loss. I think Kimishima said they won't. If there's a $50 subscription service they come up with then maybe they'll do it for $199 and bank on people getting the subscription.

Idk we'll see

I'm expecting $299.

Who says they'd take a loss at $199? If the Nvidia deal really is as good as rumored, they might be able to turn a small profit or break even at $199.

$225 might also be possible. $250 is the highest I think it should be, based on what we know is included. I think it should be priced as close to cost as possible for the best mainstream success.
 
I would personally like to see just one SKU at launch for the sake of parsimony, but console manufacturers have been getting away with with multiple launch SKUs for a couple of generations now, so eh.

Assuming there is a single one, think it will be more expensive than most people would like. I imagine like a Wii U Premium ballpark and no cheaper, Basic option. Guess they'll throw in a couple of things to make it a more attractive package though.

I'm from UK though, so I already know we're fucked in terms of price no matter which way it falls #Brexit
 
Who says they'd take a loss at $199? If the Nvidia deal really is as good as rumored, they might be able to turn a small profit or break even at $199.

$225 might also be possible. $250 is the highest I think it should be, based on what we know is included. I think it should be priced as close to cost as possible for the best mainstream success.

I did forget about the Nvidia rumor deal.

I know $225 or $229 is a weird number, but if they could do that it would be great.
 
This was probably already pointed out.

CvnqVD-UkAAX5t_.jpg

It looks like there is a USB port on the bottom of the main body of the Switch.

There are also two sets of holes on the bottom, one of the sets are most likely connectors that charge the unit when docked and the other set is to slot the unit into the dock.

The one thing I couldn't find is an SD Card slot, this makes me think that it uses Micro SD Cards the same way it is used on the New 3DS XL. So the back cover should be removable so that the Micro SD Card can be inserted.

It would suck if it turns out this doesn't use any SD Cards.
 
That's a common misunderstanding about rechargeable batteries. Devices that stay in a charging dock do not actually lose battery capacity over time.

Batteries only lose capacity from enduring thousands of charge cycles. When docked items are fully charged, the charging device powers the unit directly and does not touch the battery - it stays fully charged from the initial charge cycle.

In other words: the length of time that a battery is charged does NOT affect the battery. Rather, a battery's capacity decreases after being recharged thousands of times. Nevertheless, a deep discharge stresses the battery more than a partial discharge. It is therefore better not to discharge the battery fully but charge it more often.

Thanks! Is this a recent development? Because I know of laptop batteries tanking fast from staying plugged in constantly.

But also if you don’t plan to use the screen why would you even care about the battery’s health? :P

The other reason it's a little frustrating is I'd happily pay £40 less for a screen-less model. Hopefully the price won't be too high regardless, but it's the same irk as with Microsoft bundling Kinect 2.0 with the Xbox One at launch.
 
I'd guess it's about $100 in raw silicon wafers and some screens they dug out of the garbage, also because tegra is so dead nvidia is probably paying Nintendo just for advertising, therefore Nintendo can sell it for $110 and still make a decent profit!
 
This was probably already pointed out.



It looks like there is a USB port on the bottom of the main body of the Switch.

There are also two sets of holes on the bottom, one of the sets are most likely connectors that charge the unit when docked and the other set is to slot the unit into the dock.

The one thing I couldn't find is an SD Card slot, this makes me think that it uses Micro SD Cards the same way it is used on the New 3DS XL. So the back cover should be removable so that the Micro SD Card can be inserted.

It would suck if it turns out this doesn't use any SD Cards.

I would be utterly shocked if this thing did not take some sort of SD card or Micro SD card.
 
I PRAY they will drop that OS.

Remember the Wii U before the speed update?

What speed update? </sarcasm>

The Wii U OS is STILL dogshit slow at the end of the day. Trying to simply boot a game (physical or digital) just sort of turns me off of the entire system due to the load times.
 
What speed update? </sarcasm>

The Wii U OS is STILL dogshit slow at the end of the day. Trying to simply boot a game (physical or digital) just sort of turns me off of the entire system due to the load times.

Yeah. But REMEMBER THE OG OS? They made an entire Direct just to show how much faster the OS got. It was that bad.
 
Who says they'd take a loss at $199? If the Nvidia deal really is as good as rumored, they might be able to turn a small profit or break even at $199.

$225 might also be possible. $250 is the highest I think it should be, based on what we know is included. I think it should be priced as close to cost as possible for the best mainstream success.

I find it interesting that so many people brush off this rumor even though it was in the exact same article breaking the news that Nvidia was providing the chips for the NX.

This, combined with the multiple rumors over the past year (most recently MCV) about how Nintendo wanted to go with an extremely low price, makes me think it won't be anywhere over $249.
 
The one thing I couldn't find is an SD Card slot, this makes me think that it uses Micro SD Cards the same way it is used on the New 3DS XL. So the back cover should be removable so that the Micro SD Card can be inserted.

It would suck if it turns out this doesn't use any SD Cards.

I watched a speculation video where there could be a card slot at the back behind one of the stand things. Not sure if this is true, though.
 
I mean, it was the entire point of the reveal video.
 
Closest things to news there is her prediction about the Switch being "fairly expensive". Yeah I'm going with $299 at the cheapest.
 
I don't understand complaints about the responsiveness of Wii U system software. Sure, it's not particularly fast, but I don't experience any discomfort using it - well, after that update, at least. Quick Menu is particularly ingenious.

Honestly, I was more annoyed by skippy scrolling of Nintendo 3DS HOME Menu (while using D-pad to scroll) which wasn't fixed until about a year or two ago, and by the original layout of Wii U HOME Menu which made me accidentally close the game so much.
 
Guys to be fair, lots of ppl have been actively hoping for a dockless SKU, despite how unlikely, so some clarification on that isn't unwarranted.
 
HOLDONAMINUTE the thing Nintendo showed in the very first seconds of the Switch reveal will be packaged-in by default? SHOCKER!

Some people on here sure thought otherwise for some reason lol.

Well, I did think a handheld only version would have made sense for Japan, although I can understand about this part which basically confirms you can only connect to the TV via the dock. (Also confirms the dock isn't important to the system whereas the Gamepad was important for the Wii U.)

According to our source, Nintendo wants to launch the Switch with a clear focus on the hybrid nature of the device core to marketing. While a handheld-only package may come down the line, at launch all bundles of the system will include a dock as to not confuse branding around the name. Nintendo considered internally the idea of selling the handheld portion separately, but had concerns that consumers who purchased the handheld without the dock may still think they could connect it to the TV.
 
One thing I hope they get right this time is the OS.
Wii U was a pain in the ass to navigate through. App switching was simply unbearable.

I dont know much about OSes but Nintendo can't afford to allocate 3gb to the OS like PS4 and Xbox one does(or have they decreased it by now?) If it has 6gb total I predict 1gb will be reserved for OS, which will put it on par with PS4, One for ram for games.

I dont know what takes up so much in those OSes, but Nintendo can't afford the ram heavy functionality that these consoles has.
 
If the dock itself is just to connect it to the tv and charge/supply it with power...any saving by excluding the dock would be negligible. I doubt it would add even $10 to the price.

The only significant savings would be on a home console only SKU which did away with the dock and handheld screen/touchscreen etc.
 
That's her personal speculation, right? Some folks in the specs thread say it may not be that bad.
I think it's her speculation too. I don't think her or Emily know anything about the price and are just looking at the system and making their guesses.

Actually I just read it. She even said "which is likely to be fairly expensive". So she's clearly guessing and has no clue.

"Fairly expensive" could mean almost anything. It just means it prolly won't be dirt cheap.
She said "likely fairly expensive". She was just speculating.
 
Laura's article about the dock being included with the Switch is up. She's saying that there won't be a handheld-only package at launch (so yes, the Switch will come with the dock at launch).

Well, duh. All indications are that the dock is just a piece of dumb plastic with charging, USB, and HDMI ports, so how expensive could that really be to manufacture, anyway?

If there's a cheaper SKU anytime soon, it's more likely to be a microconsole than a handheld-only version. Would be a lot easier to keep the internals the same size and ditch the screen/battery than to cram the same performance and battery life into a smaller handheld device, I'd think.
 
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