Official Nintendo Switch Discussion

[Sasquach]

One theory on why it was only the first game and not the whole trilogy.....the first one needed the most work to "update". The other 2 dont need nearly as much to update (i saw a vid where they just ran 2 and 3 in the dolphin emulator at 1080p with AI upscaled textures and it would easily pass for an acceptable HD update)
So if the other 2 get remastered at some point, it might not be nearly as big as the first game got.
Theres also a theory that they are staggering the releases (mainly dropping them randomly, like the first one just sort of came out of nowhere) at strategic points in order to build hype for Prime 4's eventual release.
Metroid's been seeing a lot of love lately so i wouldnt doubt they are planning something to eventually lead up to Prime 4.

Lastly, i wonder if i should get this. Im usually not one to go after a remaster if its almost the same thing as the original. No point in getting Tokyo Mirage Session (underrated game...but probably not everyone's cup of tea), didnt get the Xenoblade Chronicles HD remake, Twilight Princess HD. I got Mario Kart 8 cuz of the proper Battle Mode (and now the supply of new DLC tracks). Although i have the aforementioned games in their original forms, i havent actually played them lol and i might be too lazy to bust out the Wii-U to play them again. Just started thinking that Its nice to have all the games on one console

[Mangler]

I finished Metroid Prime Remastered, it is crazy how well it has stood the test of time, at least with the dual stick controls.

If they had polished up the aim assist a little bit more and moved the dash/dodge away from the lock-on system it would more or less play like a modern game.


One negative thing I have to say about the remaster is that some areas are way too dark, you can't see ****.

[koralis]

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/...-next-console/

All that speculation focuses on a single line buried in 43 sprawling pages of appendices in a report from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, which recently came down against Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision. In discussing services that could plausibly compete with the cloud-gaming features of Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass, the appendix notes that Nintendo Switch Online "is only available on the Nintendo Switch device and [redacted]."

That telltale "and" is interesting, of course, because Nintendo Switch Online is currently only available on the Nintendo Switch (as the name implies).
...
While some take this as solid confirmation of a "Nintendo Switch Pro" in the works, that's not the only possible explanation.

...

Offering "official" emulators on mobile and PC platforms would be a first for Nintendo and could provide a limited, legitimate alternative to Nintendo’s scorched earth policy on ROM download sites. It would also fit somewhat with Nintendo’s console competition—Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass for PC has expanded the company’s Windows gaming efforts, while Sony has been porting many of its PlayStation console exclusives to the PC as well.

Regardless, the continued speculation points to how antsy many are getting for a new, more powerful console from Nintendo. And such a successor seems like it might be due
...
The original Switch was relatively underpowered even in 2017, and years-old AAA games are often forced into a significant graphical downgrade or awkward streaming solutions to run on the console. And while the Switch hardware has set sales records for Nintendo, those sales are starting to slow slightly as the market for the system gets more and more saturated.

[Mangler]

I wish they had put checkpoint saves in the remaster, I managed to get samus stuck under some geometry, and now I lost an hour or two of progress.

Very nice.

[SubCog]

I think it was a kind of "nintendo" thing at the time (since they never really did anything outside of the "nintendo" way until fairly recently). It was a "First Person Adventure" and not really a "First Person Shooter", and they tried very hard not to classify it as an FPS. But obviously it being first person it was competing against Halo at the time. I didnt mind it with the gamecube controller, but with Prime 3 i obviously used the pointer controls (which worked great). I dont like dual analog (cuz i dont like controller for FPS) so it never bothered me.

I remember early on in the game (within the first hour), there's a segment where there's several adjacent kiosks arranged together around a large column. Since there's no strafe option (except while you're targeting an enemy), you have to drive up to each kiosk to touch it, then you have to throw it into reverse and back away from it, then make a turn and drive up to the next kiosk. You have to repeat this several times, and it's a required objective. It's an absolute design failure, and it happens near the beginning of the game.

Honestly the "It's a first person adventure!!!111" argument is dumb. It's about navigating and moving through the environment comfortably and seamlessly. In the modern world of standardized dual analog controls this is obvious, whether you're playing Halo, Portal, or The Witness, you still want to be able to move around properly. Metroid Prime originally released at a time when dual analog controls were MOSTLY standardized, but not quite 100%. You're right, that Nintendo was being Nintendo... they essentially did the same thing years later when they demoed Splatoon at e3 without dual analog controls (somehow they managed to fix it before the game launched though). Nintendo's often okay with being the last to the party, on items that everyone else perfected long ago.

Metroid Prime works best with proper controls. It just took everyone 20 years to finally agree on that point.

[Sasquach]

I remember discussions here back in the GameCube era, with me arguing that I hated the Metroid Prime controls, as they felt like driving a car. There were folks here who told me that the game was perfect, and that it should never have proper dual stick controls, as it was a "first person exploration" game, not an fps.

Well, they later brought it to the Wii with MUCH better controls, and now it's on the Switch with proper dual analog controls. It's pretty obvious that the game works better with proper controls, and I don't think any foos would argue otherwise anymore.

I think it was a kind of "nintendo" thing at the time (since they never really did anything outside of the "nintendo" way until fairly recently). It was a "First Person Adventure" and not really a "First Person Shooter", and they tried very hard not to classify it as an FPS. But obviously it being first person it was competing against Halo at the time. I didnt mind it with the gamecube controller, but with Prime 3 i obviously used the pointer controls (which worked great). I dont like dual analog (cuz i dont like controller for FPS) so it never bothered me.

[SubCog]

The Metroid Prime remaster is pretty neat, the new graphics makes it look like a modern switch title, the new dual stick contols are not a game changer though, they're nice when you are exploring, but when you are in combat you need to use the lock on since prime does not have the strong aim assist/magnetism that other modern shootbangs have.

I remember discussions here back in the GameCube era, with me arguing that I hated the Metroid Prime controls, as they felt like driving a car. There were folks here who told me that the game was perfect, and that it should never have proper dual stick controls, as it was a "first person exploration" game, not an fps.

Well, they later brought it to the Wii with MUCH better controls, and now it's on the Switch with proper dual analog controls. It's pretty obvious that the game works better with proper controls, and I don't think any foos would argue otherwise anymore.

[Mangler]

The Metroid Prime remaster is pretty neat, the new graphics makes it look like a modern switch title, the new dual stick contols are not a game changer though, they're nice when you are exploring, but when you are in combat you need to use the lock on since prime does not have the strong aim assist/magnetism that other modern shootbangs have.

[KAC]

So I finished Bayonetta 3. Game was good but didn’t feel like the first 2 at all. I was quite annoyed by some of the changes. Didn’t like playing as Viola at all and was also not a fan of the “gameplay variety” they added. Whilst I understand what they were trying to do it made for a more uneven game than I liked. The ending boss fights were awesome though. I really enjoyed them. And once the spoiler alert thing happened I couldn’t but have a smile on my face.

A series where I was genuinely sad at the end. Overall, it was well worth my time. Spent about 30 hours plus across the 3 games and it was totally worth indulging in.

Can’t say more for fear of spoilers. I give number 3 a solid 8.5/10. 2 is where the series absolutely peaked for me in terms of gameplay. 1 had the most intriguing story and 3 is sort of an in between.

If you haven’t played these games I strongly suggest you do if you like a good solid action game with quite some nail biting challenges especially on a bit harder difficulty.

[KAC]

Bayonetta 2 is sublime. They improved every single aspect of the gameplay. Makes it a bit easier but honestly this is so bad ass. Can’t believe I held back so long. It’s not like the price came down to where it was 2 years ago when I could’ve bought and played the game. I am just glad I got the 3 games. This series is absolutely dope!

If you have a switch and you are not playing these games then you needs a head check.

[KAC]

Still pumping through Bayonetta. Had completely forgotten about it. My kind of woman. Speaks more innuendo than I am allowed to on these forums.

[KAC]

I paid a lot for getting my switch back up. Had to buy new joy cons, new power adapter, and 2 games. Thankfully Bayonetta code was free with 2. Games are amazing. First time I see myself finishing a game on switch lol.

[Sasquach]

First time ever brought my Switch with me. Got all 3 Bayonetta games and am playing through them. What an amazing game that should’ve been on all platforms.

Already played Bayonetta but started again as I forgot the story.

You can thank Sega for bailing on the property after Bayonetta 1. Nintendo swooped in and bankrolled the other 2 games which made them Nintendo exclusive. I need to play through 1 and 2 (i started 1 some time ago) but i'd have to bust out my Wii-U for them lol. I dont like to double dip games if the games are not significantly different enough to justify them.

[KAC]

First time ever brought my Switch with me. Got all 3 Bayonetta games and am playing through them. What an amazing game that should’ve been on all platforms.

Already played Bayonetta but started again as I forgot the story.

[|MaguS|]

My Steamdeck has replaced my switch. It can play all the Switch games better than the switch.

[Nascar24]

Flawless Victory, I have had it preordered for $38 from Amazon for about 4 years. lol

[Sasquach]

Flawless maybe not, good game, more of the same, but has some tech issues. FPS is rarely stable, not a issue of Switch had VRR but it doesn't unfortunately.

I mean it's a 60fps targeted game, but goes into low 20's at times...

Switch 2 when?

switch 2 when they feel they need it.
right now as much as its needed, they dont really need it.

Theres been ongoing rumors of a new switch pro/2 over the past few years (including nvidia leaks and stuff) that a new one is in the works that is using nvidias latest Tegra "orin" variant.
Plus they'll need one sooner than later anyways because didnt nvidia say not too long ago that they were ending production of the Tegra X1 chip line?

[SirBaron]

Flawless maybe not, good game, more of the same, but has some tech issues. FPS is rarely stable, not a issue of Switch had VRR but it doesn't unfortunately.

I mean it's a 60fps targeted game, but goes into low 20's at times...

Switch 2 when?

[Dungeoncrawler]

Bayonetta 3 getting review scores of 10/10. Being referred to as flawless. Switch exclusive.

https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/...etta-3-switch/

[A2597]

My son saved up the money for Kirby since it was announced, and just got it.
Really liking the game, one of the better Kirby entries, and love the Mouthful mode. Some good humor in it too.

[Sasquach]

i tried the Kirby demo the other day and i was shocked at how fast the game loads.

None of my other switch titles loads levels as fast.

[Chubz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oXLxfifbs8

Yeah just started it with my son on PC, as I don't use my switch hardware, (my son has it) anymore since games started to go sub 30fps.

60fps mod, dynamic res disabled and 3x docked resolution.

Good game so far.

It's so wild seeing Kirby at 60 FPS! I'm playing it on my Switch right now and although I've been enjoying it, the 30 FPS frame rate is a bummer and really hurts both the presentation and "feel" of the game.

Are you using the Yuzu emulator? If so, how has the compatibility and overall performance been? I know next to nothing about Switch emulation and what state it's in nowadays, but that video seriously has me licking my chops.

[SirBaron]

[yt]_oXLxfifbs8[/yt]

Yeah just started it with my son on PC, as I don't use my switch hardware, (my son has it) anymore since games started to go sub 30fps.

60fps mod, dynamic res disabled and 3x docked resolution.

Good game so far.

[Elysian]

Loving the new Kirby, finally started playing it this morning.

[Sasquach]

HAHA Nintendo released a new update which allows you to group titles into "folders" now!

But Nintendo being Nintendo, its always 1 step forward...2 steps back:

The good:
-You can group titles now!

The bad:
-Its not pinned to your home/start screen...so you have to scroll all the way to the "all software" list to see it.....and then its an additional button press to even view your groups.....




Just like the government, they provide something good but implement it in such a way that its almost useless.

[Sasquach]

Apparently Nvidia got hit with a cyberattack recently and it more or less continues to indicate the next gen Switch (Switch 2 or Switch pro?)
will likely utilize an orin based Tegra SoC with a chip code of T239 (I think current Orin is T234).

Its not really a new leak per se but its huge if it turns out to be true. Orin is significantly more powerful than X1 (its kind of like Tegra X4 with that nomenclature), uses the Ampere architecture and supports DLSS and ray tracing. All things the current Switch could use to keep up with other consoles power wise.

I guess the bad news is that its a circa 2019 chipset so by the time it comes out it'll be old hat again (I would wager a guess the switch successor gets released in 2023 or 2024...i doubt anythings happening this year) but should prove powerful enough to keep pace and should help with 3rd parties looking for raw power, especially since we're approaching the diminishing returns on graphical quality. (other rumored specs seems to think it'll have 8gb of ram and 128gb of storage))

[SubCog]

The thing was already clocked down from even the Stadia (peak Tegra X1?) spec (2 times, one for handheld and one for docked mode) so there was a deficit there....and the battery life wasnt great. I think the only they could have possibly done was kill the battery life and enable the "stock" Tegra clocks. The gains may not have been worth it to them.

It was already a baffling decision to use the Tegra X1 over the X2 at the time.
They must have had a sweetheart of a deal with nvidia to use it.

Considering the X1 was at the tail end of its production run and the X2 was i think a generation or 2 old and was falling behind other newer mobile SoCs at the time, they could have fared alot better performance wise with the x2 (and i think that one actually supported DLSS...which could have helped even more)

Nvidia: "Good news, we have a more advanced chip that'll have double the graphics capabilities and consume less battery!"

Nintendo: "How much does it cost?"

Nvidia: "That's the best part, it's only an extra 1¢ more per unit!"

Nintendo: "No thanks. Mario runs fine on the older chip."

[Sasquach]

I'm surprised that they never released a version with higher clocked memory, isn't one of the main bottlenecks of the switch the fact that the gpu screaming for more bandwidth?

The thing was already clocked down from even the Stadia (peak Tegra X1?) spec (2 times, one for handheld and one for docked mode) so there was a deficit there....and the battery life wasnt great. I think the only they could have possibly done was kill the battery life and enable the "stock" Tegra clocks. The gains may not have been worth it to them.

It was already a baffling decision to use the Tegra X1 over the X2 at the time.
They must have had a sweetheart of a deal with nvidia to use it.

Considering the X1 was at the tail end of its production run and the X2 was i think a generation or 2 old and was falling behind other newer mobile SoCs at the time, they could have fared alot better performance wise with the x2 (and i think that one actually supported DLSS...which could have helped even more)

[Mangler]

I'm surprised that they never released a version with higher clocked memory, isn't one of the main bottlenecks of the switch the fact that the gpu screaming for more bandwidth?

[SubCog]

Steam deck performance looks pretty good

Heres hoping that Nintendo uses a more up-to-date SoC than something that was 5 years old already for a Switch 2.

Yup, and methinks the Deck is just going to get better and better as they continue to develop the software.

Unfortunately, mine isn't coming in until after Q2.

I love my Switch, but Nintendo really should be thinking about launching a Switch Pro. At some point the Switch sales are going to slow down, and Nintendo should be ready to go with an upgraded version.

I remember when Wii was selling like gang-busters, and then sales stopped suddenly. Nintendo often has gaps between it's consoles, because they're unprepared for the future. There were gaps between the n64 -> gamecube, gamecube -> Wii, Wii -> Wii U, and Wii U -> Switch. Each time they had to float on their handhelds through the gaps. Nintendo's the only company to run their business that way... and I shouldn't have to remind people that if the Switch stops selling, there's currently no handheld for Nintendo to fall back on.

[Sasquach]

[yt]44TRzEGPbfE[/yt]

Steam deck performance looks pretty good

Heres hoping that Nintendo uses a more up-to-date SoC than something that was 5 years old already for a Switch 2.

[Elysian]

I poopoo'd the new OLED Switch, but we bought one after getting to Ohio and gotta say, I'm impressed by the improvements. I'm not sure it's worth an extra $49 over the OG Switch, but it's really pretty great. Should have just discontinued the OG Switch and put this one at $300.

[Mangler]

I hope they scale down the shiny graphics in Xenoblade 3, I don't want another Xenoblur 2.

[Alientank]

I'd really like a mario odyssey 2.

[Sasquach]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/...-will-cost-90/

Square-Enix being braindead as usual. (Knew about this after the Sora announcement for smash)
Just like the Final Fantasy pixel remaster series is only on PC and MOBILE currently.

KH3 i understand might not be able to run on switch natively, but the rest originally came out on PS2.....

[Mangler]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/...-will-cost-90/

A tweet from the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter account confirmed that all games will be coming to the Switch on February 10, as cloud versions only.

This means players will need to have a permanent, fast and stable internet connection in order to continuously stream the games to their console.

Despite the games being cloud-based, Square Enix is charging between $39.99 and $49.99 for each of the three releases, with a bundle pack called Integrum Masterpiece costing $89.99.

[SubCog]

First Nintendo direct of 2022 has dropped, supposed to be 40mins of first half of 2022 titles

so far announced:

-Fire Emblem Warriors - 3 hopes (dynasty warriors spinoff looks like)
-Advanced wars 1+2 reboot
-No man's sky (no idea if its cloud yet....)
-New Mario Strikers Battle League (I loved Mario Striker's charged on wii!)
-Splatoon 3
-Front Mission reboot
-Disney Speedstorm (Disney mario kart)
-some remakes
-oh snap crono cross remaster
-Kirby and the Forgotten Lands (the big deal thing seems to be Kirby ate and became a car lol)
-MLB The Show

hmm... Some interesting stuffs there, but methinks I'd prefer them show some other stuffs:

• Zelda BotW2, for crying out loud
• Mario 3d collection updates: Mario 64 in widescreen, Sunshine at 60fps, etc. Maybe do something crazy, like include the DS version of Mario 64 where you can play Yoshi & Luigi, etc.
• Mario Galaxy 2.
• Mario Galaxy 3.
• Bring back a proper virtual console.
• Goldeneye.
• Switch Pro.
• Price cut for Switch Lite.
• Switch now runs 3ds games.
• Switch now runs Vita games.
• Free emulators for everyone.
• Iwata back from the dead.
• Mario is gay for Sonic.

[Sasquach]

First Nintendo direct of 2022 has dropped, supposed to be 40mins of first half of 2022 titles
This so far is looking like a good direct, lots of surprise bombs.

-Fire Emblem Warriors - 3 hopes (dynasty warriors spinoff looks like)
-Advanced wars 1+2 reboot
-No man's sky (after researching this a bit seems like its a native port and not cloud based)
-New Mario Strikers Battle League (I loved Mario Striker's charged on wii!)
-Splatoon 3
-Front Mission reboot
-Disney Speedstorm (Disney mario kart)
-some remakes
-oh snap Crono Cross remaster (I have on PS1 and never played lol)
-Kirby and the Forgotten Lands (the big deal thing seems to be Kirby ate and became a car lol)
-MLB The Show
-Klonoa
-Portal 1 & 2
-Live a LIve (?) another square enix 2D-HD game
-I think alot of people actually wanted this but... a Wii sports "sequal" for Switch called Nintendo Switch Sports!
-New Taiko Drum master
-DLC for Cuphead and Metroid Dread
-Earthbound and Earthbound beginnings coming to SNES and NES online.
-Filler titles
-Oh snap looks like a DLC/expansion pass for Mario Kart featuring 48 remastered courses from older games (I guess this would mean Mario Kart 9 will exist as a title for the Switch successor). Also added as another perk for Nintendo switch online+
-Xenoblade Chronicles 3

[Sasquach]

So Switch is a massive success. According to vgchartz they've sold 103 million units. Compared against PS4's 116 million... despite switch launching several years later. It's easy to predict that Switch will end up outselling PS4.

So what's next for Nintendo? It's been a long time since we've seen 2 successful Nintendo consoles in a row (if ever). Will we get a Switch 2 or a Switch U?

Nintendo would be very foolish to change the formula again. It would be smart and obvious for them to do a more powerful Switch. There are some possibilities to explore though.

Clearly the Switch Lite is Nintendo's focus, for better or worse. I'd love to see them continue to lower the price for a low-tier model over time. 2DS became so ubiquitous at that sub-$120 price point. I know lots of families that had a 3ds/2ds for every member of the family. Switch Lite could get there too, if it could drop in price a little bit. $150 might do it?

I hate that the switch lite doesn't have HDMI out though. Even if you were stuck running games in lower resolution, it sucks that there's no way to play 4 player Mario Kart except on that tiny screen.

Nintendo could release a more powerful switch pro, which would be an obvious way for them to address a higher-end market while still maintaining their low-end base.

Otherwise they could go the Xbox s/x route, to modernize they're new platform and ensure that new games can target a higher cpu.

I'd also love to see them explore a really high-end option. Possibly ditching the portable form-factor so they can have much more powerful graphics hardware ... Or perhaps using a split-rendering solution where they put a beefier gpu in the dock?

I remember some discussion before the switch launched, that maybe they'd include a more powerful cooling solution the dock, to run the switch at the max-clocks for the SoC. Seems like a missed opportunity that they didn't do that at least.

Theres been enough rumors of a switch 2 (i think the "pro" ended up actually being the OLED switch) that its the most logical next step. There had been various reasons for its "delay". Main reason seems to be the continued success of the switch line, and the words from the CEO or president stating the switch is only halfway through its lifecycle (mentioned about a year ago).

Maybe they can do what the detachable laptops (like Surface book) do. The switch 2 is like the current one, but more powerful SoC, and then a separate "switch power dock" or something where it has its own standalone CPU and GPU which will get activated when the switch is attached. So instead of the one SoC having 2 "modes" (low power for portable, and high power for docked) switching between portable resolution and docked resolution, you now have the portable SoC can fully drive the portable, and the dock SoC can fully drive the docked mode independently.

This could actually be a bonus for switch owners where the current switch could compatible with this new "power dock" so all we'd need to get is the new dock lol
That would assume that the hardware switching capabilty is already baked in from the beginning.

[SubCog]

So Switch is a massive success. According to vgchartz they've sold 103 million units. Compared against PS4's 116 million... despite switch launching several years later. It's easy to predict that Switch will end up outselling PS4.

So what's next for Nintendo? It's been a long time since we've seen 2 successful Nintendo consoles in a row (if ever). Will we get a Switch 2 or a Switch U?

Nintendo would be very foolish to change the formula again. It would be smart and obvious for them to do a more powerful Switch. There are some possibilities to explore though.

Clearly the Switch Lite is Nintendo's focus, for better or worse. I'd love to see them continue to lower the price for a low-tier model over time. 2DS became so ubiquitous at that sub-$120 price point. I know lots of families that had a 3ds/2ds for every member of the family. Switch Lite could get there too, if it could drop in price a little bit. $150 might do it?

I hate that the switch lite doesn't have HDMI out though. Even if you were stuck running games in lower resolution, it sucks that there's no way to play 4 player Mario Kart except on that tiny screen.

Nintendo could release a more powerful switch pro, which would be an obvious way for them to address a higher-end market while still maintaining their low-end base.

Otherwise they could go the Xbox s/x route, to modernize they're new platform and ensure that new games can target a higher cpu.

I'd also love to see them explore a really high-end option. Possibly ditching the portable form-factor so they can have much more powerful graphics hardware ... Or perhaps using a split-rendering solution where they put a beefier gpu in the dock?

I remember some discussion before the switch launched, that maybe they'd include a more powerful cooling solution the dock, to run the switch at the max-clocks for the SoC. Seems like a missed opportunity that they didn't do that at least.