Nintendo Switch

[robotattack]

1 hour ago, MikeBeaver said:

 

It's going to be about £20 a year, lets you go online and gives you a NES and SNES game per month to play ( I'm sure I heard it was one of each, I may of course be wrong ).

For £20, some of us will be happy just to play 12 / 24 different games over the year and the odd game of Splatton 2and MK8D, it's really not a lot of money, and I keep seeing people say it's a £300 machine, well, with the first years online maybe, otherwise it's still £280

 

 

 

It's just one game a month. 

 

Quote

Subscribers will get to download and play a Nintendo Entertainment System™ (NES) or Super Nintendo Entertainment System™ (Super NES) game (with newly-added online play) for free for a month.

 

 

 

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

[BruceBruce]

10 hours ago, moora said:

Unfortunately the right joy con's IR camera is at the bottom of the controller (so it's facing you when you hold it) so it looks like it's designed for different applications...

 

The analog stick is closer to the center.  All you have to do is turn it upside down and the buttons are now within reach as well as the analog stick being above them (essentially looking like the left joycon).  And the pointer faces forward like a wii remote.

 

I think putting it on the bottom was a deliberate design choice for this very purpose, and the reason an IR camera isn't on the left joycon is because the L triggers were there.  Putting it at the bottom of the left joycon would feel weird being held upside down, with the buttons above the analog.

 

So it seems they deliberately made the right joycon work like a wii remote when upside down.  Meaning we may get wii games in the eshop in the future.  They may eventually allow wii remotes for use, but having an integrated wiimote in the joycon meant they don't have to force people to buy excess peripherals just to play a game.

 

Spoiler

The only issue being that the buttons are now upside down.  But all they'd have to do is replicate the upside down characters on menu screens/huds.

 

When you split the joycons and play 2 player holding it sideways, the button characters are sideways, so I doubt upside down characters concerns them.

 

But yea, it definitely seems that the right joycon, used upside down, works similar to a wii remote.  The B button is just on the front face instead of being a trigger. And the left joycon could act as a nunchuck in certain games, but facing upright.

 

More than enough buttons for remapping.

[Stanley]

36 minutes ago, Freeman said:

 

Ok, so it seems to me that Nintendo seem to be at least trying to put some thought into it as an online gaming system, not a subscription to play online with a random value add of a selection of free games that may or may not be online capable, and may or may not have other online players. By restricting the games available, they increase the likelihood of there being a decent player base there.

 

The Sony effort leaves people unhappy due to the types of games.

The MS effort gives big games that are old and a lot of people already own and don't want to play online.

 

Of course I'll be proven wrong when it's only 2 of them have online features in the first year, and 1 is a score board, because Nintendo, but I can dream, right?

Well I have to admire your spirit by putting a positive spin on the situation. One game a month is better than 4, or 6 because it will help you focus on that one title, for a short while until it's gone

[Harsin]

’Positive spin’? Fucking hell, Malcom Tucker would be proud of him managing to say that with a straight face.

[Adrock]

3 minutes ago, Stanley said:

Well I have to admire your spirit by putting a positive spin on the situation. One game a month is better than 4, or 6 because it will help you focus on that one title, for a short while until it's gone

 

To put an even more positive spin on it, if you really like the game you can buy it rather than have a library that's full of stuff you aren't interested in.

 

Hopefully they'll also discount the game for subscribers or directly after the free period.

[Stanley]

1 minute ago, Adrock said:

 

To put an even more positive spin on it, if you really like the game you can buy it rather than have a library that's full of stuff you aren't interested in.

 

Hopefully they'll also discount the game for subscribers or directly after the free period.

Yeah I mean who wants a library compromised of games they've chosen, both paid and free anyway when Nintendo will let you pay for them all? It's much better value. I mean you're paying more, but owning less, so each game is actually worth much more on average, and therefore better.

[Adrock]

Exactly. Give Nintendo all of your money.

[Dudley]

 

2 hours ago, MikeBeaver said:

I keep seeing people say it's a £300 machine, well, with the first years online maybe, otherwise it's still £280

And with the near obligatory SD card it's £300 again

[Alex W.]

56 minutes ago, BruceBruce said:

 

The analog stick is closer to the center.  All you have to do is turn it upside down and the buttons are now within reach as well as the analog stick being above them (essentially looking like the left joycon).  And the pointer faces forward like a wii remote.

 

I think putting it on the bottom was a deliberate design choice for this very purpose, and the reason an IR camera isn't on the left joycon is because the L triggers were there.  Putting it at the bottom of the left joycon would feel weird being held upside down, with the buttons above the analog.

 

So it seems they deliberately made the right joycon work like a wii remote when upside down.  Meaning we may get wii games in the eshop in the future.  They may eventually allow wii remotes for use, but having an integrated wiimote in the joycon meant they don't have to force people to buy excess peripherals just to play a game.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The only issue being that the buttons are now upside down.  But all they'd have to do is replicate the upside down characters on menu screens/huds.

 

When you split the joycons and play 2 player holding it sideways, the button characters are sideways, so I doubt upside down characters concerns them.

 

But yea, it definitely seems that the right joycon, used upside down, works similar to a wii remote.  The B button is just on the front face instead of being a trigger. And the left joycon could act as a nunchuck in certain games, but facing upright.

 

More than enough buttons for remapping.

 

But the Wii remote didn't just have A, B and a couple of buttons, it also had a d-pad which most games use for inventory and where many games use down as a secondary button above A. Remapping those is just going to be a fiasco.

[Alex W.]

I'm not saying there won't be Wii ports, but there won't be anything as straightforward as Wii VC. Every game will have all new controls.

[MikeBeaver]

13 minutes ago, Dudley said:

 

And with the near obligatory SD card it's £300 again

 

I've got one in my drawer from an old phone if I need it, but seeing as I'm a cartridge buyer, all I need internal space for is the OS, updates and the monthly free game, I'll only ever buy digital if there is no physical version available or if it is stupidly cheap, and this is Nintendo we're talking about, so stupidly cheap doesn't exist.

[scoobysi]

1 hour ago, Freeman said:

The Sony effort leaves people unhappy due to the types of games.

 

The same numpties were also clamouring for Knack. If you have more than one PlayStation device then Sony's offering blows everything else out of the water by a mile. Can't believe I have a Vita with a massive library of games and I've never bought one. The final years of the PS3 were the golden years though.

 

It's a shame that Nintendo are not operating it the same as psplus and letting you keep access to the game while you subscribe, probably means they'll cycle them round every now and again. I think different is good though as many with a Switch will already have a PS4/XBOX so won't want similar games again.

[Professor_k]

Honest response required

 

The people who were posting in the Wii U thread in the early days.  Are you more pumped for the launch of the switch or the Wii U?

 

I was interested in the Wii U but I purchased a bit after launch because I wasn't that impressed by the initial line up of games.  After loving the later releases like Mario 3d world, Bayonetta 2, Yoshi's Woolly World, Color Splash and Maiden of Blackwater I can honestly say the Wii U is my favorite console of this generation.  I've jumped on board the Switch because I'm hoping to recreate the Wii U goodness plus all the convenience that a portable console provides.

 

I'm day one but only because Nintendo have given me excellence that my PS4 and Xbone have not equalled.  Consider me hyped.

[the_debaser]

Definitely more hyped for the switch. The launch titles of the wiiu left me cold (I didn't realise at the time how awesome NSMBU would be), but this has Zelda, potentially the best game ever, it's portable as fuck, and looks cool. I'm all in.

 

Can't wait to see what E3 brings.  

[daifuco]

The Switch by far. I just wanted the Wii U to play nintendo games in HD. But t I ended up abandoning the system.

Then I fell in love with the Vita, so convenient so handy, compatible with bed and toilet. But ....

• I hated that It didnt have the support it deserved,
•  it was just a little bit underpowered.

Now the Vita is back, reincarnated and with those faults fixed.

I am not even looking forward Nintendo games that much. 

[smac]

I had zero desire to pick up a Wii U at the time. Switch is tempting.

 

But mostly because when I did pick up a Wii U, it had some great games available for it.

[Paulando]

I'm working away the Monday after the Switch launch, so I'll be playing Breath of the Wild on the train down.

 

The latest, full instalment in the Zelda series on the train.

 

Pinch me.

[scoobysi]

Was much more hyped for the 3DS and Wii U both of which I got at launch, bit burned I guess, although I wouldn't be without either machine now. Wii U ports aren't enough to make me jump on a Switch, Mario might.

 

I'm also considering cancelling my Wii U BotW so that I have that to play if I do end up with a Switch.

[BruceBruce]

1 hour ago, Alex W. said:

 

But the Wii remote didn't just have A, B and a couple of buttons, it also had a d-pad which most games use for inventory and where many games use down as a secondary button above A. Remapping those is just going to be a fiasco.

 

The left joy con has 4 buttons that act like a d-pad, as well as its own analog stick.  It is essentially a nunchuck with a d-pad. Not to mention you can now click the analog sticks.

 

Most games that just used a Wii remote would be fine using just the right joycon, as the analog stick would replace the d-pad.  Most games that used wiimote + nunchuck would be fine using both joycons, with the right joycon upside down as an IR pointer, and just having the d-pad be on the left joycon instead of the wii remote..  Some games are played by holding the wii remote sideways, and those could be played by holding a joycon sideways.  Games that use classic controller could use both joycons as a single unit.

 

It makes perfect sense.  And either way, it's accessible and doesn't require the person to purchase a wii remote just to play wii eshop games.

[womblingfree]

To be fair, PS+ is such an amazing deal, particularly if you have all three consoles it caters for, that Nintendo would have to port over their entire back catalogue and give us two 3DS, Switch and Wii games every month to keep in order to compete.

[Dudley]

I was more interested in the Wii U, at this price with such a thin to non-existent games lineup I'm not currently interested in the Switch.

 

That may change when we get the Mario game.

[Shimmyhill]

5 hours ago, Lorfarius said:

 

The Wii U online launch wasn't "stable" and they certainly don't have a history of doing it right.

 

Neither do Sony but we all continue to pay, PSN is easily the least reliable of all 3 current online systems regardless of the fluff Sony give you to distract from the core function of PSN - It had been better of late but 2 outages this last week

 

5 hours ago, _Pow_ said:

I havn't bought a launch console for a while, were there many PS3/360 features that were suddenly missing from the PS4/Bone when they first came out?

 

Loads missing, some still are and both have worse online reliability than the previous gen - its amazing how bad Live is on Xbone compared to 360 - PSN was shit and is still shit just a bit more shit and you pay for it..

 

13 minutes ago, womblingfree said:

To be fair, PS+ is such an amazing deal, particularly if you have all three consoles it caters for, that Nintendo would have to port over their entire back catalogue and give us two 3DS, Switch and Wii games every month to keep in order to compete.

 

Was amazing, Sony abandoned the Vita a while back and some months they seem to look down the sofa just to get something for vita.

[Fatsam]

PlayStation plus is shit for me.

 

It's incredibly rare that a game comes along that I really like that I haven't already got.  And I hate myself every month for downloading and having a go at games I know I won't like, but feel compelled to because they are "free". It feels like I'm paying Sony to waste an hour of my life every month.

 

 

[Alex W.]

54 minutes ago, BruceBruce said:

 

The left joy con has 4 buttons that act like a d-pad, as well as its own analog stick.  It is essentially a nunchuck with a d-pad. Not to mention you can now click the analog sticks.

 

Most games that just used a Wii remote would be fine using just the right joycon, as the analog stick would replace the d-pad.  Most games that used wiimote + nunchuck would be fine using both joycons, with the right joycon upside down as an IR pointer, and just having the d-pad be on the left joycon instead of the wii remote..  Some games are played by holding the wii remote sideways, and those could be played by holding a joycon sideways.  Games that use classic controller could use both joycons as a single unit.

 

It makes perfect sense.  And either way, it's accessible and doesn't require the person to purchase a wii remote just to play wii eshop games.

 

There are enough buttons, but they're all over the shop compared to the Wii, unlike the Wii and WiiU and 3DS, where VC games' controls mapped to the host device in a very direct way that's the same for every game.

 

You would have to have a custom control mapping for every Wii-on-Switch game, and either expect the player to memorise it or change all the button prompts and things. At which point it stops being a Wii game running on a Virtual Console and becomes a port. It's just not tenable.

 

Let me give a good example: in Metroid Prime 3, down on the d-pad fires your missiles. It's probably the third most-used button on the controller. That just doesn't work as an analogue stick direction. So you move it somewhere else, but in games where the d-pad acts like a d-pad, obviously you'd want down on the d-pad to be mapped to the analogue stick. And then there's games where down on the d-pad acts as a button in some situations, and just part of a directional controller in others...

 

Other M ain't happening under emulation, that's for sure.

[BruceBruce]

18 minutes ago, Alex W. said:

 

There are enough buttons, but they're all over the shop compared to the Wii, unlike the Wii and WiiU and 3DS, where VC games' controls mapped to the host device in a very direct way that's the same for every game.

 

You would have to have a custom control mapping for every Wii-on-Switch game, and either expect the player to memorise it or change all the button prompts and things. At which point it stops being a Wii game running on a Virtual Console and becomes a port. It's just not tenable.

 

Let me give a good example: in Metroid Prime 3, down on the d-pad fires your missiles. It's probably the third most-used button on the controller. That just doesn't work as an analogue stick direction. So you move it somewhere else, but in games where the d-pad acts like a d-pad, obviously you'd want down on the d-pad to be mapped to the analogue stick. And then there's games where down on the d-pad acts as a button in some situations, and just part of a directional controller in others...

 

Other M ain't happening under emulation, that's for sure.

 

Why would the analog stick need to be the d-pad in Metroid Prime 3? It used a nunchuck, therefore you'd use the left joycon normally and the right joycon upside down for IR.

Left joycon has a d-pad of sorts.

 

This is obviously their intention.  Why else bother with IR at all?  No one but 1, 2 Switch will use it.  They want to ensure backwards compatibility when it comes to game mechanics in each generation of console they've released thus far, excluding Wii U.  Because the Wii U is close enough in time that they'd probably just port games over, since emulation would be out of the question.

 

The left and right joycons are simply next generation wiimotes/nunchucks.

[JPickford]

I don't think the IR works like the Wiimote IR.   It's more of a short-range Kinect for recognizing shapes and proximity,

[Alex W.]

Just now, BruceBruce said:

 

Why would the analog stick need to be the d-pad in Metroid Prime 3?

 

You wouldn't, obviously, for the reasons I outline. You'd want to map down on the d-pad to an easily accessible Switch button, and the three other directions for the visors somewhere else. But for other games, you would want to have a d-pad substitute on your "Wii Remote".

 

What I'm getting at is that you can't have a single control mapping which works for every game when you're translating a Wii remote and nunchuk onto the Switch controllers, which is one of the foundational things that made Virtual Console work.

[BruceBruce]

1 minute ago, Alex W. said:

 

You wouldn't, obviously, for the reasons I outline. You'd want to map down on the d-pad to an easily accessible Switch button, and the three other directions for the visors somewhere else. But for other games, you would want to have a d-pad substitute on your "Wii Remote".

 

What I'm getting at is that you can't have a single control mapping which works for every game when you're translating a Wii remote and nunchuk onto the Switch controllers, which is one of the foundational things that made Virtual Console work.

 

But not every single game is going to be ported to Virtual Console.. so how is this a problem?

[Alex W.]

1 minute ago, JPickford said:

I don't think the IR works like the Wiimote IR.   It's more of a short-range Kinect for recognizing shapes and proximity,

 

All it needs to do is be able to see two IR dots from the sensor bar. Assuming it's not got a fixed focus set at 30cm away from the controller or something, it should be able to do that by its nature.

[JPickford]

Well maybe.  I know sod all about  hardware but wouldn't it need a particular lens/focus?   Doesn't the wiimote have some hardware to process the image?

 

This hasn't been demonstrated to do anything like that and every demo shows a range of just a couple of feet.   I think it probably has an IR light in there and a camera/pair of camera's to analyse the image.   

 

Not to mention there is no sensor bar.