dartmonkey

Jeff Gerstmann's take on Switch as a nice Nintendo Vita is pretty spot on. I'm fine with that.

The following comes from some questions Kotaku sent Nintendo. Lots of 'nothing to announce' but I highlighted some interesting points in italics. No Netflix at launch, though it's surely got to come, especially now you can download stuff and watch it offline. My reading is 'no cloud saves', but they better come with the paid online. Losing your system (and save data) is a real fear with a portable. Cloud saves are ESSENTIAL. Is Switch backwards compatible in any way? Will you be able to download or play Wii, Wii U, or 3DS games? Error loading media: File could not be played The Nintendo Switch system is not backward compatible with games designed for other systems, and is not currently compatible with controllers designed for other systems. Support for certain controllers may be considered for a future update. We have nothing to announce regarding Virtual Console or other types of digital purchases at this time. How if at all does the Switch connect to Wii U and 3DS owners’ existing accounts? We have nothing to announce at this time. Will the Switch be compatible with existing Virtual Console purchases? We have nothing to announce at this time. Will the Switch have its own library of Virtual Console games that starts from scratch, or will it bring over the Virtual Console library from 3DS and Wii U? We have nothing to announce at this time. How will SNES online functionality work? Which games will it support? We have nothing to announce at this time. For those concerned about the 32GB of storage, how will that work for playing downloadable games? How will it work for DLC and patches? The Nintendo Switch system has 32GB of internal NAND memory, a portion of which is reserved for use by the system. The system’s internal memory can be easily expanded as needed using microSDXC cards. The SDXC standard supports up to 2TB of storage. (Note that 2TB cards are not yet on the market, but Nintendo Switch will support them when they are.) External USB hard drives are not supported at launch, but we are researching the possibility of supporting them in the future. If no microSDXC card is used, everything is stored in internal NAND memory. If a microSDXC card is used, game save data is stored in internal NAND memory while data that can be redownloaded, such as digital games, game updates, and DLC, is stored on the microSDXC card. Nintendo Switch game cards are non-writable; game save data is stored in internal NAND memory. Is there a trophy or achievements system? We have nothing to announce at this time. The 3DS has built in games and the Wii and Wii U were bundled with games. Are there any games being bundled with the Switch? There are no games being bundled with Nintendo Switch. Every launch is different, and with each one we try to make the best decision for the consumer, marketplace and our company. We believe the hardware configuration at the price point we’ve chosen is a great consumer value. The consumer will have their choice of great software for the system. How does the Share button work? Does it allow you to capture video as well as screenshots? Will it allow you to stream on Twitch or YouTube? The Capture Button is located on the Joy-Con (L) controller and the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, and lets users grab screenshots from their games. They can then view, edit (add text of various sizes, colors and positions) and post them to social media. The original unedited screenshot is also saved. We are planning to add the ability to record video in the future. Switch won’t have Miiverse - will there be Miis? Or any other equivalent? While Miiverse will continue to be supported on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems, our approach with the Nintendo Switch system is to make greater use of other established, broadly used social platforms. For example, captured gameplay screenshots can be shared on popular social networks, and social features such as voice chat are possible with smart devices through our app. There is a Mii Maker on Nintendo Switch. The software to create Mii characters is now located in System Settings, and no longer resides on the HOME menu as a standalone application. You can also create a Mii character from the Profile screen. Making Mii characters is similar to the method used on past systems. Mii characters can be used to represent a user profile, but are not required. Users also have the option to choose a profile picture from an included library of Nintendo character images. Mii characters can still be used in games if developers choose to include them. You can send/receive Mii characters through local wireless communication between Nintendo Switch systems, or use an amiibo figure to transfer Mii Characters from Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems. Mii characters on the Nintendo Switch system are similar to past iterations, but they have some different options. More facial components and colors for hair and skin have been added, while the following attributes have been removed: creator’s name, favorites, birthday, copying, and “public.” Will Switch support Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO Go, or any other streaming services? All of our efforts have gone toward making the Nintendo Switch system an amazing dedicated video game platform, so it will not support any video-streaming services at launch. However, support for video-streaming services is being considered for a future update. Will online stores be region-free or just cartridges? The Nintendo Switch system is not region locked, but we recommend that players buy games within their region to ensure full service and support. The user will access the Nintendo eShop that corresponds to the country identified in their Nintendo Account. (Up to eight user accounts can be created on a single Nintendo Switch system.)

No idea on the reliability of the source but a couple of interesting points in Kolzig's link. Her theory on VC is if you bought a VC game on 3DS or Wii U you’ll pay an upgrade fee like you did ON Wii U. However, if you bought the same VC game on both Wii U and 3DS you’ll get the Switch VC game for free. If you only bought it on Wii VC you’re SOL. Sounds fair enough. If this were the case, it could be worth keeping an eye out for sales on Wii U/3DS if you've got any VC games on either. The free game a month is exactly like PS+. As long as you download within that free month it’s yours to keep as long as you’re subscribed. The free download a month is chosen by Nintendo because if they offered all VC games with online the player base would be split and you’d never find enough people for a match. Whereas with this method, everyone who’s downloading the game is part of the same player pool. Also sounds fine. I agree with rohlfinator about the messaging of the online stuff. What's the benefit of keeping quiet about any of the above (assuming, for the moment, that it's true)? Edit. The boxart on amazon suggests Switch games will come in PSP-style, narrower cases. Has anyone heard anything about that?

Without having actually held it, to me it looks like they've nailed the dimensions. No, it's not pocket-sized but neither are most smartphones or tablets. For full 'TV' games I don't want a GB Micro and it's small enough to throw in a bag. Depending on what you want to play on-the-go, I guess it's possible you won't even take the joycons, although you'll be neutering you're impromptu b-ball party possibilities. Grey is for people worrying about the resell value of their car - I'm all about the colours. I'll supplement them with the inevitable yellow/green pair in the future (or the Famicom/SNES editions...) I'm concerned about Nintendo's success inasmuch as it impacts their ability to make games in the future. Hopefully their newfound mobile app business can prop up the stall if Switch does pull a Wii U. Or maybe this just paves the way for the incremental update model everyone else is adopting - throwing your existing (and expensive) joycons on the upgraded Switch2 tablet makes more sense than buying an entire box to replace the one under your telly. As it is, although the price could be improved, it looks fun.

Greetings all. I'm absolutely fed up of my hulking great Cosmos S pc case so I'm going to downsize while upgrading. I've ummed and ahhed about whether to just get a half decent laptop or some sort of Mac Mini thing, but after much research I've decided to recycle my old PSU, CPU cooler and gtx960 in a smaller, trimmer case with a new motherboard, cpu and ram. For 500-600 euros I can get: i5-6600K CPU MSI H170I Pro AC motherboard (Mini ITX) 2x8GB DDR4 2133 RAM BitFenix Pro300 case I think that'll handle Firewatch but I really don't need it for anything more taxing than that. Discreetness and reliability is more important. At some point I'll put an SSD in it. I'll pull the trigger on this set-up when I can, but are there any glaring errors in my thinking or my choices? It's a bloody minefield out there...

Thanks for the heads-up, I'd missed this. They need more things like this - little charming games I can play with my family to plug the gaps between big games. I intend to get a Switch when it comes out, not because of a staggering launch lineup, but more due to time limitations. I know I'll get one eventually and I'd rather keep up with the games as they're released rather than wait and have a backlog of stuff I want to play. I've just about caught up with Wii U stuff (only Captain Toad and DK Tropical Freeze to go) and then I can pretty much pack it away and clear some space under the TV. I could play Breath of the Wild on Wii U, but the ability to play it on planes, trains and automobiles is worth a lot. The hardware looks neat even though the lineup looks very thin. Even if it ends up doing a Wii U, that's enough for me. More negatively, they've said there'll be no Miiverse or Streetpass. It was a fun concept but I could take or leave Miiverse (interesting that there were no Miis to be seen anywhere on Switch yet), but Streetpass is a huge loss. Hopefully they'll add it in an update. That little green notification light was always fun. This Eurogamer article sums up my thoughts pretty well. Edit. Thin. Glad to see Sonic Mania on there, though. And hopefully Yooka-Laylee should come out this year.

I've caught up with the details on their website. The Parental Controls app looks great. Mario Kart 8 looks to be the only Wii U rerelease (a...Wii-release...?) The online-service-NES/SNES-free-trial-game-rental bit isn't very clear, but the tiny detail that the SNES game will have online play is pretty significant. Online play (and 'cheevs) might be enough to persuade people to repurchase VC games AGAIN, or at least upgrade for a nominal fee.

The console looks fun. The wristband bar thing is a good idea, although it is one more plastic thingamy to keep track of. Most everything about the hardware itself looks neat, with the exception of the charge port being on the bottom - surely a problem if you want to charge it while it's kickstanding on the table? The presentation itself was...pretty dire. Dry. Dry Dry Desert dry, with the exception of the 'magic' hankerchief video clips and the 1, 2, Switch section. There was some energy there but otherwise I can't think why they didn't stick to a Direct video. They might have gotten away with the ridiculous EA/Sega/Suda non-announcements if they were little Post-It clips in a video. Trotting those guys out on stage with NOTHING just sucked the place dry. My first thought with the Mario video was 'Sonic Adventure'. It did well to come back from that but it didn't show a coherent art style. I'm sure it'll be fine. Holiday 2017 though :/ Dry. Dry and barren. Arms and Splatoon 2 looked fine. But that presentation could (and should) have been a snappy 30 min Direct.

Saw it in Spanish so I want to see it again to hear Vader and Tarkin's voices. Liked it. Nothing to add that hasn't been said, except that my wife, who didn't know the Tarkin character or that Cushing was brown bread, didn't notice he was CG. I spent every second he was onscreen marvelling at modern tech and irritated I couldn't hear his voice. It took me out of the moment, but pleasantly so, like when I first saw CG Yoda. There's so much unbelievable stuff onscreen, why not ex-people? Edit. Also, I enjoyed the lo-techiness of the Death Star plans.

USGamer have a nice round-up of some patents that Nintendo filed in June that have just been made public. They confirm touchscreen, IR in the right joycon and all the other stuff, plus alternate joycon possibilities and secreted L/R buttons and power indicator LEDs on the side of the joycons you can't access when they're docked. Lookin' sexy!

The vagueness of 'technical difficulties' is irritating. I get the impression that their hands are tied re. how much they can explain. With the Wii U being such a 'core' platform, one assumes they discovered these tech issues months (probably years) ago, and it feels deceptive of them to wait until now to tell everyone without offering a detailed explanation. However, the change makes sense for most people and it's the right move for Playtonic (and handy for Nintendo). The Y-L backers who only own a Wii U and don't intend to get a Switch must be a small demographic.

I guess Breath of the Wild will be the 'official' swansong, though Nintendo would cancel that if they could avoid the PR shitstorm from their hardcore fans who bought Wii U (though those people will probably have Switch day one anyway). I mean more of a personal swansong - the last game I should play before packing it up. How long was Tropical Freeze? I can handle 10 hours of love-hate. 25 would be too much!

I just read that Yooka-Laylee has made the Swit..., erm, has been cancelled for Wii U and moved to Switch. It's great news for the game (and I'll be upgrading) but it comes with a pang of sadness. I was looking forward to a swansong for my Wii U - it deserves a good send off. Xenoblade Chronicles might have done it, but that's coming to Switch. Tropical Freeze is supposedly to be great. Captain Toad doesn't seem grand enough but perhaps that's fitting. Any suggestions for the Wii U season finale (coming, for me, January 2017)? (I've already got 3D World, Mario Maker, Splatoon, MK8, Yarn Yoshi, Pikmin 3 and the Bayonettas.)

The TNG intro is essentially a retread of TOS, though. DS9 and Voyager seem interminably long, though probably aren't longer than TNG. The TNG music gets your pulse going even though there's less going on visually. I've probably said this before, but Enterprise would have been 50% better instantly if it had used the First Contact theme. And it would have been a nice little callback to TNG pilfering from The Motion Picture. ...aaaaand after a quick google, of course it's been done. Maybe needs a speedier arrangement, but it works. 50%, instantly!

Most Wanted was so good it made me re-buy the original, which is also great.

A little late for Halloween but hell, I've just completed this game so let's dig this thread up. Have the Thumbs still not Pikmin Threed?? The game's good because it's more Pikmin and it's HD and looks beautiful. It took me a while to adapt to the optimal control set-up (wiimote & nunchuck are best but the gamepad needs to be closeby for map scrolling and plotting paths for the leaders you're not controlling) and I experienced a few frustrations with them, more than previous games. The boss battles are my least favourite part due to this. I spent a lot of time WAITING in between days. The fruit squeezing screen, the totals screen, the log screen, the save screen, the map screen. Some of it was skippable but the whole rigmarole was a ballache, especially if I just wanted to restart the day. That all sounds quite negative, but I did enjoy it. Of the three games it's probably my least favourite, although returning to the original without pointer controls might be jarring. I liked the time limit compromise of linking it to how much fruit you had to survive. And I liked the new Pikmin. Anyway, no more boss battles - just vacuuming up the fruit I missed, which is the best part. I'll check out the challenge maps - has anybody looked at them?

This evening I finished up Tengami. It's been sitting on my HDD for ages but tonight I was in the right meditative mood. A lovely light game. And Super Mario Land 2. That game was such a stellar leap over the original, which itself wasn't awful, just limited. This still feels like a mini SMB3. Really great. Best thing on GB?...

The gamepad has a lot of plastic fat around its screen. Switch trims that down considerably to maybe 10mm of bezel? The side pads sit flush and imagining that with the gamepad in my hand, it feels like a good size. The gamepad's screen is 720, no?

I have given Deus Ex Mankind Divided two hours but I'm done. It's the 'best' Wii U version but the frame rate isn't great and I'm dreading the 25-30 hours ahead. There are a ton of menus that I can't be bothered to navigate and learn. It all seems Perfect Darky. I don't care about the story and I'd rather be playing Pikmin 3, so I'm not going to bludgeon myself through it. It's academically interesting but dull to me. Shadowy science and tech blah blah... I tell a lie - I DID like Jenson's Clint Eastwood voice.

Indies have a nostalgic attraction to Nintendo, I guess. All Nintendo needs to do is not be a dick and indies will come, and I think they've learned the importance this cycle. I'm amazed at the indie love the Wii U continues to get. Whether it's the definitive version or not, I wonder how many copies Axiom Verge has sold on Wii U. The residual affection goes a long way - they just need to foster it a bit.

After digesting a few reports, the battery is my main concern, though this applies to pretty much every gadget from the past decade. 3 hours is pitiful. The battery life is my only criticism of the New 3DS - if they ever released the Super Famicom XL version in the EU, I'd consider upgrading for a fourth time. What a bloody idiot. The joycons will surely have motionplus-plus miniaturised inside them because why cut off the Wii Sports crowd and the design potential when that tech must be cheap as chips after 10 years. Put a tiny little rumble motor in each one, 'positional' or 'localised' rumble feedback would be great when you're playing with both (for example, shots coming from the right side rumbling a little on the right one - do Microsoft already do this?). AGAIN, battery life's the issue. I assume the lights on the grip are battery indicators. The more I read and think, I'm convinced they didn't show the touchscreen in an effort to distance themselves from the 'tablet', despite it being just that. It must be a touchscreen because they're not saving much at all by not having one. They're desperately avoiding the tablet description because there's zero wow factor. Essentially, it's a mid-level tablet with decent-quality peripherals and Nintendo games. I'm not disparaging that - I'm onboard just for the games - but you're never going to sell your product with that tagline. Exactly. Now they've consolidated their dev teams onto one platform, the need for third parties diminishes. Indie devs should find more than enough power if the install base is sufficient enough to warrant the time investment. Actually, after all this I'm starting to feel a little teary-eyed over my 3DS and WIi U. I've still got loads of stuff to play though on those. Speaking of which... *stops waffling* Edit. "The dock is not the main console unit of Nintendo Switch," a representative tells IGN. "The main unit of Nintendo Switch is the unit that has the LCD screen, which the two Joy-Con controllers can be attached to and detached from. The main function of the Nintendo Switch Dock is to provide an output to the TV, as well as charging and providing power to the system." Marketing consultant - "WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT SAY THE WORD TABLET."

I really like the look of it. Those matte joycon thingys look lovely. I like all the clickiness. The pro-pad seems very workaday but serviceable (from the lo-res vids I actually thought it was solid black but grubby with dirt and skin cells rather than transparent like the Sixaxis). I'm interested to see if any Wii U accessories/pads will work with it, though I guess not if the triggers are *crosses fingers* analogue. My questions centre around the tablet bit - it would be INSANE if it's not a touchscreen. It must be. It needs a fast and clean browser. It needs all the functionality and it needs to be good from the get go. They've failed if people are switching to their phone due to a cumbersome interface or some slow ass browser. It seems that the tablet must be docked to play on the TV which means you can't play Wii U style with two screens. I have a feeling people are going to miss that second screen when it's gone. I will. In the meantime though, I like what they've shown, and I'm down for it. I think I might just be a sucker for matte Nintendo hardware. What colour would you go for? COLOURS!!! Edit. Critically, I think we're looking at two New 3DSs (one XL) duct taped to a Wii U with an N64 Expansion Pak rammed in there somewhere. Also! I'm psyched for the return of the C-buttons.

I need a hug. My country of birth is adopting '30s Germany as its role model. Such staggering ignorance and no desire to learn or listen. I don't know what to do.

Without save states and the "106 page hint book included!" with the game, I would never have made it Due to Minerva's Den crashing continually on Saturday night, I finished Jazzpunk instead. Which made me wonder why I hadn't finished it ages ago. Great game, reeked of Blendo.

I think that lack of coherency is what scuppered BermanTrek. They'd locked themselves into seven year cycles and the sausage had to be piped out, regardless of the filling. I do think Berman is (correctly) being reappraised more positively, though. Enough time has passed that his interviews have become pretty candid and info and honesty go a long way with fans. He more-or-less oversaw the invention of modern Star Trek! Although, that's not really correct, is it - I guess JJ is modern Trek. Discovery will be modern. My 'modern' trek ended over a decade ago! You mentioned DS9's characters not having pre-established relationships, but that's been the case for all the series except the original, no? I'm a bit fuzzy with Enterprise. I'm currently watching TOS for the first time and it's satisfying to watch the birth of ideas and see how they were picked up and evolved in TNG. I also find myself able to take away the good things and not get bogged down with the rest. Maybe it's age. Perhaps I could watch DS9 & Voyager now and not be put off by the A/B formula being flogged to death. The music is one of the biggest turn-offs for me. I don't have the musical vocabulary to articulate it, but the same handful of chords that play following a revelation, then fade to black, then EXT establishing fade up with Tension Strings #4, cut to promenade, high note change, etc, etc. Man, it's like they're trumpeting the formula! Unscored scenes with characters chatting in the corridors, etc, became refreshing little oases in the symphonic sludge. I know it started on TNG but it didn't have time to get on my nerves there. The interviews with the composers on the TNG blurays were enlightening. They kind of had their hands tied. I'll be interesting to see what Discovery does. Re. writers, I recently finished reading Michael Piller's book about the writing (and rewriting) of Insurrection. It's fascinating and I'd recommend it to anybody with a passing interest in that era of Trek and the influence of Berman and Patrick Stewart on the series and the films.