I mean that is his literal job. I wouldn't blame Reggie here, this wasn't his idea or decision. But yeah that bulky headset excuse is still super funny.
Reggie: Switch matchmaking and lobbies handled through phone app
- Thread starter Zombie James
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finalflame
Banned
I appreciate the compilation. I understand people's skepticism. Like I mentioned above, I think I've discussed the topic sufficiently and am just gonna go into wait and see mode from here until launch.
May the Nintendo gods have mercy on all our souls.
No, no, no, no, no we need to wait for Nintendo to send representatives to our homes to do a demonstration before we can know for sure!... Remember, always give corporations the benefit of the doubt!
Just when I think I'm out, someone goes and says something absolutely ridiculous.. ah GAF.
By "send representatives to our homes to do a demonstration" do you mean show any actual footage of how any of the vaguely mentioned online features actually woot and what the online functionality looks like outside of the average GAFfer's imagination?
Just don't preorder it. If what they show sucks, don't buy it. If what they show is good, buy it if you want. I have no idea why so many people insist on equating a lack of radical skepticism based on largely unannouced information to be some kind of corporate dick-sucking. Fuck people who reasonably want to wait and see what a company has to show before renouncing them and all their products to the ninth circle of hell.
ZombiePlatypus
Member
No.
Youre saying it's logical that someone who's not in a position to own a common, current smartphone would reasonably purchase a completely optional $300 luxury entertainment device. This makes no sense.
Also, yeah, I agree Nintendo's communication sucks here. That this thread even exists is their fault. That Switch presentation had numerous issues.
But, the fact still remains that we have no info. Any decision you make now is premature. Any calls you make are conjecture without solid insight.
It appears to me that the "Free Trial" they speak of only refers to the most basic online multiplayer on the Switch itself. Everything else seems to be part of this premium smartphone app which won't be ready until Fall 2017.
Source: http://www.nintendo.com/switch/online-service/
Look at the table.
Schopenhauerian
Member
I really don't see the connection between having to pay or not to pay and using that app for managing things. It's just the way they would like to handle things and the paywall does not make it worse or better. I mean: the outrage would still be there if all of it, without even having an optional app, would be done on the device.
We still don't know about the pricing, for example, and everyone is assuming that you'll have to pay $60 or so per year for using the subscription features. And even that there will be no improvement at all in comparison to before. There is no way of telling now. Talking about hyperbole.
So if I'm right about what "enhanced" matchmaking implies, players really will be limited to random ranked/unranked matches until the app arrives.
Seems plausible with Nintendo.
I haven't paid for PS Plus for over a year (monthly free games weren't doing much for me, and I don't play online, so no point in keeping the subscription).
I suspect this will be the same for me with the Switch. All of my multiplayer experiences come from couch co-op/multiplayer scenarios. Voice chat has never been a thing for me, and I have zero interest in it to this day.
So yea, Nintendo's Online Subscription doesn't currently offer anything that would entice me to sign up. Hopefully there are more things to share regarding this service.
I suspect this will be the same for me with the Switch. All of my multiplayer experiences come from couch co-op/multiplayer scenarios. Voice chat has never been a thing for me, and I have zero interest in it to this day.
So yea, Nintendo's Online Subscription doesn't currently offer anything that would entice me to sign up. Hopefully there are more things to share regarding this service.
Haha yikes. Well yes to the former. I think that if Nintendo truly ties any oft-used and fundamental uses of online functionalities to an app which requires a smartphone, those functionalities will be a one-time and perhaps recalibration-type setup which lets you control everything from your Switch so long as your phone is nearby.
I.E. Yes you need a smartphone, but not beyond setup/making sure you have service.
Langdon Alger
Banned
lmao
Talk about backseat fishing!
orthodoxy1095
Banned
Yeah I'm not sure how to parse that part of the sentence. It either means there's a very basic matchmaking available in the game without the app (which will probably be so limited as to suck), or it's some kind of PR-spin on Nintendo "enhancing" the matchmaking experience by forcing you to use the app.
S
Steve.1981
Unconfirmed Member
I have no interest whatsoever in paying for online multiplayer, I don't do it for Xbox or PlayStation and I won't do it for Nintendo, so this doesn't affect me one way or the other, but even I can see that it is a strange and potentially damaging decision to put all of your online functionality on a smartphone app.
I could understand if it was just voice chat. Nintendo are a company that want to be family friendly and voice chat in most games is just toxic, so putting up some kind of barrier to entry would be understandable at least. But if they're not even giving people the option to ignore the app and just go with the basic ability to play online through the Switch?... No, they can't be doing that. That's crazy talk. This has to be a failure of communication in some way.
I could understand if it was just voice chat. Nintendo are a company that want to be family friendly and voice chat in most games is just toxic, so putting up some kind of barrier to entry would be understandable at least. But if they're not even giving people the option to ignore the app and just go with the basic ability to play online through the Switch?... No, they can't be doing that. That's crazy talk. This has to be a failure of communication in some way.
That sounds like a logical interpretation. It seems that anything friend related will be dealt through the app.
Clearly based on what?
I'm not immediately opposed to the idea. I'll have to see what it's actually like.
On the PS4 I do all of my messaging on the PlayStation app. Just because it's so much easier that trying to message through the clunky on-screen keyboard with a gamepad.
A miiverse app that actually works well, could be good. It is odd that the matchmaking is done that way...
I think there are 2 real reasons why they are doing this though.
1. The switch OS is not actually complete. That's why there is a free trial period and things like sharing video are not included at launch.
2. It kind of moves responsibility of children having access to internet chat away from the switch and on to the phone.
On the PS4 I do all of my messaging on the PlayStation app. Just because it's so much easier that trying to message through the clunky on-screen keyboard with a gamepad.
A miiverse app that actually works well, could be good. It is odd that the matchmaking is done that way...
I think there are 2 real reasons why they are doing this though.
1. The switch OS is not actually complete. That's why there is a free trial period and things like sharing video are not included at launch.
2. It kind of moves responsibility of children having access to internet chat away from the switch and on to the phone.
Well I use my phone often too. Just, I like it being free when not in use. I have no desire to run a charger to my couch for my phone to do voice chat, or even find a safe place to put it so I don't sit on it if I move. I like to look stuff up on it while playing. Or leave maps up.
And I don't even want to think about batteries. So now a game on the go with the Switch will be a race against the system's, your phone's, and if you use wireless, your headphones' batteries. Heaven help you if you're playing it with the stand because then the joycons' battery life are in play as well.
It's just such a fucking hassle. I don't have a problem with it when outside as a true portable. But when used as a console it's yet another step back.
Hockeymac18
Member
I don't even understand how this would work. Or why anyone even thought this was a good idea to begin with?
You use your phone to find matchmaking games? What...?
I'd like to hear more, but I'm currently very confused.
You use your phone to find matchmaking games? What...?
I'd like to hear more, but I'm currently very confused.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
I said this in the other thread and I'll say it again here:
'But we don't know all the details yet' is becoming the new 'but the power of the cloud'.
The only major detail we don't know is the price, aside from that, I don't see how any additional details will somehow remedy the colossal shitshow this online service seems to be.
'But we don't know all the details yet' is becoming the new 'but the power of the cloud'.
The only major detail we don't know is the price, aside from that, I don't see how any additional details will somehow remedy the colossal shitshow this online service seems to be.
What exactly is being set up in this scenario though? I mean, I'm open to ideas because theory crafting is fun to a certain extent. If the smartphone is not the direct gateway for the mic and the lobby access, then what is it used for? What is being calibrated? What is the purpose of it? What does the smartphone do that the Switch cannot?
drotahorror
Member
When you don't have a smart phone :/
ZombiePlatypus
Member
I mean, if this applies to single player games or modes, then sure. Otherwise, not even close.
Well, this basically already took place with Splatoon and to a lesser extend Smash 4/Mario Kart 8 in terms of those games missing online features until a long time post-launch. The more things change the more they stay the same lol.
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
Remember when Nintendo fans here were shiiting on Smart Glass? Now the same types are defending this nonsense.
Never change, guys.
Never change, guys.
This thing is half-baked. They've had so long to prepare and still it feels rushed.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
But in this case why should you even need a smartphone in the first place? Just run the one time setup from Switch. You don't need an app for that.
opticalmace
Member
Weren't they previously aiming for a holiday 2016 release? Seems weird the non-game software is so behind, given that.
i.e. online service not ready, no netflix/web browser etc.
i.e. online service not ready, no netflix/web browser etc.
This. Neither does Reggie, probably.
Also, why has no games 'journalist' asked the big question directly?
It's not that hard to parse from my perspective. What I read it as is - if you boot up a game and go into "Online" and "Find Match", as long as you are subscribed, you're all good.
But if you want to create parties via your friend list, join games as a group, have group voice/text chat, etc, you will need the smartphone app.
That's how I read it.
The whole thing is one half of a great idea.
Be able to do Voice-Chatting, Match-Making and more over a app away from the device, is great. Even fantastic. It simply misses the other half, where you can "switch" to the app on the console and have no need to use your mobile-phone. All Nintendo needs is having this app run on the Switch ...
Overall i would see the actual situation as slightly annoying. It's all manageable and can work great, but soooooo slightly annoying.
Be able to do Voice-Chatting, Match-Making and more over a app away from the device, is great. Even fantastic. It simply misses the other half, where you can "switch" to the app on the console and have no need to use your mobile-phone. All Nintendo needs is having this app run on the Switch ...
Overall i would see the actual situation as slightly annoying. It's all manageable and can work great, but soooooo slightly annoying.
That's my take as well.
Aressa
You can't die before your death
lol seeing how Reggie or NoA have zero input in the design (I believe), I think some of them are as surprised by some of the decisions as us.
WhiteRabbitEXE
Member
No, it's not illogical. There are literally people chatting in this thread with this very issue. I know people with this very issue. Fuck, until recently I would have had this issue. Many gamers have little disposable spending and prioritize that money towards consoles, particularly younger players who make up the majority of Nintendo's target market. Not everyone has a recent iPhone or Android device, a statement especially true among players in the pre-teen and teen brackets, and there is literally no conceivable reason to require one to.
You also continue to ignore the other issues, but whatever. This is getting tiring.
And nah, look on the last page. Nintendo's ran through this multiple times. As I said, it's technically conceivable (if only barely so) that Nintendo is horrifically messing up the messaging here, but no, it is not reasonable to assume that's the case. Nintendo has repeated made it quite clear we actually all have this quite right. In fact, they've done so far more times than I've realized.
See: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=228663734#post228663734
and: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=228663913#post228663913
This isn't conjecture. We don't not have info. This is taking the exact damn words Nintendo has given to us five times now at face value.
Ah, there it is.
Random matchmaking in-game.
Lobby and friend invites in-app.
No app? No lobby or friends. Also, waiting til summer.
How much more clairifcation do you guys need?
Yes. This is the most logical interpretation of all this. It also means that all these functionalities will miss until fall.
Yup. That seems like an accurate summary.
S
Steve.1981
Unconfirmed Member
It has to be something like this.
Thraktor's post is very informative. Also, nobody questioned the validity of his posts because they realised the amount of common sense Thraktor was speaking far outweighed any presumptuous opinion the naysayers had already come to.
RanoNL
Member
I think this is a good move. Let's keep things separated. Let the Switch be the best gaming device. Why build all that online stuff into the Switch when everybody has a phone. Nintendo proved time and time again that they can't build a solid OS + apps. I'm not going to use it anyway. So lets have that experience on my phone.
It's the same with in-car entertainment. I've a 2015 Renault Clio and they can't figure it out. The console is way too slow. You can only scroll trough your playlist with buttons (3 songs at a time, then wait 3 sec. for the next screen to appear). Navigation is outdated, ugly and has no POI. I always use my phone to navigate, listen to podcasts/music, make phone calls etc.
TL;DR: I think it's smart that Nintendo knows its weak points. And that they don't try to reinvent the wheel.
It's the same with in-car entertainment. I've a 2015 Renault Clio and they can't figure it out. The console is way too slow. You can only scroll trough your playlist with buttons (3 songs at a time, then wait 3 sec. for the next screen to appear). Navigation is outdated, ugly and has no POI. I always use my phone to navigate, listen to podcasts/music, make phone calls etc.
TL;DR: I think it's smart that Nintendo knows its weak points. And that they don't try to reinvent the wheel.
But the app is Nintendo branded still what it means "child got molested while playing Nintendo in his phone" for the general public.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
That does makes the most sense and more sense than my uncharitable reading for sure.
Still sounds dopey as hell. And kind of shocking that those features are going to miss the launch of the device. Guess it's not that big of a deal with a lack of multiplayer titles though.
Hockeymac18
Member
What I want to understand is why. They had to put resources into making that smartphone app...why wasn't that just baked into the Switch's OS instead of paying programmers to build a smartphone app?
These decisions are perplexing from many angles.
I'm literally sweating.
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