Nintendo Switch

Domingo said:
I'm actually not convinced that kids really dig Nintendo that much. From what I've seen it's usually 1980's parents buying Nintendo items for their kids. The kids would literally play with anything you gave them, but because daddy grew up with Super Mario 3 and doesn't want the kids playing Grand Theft Auto, Nintendo is the answer. I've witnessed this exact thing with at least 3 of my friends. It's anecdotal, but I see it all the time on FB, too. Back when the retro NES hit, it was a bunch of adults wanting their kids to see the games they grew up with. The kids would be just as happy playing whatever is on their iPhone or iPad.
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You may be onto something here, and I think I'd agree to some degree, but I've got a lot of friends who are much younger than me that picked up Nintendo products of their own accord, so there's that in play as well.
 
Domingo said:
I'm actually not convinced that kids really dig Nintendo that much. From what I've seen it's usually 1980's parents buying Nintendo items for their kids.
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Definitely agree with this (and *raises hand*..."guilty as charged"), HOWEVER that's why I built a RetroPie (in lieu of buying an NES Mini) - instead of buying a Wii U or a Switch. :whistle:
My kids like Mario, the "classic" Mario's. :D

Yahtzee's ZP of the Switch and Zelda
 
Domingo said:
I did. I have a Rocketfish one that worked and showed up as a wired connection. The catch is that the download speeds were showing up as being slower than wireless. Could just be the Nintendo network, though. I ended up just unplugging it. It was designed as a Wii/WiiU device, so that probably isn't helping.
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same story with this one http://support.moonpoint.com/info/network/hardware/adapters/HC-WII076/

maybe it has to do with the "type B" NAT thingie, wireless or not the reported speeds are not very good on my switch ( 28mbps on other devices VS 11 on nintendo's test)
 
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zero2dash said:
The Wii had Wii Sports; that was a system seller. When you have a game that appeals to people who don't buy game consoles, but they buy yours, that's definitely lightning in a bottle. The WiiU didn't have this, and the Switch doesn't either. Even if 1-2-Switch was a pack-in game, that's not going to sell units to the "I don't buy game console" crowd.
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In regards to the pack-in game, the default bundle will arrive (likely including Zelda or Mario) later this year, I'm betting around the holidays. This has been the model for console releases since Xbox 360: catch the early adopters first, then sell the in-game bundle later to entice those on the fence or casual players for the same price.

I do agree with you on the missed opportunity Nintendo had to release a more powerful system, but they had to take what Nvidia was selling.
 
My 3 year old loves all his toys equally(well, he may love his bubble gun the most) but 1, 2, Switch has become his go-to when mom and dad are around. He loves playing games with us and I like having games we can play together where I can carry the burden while he mucks around. Super Mario 3D World is one of his favorites, and I can literally pick up his character and carry him when need be. We'll be picking up Mario Kart and Splatoon as soon as possible for us, and hopefully the Switch becomes a console for all of us.

I buy the stuff for me, though, and it's a great side benefit that the games I can play on the Nintendo products are games he can generally play with me or enjoy watching us play. We have spent some time playing Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime on my Xbox One, but for the most part the PC, PS4, and Xbox are "dad's" systems.
 
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SoFGR said:
same story with this one http://support.moonpoint.com/info/network/hardware/adapters/HC-WII076/

maybe it has to do with the "type B" NAT thingie, wireless or not the reported speeds are not very good on my switch ( 28mbps on other devices VS 11 on nintendo's test)
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Yeah, my connection tests aren't showing very good numbers either. I think the most I've seen is like 30 down and 10 up, which is much lower than what I see from my other devices, wireless or not.
I'm also "only" getting NAT type B. I dunno if it's good or bad, but at least it seems to work okay. Guess I'll find out when Mario Kart hits.
 
My coworker brought their Switch in and after Playing Zelda on it for a bit, I'ma hold off still for the next revision of the Switch or at least until this Christmas season when they'll have better pricing/bundles available.

The next revision needs:

- Better kickstand; it doesn't tilt back nearly far enough to make tabletop gaming very enjoyable since you're looking at the display at an odd angle.
- Charging port on top so you can charge it while using the kickstand (this may be somewhat mitigated by some kinds of slim L or U shaped adapter than snaps onto the bottom)
- Better battery life; 2-3 hours of gaming is barely adequate. I'm sure they'll get a die shrink and fit a bit larger capacity battery in there in the next one to help out with this.
- Higher res display; 237 PPI seems to look decent enough here, but it would be nice if they at least up'd it to 900P if they can get games to run at it after a die shrink.
- Gorilla Glass display; this plastic is way too soft, so it's too easy to scratch. Not sure why they skipped this other than to keep it from shattering during a fall. But with the amount of bezels it has, I think it would have been safe enough. I'd much rather have significantly less scratches and risk more on falls than a scratched up display that even the OEM dock seems to be scratching. Hopefully screen protectors won't interfere with the dock either, not sure how much extra room there is on it for the added thickness.

I wonder if there will be 3rd party docks as well, because $90 for a glorified USB-C hub is ridiculous and it's poorly designed at that. I hate that it's a vertical only dock, because I have little to no room for that anywhere in my entertainment center. Nintendo is gouging more than Apple does on their accessories. $70 for the pro controller is way too much as well when Sony and Microsoft's controllers are considerably more robust and MSRP for $60, but are routinely available for $45-$50.

These are relatively minor nitpicks though and overall I think it's a decent console still, but there's still much room for improvement. I don't have much time to game nowadays anyways, so I'm probably just making more excuses to hold out on it for now. But I didn't buy the Xbone or PS4 until after their first major revision either. Seems to be the way to go so there's a decent library to play by that time and you get the bonuses of the newer hardware. I'm a big Nintendo/Zelda fan despite skipping on the Wii-U, but it's not enough to make me impulse buy it right now.. esp since they're hardly available and half the people that bought them are scalpers.
 
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I'd agree with that assessment. I feel like this thing is waiting for a perfect revision release in a year or two w/ a newer version of Tegra using less power, and the potential to have a 1080p display in the device vs. 720p that would basically allow the 'new' Switch to run the higher resolution while mobile, instead of dock mode only.

Honestly the plastic screen doesn't bother me, and it's mostly because it's cheap/easy to repair if you need to and polishing plastic isn't difficult. I got tempered glass screen protectors as it is and those are working great. I do think Nintendo should have included some temp. glass screen protectors with the console. That way you get the best of both worlds.

Finally I also agree that Nintendo should have offered this thing cheaper out the door. I didn't mind the $300 price, but I really think they should have offered this thing in the low $200 range without the dock/joycon holder shell in the bundle. I think if they would have focused more on selling this thing as a portable device but with the ability to dock if you want it to that it would make more sense.

Either way I fully suspect in a couple years that they will price drop the Switch to the $200 price point and drop support for the 3DS. Nintendo probably didn't want to offer the device at $200 as they are technically still selling/supporting the 3DS for a year or so.
 
T4rd said:
I wonder if there will be 3rd party docks as well, because $90 for a glorified USB-C hub is ridiculous and it's poorly designed at that. I hate that it's a vertical only dock, because I have little to no room for that anywhere in my entertainment center. Nintendo is gouging more than Apple does on their accessories. $70 for the pro controller is way too much as well when Sony and Microsoft's controllers are considerably more robust and MSRP for $60, but are routinely available for $45-$50.
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I'd agree that Dock price seems very steep, it does have a bit of logic in it because there are two usb ports and HDMI out, but they could likely sell it for less. My initial though with the pro controller is that their pricing might actually not be as bad as you think. The difference is that Microsoft and Sony have economies of scale in their favor. Sell one million consoles and you'll be selling at least 1M controllers. This optional accessory for Nintendo they might only have started a run of 10K of them because they don't know if it's going to be popular or not. If most people are happy with the stock controller or are using it as a portable and don't want to lug around a bulky controller, then they might not sell many of them.
 
Had my first hiccup with the Switch today. It was docked in sleep mode but the joy-cons were not connecting (Switch was displaying fine on TV after waking up). I reconnected the joy-cons to the Switch and removed it from the dock. I was then greeted with an error screen telling me to press the power button to restart the Switch. Afterwards it just hung up on a blank screen (but was still backlit) for awhile until repeated pressing of the power button finally got it to restart.

WTF Nintendo...
 
Where is 2-3 hours of battery life coming from? 2.5 hours was the quoted worst case scenario. 6 hours being the best.

Why is $90 only getting a glorified USBC hub? When the power brick is included, along with HDMI converter? Try pricing out an actual USBC hub with HDMI out, 3 USB ports, and a power brick. The $60 Nintendo charges for the "hub" suddenly becomes quite inline with other offerings. The extra $30 is also not out of touch for a 39W USBc power brick.
 
Anyone else have dead pixels? Did you return it? This really sucks because it's not like I can exchange it at this point...

I swear every single device that I buy with an LCD screen has issues. I absolutely dread buying new monitors / TVs / handhelds. Because this happens:

0d8b9Bz.jpg
 
I was fortunate enough not to have a dead pixel. I'll admit, I'm super paranoid, and whenever I get any display device, I go over it with a fine tooth comb, several times over. Well, I'm sorry you got unlucky, but unfortunately, that's just the state of electronics, where dead pixels are considered normal.
 
jeremyshaw said:
Where is 2-3 hours of battery life coming from? 2.5 hours was the quoted worst case scenario. 6 hours being the best.

Why is $90 only getting a glorified USBC hub? When the power brick is included, along with HDMI converter? Try pricing out an actual USBC hub with HDMI out, 3 USB ports, and a power brick. The $60 Nintendo charges for the "hub" suddenly becomes quite inline with other offerings. The extra $30 is also not out of touch for a 39W USBc power brick.
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But you know, its totally a home console too! ;)
 
jaguax said:
Anyone else have dead pixels? Did you return it? This really sucks because it's not like I can exchange it at this point...

I swear every single device that I buy with an LCD screen has issues. I absolutely dread buying new monitors / TVs / handhelds. Because this happens:
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I've been really lucky with all my LCD devices. I had a HP 24'' monitor about a decade ago that had some issues, but it was just a stuck pixel that I tapped out.

That being said you should call Nintendo and make them say 'No' to a warranty replacement.
 
I'm going to return it. I thought maybe I wouldn't notice it when playing games but nope, sticks out like a sore thumb.
I don't even think I'll ever be using it in handheld mode, but it still bothers me that it's there. Plus it kills resale value.
 
T4rd said:
My coworker brought their Switch in and after Playing Zelda on it for a bit, I'ma hold off still for the next revision of the Switch or at least until this Christmas season when they'll have better pricing/bundles available.

The next revision needs:

- Better kickstand; it doesn't tilt back nearly far enough to make tabletop gaming very enjoyable since you're looking at the display at an odd angle.
- Charging port on top so you can charge it while using the kickstand (this may be somewhat mitigated by some kinds of slim L or U shaped adapter than snaps onto the bottom)
- Better battery life; 2-3 hours of gaming is barely adequate. I'm sure they'll get a die shrink and fit a bit larger capacity battery in there in the next one to help out with this.
- Higher res display; 237 PPI seems to look decent enough here, but it would be nice if they at least up'd it to 900P if they can get games to run at it after a die shrink.
- Gorilla Glass display; this plastic is way too soft, so it's too easy to scratch. Not sure why they skipped this other than to keep it from shattering during a fall. But with the amount of bezels it has, I think it would have been safe enough. I'd much rather have significantly less scratches and risk more on falls than a scratched up display that even the OEM dock seems to be scratching. Hopefully screen protectors won't interfere with the dock either, not sure how much extra room there is on it for the added thickness.

I wonder if there will be 3rd party docks as well, because $90 for a glorified USB-C hub is ridiculous and it's poorly designed at that. I hate that it's a vertical only dock, because I have little to no room for that anywhere in my entertainment center. Nintendo is gouging more than Apple does on their accessories. $70 for the pro controller is way too much as well when Sony and Microsoft's controllers are considerably more robust and MSRP for $60, but are routinely available for $45-$50.

These are relatively minor nitpicks though and overall I think it's a decent console still, but there's still much room for improvement. I don't have much time to game nowadays anyways, so I'm probably just making more excuses to hold out on it for now. But I didn't buy the Xbone or PS4 until after their first major revision either. Seems to be the way to go so there's a decent library to play by that time and you get the bonuses of the newer hardware. I'm a big Nintendo/Zelda fan despite skipping on the Wii-U, but it's not enough to make me impulse buy it right now.. esp since they're hardly available and half the people that bought them are scalpers.
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revisions usually end up being gimped versions of the original. Nintendo has pretty much done that always on flagship console.
 
Bigbacon said:
revisions usually end up being gimped versions of the original. Nintendo has pretty much done that always on flagship console.
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Not for most their portables (inb4 you state the few exceptions). All the same, I don't see how they'd gimp the Switch more than it already is, so my stance is unchanged.
 
Bigbacon said:
revisions usually end up being gimped versions of the original. Nintendo has pretty much done that always on flagship console.
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Not in the case of Nintendo. Every revision on the portable side has brought some welcomed improvements.
 
Zelda is freakin glorious. Best launch game since Super Mario World.

Docked mode chokes a bit on foliage in heavily wooded areas. GPUs always choke on foliage. I give them credit for keeping it in the game.

I just can't believe the massive scope of this game and how much is going on in it. There is nothing like this on any other platform. The dungeons are quite good.

I need to find a second dock kit somehow. I'd glady pay another $90 for it.
 
Bigbacon said:
Sorry, flagship, home (non portable) console.
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To be fair, that was modus operandi for all makers for quite some time. PS3 dropped a lot through its revisions (BC went away in two stages; SACD support was gone by the time the PS3 Slim was released). Xbox 360 went from RROD to even worse RROD (denial of the problem by MSFT) in their first refresh (before finally fixing things by the 3rd refresh, which dropped support for their original "portable HDD" concept; so the second refresh with the HDMI ports on all models may be the best, through you play the Optical Drive Lifespan lottery with Japser, and RROD was still a slight possibility with Jasper). Now we have a Xbox One S that drops the Kinect port ("but of course, adapters for existing owners will be free...") even as it gains 4K Bluray support, and a noisier system fan.

Features get dropped all the time, and consoles become cheaper by cutting costs.

In the end, Nintendo made a cheaper Wii continuation unit, after the Wii U launched.
 
I would have been a lot more interested in a non-portable version bundled with a pro controller even around the same price point. One of my kids I think is finally getting old enough to really start playing on consoles but don't trust either of them with phones and tablets without a OtterBox type case on them. The Wii U requiring the gamepad to do almost anything with the system is what kept me away from it for so long.

So I guess in the mean time I'll keep her on the SNES, N64, and Wii.
 
TheGardenTool said:
I would have been a lot more interested in a non-portable version bundled with a pro controller even around the same price point. One of my kids I think is finally getting old enough to really start playing on consoles but don't trust either of them with phones and tablets without a OtterBox type case on them. The Wii U requiring the gamepad to do almost anything with the system is what kept me away from it for so long.

So I guess in the mean time I'll keep her on the SNES, N64, and Wii.
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the wii u gamepad is one tough piece of hardware!
 
BiH115 said:
I definitely agree with the fact that Nintendo is banking on the nostalgia, I think we can all agree on that. Their efforts would be best served by just making excellent games and not trying to reinvent the wheel every few years, it just doesn't make any sense, they have to see that.

On the note you had about friends in Japan (as someone who is all about Japan, and travels there way too frequently for work and leisure), the handheld video game market is strong, for sure, but the commuter mindset these days is definitely moving towards cell phones. You can turn in any direction on a train or bus and see people playing a quick game of something or other. At least we see that there, but over here in the states I'm seeing it few and far between, but that could just be the Boston area, it's a small sample.
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It's about games. People have smartphones....because people have smart phones. If there aren't compelling games elsewhere, then may as well grab some timewasterboff the android store.
But mo ster hunter and dragonquest still sell millions. People will get their nintendos out, for that.
 
Anyone have a case they recommend yet? I'm still looking for a very basic one, but it needs to have room for an AC adapter.
 
Domingo said:
Anyone have a case they recommend yet? I'm still looking for a very basic one, but it needs to have room for an AC adapter.
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Any reason you wouldn't just want to get a USB-C cable and pair it with a flattish battery pack instead of lugging the AC adapter around?
 
zaxour said:
Any reason you wouldn't just want to get a USB-C cable and pair it with a flattish battery pack instead of lugging the AC adapter around?
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Cost and convenience? This is literally the only device I'd need it for and it's not like those are any smaller or cheaper.
 
I'm leaving my AC adapter with the dock on the main tv. Grabbed a 5 dollar usbA to usbC cable and my kmashi 15000mah battery bank and it works fine for gaming on the go. When I go places for extended periods of time, an old apple wall wart and the same usb cable seem to charge it just fine (slower than the standard charger, but fine for overnight charges) The regular AC adapter seems bloody enormous to me, so I gave up trying to find a way to bring it without carrying a purse. My basic RDS industries Nintendo branded case works great for the console, the cable, the games, and while I could probably get my battery bank in there, it has a dedicated pocket in my backpack anyway.
 
I was on the verge of ordering one, but Nintendo abysmal supply to Canada convinced me to hold on untill mario kart 8 deluxe.
 
I'm interested in something that will give me a charge on the go and the AC adapter seemed like the most cost effective method...even if it is $30.
I don't really have a need for a battery pack and they don't seem any cheaper or smaller. Plus I keep reading that they're hit and miss to begin with (like this: http://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...endo-switch-best-battery-pack-charging-cables).

With every portable I've ever owned, I tend to play them 'til they're borderline dead and them charge them back up for the next go round. Either that or I just keep them plugged in while I'm in an airport or at the office. With the DS, 3DS, PSP, and Vita that has meant just keeping an AC adapter in the case. If there's a better/cheaper way that isn't huge, I'm game as long as it doesn't take like 10 hours to charge or isn't giant. I have no desire to have my supposedly portable system in a giant briefcase or backpack.
 
jaguax said:
Anyone else have dead pixels? Did you return it? This really sucks because it's not like I can exchange it at this point...

I swear every single device that I buy with an LCD screen has issues. I absolutely dread buying new monitors / TVs / handhelds. Because this happens:

0d8b9Bz.jpg
Click to expand...

I have a dead pixel on mine, too. I was disappointed when I discovered it but after deciding to let it go I don't notice it anymore.
 
Got an in-stock alert for Walmart, went to buy it, and my card got declined. Two minutes later my credit card company sent me an automatic fraud prevention text, but by then it was sold out.

Awesome.
 
I finally decided (more or less) that I will just wait until I can waltz into whatever store I might be going to (that would potentially carry this), look over, and say "oh, look, they have some Switches, I'm going to get one". I just don't think I have it in me to try and search one out, even to the point of checking stock online. :D I mean, I REALLY want one, but I think something happened to my brain the other day when I turned 40. :D I just don't care if I get one now or next month.
 
Next month is when the first wave of major (non-Zelda) titles hits, so the timing works. Plus, unlike the other consoles it's not even necessary to get one early to set it up and configure everything to your liking.
The Switch setup takes all of 10 minutes and the only choices you get involve WiFi, TV resolution, surround sound (yes/no), and whether you want your background to be black or white.

I broke down and ordered one of the few cases that claims it'll fit the Switch, Joy-Cons, and an AC adapter. Amazon reviews show pictures of people doing it, too. Hopefully it isn't a POS.
 
J3RK said:
I finally decided (more or less) that I will just wait until I can waltz into whatever store I might be going to (that would potentially carry this), look over, and say "oh, look, they have some Switches, I'm going to get one". I just don't think I have it in me to try and search one out, even to the point of checking stock online. :D I mean, I REALLY want one, but I think something happened to my brain the other day when I turned 40. :D I just don't care if I get one now or next month.
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I kind of want to see if they release an updated version later this year, or at least some bundles or something. Apparently the internal storage is a small daughter board that is easily changed, which makes it look like they may release ones with larger storage in the future.
 
If you are waiting to buy because of storage.. I wouldn't.

The only reason to wait is maybe for a pack-in title like 1 - 2 Switch for a Christmas bundle.

But the 32GB of storage is adequate IMO. The biggest game most people will download is Zelda which is 16GB, and really microSD's don't cost that much if you need more internal storage. With the retail game card Zelda only uses a couple hundred megabytes.

I'll also suggest that people really should be buying the physical copy every chance they have with a Nintendo system as Nintendo first party titles tend to retain their value quite well when it comes time to resell.
 
Mchart said:
If you are waiting to buy because of storage.. I wouldn't.

The only reason to wait is maybe for a pack-in title like 1 - 2 Switch for a Christmas bundle.

But the 32GB of storage is adequate IMO. The biggest game most people will download is Zelda which is 16GB, and really microSD's don't cost that much if you need more internal storage. With the retail game card Zelda only uses a couple hundred megabytes.

I'll also suggest that people really should be buying the physical copy every chance they have with a Nintendo system as Nintendo first party titles tend to retain their value quite well when it comes time to resell.
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Hope they include something better then 1 2 switch. That wouldn't get me to go out and get it. Doubt they would give Zelda out since just about everyone that bought a switch will be buying it anyway. There have been tear downs of a switch and the storage memory is modular and could be easily swapped out if greater capacity ones came out.
 
Mchart said:
If you are waiting to buy because of storage.. I wouldn't.
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Yeah, I'm not saying wait just for that reason, just that it appears to have been designed for multiple versions that we haven't yet seen.
 
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