REACTION + BREAKDOWN - NINTENDO SWITCH | 3D Mario, Skyrim, MarioKart, Splatoon & Breath of the Wild!
48NINTENDO SWITCH LAUNCH GAMES - SPLATOON, SKYRIM, MARIO KART, BREATH OF THE WILD & 3D MARIO!
The Nintendo Switch is a home console that is fully portable (think Wii U for running the full game on the screen-controller, but 3DS for the cartridge inserting into the portable unit so that you're not limited by proximity to the hardware connected to the TV).
Here are our first impressions (here in The Basement!):
Thankfully, the mobile version of the Nintendo Switch games seem to be the full version of the games. Breath of the Wild was shown to not be some mini-game or app, but rather the whole game coming from the cartridge which was mounted directly into the unit with the screen. It may be the case that games have a lower resolution and/or lower frame rate when mobile, but we don't know that yet.
It's cool that the Switch's detachable controllers mount to a middle piece when not on the screen. It's also great that they can be used separately (airplane scene) like the Wii-mote and nunchuk. It's GREAT that there's a pro-style controller for home use. Can we use THAT when mobile? I would guess so unless it's the dock that receives the wireless input.
It's a great idea to have the detachable controllers usable by two different people for a competitive game like Mario Kart. Will be interested to see how those feel to hold and use.
Nintendo Switch has cartridges are used in the screen device, which seems to be where all (or almost all) of the hardware is located. WHAT ARE THE SPECS? We don't know, but the portable unit looks to be running in at least 480 resolution and 30 frames per second. 720 is likely, 900 is possible. I am hoping for a lossless 60fps at 720 or 900. The Nintendo Switch will be heavy and/or have a short battery life and/or be expensive if 900/60fps is happening.
They didn't show any touchscreen functionality, which is fine by me. It seems that third party developers don't love dealing with that kind of thing.
Does the dock do anything more than provide and easy place to slide the screen into and hook up to the TV? It would be nice if a better resolution and frame rate were possible when docked, but I can't tell if there's any hardware inside that other unit.
Games for the Switch shown in the trailer include:
Breath of the Wild
Splatoon
a 3D Mario game
Mario Kart
Skyrim remastered (Elder Scrolls 5)
some sort of basketball game
Thankfully, the games don't seem to be purely social based (and have the Mii / Wii look to them), but rather have social aspects (like Mario Kart and other competitive games).
disclaimer at the end of the trailer: "game footage not final, graphics and features subject to change" hmm, interesting.
The Nintendo Switch has a kickstand (which is great, my old phone had one and my new one doesn't and I miss it a lot) and a headphone jack (take that, Apple!).
The Switch looks like it's running Wii U games, but the 3D Mario game looks impressive (HD graphics similar to Super Mario 3D World but a fully 3D experience rather than SM3DW's 2.5D experience). Skyrim remastered suggests the Switch is at least on par with the XBOX One, which is truly impressive in a fully portable gaming system.
CONCERN: (this is a concern in that critics may tear Nintendo a new one for this, not a personal concern) it may actually only be about as powerful as the Wii U. Are we going to pay $400 for a fully powerful Wii U Plus? Or will this console be beefy enough to satisfy most and friendly enough to be worth developing for? 3rd party support will be a big deal. I know Ubisoft is onboard, but will other companies be? Thankfully, the Switch seems to be largely gimmick-free. The fully portable aspect is AWESOME, and the fact that it's at least as powerful as a Wii U (and likely at least as powerful as an XBOX One) is impressive.
The big questions now are: price? battery life? weight? does it get hot? what's the release date? what are the launch day titles? what are the launch window titles?
One of the BIGGEST benefits of Nintendo combining a home and portable console is that the library should be incredible even just from first party support. Imagine being able to play all of your DS games on the TV at home AND all of your Wii U and other Nintendo games on the go and only having to buy one console to do it. That's what the Switch is! That's why it could be $400 or even more, but it will be worth it in my opinion.
From Nintendo: "The mobility of a handheld is now added to the power of a home gaming system to enable unprecedented new video game play styles."
CONFIRMED THIRD PARTY SUPPORT: 505, Activision, Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, Tell Tale, Ubisoft and MORE! (Yacht Club is mysteriously missing, though)
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/corporate/release/2016/img_161020/partners.png
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