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[bananafactory]

This always seemed like a dockable portable. I don't know why people expected something more.

In the end the games will be what matters

 

[aBarreras]

Welp. I was wrong. It really is just a portable Wii U and bumped-up one when docked. Can we officially call NateDrake a fake now? This really is just where the successor to the Vita would land. Skyrim will chug on this. It's weaker than the PS3 by a huge margin when portable. This is not a current-generation machine.

I'm sorry to all of the naysayers I argued with. You were right. I'll never be optimistic about Nintendo again.

you hate boner for nate continues i see

 

[Mokujin]

Frankly I'm not too surprised, I have been telling people to be very cautious with the specs, and I was fully expecting a reeeeeeally aggressive portable downclock so that part doesn't surprise me at all. A notch below what I expected but still in my overall expectations range. [But battery life should be at the very least decent I guess?]

What puzzles me to no end is how does the SoC need active cooling in portable mode at those clocks.

 

[Risk Breaker]

Half an Xbox One then ? Isn't that what we were all expecting ? There's probably something I'm missing.

That would be best case scenario, docked, if the developers use FP16 extensively if I'm understanding that post correctly.

 

[Mango Positive]

A few weeks ago, I had a dilemma... trade in my Wii U, PS3, iPod Classic 120 GB, and a bunch of games and put it all on a PS4 Pro, or save the credit for a Switch.

Feeling pretty proud of myself for my lack of restraint.

 

[bomblord1]

It's a custom chip why are we assuming gflop counts of the standard tx1?

 

[Milly Osworth]

It's time to let the "dream" of PS4 ports go. Personally I never hoped for this really. Got a PS4 Pro for that.

This will be a 3DS on crack, which can be a nice thing too.

 

[Vena]

Wait, so why does it have fans with these specs?

 

[jacob armitage]

This always seemed like a dockable portable. I don't know why people expected something more.

In the end the games will be what matters

For sure. Docked mode will be great for local multiplayer too.

 

[LordKasual]

Nobody could have suspected that Nintendo was going to pull a Nintendo.

I'm shocked.

Not shocked

Almost disappointed

It was obvious from the hardware showing that this thing was going to be very underwhelming in at least one aspect. (Battery or horsepower) But now i guess we have our answer?

Oh well.

 

[MacTag]

Great isn't the term I would use for the declining dedicated handheld market.

Well, at least it was up last NPD. Unlike the declining dedicated home console market.

 

[hoserx]

They probably heard everyone complaining about battery life and decided to drop clocks.

 

[Xiao Hu]

And despite Nintendo fans continuing to beat this drum the number of people who care about those franchises (save maybe Pokemon) continues to shrink. Nintendo has to remain relevant for those franchises to gain new audiences and as it stands the mindshare Nintendo holds with younger audiences is only getting smaller outside of Japan.

I'd argue more kids in the west would know Minecraft before they do Mario and that's definitely true for Zelda.

No, no, no. Reason doesn't work with the Nintendo faithful. Staaaahp

 

[Plinko]

This thing is shaping up to be Wii U 2.0. It'll get the worst versions of multiplats if it's lucky enough to get them at all.

This could actually be far worse than Wii U because it has the potential to take down their handheld business as well. It's hard to imagine people going from 3DS to this big ass tablet thing with attachable controllers.

everything I have seen so far is a disappointment.

Well, the major difference here will be Nintendo's full development will be focused on one machine, meaning no software droughts. It remains to be seen if that will be enough for them to make a dent in the market, though.

 

[Theognosis]

The Vita has one stiff competition. LOL Nintendo. Now I know why you keep using the Wii U in your Zelda demos. This is... Disappointing.

 

[dampflokfreund]

I guess we will have to wait and see. If Nvidia isn't going to talk about Switch specs at the conference, the case is pretty much closed.

 

[outunderthestars]

Oh, I guess you are from the future then ?

He comes from some reality where people want Nintendo hardware but hate their first party games. It's a damn weird place.

 

[GinoFelino]

The people acting most disappointed ITT are the ones who weren't following the Switch leaks and likely didn't really want one to begin with.

Like, okay, you're super disappointed that the Switch isn't the magical device that never existed anywhere outside of your own mind.

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

It's time to let the "dream" of PS4 ports go. Personally I never hoped for this really. Got a PS4 Pro for that.

This will be a 3DS on crack, which can be a nice thing too.

It will be a Wii U on crack at least! How do you figure this will be anything near 3DS performance?

 

[Risk Breaker]

Wait, so why does it have fans with these specs?

To keep it cool so that children don't hurt their hands when it gets warm*

*source is my ass.

 

[jroc74]

And despite Nintendo fans continuing to beat this drum the number of people who care about those franchises (save maybe Pokemon) continues to shrink. Nintendo has to remain relevant for those franchises to gain new audiences and as it stands the mindshare Nintendo holds with younger audiences is only getting smaller outside of Japan.

I'd argue more kids in the west would know Minecraft before they do Mario and that's definitely true for Zelda.

I would say its true for Zelda. Might be true for Mario too.

At least they care more about Minecraft than those 2. I know in my home Youtube gets viewed for games, gaming and I have yet to see any of my kids use it for looking at anything Nintendo related.

Anything. What gets the most views is Five Nights at Freddys, 3rd party PS/XBox games, Sony games. They rarely look at anything Xbox related. Kids love Halo but dont watch it on YouTube.

My kids dont want a 3DS anymore, they all want Vitas. I even told them about the Switch and said that might be the better thing to get. Doesnt matter.

Like they dont care about a PS4 Pro, they want a PS4 again. Right now.

 

[Toni]

And yet Mario will run at 60fps locked and will look better than many many PS4 games.

And yet, that won't do shit for Nintendo if they can't get viable third party support on board. Its a Wii U 2.0 again.

I dont even begin to understand how a 60fps Mario helps them in this scenario. Truly, that was out of nowhere bud.

 

[Deku Tree]

Is this more powerful than Wii U?

 

[Kthulhu]

Anyone who expected a Nintendo system to be a powerhouse was setting themselves up for disappointment.

If you look at it as a portable device (which is what it is) it is great for one.

 

[PdotMichael]

Well, at least it was up last NPD. Unlike the declining dedicated home console market.

And the sales are still not great anymore.

 

[Rezbit]

If it means 5+ hour battery life and the $199 mark I'm okay with that. Any variables on that and I'll wait and see.

Also it better be whisper quiet.

 

[sir_bumble_bee]

At least they care more about Minecraft than those 2. I know in my home Youtube gets viewed for games, gaming and I have yet to see any of my kids use it for looking at anything Nintendo related.

lol we all know the reason for this...

 

[LordKano]

I guess we will have to wait and see. If Nvidia isn't going to talk about Switch specs at the conference, the case is pretty much closed.

I doubt Nintendo will let someone talk about the specs in the main conference. It's likely they will give a note after the actual conference, while everyone will be talking about the games.

 

[Hasney]

Neat, that sounds about right.

 

[Zombie James]

They know they can't compete with PS4 and Xbox One for third party, but Pokemon, Zelda, and Mario are so huge they don't have to.

I sure hope this mentality doesn't translate over to online accounts and other features they're way behind on.

 

[Deadbeat]

Anyone else guess it was going to be near the power of the Wii U?

The last three consoles Nintendo has (or will) release are weaker than their competitors by a generation. They merely adapted their portable system moniker.

 

[The Omega Man]

People being OK with these specs, rationalizing it as being a portable device instead of a home console.

Even by Nintendo standards of underpowered consoles this is even weaker than what they have previously aimed for.

I don't even think this thing could properly emulate Gamecube

 

[Big Green Anus]

Hopefully this means a $199 price point and a $249 game bundle. Nintendo can't be crazy enough to make it $299.

 

[Eolz]

Is this more powerful than Wii U?

Yes in both modes. How much is a different question that we likely won't know completely until knowing what the chip really is.
Like how it was with the WiiU basically.

 

[komplanen]

It's a custom chip why are we assuming gflop counts of the standard tx1?

Did you watch the video? And the rumours it refers to?

 

[trixx]

i knew it man. That venture beat thread, prepared me for it.

Very disappointing. The xbox scorpio and ps4 pro are prolonging the life span of the base consoles...

why not try to aim for at least base xbox one so when it comes to game ports, power no longer becomes the excuse?

I'm skipping most likely

 

[Jessie.Bristol]

Wow, those specs are worst then I was expecting. I may have to alter my initial MSRP of $199 to $149 if Nintendo wants to move consoles. If they try pricing this console above $199, Nintendo may end up with another Wii U situation. If they attempt to price it at $299 then I firmly believe that Nintendo have lost their minds and the Switch will be DOA.

Nintendo needs to blow people away on January 12th.

 

[bomblord1]

Did you watch the video? And the rumours it refers to?

I read the article which talks about how it will be probably be using Pascal customizations.

Now, to be fair to Nvidia, Tegra X1's Maxwell was the final iteration of the architecture and does have technological aspects that are found in Pascal: specifically, double-rate FP16 support. We're also told that Switch has bespoke customisations that may involve pulling in other Pascal optimisations. And it's also worth noting that at the nuts and bolts level, Pascal and Maxwell are already very similar. So with that in mind, the main difference comes down to the process technology: 20nm in Maxwell, 16nm FinFET

And this

CUDA core count and memory bandwidth are certainly in line with a standard Tegra X1, but critically, the leaked spec is extremely vague about the actual speed of the CPU and GPU, referring only to the maximum speeds seen on Nvidia's Shield Android TV micro-console. Assuming that Switch uses the same 20nm process technology as Shield, those clocks were never going to be attainable for a relatively small, handheld, battery-powered console. The Venturebeat story suggests that Switch is still using 20nm technology, but right now, this remains unconfirmed.

 

[Jon]

A few weeks ago, I had a dilemma... trade in my Wii U, PS3, iPod Classic 120 GB, and a bunch of games and put it all on a PS4 Pro, or save the credit for a Switch.

Feeling pretty proud of myself for my lack of restraint.

Not to single you out, because there are other people who seem to share this rationale, but just to understand fully, did you expect that the Switch and the PS4 Pro would offer comparable features and gameplay? I'm glad you got the console you wanted, haha, but it doesn't mean that the Switch wouldn't offer you something else you would enjoy.

 

[10k]

Maybe they should have uh..... Marketed the switch as a handheld first that you could plug into your TV. Cause those specs are... Whew.

 

[Kimawolf]

Always funny to see some people believe some rumors while discounting others. Guess bias definitely plays a part.

 

[DooMAGE]

Is this more powerful than Wii U?

yes

 

[Xdrive05]

I'm curious when we'll know how (or even if) the chips are customized. Them being Nintendo I would hope for some large-ish caches of very fast memory slapped in there somewhere. Or possibly more cores than the standard X1 (which could explain the active cooling).

But you would think such info would have leaked already. So maybe the parts are just stock and underclocked...

 

[yllekz]

They really pulled a "Switcharoo" on those specs there.

 

[Fredrik]

This always seemed like a dockable portable. I don't know why people expected something more.

In the end the games will be what matters

Nintendo called it their next home console, expecting more than this (a portable WiiU?) seems perfectly normal imo.

But yeah, it'll still be awesome because of their games.

 

[Vena]

Anyone else guess it was going to be near the power of the Wii U?

The last three consoles Nintendo has (or will) release are weaker than their competitors by a generation. They merely adapted their portable system moniker.

You're still wrong...

 

[LiquidSolid]

Anyone who expected a Nintendo system to be a powerhouse was setting themselves up for disappointment.

If you look at it as a portable device (which is what it is) it is great for one.

But I was told this time was totally different and that we were idiots for not seeing that.

 

[martino]

Oh yes of course, but the dock feature always was smoke and mirrors regardless of performance.

It seems...
What a waste imo.
We'll see how things perform on a tv before a definitive call
But with those kind of rumor i'm more out than in.

 

[MDave]

I guess Nintendo have gone with small battery capacities again for such aggressive downclocks in portable mode. Last piece of the puzzle, guessing they have gone for a 2000mah or 2500mah battery.

 

[phanphare]

Yep, Switch is really a handheld with a TV out.
Nintendo's consoles have always sold worse than their handhelds so its obvious they'd double down on that, while giving people that want to play the same games on TV the option.

pretty much, yeah. I think the reason NoA has been all "home console first" is because they don't want to stifle the 3DS at all, especially leading up to a holiday season with a new pokemon game on the market.

they'll have to overcome that next year though.

 

[Notor!ousG]

Wow, disappointing!

Can we be sure this is legit?
I mean... how on earth can it even run Skyrim Remastered?