Reggie: Switch matchmaking and lobbies handled through phone app

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*Nintendo Board Meeting*

So The Wii U is a disaster- lets rethink our approach...

What if...

We make an underpowered system...

With shitty battery life...

And we price it out of market....

And we did the same to the accessories...

And we provide next to no internal memory in order to discourage digital purchases...

And by that we lessen the appeal for 3rd parties to join in...

And we then charge for online...

But then we half-ass the online concept by making an iPhone app for it instead...

And did I mention fuck 3rd parties?....

And what if our launch lineup was absolutely abysmal?

And we'll trickle out information in a unpolished manner so as to confuse and be overlooked by the masses?

Meeting adjourned!

The Nintendo Switch

I would love for south park to make a episode about the switch showing Nintendo's boardroom meetings.
 
I'm 99% sure this ball started rolling because of the Swapnote incident.

There is a perfect solution to this problem: Stop selling the system to kids! They're not your audience anymore anyway! They have long migrated to tablets, no way they're coming back and start paying 60 bucks a game. Gaming world belongs to twenty somethings today.
 
This is messed up so i'm going to have my phone plugged to the wall as well? So the hand held mode pluged to the wall while playing in my bes, not only that, i will need to have my iphone beside me... then plug my phone to the wall... so it doesnt die on me all while having headphones coming out of the phone...??!! Thats a shit load of wiring. Especialy that my iphone recharge cable is short as hell.

I'm 1 more bad news from canceling my pre order of switch and zelda. This is getting ridiculous.

Allot of people call me on my phone how will i be able to even chat.

Charging solution:
https://www.anker.com/products/A213..._A2133121-20&gclid=CK_cwNySzdECFdBMDQode1gCrw

Also, their chat solution sounds like they are using a VOIP solution using data. Your phone calls should still be able to go through.
 
I haven't seen the UI in action. I haven't seen a webpage explaining the system. That's concrete.

The reveal event didn't talk about it at all. Reggie's statement is the first we've heard and it doesn't preclude any functionality within the system itself.
No it's not lol.
When asked why voice chat for Nintendo Switch will be tied to a mobile app, Reggie said, "we want to reinforce the capability to take your experience with you on the go.... The ability to do matchmaking, voice chat through your phone, it's a hell of a lot more convenient than having a gamer headset stuck into your backpack trying to do that. That's why we're doing it the way we are. We see the convenience, we see the ease of delivery. We think it's going to lead to a better experience.

That being said I doubt this is about playing with randoms.
 
*Nintendo Board Meeting*

So The Wii U is a disaster- lets rethink our approach...

What if...

We make an underpowered system...

With shitty battery life...

And we price it out of market....

And we did the same to the accessories...

And we provide next to no internal memory in order to discourage digital purchases...

And by that we lessen the appeal for 3rd parties to join in...

And we then charge for online...

But then we half-ass the online concept by making an iPhone app for it instead...

And did I mention fuck 3rd parties?....

And what if our launch lineup was absolutely abysmal?

And we'll trickle out information in a unpolished manner so as to confuse and be overlooked by the masses?

Meeting adjourned!

The Nintendo Switch

tumblr_inline_mt5i5eemm11ro2d43.gif


There is a perfect solution to this problem: Stop selling the system to kids! They're not your audience anymore anyway! They have long migrated to tablets, no way they're coming back and start paying 60 bucks a game. Gaming world belongs to twenty somethings today.

well then the new problem is they have to develop new IPs since their current ones are all for kids/family friendly
 
For real?

That's it. I'm fucking out. The Switch is permanently off of the list of things I'll ever buy.

There's no fucking way I can support this bullshit.

Don't jump to conclusions, buddy.

I'm sure they see the app/online service integration as a marketing talking point and that's why it's been the focus. Never has anyone from nintendo said that these things can't be managed on the switch console itself.

Once that's confirmed I'll join in the facepalms, because it would be a truly stupid move. But I don't think we have that as fact, yet.
 
Yeah even if this turns out to be the only way, it's probably best to see how it's implemented before freaking out.

I personally can't possibly imagine there being no option to do this on the console itself but so far everything Reggie is saying is suggesting that's the case... But hey, I also couldn't possibly imagine launching without a web browser or Netflix support so what the hell do I know.

Yeah I am reserving judgement until I know more as well, but at a glance (filled with assumptions) it seems like the OS features might be this console's Achilles Heel.

Hope I am wrong.
 
Guys, the sad part is that—according to Reggie—Nintendo "reads the boards" and even if they're second-guessing their decision based on the blowback (and not just here), it's too late to go back to the drawing board.
They might still be able to add it natively via a patch. But it would take time, and there's still no 3.5mm port on the controllers. It would be expensive and look really bad, but it's doable. Just like how they could feasible release a line of cheaper dumb Joy Cons when it turns out that nobody uses the bells and whistles. I think that's the most interesting thing about the Switch going forward, most of the console's biggest flaw are solvable if they want to solve them (but I'm not holding my breath).
 
Guys, the sad part is that—according to Reggie—Nintendo "reads the boards"

Maybe they should do more than read, all it would take is single PR rep to post "Hey guys, we'll give you more details on the phone app in the future, but rest assured, you can do basic match-making and send messages to people on your friends list from within the console".

And the shitstorm would be over.
 
People buying MK8DX in April won't have a way to play with their friends. Not ok.

Again, NO. They wont have a way to create private lobbies with friends and probably custom rule sets and chat with them. Not until the fall or whenever this app debuts.

mark my words

Reggie just did not word things well. the man trips up a fair amount
 
The statement is totally general and not specific enough to make the conclusion that this is the one and only way one form of online play or another will be managed on switch.



Note the bolded.

Because the online service includes things like the e-shop access, parental controls and screenshot feature, which actually are accessible from the Switch itself. Read their own damn site:

http://www.nintendo.com/switch/online-service/

Look at the description under "Online Lobby and Voice Chat". Either everybody at Nintendo from Reggie to their website designers are completely incapable of including the most basic of information or....**mindblowing** they are committed to using a phone app for Online Lobbies and Voice chat?!?!? The writing is on the wall people.
 
The WiiU has no OS-level matchmaking or lobby system.
I meant the games have matchmaking in them. That's why it doesn't make any sense. He had to mean setting up private lobbies with friends, not the only way to play online is through a phone app.
 
But what if I want to hear game audio and chat audio through my headset?

The app controlling everything is beyond complete stupidity, believe me I know, but at LEAST it's an equivalent feature set. It's absolutely terrible presentation of an expected feature set, it seemingly will only support iOS and Android, it exiles players without a phone (likely younger crowd)... but if you want to use a headset in a normal way, you now can't. Holy fuck.
 
Again, NO. They wont have a way to create private lobbies with friends and probably custom rule sets and chat with them. Not until the fall or whenever this app debuts.

mark my words

Reggie just did not word things well. the man trips up a fair amount

That's what I just said lol
 
Next revelation is it will work both ways, so the switch can also be used for matchmaking, lobbies and chat for when you're playing games on your mobile.
 
Again, NO. They wont have a way to create private lobbies with friends and probably custom rule sets and chat with them. Not until the fall or whenever this app debuts.

mark my words

Reggie just did not word things well. the man trips up a fair amount

You got info no one else does?
 
Yeah, I've been taking Switch news in stride. There are some things I like and things I don't like, but this one deserves the most shit.

In no, way, shape, or form should I have to resort to using an app on my phone to match make on my console. It's 2016. This is pretty baffling.
 
This is almost certainly the OS-level solution, the OS for this machine seems to do very little but handle the games and sleepmode.

Software will have its own matchmaking. This is about the Switch having a lobby/matchmaking system in the OS, that's almost certainly not happening.

This makes sense. I guess we'll have to wait until their inevitable pre-launch direct and see.
 
*Nintendo Board Meeting*

So The Wii U is a disaster- lets rethink our approach...

What if...

More realistic continuation to this:

What if... we build a console only Japanese people care about? You know, we're Japanese and Japan is the greatest country in the world and we have to make a console just for their needs. And rest of the world can go screw themselves if they don't like what Japan likes.

Oh, and reveal presentation will be all in Japanese because fuck gaijins.
 
I literally do not understand how this would work especially on the go, not just from an convenience stand point but from a mechanical stand point.

Say I plug in earbuds in the 3mm jack on the phone to start voice chatting/matchmaking. So then how do I listen to the game itself? No one's going to turn up the Switch volume and unplug an earbud while outside. That's even a problem when you are at home, having to basically either put your phone on speaker or take an earbud out while voice chatting to hear the game on the TV speaker.

Then how does this work with an actual headset? How can I use a proper headset to listen to the game volume AND voice chat using phone earbuds/speakers at the same time? This just simply does not make any sense. You have to have voice chat options built in your consoles so that you can listen to both the game and chat at the same time.

Come on, you just don't get it... all you have to do is have two pairs of headphones and put one side of the individual headphones in each ear. And plug one set into the phone and the other into the switch. Easy peasy!
 
For real?

That's it. I'm fucking out. The Switch is permanently off of the list of things I'll ever buy.

There's no fucking way I can support this bullshit.

Calm down until we know for sure. Atm I have a feeling this is just bad communication, surely it can't be as bad as everyone is making it out to be.
 
I'd rather just carry a headset than have to get my phone out to do something that should all be handled on the device I'm actually trying to use.

Elegant solution:

The Switch
Plus the Joy Con attachments
Plus a dock
Plus a TV
Or a charger
Plus your phone
And its charger
And a headset
Via a paid online service

Elegant solution.

Precisely.
 
Because the online service includes things like the e-shop access, parental controls and screenshot feature, which actually are accessible from the Switch itself. Read their own damn site:

http://www.nintendo.com/switch/online-service/

Look at the description under "Online Lobby and Voice Chat". Either everybody at Nintendo from Reggie to their website designers are completely incapable of including the most basic of information or....**mindblowing** they are committed to using a phone app for Online Lobbies and Voice chat?!?!? The writing is on the wall people.

Yeah that makes it clear I just dont get this.
 
*Nintendo Board Meeting*

So The Wii U is a disaster- lets rethink our approach...

What if...

We make an underpowered system...

With shitty battery life...

And we price it out of market....

And we did the same to the accessories...

And we provide next to no internal memory in order to discourage digital purchases...

And by that we lessen the appeal for 3rd parties to join in...

And we then charge for online...

But then we half-ass the online concept by making an iPhone app for it instead...

And did I mention fuck 3rd parties?....

And what if our launch lineup was absolutely abysmal?

And we'll trickle out information in a unpolished manner so as to confuse and be overlooked by the masses?

Meeting adjourned!

The Nintendo Switch

underappreciated post.
 
I really don't understand the doom and gloom when you havnt even seen it or have any of the details. Sure criticise the messaging and the ambiguity but geez..

It seems pretty obvious to me that they wanted as much processing power for games as possible. Sorry if already discussed couldnt be bothered reading through the whole thread
 
Actually, now that I went and checked it, their plan was already pretty clear in their very own Online Service page:

Online Play on Nintendo Switch

You'll be able to play compatible co-op and competitive games online by signing in with your Nintendo Account. Online play will be free for Nintendo Account holders until our paid online service launches in fall 2017.

This MOST LIKELY means random matchmaking (launched from within the game) will be available in March. AKA: yes, you will be able to play MK8 online before the paid service.

Online lobby and voice chat

Our new dedicated smart device app will connect to Nintendo Switch and let you invite friends to play online, set play appointments, and chat with friends during online matches in compatible games─all from your smart device.

A free, limited version of this app will be available for download in summer 2017.

Notice how they don't say "from your smart device OR console". Custom lobbies and voice chat will MOST LIKELY be handled ONLY by the smartphone app.
 
That's what I just said lol

you'll still be able to see if your friends are playing a game and hop in to whatever room theyre in, a la the original MK 8, so you;re still technically playing with friends.

yes it's quite unfortunate that this new account system and paid service was not ready at launch, and its still quite possible that it will be remarkably obtuse and a chore to ever use. that would suck ass.

but people are taking this to mean that if you ever want to play a switch game online EVER itll need to be through this eventual app

FALSE. That notion simply needs to be dispelled and the thread title works against that
 
If it did this, why use a separate device as it would still tie up just as much resources on the Switch?

Oh, don't get me wrong. I am not defending this BS way of doing things. I'm just saying that it seems the only way I can imagine it working. The phone does all the social app work and VOIP chat work through the app on the phone which also manages the lobbies, match-making and voice chat... then relays the sound and other data to the Switch for processing the sound to the headphones/chat headset along with game/system sound data processed from the onboard sound chipset.

There is no other logical way for game sound to get to the headphones/headset unless Switch told the phone what game sound to put out to the headphones/headset, but I doubt that.
 
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