Nintendo Switch Thread

[photon]

What's possible on portable level GPUs has come a very long way as well over the past few years.

[Flaming Choy]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

What would have been nice would be that, say the tablet is 720p. The dock could have a different GPU that could push 1080p to your screen. In the future they could sell a new dock that could do 4k. That would be great, but I have no idea if it could be done technically. It would add to the cost, to, so maybe they could have a barebones dock that comes with the system(just pass through the signal), and anything above that is a more expensive package.

That would be cool, similar to the GPU amplifer in Alienware computers.

http://www.dell.com/content/products...en&s=dhs&cs=19

[PsYcNeT]

External GPUs are becoming a more common item now (like the weirdly named Alienware box above), so since Nintendo is partnering with NVIDIA, I could see a solution like proposed above basically just running an SLI bridge between a dock GPU and the tablet GPU. The technology exists, the biggest question is just how stable it would be.

SLI (or GPU scaling in general) isn't exactly known to be the most reliable technology. On top of that, scaling 1080>4K is a huge leap in processing power and would probably require more than just a duplicated GPU (even with 80-90% scaling transference) unless the Tablet GPU is already quite powerful. Asymmetrical SLI could be a possibility, but that's even less stable than identical GPU SLI.

Best stable scenario would be the dock contains a stripped down desktop GPU and the tablet defers video processing to the dock.

[RW99]

The Verge is saying it is only for charging and HDMI: http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/21/1...v-output-power

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by codynw

Am I the only one that thinks this looks stupid?

I'd doubt it.

It's just another dumb gimmicky excuse to sell their games. This looks bad.

[TorqueDog]

The first time I saw it, I was impressed. A "Well done, Nintendo!" golf clap rippled through my head.

But I've had time to reflect on it, and I'm not so sure how good this will be from a practical perspective. And the biggest concern I have is something I have a lot of experience with thanks to Xbox One streaming to Windows 10: scaling.

Most games that are set up to look great on the big screen, complete with menus and HUD elements are going to give you a true "teeny-tiny eye-strain-o-vision" experience on a smaller display.

I'll use The Elder Scrolls Online as an example, though it works with GTA V, or games where small details can be important to gameplay (like trying to shoot a guy through bushes or behind rocks).
- On a 55" 4K TV, I can see all the on-screen elements clearly. The HUD text is easily readable and the navigation markers are prominent. There was never going to be any doubt here.
- On a 27" PC monitor, everything is still easily readable. It helps that the monitor and the game are both running 1080p resolutions. I'm also sitting only ~three feet away. No problem.
- Surface 3. Again, 1080p resolution and a 10.8" display. But on-screen elements are quite small now. Sometimes on-screen navigation icons are hard to spot at first glance. This is because the game is still scaled to be shown on larger displays, on-screen elements are not enlarged.
- Lumia 950XL. 4K resolution, 5.7" display. But this is where things are now too small. For those curious, I'm using the Xbox Developer UWP to stream as this isn't officially supported functionality in the normal Xbox app. Even though the device resolution easily surpasses the source material, the game's on-screen elements are not meant for such a small display, making it tough to see map markers, certain text elements, etc. Even smaller enemies often escape my view. This is fine if you're in an online battle and need to slip away for a quick poo, but not anything else.


So for now I have tempered optimism, but this is where Nintendo needs to get it right. How big is the handheld screen going to be? And if it's only 720p, is the game going to be able to properly scale on-screen elements to ensure they 1. remain crisp and clear, and 2. are readable, while also not making them absurdly huge when on the big screen?

If you're going to have games adapt to various screen sizes, scaling UI elements well is crucial. You could point to the Wii-U, but the Wii-U was aimed at children and casual gamers and everything was cartoonishly large by design.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

You could point to the Wii-U, but the Wii-U was aimed at children and casual gamers and everything was cartoonishly large by design.

You're assuming Switch is not. Playing Mario Kart in a van with four button french-fry sized controllers doesn't really scream hardcore gaming to me, personally.

I'd say the only reason I'm interested in this is because I have a young kid who will likely be interested in starting games in the next year or two. That thing looks like money for long car trips (if the battery life is decent). Still, lots of questions that need to be answered before I commit my money to it.

[Pizza]

ah... can't unsee the dog face... now you cant too

[photon]

[Resolute 14]

That didn't take long.

BTW. I really hate that they flipped the D-pad and ABXY buttons on the right controller

[ernie]

Not sure it is for what one typically calls a serious gamer but I will likely get it and do some serious Zelda gaming.

But I think this can be great for families with kids in the 6-15 type range. The ability for them to take and play the same game on the TV and as, basically, a DS is a good selling point. I know my kids are excited for it.

But Nintendo has somewhat screwed up. They really needed to get this released in November to take advantage of the holiday season like they did the Wii. A March launch may see sluggish sales no matter how well reviewed it is.

[Fuzz]

Nintendo is notorious for slipped launch dates. I wouldn't be surprised if this was an October 2017 launch.

[sureLoss]

Leak from Toys R Us Canada suggests price will start at 329 CAD or around 250 US

[Nage Waza]

If I can clearly see Skyrim, I buy it. I don't have to game on my big screen, I kind of want something mobile, but with the capability of a Skyrim/Fallout/Zelda.

[photon]

Pretty much assumed this given the size of the thing, but any hopes of PS4/XB1 level performance are dashed.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/1...1-specs-speed/

EDIT: Also performance will be greatly diminished when not docked.

[Resolute 14]

I had to lol at people freaking out about that. Other than GameCube, when has Nintendo ever tried to compete on power? The power reduction when not docked is pretty significant, but at the same time, it only has to display on a 6 inch screen. Don't need the same requirements. Though really, that just points strongly to Switch replacing the 3DS (and Vita) as the primary handheld.

[Mazrim]

I don't know if being a sizable jump on the Wii U's specs is much of a feat either, though. The Wii U always feels like it can barely keep up, and the system is super sluggish when loading.

Yeah, clock speeds aren't all there is to performance, but it's a little worrisome!

[Fuzz]

I think the speed reduction won't matter, as it is I think 40% less on the gpu, which about matches oo the reduction from 1080p(tv) to 720p(the switch screen). So when docked, the extra power just goes to getting those extra p's. I would think that will all be handled by the OS, so developers won't have to program twice.

It's a little disappointing they went with the x1 though, given its age. Would an X2 have cost that much more over the life of the console? I think it is also supposed to be better on power and heat, which are big issues for a portable.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I think the speed reduction won't matter, as it is I think 40% less on the gpu, which about matches oo the reduction from 1080p(tv) to 720p(the switch screen). So when docked, the extra power just goes to getting those extra p's. I would think that will all be handled by the OS, so developers won't have to program twice.

It's a little disappointing they went with the x1 though, given its age. Would an X2 have cost that much more over the life of the console? I think it is also supposed to be better on power and heat, which are big issues for a portable.

I didn't read the whole ars technica article, but the digital foundry article went into some detail about Nvidia has been making adjustments to the card that would bring it pretty close to the X2 in terms of the technology used, which should help with the heat and power.

[Resolute 14]

Super sluggish loading is pretty much the norm these days, I think. Not the exception. FFXV and Dishonored take forever to load on PS4, for example.

It would have been nice if there was more power to Switch for the console side of things though.