Nintendo: Switch dock only for charging and TV-out, Amiibo support, no commt on touch
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boneyjangles
Member
This is the best Nintendo road-map I've seen in over 20 years, and first time I've been interested in an Nintendo console in almost that long.
I think the most appealing this is how ubiquitous and simple it looks in every mode. No gimmicks. It looks like the same experience docked or portable. Even the split mode, all you are losing is a few buttons, but party games should have simple controls anyway.
This brings me to this lack of touchscreen rumor.. I'm surprised, but thinking about it, there is nothing worthwhile about having a touchscreen control aspect that will only be used in 1 of the 3 device configurations. A lack of touchscreen would also mean they can make and sell these for a bit less.
Nintendo have been through this with the Wii-U. Touch controls on that thing are mostly optional, easily ignorable gimmicks. Even on the DS this is true much of the time. Between the Wii-U and the Wii Nintendo have built up a bunch of legacy goofiness that needs to be cleaned out and paired down
I've never owned a Wii or Wii-U, but they confuse me any time I try them at a friends. The controls are annoying, I never know what button it hit to start a game, and all the different possible control methods don't help with this.
Also I don't want to twirl or point my controller to play a mario or zelda game. I don't have to do giant arcing movements to end up with an input that's effectively less precise, and more averaged out than pointing a control stick.
Perhaps they just decided to cede touch games to phones, cede high end gaming to Sony/Microsoft, cede waggle controls to whatever console wants to target that goofy market, and go for focused, cheap? console of polished fundamentals.It's only gimmick is allowing it to be played virtually anywhere.
Since the iPhone kicked touchscreens off, every company has been trying to ram a touchscreen into everything. We had the VITA, which made limited use of it, the Wii-U, which made limited use of it. We have various laptops, which make limited use of it. Thew only successful touch devices are built around the touchscreen entirely. Even the surface struggles from lack of focus. Touch apps aren't taking off because it's effectively a laptop with a tablet party trick.
Primarily I just want this system to catch up on the last 3 or 4 generations of Nintendo which I haven't bought. I can't think of any of those games that depend on a touchscreen or waggle controls. A de-cluttered, streamlined version of each on the switch would be instant purchases for me.
I think the most appealing this is how ubiquitous and simple it looks in every mode. No gimmicks. It looks like the same experience docked or portable. Even the split mode, all you are losing is a few buttons, but party games should have simple controls anyway.
This brings me to this lack of touchscreen rumor.. I'm surprised, but thinking about it, there is nothing worthwhile about having a touchscreen control aspect that will only be used in 1 of the 3 device configurations. A lack of touchscreen would also mean they can make and sell these for a bit less.
Nintendo have been through this with the Wii-U. Touch controls on that thing are mostly optional, easily ignorable gimmicks. Even on the DS this is true much of the time. Between the Wii-U and the Wii Nintendo have built up a bunch of legacy goofiness that needs to be cleaned out and paired down
I've never owned a Wii or Wii-U, but they confuse me any time I try them at a friends. The controls are annoying, I never know what button it hit to start a game, and all the different possible control methods don't help with this.
Also I don't want to twirl or point my controller to play a mario or zelda game. I don't have to do giant arcing movements to end up with an input that's effectively less precise, and more averaged out than pointing a control stick.
Perhaps they just decided to cede touch games to phones, cede high end gaming to Sony/Microsoft, cede waggle controls to whatever console wants to target that goofy market, and go for focused, cheap? console of polished fundamentals.It's only gimmick is allowing it to be played virtually anywhere.
Since the iPhone kicked touchscreens off, every company has been trying to ram a touchscreen into everything. We had the VITA, which made limited use of it, the Wii-U, which made limited use of it. We have various laptops, which make limited use of it. Thew only successful touch devices are built around the touchscreen entirely. Even the surface struggles from lack of focus. Touch apps aren't taking off because it's effectively a laptop with a tablet party trick.
Primarily I just want this system to catch up on the last 3 or 4 generations of Nintendo which I haven't bought. I can't think of any of those games that depend on a touchscreen or waggle controls. A de-cluttered, streamlined version of each on the switch would be instant purchases for me.
Joelstinton14
Member
Yeah that is my take on it too.
If anybody knows how (unfortunately imo) apathetic/Silly/Petrified gamers are when it comes to anything other than the norm it is Nintendo.
Just think they followed Sony's route and just focused on the machine looks and what it does - plays games , at home or on the move. It's flexible.
Touch screen features can be eased in or announced at a later date.
I expect touch screen because essentially i think it will be a mini tablet with apps as well. I expect Mario Run etc to appear on the console, and it's how everybody engages with stuff these days.
Indeed. Same with motion controls...they didn't show them but I'd be very surprised if the detachable controllers aren't motion sensitive. I'm pretty sure the Switch will be capable of things like 2 player Wii Sports Tennis out of the box.
That it has touchscreen is almost 100% sure (unless nintendo would change this last min) It's usefull to navigate the OS. Like when you have an internet browser.
The question is if it also would be possible to navigate while the device is connected to the TV.
There is also some small round thing below the display. is this the camera?
This doesnt disprove an SCD or extra power. The wording is very ambiguous. Also if it only upscales games to tv, that's a huge mistake
Not to mention this would disprove Nintendo's comment that the Switch is first and foremost a home console. If a docks main purpose is to only make it easy to connect a portable system to a television, then it is obviously a portable before a home console.
Not to mention this would disprove Nintendo's comment that the Switch is first and foremost a home console. If a docks main purpose is to only make it easy to connect a portable system to a television, then it is obviously a portable before a home console.
Please stop doing this:
Emily already told it would be touchscreen:
After all this time she nailed it, and still people question her...
I even think portable screen doesn't exist anymore without touschreen, it's become standard.
The whole ui and browser stuff needs to be controlled.
Your argument sounds the same like: hey we didn't see any internet connection, maybe it doesn't have it, because they want to bring people closer together....
PSFan
Member
What does this even mean? I would think the games catalog is bigger when it's used as a portable/handheld. Especially if it is a touchscreen. There will be games that can't be played when it's docked.
Also, I'm guessing the main Switch unit will have a microSD card slot for storage, rather than a HDD in the dock.
PS4 Remote Play says hi!
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Wait do people think that games were actually being played on the device in the trailer?
Shitty internet and data caps says no.
UnemployedVillain
Member
It seems a lot of people do. As if the magical lack of any sort of screen glare, reflections, or UI elements weren't a clear tip off they were simulated images.
Those framerates looked pretty janky.
I'm sorry - I'm not arguing that it doesn't have a touchscreen. I'm just saying it wouldn't be a big deal for me outside of compatibility with the mobile games.
(Side note: I'm not sure how a more general audience is supposed to know who 'emily' is and why it's important what she says. Not everyone is super-tuned-in to whatever 'insiders' people are relying on to disseminate information on Nintendo systems when Nintendo goes silent on something. I'm afraid I'm not tuned in to every little bit of hearsay.)
Majukun
Member
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Not to mention that the players were spamming random buttons as if they did shit.
PSFan
Member
Never had any problems with it, and I was making the point that the other poster is wrong and that other systems can play multiplats on the go.
No to mention laptops and tablets have been doing that for a long time as well.
People saying touchscreen isn't important are silly.
It would allow so many Gameplay opportunities.
Nintendogs and Brain Age games can return
Kirby Canvas Curse can return
I don't see why every game has to be able to be played on the TV.
Then we can enhance games that have more functionality on the tablet. Such as using touchscreen for item selection on Zelda. Using touchscreen for easy level creation on Mario Maker.
Also another thing with touchscreen they can simplify games with a new control method for casuals that don't need controls attached. For example touchscreen only control method for a Pikmin game. Mario Kart using the gyro motion of the tablet and touchscreen like iPad games.
The more input methods the better. I'm still hoping Nintendo ass a back camera to the tablet as well.as the rumours of the Joy Con controls having motion is true.
It would allow so many Gameplay opportunities.
Nintendogs and Brain Age games can return
Kirby Canvas Curse can return
I don't see why every game has to be able to be played on the TV.
Then we can enhance games that have more functionality on the tablet. Such as using touchscreen for item selection on Zelda. Using touchscreen for easy level creation on Mario Maker.
Also another thing with touchscreen they can simplify games with a new control method for casuals that don't need controls attached. For example touchscreen only control method for a Pikmin game. Mario Kart using the gyro motion of the tablet and touchscreen like iPad games.
The more input methods the better. I'm still hoping Nintendo ass a back camera to the tablet as well.as the rumours of the Joy Con controls having motion is true.
If the games are the same and the controls are the same, what is the difference really? I mean, you could shove the Switch's interior hardware in a box, is it now a home console? The point is these categories don't really make sense, nor are they really important.
Also this isn't just a PSP with a HDMI out as games are released on it for local multiplayer on 1 system. No 3DS or PSP games have splits creen multiplayer in a racing game like the Mario Kart game as shown.
boneyjangles
Member
Yeah, sorry, I should be clear, I was ranting about the advantages of games specifically not having touchscreen support, and that's a good thing in my eyes. Simple clear device controls in all modes. Not a confusing mess of different controls in different configs which helps nobody, developers, users, nintendo.
Doesn't mean there isn't actually a touchscreen, that will work when browsing in tablet mode or whatever.
Isn't the screen docked when connected to the TV - more evidence games won't support it for me. I could be missing something entirely here, but they did say this is primarily a tv connected console, with portable functionality. That display, in terms of gaming, just seems to be a display to me, for games at least.
This is confusing to think about. Maybe there are portable/touchscreen games that just don't work while docked, and there is a separate partitioned library of portable/mobile games for that *shrug*.
It would be baffling if it weren't touch screen. You're cutting off potential DS/3DS virtual console support and cutting off mobile game developers from the eShop.
The key is how you resolve the touch not being there once the machine is docked. The Wii U handled this appallingly at times (Settings screen I'm looking at you, multiplayer NSMBU I'm looking at you too).
The key is how you resolve the touch not being there once the machine is docked. The Wii U handled this appallingly at times (Settings screen I'm looking at you, multiplayer NSMBU I'm looking at you too).
boneyjangles
Member
Exactly, that's what got me thinking, if touch isn't there when docked, we either have a kludgy mess of touch and non touch controls for games, or we have a gaming system where the primary library of games doesn't have touch.
Kelegacy
XBOX - RECORD ME LOVING DOWN MY WOMAN GOOD
I agree. What this means for multiplatform games is for yet another gen, the Nintendo will be too far behind power-wise to get 1:1 ports. For a bit it might be okay, but I highly doubt there is enough power in that tablet. We'll see. Was hoping for a bit more oomph under the hood, but after all these years of disappointment hoping for anything like that is my fault.
Sounds a bit stupid maybe, but what if you could connect your smartphone to the switch for those reasons?
AppleSeason
Member
I'm going to cross my fingers that there's at least some scaling algorythm or technique or something in the unit. Not a good idea to be again one step behing and not support 4K, even if it is not a high specs device.
Simbabbad
Member
Obviously. It was a ridiculous idea.
TrueOutlook
Neo Member
This is actually pretty reassuring. I remember reading a post on gaf recently about an article that described the handheld as being able to play a 'version' of the game on the go. At least with this announcement I know that regardless of being at home or on the go, its the same, complete game.
Although now I am a bit worried about power, I thought that the dock might allow the fan speed to increase along with the GPU for more power, but this obviously looks like thats not the case.
Although now I am a bit worried about power, I thought that the dock might allow the fan speed to increase along with the GPU for more power, but this obviously looks like thats not the case.
N30RYU
Member
This is worst then the WiiU... f the tablet goes to the dock... this nullify any touchscreen function... and also coop gamepkay in diferent screens... so the tablet per se is useless if you aren't gonna pkay the switch outdoor... so it leaves me to think if they are gonna release a cheaper version of it wirhout the tablet at all...
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Touch screen will likely be replicated by that massive flat surface in the middle of the JoyCon dock.
Most home console games don't need touchscreen controls. Mobile ports will almost assuredly require them.
N30RYU
Member
Just for a home experience switch is clearly worse than a WiiU
And if you are interested in buying one just to play indoor you're paying for a screen you won't use when with WiiU you used it as a second screen for menus or coop games.
This isn't matter of fact. Two-screen gaming when both screens aren't right in front of your view can be cumbersome and also hard to develop for. Not to mention when Wii U had off TV play, it would only be on one screen anyway. I don't think it's a huge loss.
N30RYU
Member
We'll see but right now the new Zelda will have better item management and map in WiiU than Switch
Map maybe but it really looks like item management will be indentical. There's no touch selection in BOTW at all, it's all menu and button based.
D
Deleted member 74300
Unconfirmed Member
Why...are...you...talking...like...this?
Sho_Nuff82
Member
So Nintendo is moving away from a console concept that sold under 15 million units, I don't think this will harm them.
Yea...like I said I will keep my expectations in check now. I mean if the UI switches/changes based on docked or undocked it could still be seen as a hybrid. But it has to do more than just be a mirror of the handheld screen on the TV. Hell, Android phones could do this for years. The ones that switched to a laptop or tablet interface were seen as hybrids.
Oh well, at least I like what I see from Zelda and Mario.
Astral Dog
Member
I dont see the Switch having the necessary components to output most games at 1080p, specially the power hungry and graphically intensive ones (Xbone ports?)
720p content with 1080p games here and there (like Wii U but more) is the most realistic expectation.
Astral Dog
Member
Incredible no? A handheld wich offers true console experiences on the go, that you can take ANYWHERE without being tied to the main system. Little carts And offers a true HD screen for games not sub HD upscaled content.
The Vita and Wii U would be proud :')
i've heard 3 USB ports. 2 - USB 2.0 on the left side for accessories, 1 - USB 3.0 on the back. HDMI and power are on the right side on the back. you can see everything but the USB port on the back in the video.
given it's size? this dock is small. no more than 2 inches deep and ~16mm of that depth is taken up by the tablet. it maybe 7" wide and only ~4" tall. it's like the size of an external HDD enclosure, but with a slice taken out of it.
all footage was placed on the screens in post. i've found 2 instances of them having something on a screen, and only one of those may have actually used game footage, but i still doubt it, and either way they replaced it in post.
there's screen glare and reflections in most of the shots. some of the reflections look fake, while the others are clearly footage overlayed on a screen that is off. the big thing is that the screens are not casting light appropriate for the image on a screen except for one instance when the man in his condo at night removes the tablet from the dock.
at the end of the video it says.
"Game footage not final; graphics and features subject to change"
i've now gone through this video frame by frame and i want to discuss my findings once i collect my thoughts/notes.
NuclearWinter
Member
No touchscreen support would be a good thing? I get the point about it causing confusion with the dock, but then you would be hampering the device's functionality as a handheld gaming platform, for the sake of making a device that's both handheld and console. The phrase "jack of all trades and master of none" comes to mind. If the device is going to be more limited than the DS/3DS as a handheld, then I have to question whether this approach is actually worth it.
Who would want to play Mario Maker without touch control? Picross 3D? Professor Layton? Trauma Center? Etrian Odyssey with its map drawing? Removing the touch screen just removes possibilities, and that would be a real shame.
(I realise that rumours suggest it will have touch, I'm speaking hypothetically)
JoshuaJSlone
Member
But... this is a Nintendo convergence device. If it loses the biggest control features of their handheld and home machines, it will make for a pretty shit convergence device. Nintendo were among the first to make a serious push to touch in 2004, and there's no reason for them to abandon it now.
Officially, no comment. But the people who have been right with most other rumors say it's region-free.Acquiescence said:
Chezzymann
Member
The difference is that it's likely going to be severely underpowered for a 2017 home console, even for Nintendo standards