Why is a console as a PC component still not a thing? I know it sounds stupid

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Brakum

Member
I don't intend to ever buy a console again, but i'd love some nintendo games. The switch is smaller than my GPU, so couldn't a switch be made as a PC component that you would slot in to one of the PCIe slots and you would just have a switch running on your computer? Then have an app where you sell the games? You're still selling the hardware and the games.

Why can't this exist? Only thing i can think of is piracy but is it an issue? The game would still be running on switch hardware so im not sure if it would be any different than piracy on switch?

Does this not exist just because or is there actually something i'm missing that would make this hard to accomplish?
 
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RoboFu said:
3do and sega tried it and it didn't work out so well because why not just buy the console? lol
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did they? i didnt know that, so it is possible?

as for why not just buying the console, well i dont really wanna play on my tv and certainly not in handheld mode, and i dont want to be connecting it to my pc or doing stuff manually all the time.

Either way different times. I think in 2025 there would be plenty of people who would buy this but dont wanna buy the console.
 
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Nintendo Switch as an add-in PCI board would be amazing for me and you, but how big would the market for that be? It's all about costs and adressable market size.
 
Jinzo Prime said:
Nintendo Switch as an add-in PCI board would be amazing for me and you, but how big would the market for that be? It's all about costs and adressable market size.
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Idk i think in 2025 there would be a big market. I'm sure if i ask all my friends they would say yes to this.
 
HRK69 said:
The idea sounds cool until you realize Nintendo would DRM it so hard your BIOS starts asking for a friend code.
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DRM would just be the same. It would still be switch games running on switch hardware. I'm fine with that.
 
Brakum said:
I don't intend to ever buy a console again, but i'd love some nintendo games. The switch is smaller than my GPU, so couldn't a switch be made as a PC component that you would slot in to one of the PCIe slots and you would just have a switch running on your computer? Then have an app where you sell the games? You're still selling the hardware and the games.

Why can't this exist? Only thing i can think of is piracy but is it an issue? The game would still be running on switch hardware so im not sure if it would be any different than piracy on switch?

Does this not exist just because or is there actually something i'm missing that would make this hard to accomplish?
Click to expand...
Consoles are walled gardens. You are asking to have the walled garden put inside some place with no walls. The point here is that the console owner controls what you can do with the console. If you want freedom, play on PC. Console is where you save money and have someone else do your trouble shooting for you.
 
Brakum said:
I don't intend to ever buy a console again, but i'd love some nintendo games. The switch is smaller than my GPU, so couldn't a switch be made as a PC component that you would slot in to one of the PCIe slots and you would just have a switch running on your computer? Then have an app where you sell the games? You're still selling the hardware and the games.

Why can't this exist? Only thing i can think of is piracy but is it an issue? The game would still be running on switch hardware so im not sure if it would be any different than piracy on switch?

Does this not exist just because or is there actually something i'm missing that would make this hard to accomplish?
Click to expand...
I don't get it. What's the difference between that and just plugging the console to your monitor?
 
If it still runs on the OG hardware then there is no point to that, you gain nothing from that method of delivery compared to the external device with a monitor cable, you just lose the flexibility.

Some kind of official emulator VM with a hardware dongle or similar that would still allow you to utilise your systems power... Now THAT would be something.
But since it would also be cracked in no time it won't happen.
 
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Brakum said:
Consoles exist to make money and nothing else. They don't exist to protect us from the evil of computers.
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They exist to be a 100% controlled environment and wallet garden. The opposite of that is what a PC is so there is no point for Nintendo and others do this instead of release a PC themselves.
 
Schmendrick said:
If it still runs on the OG hardware then there is no point to that, you gain nothing from that method of delivery compared to the external device with a monitor cable, you just lose the flexibility.
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Gaiff said:
I don't get it. What's the difference between that and just plugging the console to your monitor?
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Saves a ton of manual work every single time you want to use it and even while using it, if i want to browse something quick, i want to minimize the game, i dont want to unplug something and plug in something else for that.
rodrigolfp said:
They exist to be a 100% controlled environment and wallet garden. The opposite of that is what a PC is so there is no point for Nintendo and others do this instead of release a PC themselves.
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Would still be. You'd just be increasing the amount of people willing to join your walled garden.
 
Brakum said:
DRM would just be the same. It would still be switch games running on switch hardware. I'm fine with that.
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The problem isn't just the DRM itself, it's the environment the hardware runs in

Once Switch hardware is inside a PC, it's exposed to tools and interfaces that make reverse engineering, memory dumping, and bypassing protections much easier

Even if the games run on real Switch hardware, the security model breaks down the moment it's slotted into a general purpose system

Which probably means someone will eventually dump firmware, bypass encryption, and mass produce "virtual Switches". Papa Nintendo doesn't like that
 
Brakum said:
Saves a ton of manual work every single time you want to use it and even while using it, if i want to browse something quick, i want to minimize the game, i dont want to unplug something and plug in something else for that.
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So you want the Switch OS to run alongside Windows and for your PC to interface with both the PC hardware and the Nintendo hardware at the same time?
 
Brakum said:
Saves a ton of manual work every single time you want to use it and even while using it, if i want to browse something quick, i want to minimize the game, i dont want to unplug something and plug in something else for that.

Would still be. You'd just be increasing the amount of people willing to join your walled garden.
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Pressing the "switch source" button on your TV or monitor is a "ton of manual work"....
Uh lol?
 
Gaiff said:
So you want the Switch OS to run alongside Windows and for your PC to interface with both the PC hardware and the Nintendo hardware at the same time?
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As an app but sure.
Schmendrick said:
Pressing the "switch source" button on your TV or monitor is a "ton of manual work"....
Uh lol?
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It's not a seamless experience. also the switch would have to be here somewhere in the way, also turning it on and off manually every time, launching the games on it manually every time. Yes all those things are a lot more work than just turning your pc on and having the nintendo stuff in a launcher that you access as easily as you would steam or any other app. Also someone messages me on discord? Who was it and what do they want? Oh i dont know since this source of my monitor is not displaying that.
vaibhavpisal said:
Why do you want a Switch hardware in your pc?

Just a store on windows will suffice.
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Sure but that's not gonna happen, and games would have to be ported to windows.
 
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I think Nintendo should allow us to install Linux on Switch 2 so we can use it as an open source tablet. I asked my circle of friends and all of them said that would be a great idea. Just think how much money Nintendo could make.

Also they should make the CPU and RAM upgradeable for the end user. Imagine, once your Switch 2 is a few years old and starting to show its age, you can just buy 64GB of memory and install it yourself, and maybe swap the CPU to a new RISC V processor instead. All my friends agreed this would be a killer feature.
 
DonkeyPunchJr said:
I think Nintendo should allow us to install Linux on Switch 2 so we can use it as an open source tablet. I asked my circle of friends and all of them said that would be a great idea. Just think how much money Nintendo could make.

Also they should make the CPU and RAM upgradeable for the end user. Imagine, once your Switch 2 is a few years old and starting to show its age, you can just buy 64GB of memory and install it yourself, and maybe swap the CPU to a new RISC V processor instead. All my friends agreed this would be a killer feature.
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The switch 2 with a dual boot option for steam os would be amazing. Ofc that's never gonna happen.
 
Brakum said:
Idk i think in 2025 there would be a big market. I'm sure if i ask all my friends they would say yes to this.
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There wouldn't be any market for that, since most people understand you'd achieve the same thing by merely plugging an HDMI cable from the monitor to the Switch dock.
 
I'm not sure what you are going on about OP.
Buy Switch hardware, and plug it into your monitor. Buy Switch PC hardware, open your machine and install it. What exactly is the point? If anything it is more work to get the same result.
If all you wanna do is be able to operate windows while gaming without having to press a button and switch inputs, then... just get a capture card? Then you can play the game via OBS or something.
 
Another day at GAF with an impossible take. How do you think an industry works?

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Brakum said:
I don't intend to ever buy a console again, but i'd love some nintendo games. The switch is smaller than my GPU, so couldn't a switch be made as a PC component that you would slot in to one of the PCIe slots and you would just have a switch running on your computer? Then have an app where you sell the games? You're still selling the hardware and the games.
Click to expand...
So you are saying:
  • ''Hey Nintendo, please stop marketing innovative solutions and go be an exclusive OEM for the PC market by putting your hardware on a PCIe card.'' Hybrid console/handheld be damned!
  • ''Hey Microsoft! If this is real, then the Switch PCIe is also a Xbox! I can use GamePass on this thing, right Microsoft?''
  • ''Hey Sony, get with the times! Whilst you are losing dimes with your Poooortal device and your VR experience, we could have both Microsoft and Nintendo games on the same platform. How about you get some exclusive out of the way huh!''
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Brakum said:
Why can't this exist? Only thing i can think of is piracy but is it an issue? The game would still be running on switch hardware so im not sure if it would be any different than piracy on switch?
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You are telling Nintendo to kill its entire concept and strategy and you are asking why this can't exist.

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Why can't we have robot-vaccuums when you could also just play Doom (Somewhat) on them?
Brakum said:
Does this not exist just because or is there actually something i'm missing that would make this hard to accomplish?
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You are missing marketing philosophy. But hey, the 3DO worked out well back in the day! Oh wait...

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Brakum said:
Idk i think in 2025 there would be a big market. I'm sure if i ask all my friends they would say yes to this.
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<Big market
<If i ask all my friends

Jake Gyllenhaal No GIF
 
rofif said:
they exist to play games comfortably without any bullshit
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They exist to make money full stop. Those other things you mentioned are true for a lot of people but not necessarily others in some cases are subjective. They are merely mechanisms to achieve "more money". There is still "bullshit" to deal with.
 
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But also it would only be connected to your video out. Everything else would be running from the component itself.
Some Japanese's computers in the 80s and 90s did that exact thing with Pcengine and mega drive .
 
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Edgelord79 said:
They exist to make money full stop. Those other things you mentioned are true for a lot of people but not necessarily others in some cases are subjective. They are merely mechanisms to achieve "more money". There is still "bullshit" to deal with.
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so does pc and everything else in this world.
makes no sense to put out "to make money" about fucking anything.
 
rofif said:
so does pc and everything else in this world.
makes no sense to put out "to make money" about fucking anything.
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I knew when I replied to you I'd get some sort of over the top response. Shame on me for doing so as I should have known better.

Continue on shilling about how consoles have a lack of "bullshit". Not engaging with you further.
 
RoboFu said:
3do and sega tried it and it didn't work out so well because why not just buy the console? lol
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I think there was also a PC Engine "add-on" as well.

But yeah, at this point just buy a console and hook it up to secondary monitor input and call it a day.
 
StereoVsn said:
I think there was also a PC Engine "add-on" as well.

But yeah, at this point just buy a console and hook it up to secondary monitor input and call it a day.
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well i wont. them not wanting my money is fine. but if they do want to sell me hardware, it has to be this
 
A lot of people, myself included don't want to pay the Nintendo Tax, the price their for under-powered dust collecting plastic bawkses.
Buying a card and inserting it in your PC is such a 1990's solution and it's just the same Nintendo Tax with extra steps.

The correct solution would be native PC ports and their own store front. Do that and *I* would make a Nintendo account, and I aggressively refuse to use Uplay/EGS/Blizzard App & Origin. But I'm not holding my breath.
 
rodrigolfp said:
They exist to be a 100% controlled environment and wallet garden. The opposite of that is what a PC is so there is no point for Nintendo and others do this instead of release a PC themselves.
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Yeah. This is why. PCs will always be the wild west of gaming. I find it hillarious what you can get away with on a PC.
 
Brakum said:
couldn't a switch be made as a PC component that you would slot in to one of the PCIe slots
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Why on earth would the juggernauts like Nintendo or Sony ever bother connecting their elite consoles to someone's personal calculator?!

How dare you even suggest that?!
 
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Edgelord79 said:
I knew when I replied to you I'd get some sort of over the top response. Shame on me for doing so as I should have known better.

Continue on shilling about how consoles have a lack of "bullshit". Not engaging with you further.
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and you continue sucking nvidias dick. good luck
 
DeltaPolarBear said:
Consoles are walled gardens. You are asking to have the walled garden put inside some place with no walls. The point here is that the console owner controls what you can do with the console. If you want freedom, play on PC. Console is where you save money and have someone else do your trouble shooting for you.
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Save money?!? Lol

Nah, ya save money with PC over time with the software, and it's not even remotely close.
 
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