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Nintendo Switch: Nintendo's Next Hardware - SOURCE ALL NEWS/RUMORS

Rio!

Composer
When I saw that cartridge slot, my first reaction was could this possibly be compatible with 3DS games? PM me your thoughts cause I don't go on serebii that much. :/

It's been speculated along with other potential backwards compatibility, but has not confirmed as of just yet.
 

Hydrohs

安らかに眠ります、岩田さん。
Staff member
Super Mod
Laura Dale leaks on Switch.

If battery is going to suck that badly, it better take something standard like micro-USB. They wouldn't actually make the dock the only way to charge it, would they?

microUSB may not be the best option, just with the limited power you can transfer over the USB 2.0 standard. USB-C would be better, or at least micro USB 3.0.

My biggest concern with the Switch is the use of game cards over CDs. I understand for a device that is portable, game cards are the smarter option, but will they work. Will third party companies be able to develop their games for the Switch as they would for say the PlayStation 4 without the use of CDs?

Maybe I'm missing something here, but what's the real difference? Both disks and cartridges are ways to store data. The same games can be put on either. Why would it matter?

From what I understand, CDs hold more data than cartridges. Which, is why I am unsure how Nintendo can make them viable in today's market.

Alright folks lets learn about data storage:

1. Nothing uses CDs any more because it is tiny (700MB)
2. Everything these days uses Bluray or something roughly equivalent (roughly 25-100GB or something)
3. Discs are slow, cheap and require a disc drive that takes up a lot of physical space and sucks up a lot of power to work
4. Solid state storage (such as that in cartridges, SD cards etc) is fast (not universally true), more expensive, and requires very little power draw and almost no physical footprint

Speed is the key factor here, and the reason that Nintendo stuck with cartridges for the N64. You can read data from a cartridge significantly faster than any disc, storage being the second biggest factor. It's pretty easy to get some form of solid state storage equalling that of a disc, it just costs more than a disc does, so it's hard to say what the upper storage limit will be for the game cards the Switch uses. You may just end up seeing a lot of downloadable games rather than physical.

The biggest issue for porting from one console (Xbone or PS4) to the Switch is not what media games come on, but the difference between the Switch and the original console. The Switch is not only significantly less powerful, but uses a totally different architecture than either of the other console. Some games may be too difficult, or even impossible, to get working on the Switch.
 

The Admiral

the star of the masquerade
1. Nothing uses CDs any more because it is tiny (700MB)
2. Everything these days uses Bluray or something roughly equivalent (roughly 25-100GB or something)

I would complain about you having a stick stuck somewhere unpleasant, but that was starting to bug me too. Is it really that hard to write "discs" instead of "CDs"? Especially with needing to hold shift since everyone here is capitalizing CDs, often better than they capitalize anything else.

3. Discs are slow, cheap and require a disc drive that takes up a lot of physical space and sucks up a lot of power to work
4. Solid state storage (such as that in cartridges, SD cards etc) is fast (not universally true), more expensive, and requires very little power draw and almost no physical footprint

Speed is the key factor here, and the reason that Nintendo stuck with cartridges for the N64. You can read data from a cartridge significantly faster than any disc, storage being the second biggest factor. It's pretty easy to get some form of solid state storage equalling that of a disc, it just costs more than a disc does, so it's hard to say what the upper storage limit will be for the game cards the Switch uses. You may just end up seeing a lot of downloadable games rather than physical.

The biggest issue for porting from one console (Xbone or PS4) to the Switch is not what media games come on, but the difference between the Switch and the original console. The Switch is not only significantly less powerful, but uses a totally different architecture than either of the other console. Some games may be too difficult, or even impossible, to get working on the Switch.

This is the big thing, though. Cartridges will load damn near instantaneously. Not perfectly -- in modern-ish cartridge-like contrivances, that's not even 100% perfect and there are ways to abuse it (see: glitches in DP). On the other hand, there will be relatively little load time between things on this, hopefully.

(Also, I feel like I've heard recently that it WON'T be backwards compatible with 3DS games. Not terribly surprising because it has one screen, but even so, that's a bit disappointing.)
 

Pokemon Power

Well-Known Member
No more 2-screen games, huh? I had gotten used to it on the DS and 3DS families. As for the Wii U, I had a bit of a hard time. I wonder how there gonna fit two screens on the Switch screen when the VC versions of those games come out.
Speaking of Virtual Console, I have a prediction on how it's gonna work. I think we'll get NES and Game Boy games in April 2017, followed by SNES and Game Boy Color in September 2017. Then in 2018, we'll have N64 and maybe Virtual Boy games in April, then Gamecube and GBA in September. Finally, we'll probably get Wii and DS games in April 2019. As for Wii U and 3DS, it'll probably be September 2019, but there's a chance they might do it earlier than that. As for data, they might give players an option on whether they wanna start anew or transfer data from another system to the Switch console. For the NES and SNES games, they'd probably let you choose whether you want to transfer data from the Wii U or the 3DS.
 

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
It's not as if all handheld systems MUST use cartridges and all consoles MUST use optical media. It's a function of the power and space needs required for an optic drive vs. a card-reading slot. They are linked, to be sure, but it does not bear on the distinction between handheld vs. console in and of itself.

Never said it did. Obviously that's not the case.

However, there is a distinction when it comes to Nintendo, and it would be quite insensible to ignore it. The game card of the NX will be about the same size and structure as the current cards for the 3DS. This must be noted, as the choice to make it so was deliberate. They could've made the console's game card in any other way, but they chose to make it similar to those of the 3DS. It is very reasonable to question this decision and its possible connection to handheld consoles.

One would be just as capable of questioning if Sony were to unveil a home console with a media format similar to that of PS Vita's cartridge.


It's been speculated along with other potential backwards compatibility, but has not confirmed as of just yet.

That would require the NX to have a touchable screen, which is currently unknown.

Now, if it does, that would drastically increase the probability of the NX not only replacing handheld consoles, but being backwards compatible with them as well.
 
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Rio!

Composer
If by some chance NS is backwards compatible, they could just have the screens side by side.

This is true, I think it's how emulators handled the dual-screen issue.
If this ends up being the case, I might end up with a second system; one for fam and one for myself lulz.
 

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
I wonder how there gonna fit two screens on the Switch screen when the VC versions of those games come out.

Or they just don't release those games on Virtual Console.

That would require the NX to have a touchable screen, which is currently unknown.

Now, if it does, that would drastically increase the probability of the NX not only replacing handheld consoles, but being backwards compatible with them as well.

If by some chance NS is backwards compatible, they could just have the screens side by side.

It's extremely unlikely that the Switch will have backwards compatibility, as the the Switch can't possibly have a touch screen. Remember that when you use it in TV mode, the screen that would serve as your touch screen is plugged into the dock, not being used as a controller. This would mean that touch screen functionality would only work when in handheld mode, ruining a big part of the consoles purpose.

The only way I see the Switch having a touchscreen and possibly backwards compatibility is if we get some sort of Game Pad-esque controller with its own touch screen for use in TV mode (or maybe just connect the Game Pad we already have)
 

BCVM22

Well-Known Member
If by some chance NS is backwards compatible, they could just have the screens side by side.

Or they just don't release those games on Virtual Console

Or they have you hold the Switch vertically.

as the the Switch can't possibly have a touch screen.

It absolutely can. Nintendo's response when asked if the screen is a touchscreen was a very pointed "we have no comment on many of the hardware's features right now.

Not to say it does, but it very much can.
 
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Born Better

God of Lightning
Except for the part where the controller parts (I will not say that name) are on the sides. They'd have to release something to actually let it be played sideways. Seems like too much of a hassle. Easier to just to just put the screens next to each other. Obviously, anything requiring touch screen would only work in handheld mode.
 

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
It absolutely can. Nintendo's response when asked if the screen is a touchscreen was a very pointed "we have no comment on many of the hardware's features right now.

Not to say it does, but it very much can.

Nintendo would probably say the same thing regardless though. How would a touchscreen on the system work in the first place? No games could rely on it as a feature, as it would only be usable half the time, making it pointless to work into the system.

I guess if they just really wanted 3DS games to be playable on it, then that could be a reason, but it seems odd for it to have such a major functionality that no game made for the Switch could properly use. So I guess my bad for speaking in absolutes, but it just seems so unlikely that we might as well discount it as a possibility.
 

BCVM22

Well-Known Member
Nintendo ostensibly confirms to the WSJ there will be no further official announcements regarding the Switch until 2017. If that seems like a long way off, remember it's nearly Halloween already.

With a March release, that probably places the full pulling back of the curtain in January. We'll just have to continue to bicker and snark over the introductory video until then.
 

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
Nintendo ostensibly confirms to the WSJ there will be no further official announcements regarding the Switch until 2017. If that seems like a long way off, remember it's nearly Halloween already.

With a March release, that probably places the full pulling back of the curtain in January. We'll just have to continue to bicker and snark over the introductory video until then.

A bit of a bummer, but I got all I needed to be happy from the initial trailer.
 

Genos

The Indigo Disk
They want to focus on the Holiday schedule. Getting out those holiday games (S/M, Mario Maker 3DS, etc), amiibo and the NES classic.

Just 2 months left of the year. no biggie
 

Navin

MALDREAD
Don't have the time to read through 27 pages.

But will they be porting/making DS titles for the Switch, viz Pokemon S&M and beyond? That'll make me not consider grabbing a cheap DS on sale during Black Friday.
 

Hydrohs

安らかに眠ります、岩田さん。
Staff member
Super Mod
Don't have the time to read through 27 pages.

But will they be porting/making DS titles for the Switch, viz Pokemon S&M and beyond? That'll make me not consider grabbing a cheap DS on sale during Black Friday.

No one can tell you whether we'll see a DS virtual console or not.

As for future Pokemon games, yes, they will be on the Switch. Unless it totally tanks hard or something.
 

Pikachu Fan Number Nine

Don't Mess wit Texas
So, I'd also like a Star Fox game on the Switch. Some sort of sequel to Zero.
 

tomatohater

Golden Sun 4?
Pretty sure that I read somewhere that there won't be any 3DS backwards compatibility. If that's true then it's a shame, but realistically I doubted it ever would in the first place.
 

Hydrohs

安らかに眠ります、岩田さん。
Staff member
Super Mod
Backwards compatibility is impossible. Ignoring the obvious physical differences, the Switch uses a totally different processor than either the Wii U or 3DS, and emulating either system would be impossible.
 
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