Switch The Official Nintendo Switch Thread - Part 2

[Lily Adler]

Part of me wonders if there was a Pro, but the chip shortage cancelled that... I know it's just a theory... *sued by MatPat*

 

[Sithborg]

Any Pro is pushed off to 2023 at the earliest.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Any Pro is pushed off to 2023 at the earliest.

So when Breath of the Wild 2 actually comes out.

 

[Sithborg]

Honestly, so much of the reporting on the OLED, sans the power upgrade, turned out correct, that something definitely changed their minds. The PS5 and chip shortages are my bet. And I also think the shift to no Pro is also why we did not see Bayo.

 

[Lily Adler]

 

[Silvermoth]

OLED.
OLED.
OLED.
OLEEEED.

I’m begging of you please don’t take my man

 

[X Knight]

If they can release that new dock separately, why can't they just release a more powerful "Pro" dock that upscales and boosts performance?

To me, I always thought that was a logical thing to do, without having to release a full-scale Switch console itself. However, I'm not familiar with the Switch architecture, so I don't know if that's possible or if the bulk of the processing power is within the Switch console itself and not in the dock.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Chip shortages starting to affect Japan's electronics sector (July 5, 2021)

The ongoing worldwide shortages of semiconductors are starting to affect Japanese makers of home appliances and electronics.

The lack of semiconductors has already resulted in delays in the deliveries of automobiles.

Unless the situation is resolved, the economic recovery could be hampered, pundits said.

Some car parts and accessories shops in Tokyo have run out of car audio and navigation systems. An official of Autobacs Seven Co. voiced concern over the impact on sales.

Expecting the chip shortage impact to last throughout this summer, car audio and navigation system maker JVCKenwood Corp. aims to go through the hardship partly by changing the specifications of its products.

Sales of game machines, which have been robust thanks to demand from people staying home amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, are now showing signs of losing steam.

Major game maker Nintendo Co. has set its fiscal 2021 sales target for the Nintendo Switch video game console at 25.5 million units, down by about 10% from the sales achieved in the previous year. “Uncertainty is growing over our production plans,” Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said.

 

[Lily Adler]

Chip shortages starting to affect Japan's electronics sector (July 5, 2021)

So pretty much every Nintendo fan is speculating he same thing we have?

 

[metaphysician]

If they can release that new dock separately, why can't they just release a more powerful "Pro" dock that upscales and boosts performance?

To me, I always thought that was a logical thing to do, without having to release a full-scale Switch console itself. However, I'm not familiar with the Switch architecture, so I don't know if that's possible or if the bulk of the processing power is within the Switch console itself and not in the dock.

. . .there is no processing power in the dock, period. There never was. The only thing the dock does, effectively, is tell the Switch "Okay, you are docked and hooked to power, switch to the non-portable mode". The Switch has zero hardware support for external hardware enhancement, and frankly, such would never have been on the table, because even if it did have architectural support for external processing, the result would either be:

1. A small enhancement in docked mode, which would work readily with all games without special software support or incompatibility. . . but would also greatly increase the cost of the hardware for minimal gain ( because you are now sticking a whole bunch of extra hardware in the dock ).

2. A notable enhancement in docked mode, enough to be worth the price. . . which would break compatibility between docked and handheld mode. Games would need to be specifically programmed to support the docked level of enhancement, and with the distinct possibility of games that would only play in docked mode ( or that would only play passably in docked mode, because the developers would get lazy and not bother optimizing for portable ).

Nintendo was never going to add significantly to cost and complexity without meaningful benefit, and they certainly were not going to break their user base in half with games that can only be played in one mode and not the other.

( So why does the Switch need the dock? Well, it *technically* doesn't, but the dock and its controller chip ensures the Switch only enters the higher power mode when docked. When docked the Switch doesn't need to worry about battery conservation, so it can ramp up the power. When docked it *also* doesn't need to worry about running the screen or speakers, or user distraction from the fan running, or user comfort of holding a hotter device; thus it can change its heat management parameters. Both of these allow it to achieve much higher processing power. If you tried to run the Switch at docked power level while using it handheld, not only would the battery die in like half an hour, but it'd probably be very unpleasant the hold between the heat and fan noise. )

 

[Sithborg]

This is impressive.

 

[Sithborg]

Surprise drop.

 

[Iceman]

Girlfriend just bought a Switch with Ringfit and Zelda! I can't wait to try them.

 

[Sithborg]

You know, I am continually surprised at the reactions when Nintendo reacts as they have always reacted. Nintendo sent a C&D to a gaming tournament, telling the to remove a modded version of smash from their roster. Honestly, at this point, they are just bringing it upon themselves.

 

[Iceman]

Can someone fill me in on the must-play Switch games please? It’s been a long time since I (part)owned a Nintendo console. I don’t count the wii as I didn’t play proper games on it. SNES was one of my all time favourite consoles.

 

[Sithborg]

Zelda: BOTW and Mario Odyssey are the clear obvious top two games.

After that, you get a lot of good games that are going to be heavily dependent on your tastes. If you are on this site, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 seems like a safe recommendation. Capcom has done some outright wizardry to make Monster Hunter Rise run as well as it does, with an amazing job of revamping mechanics. Mario x Rabbits is a shockingly good game, with fun humor. It regularly goes on sale for uber, uber cheap too. Octopath Traveler is a fun and long RPG. Fire Emblem Three Houses is one of the best Fire Emblems I've played, great tweaks to the combat, with slightly toned down dating simulators. You've got Animal Crossing if that is your jam. I would hardly call the new Pokemon must buy, but if you need your Poke fix... If you like Dynasty Warrios/Musou games, you've got Fire Emblem Warriors and Hyrule Warriors:Age of Calamity. Splatoon 2 is good, but it is on life support with Splatoon 3 on its way. Mario Golf looks fun to play as well.

And then you get into the Wii U ports. Bayonetta 2 is a an amazing action game. Mario Kart 8 is the best Mario Kart. The original Hyrule Warriors is a time sink. Super Mario 3d World, New Super Mario Bros Wii U, Captain Toad, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze.

 

[metaphysician]

Can someone fill me in on the must-play Switch games please? It’s been a long time since I (part)owned a Nintendo console. I don’t count the wii as I didn’t play proper games on it. SNES was one of my all time favourite consoles.

It depends on your genres of preference. The usual highlights:

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ( Action Adventure )
Super Mario Odyssey ( Platformer )
Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe ( Racing )
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate ( Fighting )
Xenoblade Chronicles DE ( RPG )

Other important titles include Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battles ( Strategy ), Fire Emblem Three Houses ( Strategy ), Dragon Quest 11S ( RPG ), Octopath Traveler ( RPG ), and like a bajillion Pokemon games.

 

[Iceman]

@Sithborg @metaphysician

Really appreciate you guys putting the effort in to put those lists together. I’ve got varied tastes so will start getting through all of those. Cheers!

 

[Iceman]

Girlfriend is absolutely loving ringfit (and seeing fitness gains already) and Zelda and Sonic. Awesome how this is getting her into gaming. I can't wait to play Zelda.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Sithborg]

Would be nice to actually see gameplay.

 

[Sithborg]

And we have Direct sign!!!

About the same length as the E3 direct, so we are going to get some good stuff.

 

[Silvermoth]

Kirby!! So cute. Can’t wait to play

 

[Gee]

50 bucks for the Genesis controller?

 

[Lily Adler]

50 bucks for the Genesis controller?

Best D-Pad.