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[Nintendo Switch] THIS THREAD IS DEAD. POST IN THE NEW ONE!
MNC Dover
Full-time Voice ActorKirkland, WARegistered User regular
Full-time Voice ActorKirkland, WARegistered User regular
The Switch is Nintendo's 7th home console 5th handheld newest hardware. After the Wii U's struggles over the past four years, especially with advertising and PR, this is Nintendo's attempt to get people back on board and right the ship.
As the name implies, the Switch is a hybrid console, capable of going between standard TV play and on-the-go gaming. The console itself is actually just a thin, tablet-esque bit of hardware that's like a slightly smaller and less bulky Wii U gamepad. But don't be confused: whereas the gamepad was just a screen that streamed from the Wii U itself, the Switch is a fully independent console. It has a capacitive touch screen (a departure from Nintendo's preference for resistive), two slots on the side for controller attachments, Wi-Fi, and uses a USB-C cable to charge. Due to its mobile nature, it uses cartridges to play games. There are three main ways to play:
TV Mode
This the traditional couch playing mode. The Switch comes with a dock that uses an HDMI cable to broadcast the Switch to your TV. This is where the Switch acts like a regular home console, and there's not much else to say. You can play using the game's controller (Joycons) separated or together (there is a grip included in box to give the joycons a controller form factor, but it does NOT charge the Joycons), or you can opt for something more typical like the pro controller (Sold Separately).
Handheld Mode
The mobile mode, this is just taking the Switch out of the dock and playing on it. The Joycons slide on to each half of the console, giving you a more handheld experience. Battery life will vary based on the game and what you are doing, with estimates being a broad 2-6 hours. Breath of Wild was used as a benchmark, going three hours on a single charge. People are saying something like Shovel Knight can go as long as 7 hours. The general rule of thumb is that polygon-based games will drain the battery roughly twice as fast as ones uses sprites or less demanding graphics. Switches can also connect to up to seven additional Switches for local multiplayer purposes.
Tabletop Mode
Tabletop mode is basically handheld, but the Switch has a little kickstand that lets you prop it up. Each half of a Joycon can operate as its own independent controller, so you can use this mode to play games with another person. The Joycons also have an attachment called a strap that slides in and gives you better L/R button and a bit more grip. It's worth noting that ALL controllers work in this mode, including the pro controller, so you don't need a bunch of joycons.
Oh, and the Switch won't be region locked. Prepare to import.
In the USA, the Switch retails for $299.99, and it comes with the following:
- Switch Console
- TV Dock
- Left and Right Joycons
- Joycon Wrist Straps
- Joycon Grip (NOT a charging grip)
- HDMI Cable
- AC Adapter
Need more crap? Accessories are available if you got cash to burn.
MSRP: $69.99
Want a more traditional controller? That'll be seventy bucks, pal. As a bonus, it comes with a USB to USB-C cable that can also charge the Switch itself, and the Pro can connect to your bluetooth-enabled PC with little difficulty. The Pro has most of the features of the joycons, including motion controls, HD rumble, and NFC support. I don't think it has the infrared scanner thing, however.
MSRP: $79.99
Additional Joycons can be purchased for a hefty fee. They do come with two straps, however.
MSRP: $49.99
Lose just ONE Joycon? Nintendo has got you covered, although they will charge you an extra ten dollars more than what they cost bundled together. Because business.
MSRP: $29.99
That pro controller sure was pricey, wasn't it? Well, for less than half the cost, you can just slap your joycons in this thing and get a similar experience while pretending it's a dog or something. This one also charges your joycons while they're connected to it, unlike the one that comes with the Switch because Nintendo is cheap.
MSRP: $14.99
Because you really want a wheel icon next to your name in Mario Kart. Slap a joycon in and race or just use it as a very awkward controller grip.
MSRP: $89.99
Breakdowns of the dock expose this thing as being hilariously overpriced. Please don't buy it.
The Switch will probably be Nintendo's biggest step forward regarding online play since it actually added online services to its hardware. It seems like Nintendo is finally learning from its contemporaries, having all online stuff managed from your Nintendo account. Sadly, Nintendo is also learning from its contemporaries in that they're going to charge us just to play online. The good news is that the service is fairly cheap, being $3.99 on a month by month basis, or $20 for a year. Another popular thing to do is join in with other people on a Family Account, which is $34.99 a year for up to eight people. That's less than five bucks a YEAR, so I'd definitely go that route if you can find the people. Check out the chart to see what a subscription gets you versus being a plebeian who thinks online play should be a basic free service.
The monthly game downloads may have caught your eye. Nintendo is doing something new, and they're launching a Netflix-esque service for their catalog of classic games. While subscribed to Nintendo Online, you'll have access this library along with bonus features like online leaderboards and multiplayer. It's (currently) just NES titles, and they've been adding new titles each month.
What's the battery life for everything?
The Switch: 2-6 hours depending on the game. As a rule of thumb, 3D games like Zelda or Mario will last about three hours. A game with sprites or 2D effects like Shovel Knight will last about 6-7 hours.
Joycons: 20 hours. Note that that do not draw power from the Switch when attached to it and in portable mode.
Pro Controller: 40 hours. The dock does have three USB ports that can be used to charge.
Is the Switch backwards compatible?
No, it uses carts and has no disc drive to play Wii U media. And no, it's also not backwards compatible with the 3DS, DS, or any other Nintendo system.
Do the carts really taste bad?
Yes, they are coated in denatonium benzoate, which is one of the most bitter compounds for humans. It's meant as a deterrent against children eating them. Don't lick the cart, dummy.
Can I go online in portable mode?
Yes. Also, while it has no browser, if you are at a place with Wi-Fi, there will be an applet that lets you pay/agree to their terms so you can get online.
Are there seriously friend codes?
Yeah, who knows why. The good news is that when you punch in someone's code, they'll get a request instead of playing this game of "Did you send it?" Furthermore, more options are set to be added like traditional friend requests through your Nintendo account, which...raises the question of why use friend codes in the first place.
Is the Switch region-locked?
Nope! Import to your heart's content. You can even switch regions on the eShop, BUT you will lose whatever current balance your account has in its current region. So spend your money first.
Can I connect to the TV using third-party USB-C cables?
No, for whatever reason the Switch must be docked to display on the TV.
Will I be able to recharge the Switch using a portable power bank used for cell phones?
The Switch uses about 30-40 Watts, which exceeds most portable power sources right now. It also doesn't use quickcharging functionality of USB-C, so that's another concern. In other words, your average power brick may extend your Switch's battery life by an 60-90 minutes depending on the wattage, but your system will still consume power. This is dependent on the game, however, and you'll get more juice out of a power bank while playing Shovel Knight than Breath of the Wild. However power banks for phones WILL take significantly longer to charge the thing while the power is off (we're talking eight hours in some cases). There are a few 15v/3A batteries meant for MacBooks that DO charge the Switch, but at a rate of like 1% every five minutes. To be honest, there are serious cost/value considerations to make, as a laptop charger that can feed the Switch will run into the triple digits. Do you really need 20+ hours of Switch battery? If not, then consider a $50ish dollar power bank for just the Switch, one with 5V/3A that has a USB-C slot, and use a high-quality USB-C cable to charge. It will, at the very least, double your Switch's battery life even if it's not the most efficient charging solution.
tl;dr: most phone chargers are good for extending the battery, but not recharging a system. Try to get as close to 15V/2.6A as possible, and use USB-C instead of USB-C to regular USB.
Which screen protector should I used?
Tempered glass. While plastic ones are cheaper, they themselves are prone to being easily scratched, which means you'll have to replace them every so often. On top of this, tempered glass feels better when using the touch screen, and they tend to be easier to apply (fewer bubbles). Tempered glass will set you back more cash, but you'll save more in the long run. Right now, amFilm is the screen of choice for most people.
How much memory does the Switch have?
32 GB, of which around 25 is usable. For reference, Breath of the Wild uses around 13GB. You can use micro-SD cards to expand the memory. Because Switch carts are so small, I recommend a micro-SD with plenty of memory, because Switch games will be large and it defeats the purpose of going digital if instead of 32GB carts you're just swapping 32GB SD cards. A Sandisk Ultra with 128GB of memory should last you a while.
What's up with the Joycon desync issue?
Some left joycons have manufacturing defects that make their signal weaker and easier to block. If you think yours is acting up, then you can ship it off to Nintendo for a free repair. Just...hope you have a Pro Controller or something while you wait.
Can the pro controller cable be used to charge the Switch?
Yes, the cable that comes with the Pro Controller can be used like any other USB to USB-C cable. Hook it up to power banks, charge your pro controller through your PC's USB ports: go wild.
Where's Virtual Console?
It's dead? Nintendo has stated that their online service (which offers a Netflix-esque selection of classic games while subscribed) will NOT be replacing Virtual Console. But...VC as a brand is dead, so it remains to be seen if any kind of option to buy classic games besides Switch Online membership.
Does this mean end of the line for the 3DS/Wii U?
The Wii U has been dead, and the 3DS is running on fumes. This year has mostly been a lot of ports for the 3DS, with Luigi's Mansion being the "marquee" holiday title for 2018 and a second Mario & Luigi remake for early 2019. There are some third-party titles here and there, but it seems like Nintendo (and most publishers) are ready to embrace the Switch as the future.
The Switch will have games, making it a true revolution in the industry. Oh, and in case you missed it: the Switch is not region locked. You can create separate accounts for other regions and access their eShops there. All dates are for NA.
G&T Approved!
The following games are almost unanimously praised by the community. If you need a place to start, make it here.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Snipperclips
Fast RMX
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Blaster Master Zero
Puyo Puyo Tetris
Tumbleseed
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Disgaea 5
ARMS
Splatoon 2
Sonic Mania
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Pokkén Tournament DX
Fire Emblem Warriors
Mario Odyssey
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Doom
Steamworld Dig 2
Mummy Demastered
Has Been Heroes
Resident Evil Revelations I & II
But what other games are good?
There are a lot of games on the Switch and some of the good ones might slip past you. Not the obvious stuff like BotW and Odyssey, but the smaller gems that go unnoticed. With so many games getting released, it's hard to keep up. So the PA folks are gonna compile some mini-reviews of these great titles in the following format:
Name
Price (mention if digital only here)
Genres
Similar games
1-2 sentence review with pros and cons
For example:
Golf Story
$14.99 (eShop only)
Golf/RPG
Mario Golf GBA
A fun and addictive golfing game that has a lot of customization. Some of the NPC side quest stuff drags a bit, but not enough to ruin the fun. Highly recommended!
Penny Arcade mini-reviews:
Dresdenphile suggests:
- Kamiko
- $4.99 (eShop only)
- Action
- Zelda 1?
- This short indie game tasks players — who control the titular priestess Kamiko — to take down demons and complete puzzles along the way, racking up combos. With 3 characters to choose from, each playthrough handles differently.
Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
MNC Dover on
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Posts
I miss the holy triforce of Nintendo already.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
Hey now, the Triforce of Power (Reggie) is with us until April.
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
Given Switch was once again the top-selling console in January (in both units and dollars, no less), I wouldn't take that as a given. Unless they get wind of a big move from Sony and/or Microsoft, of course. (Sales of both the PS4 and One are slowing down.)
Fitting that Doug Bowser is taking Power.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
I donno. On the one hand Nintendo tends to react too late to market forces, if at all, and they may not try to cut Switch prices until sales have really fallen precipitously.
On the other hand, Nintendo has shown some ability to be more agile lately, and there has been a significant changing of the guard, and they may do a minor price cut to try to juice sales closer to the targets they want to hit. The $35 eshop bundles might be a small scale test of this. They are supposed to be limited, but I don't know what that even means. How many is limited?
What is so special about E3 that would make it the time to drop prices.
If anything you would be looking at closer to the holiday rush as the time to compete.
I'm assuming Iwata is Wisdom and Miyamoto is Courage?
Hope he enjoys his retirement though, it's definitely well-deserved.
Given that the system is still selling like crazy I would be shocked to have them price drop it at all this year. They are more likely to pack in some software before attempting any price cuts.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
If Bowser comes in and there is not a kidnapping I will be sorely disappointed ... you have one job Bowser. PS ... stay away from crown mushrooms m'kay.
Playstation: Dipuc4Life
Warframe_Switch IGN: ONVEBAL
You can blame it all on meee
Resident 8bitdo expert.
Resident hybrid/flap cover expert.
@OneAngryPossum I really plan on it, but I may have gotten sucked into playing monster hunter world again. I haven't started Guacamelee and don't plan on it until I finish it. I did just recently fight a boss that was really cool looking. It was a very satisfying fight too.
Yoshiaki Koizumi has been a pretty decent fill in for Iwata even if those shoes are near impossible to fill.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
At any rate I don't have all the money in the world. $300 is a big ask for me to get into the Switch, which I finally kinda sorta do want, still wary about how the online will play out in the long-run / post-console-life.
Yes. But also he's a pretty genuinely nice guy in person. I met him years back at a managers conference and sure, he's public facing for his company so he needs to act a certain way, but he was great fun, took pictures with us, and chatted with us in a way that few other big names did.
This was the same year that Sid Meier gave an arrogant speech about how great he was, and Todd McFarlane yelled at two of our managers for taking too long to say they were fans before storming out of the convention like a fucking child. Reggie was just a decent person to chat with.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
New rumor making the rounds from ye olde resetera insiders on Xbox Game Pass, XCloud and Ori and the Blind Forest port coming to Switch. I guess the idea is that you would stream games on the Switch.
Instead, Nintendo will begin selling a non-portable, TV-only "SwitchCube" micro-console as their low-cost alternative to the current Switch model.
It's going pretty well so far. I'm on top of all the community center stuff and I'm down to level 85 in the mines. I'm mostly spending my money these days on expanding my stable of animals so that I've got a decent cash flow during the winter. At the moment I've got two cows (Latony and Frotsley), one goat (Wumbus), two chickens (Gusabella and Bupu), one duck (Netch), one dog (Kato) and one girlfriend (Haley).
He was a bit of a Paul Marketing from time to time (kind of par for the course with the job), but he was a fun guy who clearly loved his job and was totally down to do silly stuff for presentation. He was sort of like our fun uncle who works at Nintendo.
Japan doesn't really want this so it won't happen. Regardless of whether other territories might.
I've been playing it. It's got some unforgiving difficulty spikes (the first boss is bafflingly hard), but it's interesting. The movement has a nice flow most of the time... Until it doesn't.
I think Nintendo's days of letting the Japanese market dictate all their decisions are over.
They put King K. Rool and Ridley in Smash, after all!
Japanese dev made Ridely so its cool.
I can't explain K. Rool though.
OK, but why the is the silo there? It looks like it's just in the way.
I've seen this rumor going around today, and the idea seems interesting if Microsoft and Nintendo are indeed working together more closely these days. I'd love to see Rare Replay on the Switch with all their Donkey Kong games, Diddy Kong Racing, and Star Fox Adventures added. Plus the constant rumors/wishes of Banjo or Steve in Smash.
If the xCloud streaming works well it could be a win-win for both companies as it expands the Nintendo Switch library a great deal, and in doing so gives Microsoft subscription revenue. I wonder if Nintendo would get any cut of third party subscriptions on their platform.
Likely they would get a cut.
My thought is that less intensive games like Ori or even Rare Replay could make it over as full native ports while the rest is streamed via cloud. The idea of cloud gaming isn't as ludicrous as it used to be, even with its still-apparent drawbacks.
Of course, Nintendo would probably have a say in what games come over to make sure that there isn't overlap with their own interests. Bayonetta 1 is on Game Pass for example and Nintendo probably doesn't want that treading on eShop sales.
Assuming any of this is true, it's pretty interesting how Microsoft went from trying to buy Nintendo way back when to being a content partner instead. Interesting times.
Personally I would love to see a future where Microsoft and Nintendo work closely enough together that the days of console exclusives are mostly forgotten. They could still sell different hardware targeted at different markets. Microsoft would make hardware for native high resolution home console gaming, while Nintendo's hardware is lower native resolution or cloud streamed, and also portable.
Sony with their refusal to even allow cross-play these days would need to stop being stubborn about it or become irrelevant.
It's not as much in the way as the picture makes it look, but yeah, I should probably move it a bit (I think you can do that at the carpenter's shop). It was one of the first things I built and I assumed that you actually needed to interact with it, so I placed it right next to the coop.
There's a very strong argument to be made for Iwata as Courage.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
I can!
...the anti-western bias everyone assumes Smash has doesn't actually exist.
Man, it's almost like I speculated about this possibility in multiple posts in the last thread. Huh. :P
EDIT: again, this would fit Microsoft's current MO, which is to put their services on every device. Everything from Office to (just announced) their HoloLens AR technology is on iOS and Android. They want to get their Azure-powered hooks into everyone, and Project Xcloud is an extension of that mandate on the gaming side. The real questions lie with Nintendo - are they willing to do it, and if so, what do they get out of it?