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Eurogamer - Switch screen is 6.2", 720p, Capacitive Multi-Touch, IR sensor

On the tablet there appears to be a large vent at the top next to the game card slot.

Nintendo_Switch_12.0.jpg


Just a hunch, but in portable mode the cpu/gpu are down clocked and passively exhaust out the vent. In Docked mode the cpu/gpu clock speeds are upped so target 1080/60, and I have a suspicion the dock has a fan to help deal with the extra heat this could cause.
 

Lonely1

Unconfirmed Member
Well this makes me feel better. I just assumed BotW would be a straight port. Guess that doesn't make a lot of sense.

Eh, it could still be a straight port. Twilight Princess was a straight port even when the Wii was more powerful than the GC after all. That doesn't mean that this device isn't going to be more powerful than the Wii U and sure it is a heck a lot more powerful than the 3DS and the Vita.
 

Shy

Member
If it uses the same technology (which seems likely) it doesn't matter what Nintendo "allows". As long as the camera sensor in the controller can see two sets of IR lights spaced out approximately the right amount, it will just work. With the Wiimote you can throw away your sensor bar and use two candles instead if you wish, it can't tell the difference.
OhHHHhhh. Neato. Thanks.
 
720p device releasing in 2017? You're kidding me, right?

Even if that is serviceable, people know what resolutions are these days and that won't be seen as a good thing in the eyes of the masses.

Vita still looks great and is lower than 720p, so it shouldn't be an issue on the Switch's screen.

Playing at home on a big TV will be the bigger challenge to make it look great, unless when its docked it will get a power boost, to allow for native 1080p somehow or has a top quality upscaler in it.
 

sanstesy

Member
Eh, it could still be a straight port. Twilight Princess was a straight port even when the Wii was more powerful than the GC after all. That doesn't mean that this device isn't going to be more powerful than the Wii U and sure it is a heck a lot more powerful than the 3DS and the Vita.

The power difference is pretty substantial between the Wii U and Switch in comparison to the Gamecube and Wii, though. I would expect more here given the hardware upgrade.
 

RulkezX

Member
6.2" screen at 720p is 236 ppi.

27" 4k monitor, omg graphics, is 171 ppi.

To anyone complaining the handheld isn't 1080p.........wut.


Bubububu Nintendoomed!

Some of the replies in this thread....games are going to look incredible on this screen at this resolution.
 

MADGAME

Member
Since when is resolution the one and only standard by which we measure things?
Never said it was. I asked how from a home gaming perspective, is this an upgrade over a Wii U. I did reference res and framerate as specs that can/should improve, which is not unreasonable. I did not say that is the only standard by which we measure things. Feel free to answer the actual question with your opinion, instead of responding in a manner that makes my question appear unreasonable by implying I said something I didn't.

It doesn't make it disingenuous as it functionally still works the same as a home console. You are just disliking the compromises that come with the hybrid concept. And that's okay.

Maybe, I suppose. My question is if this is a console first and foremost, what are the console upgrades over the last, failed console they produced? The whole trailer sold the fact of taking it on the go, switching between stationary home and mobility. If the home console upgrades are not clear as the focus seemed to be mobility, that is cause for concern. At least for me personally.

I hope the January direct provides the information I seek.
 

Ninja Dom

Member
I'm confused, GAF.

Okay, so say the screen is multi-touch. What's the point in making a multi-touch game if the screen is covered while docked?
 

bart64

Banned
I don't think it will have IR pointing, seems they have been phasing that out with the Wii U. It doesn't have many advantages over gyro, and it comes with a bunch of drawbacks. I think the IR sensor/emitter is for communicating with other devices.
 
That doesn't make sense though. The most conservative estimates are that the Switch is 2x the Wii U in power

yeah and the Wii was twice as powerful as the Gamecube, and they just flipped Link's sword arm around between versions

With Nintendo, never expected the conventional or the logical. They do things at their own speed, with their own internal reasoning
 

bart64

Banned
I'm confused, GAF.

Okay, so say the screen is multi-touch. What's the point in making a multi-touch game if the screen is covered while docked?

Someone said that all games would have to be playable while docked, so maybe dual analog or dual motion controls can emulate multi-touch?
 
I'm confused, GAF.

Okay, so say the screen is multi-touch. What's the point in making a multi-touch game if the screen is covered while docked?

IR pointer will be used to simulate touch when docked.
again, I think that touch controls won't be mandatory at all, thus the non appearance in the trailer...
 

Zarovitch

Member
I'm confused, GAF.

Okay, so say the screen is multi-touch. What's the point in making a multi-touch game if the screen is covered while docked?

What's the point of making a screen if it's coveres while docked?

Edit: seriously, it will probably use touch for eShop, browser and other apps.
 

Lonely1

Unconfirmed Member
Never said it was. I asked how from a home gaming perspective, is this an upgrade over a Wii U. I did reference res and framerate as specs that can/should improve, which is not unreasonable. I did not say that is the only standard by which we measure things, so feel free to answer with your opinion instead of implying I said something I didn't.



Maybe, I suppose. My question is if this is a console first and foremost, what are the console upgrades over the last, failed console they produced? The whole trailer sold the fact of taking it on the go, switching between stationary home and mobility. If the home console upgrades are not clear as the focus seemed to be mobility, that is cause for concern. At least for me personally.

I hope the January direct provides the information I seek.

Would you call better textures, lighting, animations, geometry and effects at the same resolution and framerate a non-upgrade? Anyway, as per this rumour, 720p is the resolution of the screen in handheld mode. If you take so at heart that this device is a console first and foremost then this bit of info tells you nothing, since the screen isn't even usable when docked.
 
A 720p resolution for a 6.2" screen on a gaming portable sounds perfect. I'm pretty surprised to see some people are actually disappointed by this. Do you guys have any understanding on how resolutions and the power required to drive them works? Or what pixel density is and why it is a far more important number than basic resolution?

Comments like "720p in 2017!" are rather naive.

People are disappointed by the fact the screen on the Switch is 720p and they automatically assume that when it is docked it will be 720p as well.

People dont realize that laptops now when on the go are 1 resolution based on the panel in the laptop and when docked they change to whatever the resolution is of the monitor. IE your laptop could be native 1080p .. and you could take it to work and dock it to a 2k or 4k monitor and it would output at that resolution.

As you stated above... 720p on a portable device is awesome. I mean take any 3ds game and give it higher resolution textures, more detail, and higher frame rate they would all look beautiful. It would be the equivalent of what Mario Galaxy looked like on the Wii to what 3D World looked like on the Wii U lol (480p to 720p both at 60fps)
 
Never said it was. I asked how from a home gaming perspective, is this an upgrade over a Wii U. I did reference res and framerate as specs that can/should improve, which is not unreasonable. I did not say that is the only standard by which we measure things, so feel free to answer with your opinion instead of implying I said something I didn't..

We have no idea how the Switch will run when hooked up to a TV. If we take these reports as fact, all they mean is in portable mode games will run at 720p. Which is not only fine but the most sensible choice.

We can speculate all day on what kind of power the thing will have when hooked up to a TV. Does the dock have additional hardware? Does the unit run at a higher clock speed when docked? These things sound possible but we just don't know. It is safe to assume though that there will be some method to get games up to 1080p on a TV. The fact that the screen on the portable is 720p doesn't tell us anything about how it will run in TV mode.
 

ss_lemonade

Member
People are disappointed by the fact the screen on the Switch is 720p and they automatically assume that when it is docked it will be 720p as well.

People dont realize that laptops now when on the go are 1 resolution based on the panel in the laptop and when docked they change to whatever the resolution is of the monitor. IE your laptop could be native 1080p .. and you could take it to work and dock it to a 2k or 4k monitor and it would output at that resolution.

As you stated above... 720p on a portable device is awesome. I mean take any 3ds game and give it higher resolution textures, more detail, and higher frame rate and they would all look beautiful. It would be the equivalent of what Mario Galaxy looked like on the Wii to what 3D World looked like on the Wii U lol (480p to 720p both at 60fps)
Does that mean that developers have to target performance for 1080p when developing, assuming that docked mode = 1080p?
 

MADGAME

Member
Would you call better textures, lighting, animations, geometry and effects at the same resolution and framerate a non-upgrade? Anyway, as per this rumour, 720p is the resolution of the screen in handheld mode. If you take so at heart that this device is a console first and foremost then this bit of info tells you nothing, since the screen isn't even usable when docked.

Yes, depending on the visual complexity of said effects, I would undeniably categorize them as upgrades. May or may not be an upgrade I would prefer if other aspects of performance struggle and depending on overall implementation, but certainly that is improvement.

Just FYI, going back to my first post I was specifically referring to Switch gaming on a home hdtv.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Eh, it could still be a straight port. Twilight Princess was a straight port even when the Wii was more powerful than the GC after all. That doesn't mean that this device isn't going to be more powerful than the Wii U and sure it is a heck a lot more powerful than the 3DS and the Vita.

yeah and the Wii was twice as powerful as the Gamecube, and they just flipped Link's sword arm around between versions

With Nintendo, never expected the conventional or the logical. They do things at their own speed, with their own internal reasoning

Twilight Princess had multiple delays and a lot of difficulties in implementing the Wiimote controls on a game that started as a Gamecube one. They barely made it in time for Wii release, they changed the controls after the E3 etc.

With BotW we have practically a very much done Wii U version extensively shown this year.
 

RibMan

Member
Finally some credible information on specs!

Assuming that Eurogamer's info is up-to-date, the Switch's screen is outdated. I'm assuming Nintendo will treat the Switch as an evolving platform in the same way they've treated their older handhelds as evolving platforms. With that in mind, a Switch Lite or Switch XL could have a modern screen, so the platform -- to me -- could be worth an investment down the line. As of right now, the only way a 720p screen makes sense is if the device costs $119.99 or less -- basically the average resell value of 720p devices from 4 years ago.

Multi-touch sounds good, so I'm interested in seeing how the Joy-Cons replicate the touch functionality on the big screen. Messaging the 4 different control methods (Joy-Con, Touch, Pro Controller, Joy-Con Grip) is going to be tough. I don't envy the people in charge of control method and or input method communication(s). As long as they focus on the device and not the control methods then they'll avoid recreating the Wii U problem wherein the console took a backseat to the GamePad, leading to way more confusion than necessary.

Battery life is probably going to be the next leak from Eurogamer. If the rumored 3 hours of playtime is true, then Nintendo should get it out of the way sooner rather than later. Their January event should focus on games and the strong points of the device, and not on the outdated screen or (rumored) poor battery life, as those two would be the majority of headlines from the event. They don't have a lot of time between now and January, so they've got their work cut out for them.
 
Does that mean that developers have to target performance for 1080p when developing, assuming that docked mode = 1080p?

I would assume most developers if they want to be lazy would target 720p at 60 fps for both methods and they would just let the dock upscale to 1080p. Wii U games like Mario Kart were 720p @ 60 fps upscaled to 1080p with 1 to 2 players and 30 fps when using 4 players.

Other developers who go the extra mile could do 720p on the portable and native 1080 on the TV if they wanted. It seems like the marketing message in general is "We give you options and you decide" , which translates to software development as well.
 
yeah and the Wii was twice as powerful as the Gamecube, and they just flipped Link's sword arm around between versions

With Nintendo, never expected the conventional or the logical. They do things at their own speed, with their own internal reasoning

Wasn't it more of an overclocked Wii?

I do hope Zelda is gonna use more of that available horse power. I'll be happy if it runs at 1080p.
 
Finally some credible information on specs!
As of right now, the only way a 720p screen makes sense is if the device costs $119.99 or less -- basically the average resell value of 720p devices from 4 years ago.
.

this is the stupidest thing said in this thread so far, congrats
 
On the tablet there appears to be a large vent at the top next to the game card slot.

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7312813/Nintendo_Switch_12.0.jpg[/IMG+]

Just a hunch, but in portable mode the cpu/gpu are down clocked and passively exhaust out the vent. In Docked mode the cpu/gpu clock speeds are upped so target 1080/60, and I have a suspicion the dock has a fan to help deal with the extra heat this could cause.[/QUOTE]

This is almost confirmed by now, it was rumored by some sources.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
As of right now, the only way a 720p screen makes sense is if the device costs $119.99 or less -- basically the average resell value of 720p devices from 4 years ago.

Because the price of a device is just about the screen, not what's in the device.
 

Orin GA

I wish I could hat you to death
Finally some credible information on specs!

Assuming that Eurogamer's info is up-to-date, the Switch's screen is outdated. I'm assuming Nintendo will treat the Switch as an evolving platform in the same way they've treated their older handhelds as evolving platforms. With that in mind, a Switch Lite or Switch XL could have a modern screen, so the platform -- to me -- could be worth an investment down the line. As of right now, the only way a 720p screen makes sense is if the device costs $119.99 or less -- basically the average resell value of 720p devices from 4 years ago.

Multi-touch sounds good, so I'm interested in seeing how the Joy-Cons replicate the touch functionality on the big screen. Messaging the 4 different control methods (Joy-Con, Touch, Pro Controller, Joy-Con Grip) is going to be tough. I don't envy the people in charge of control method and or input method communication(s). As long as they focus on the device and not the control methods then they'll avoid recreating the Wii U problem wherein the console took a backseat to the GamePad, leading to way more confusion than necessary.

Battery life is probably going to be the next leak from Eurogamer. If the rumored 3 hours of playtime is true, then Nintendo should get it out of the way sooner rather than later. Their January event should focus on games and the strong points of the device, and not on the outdated screen or (rumored) poor battery life, as those two would be the majority of headlines from the event. They don't have a lot of time between now and January, so they've got their work cut out for them.

They are in full force tonight.
 

BY2K

Membero Americo
Just because it's 2016 doesn't mean every goddamn 6 inches screen needs to be 4 goddamn k. Do you want the Switch to cost 800$!?

And run out of battery in 10 minutes?
 

DjRalford

Member
Looking forward to more detailed info in the new year, would be good to get this to replace the WiiU in the living room, and then littlun can have the WiiU in her room then as she loves playing the games.
 
Finally some credible information on specs!

Assuming that Eurogamer's info is up-to-date, the Switch's screen is outdated. I'm assuming Nintendo will treat the Switch as an evolving platform in the same way they've treated their older handhelds as evolving platforms. With that in mind, a Switch Lite or Switch XL could have a modern screen, so the platform -- to me -- could be worth an investment down the line. As of right now, the only way a 720p screen makes sense is if the device costs $119.99 or less -- basically the average resell value of 720p devices from 4 years ago.

Multi-touch sounds good, so I'm interested in seeing how the Joy-Cons replicate the touch functionality on the big screen. Messaging the 4 different control methods (Joy-Con, Touch, Pro Controller, Joy-Con Grip) is going to be tough. I don't envy the people in charge of control method and or input method communication(s). As long as they focus on the device and not the control methods then they'll avoid recreating the Wii U problem wherein the console took a backseat to the GamePad, leading to way more confusion than necessary.

Battery life is probably going to be the next leak from Eurogamer. If the rumored 3 hours of playtime is true, then Nintendo should get it out of the way sooner rather than later. Their January event should focus on games and the strong points of the device, and not on the outdated screen or (rumored) poor battery life, as those two would be the majority of headlines from the event. They don't have a lot of time between now and January, so they've got their work cut out for them.

9f9.jpg


The graphics cards alone is worth those 120 bucks.
 

Oregano

Member
Just because it's 2016 doesn't mean every goddamn 6 inches screen needs to be 4 goddamn k. Do you want the Switch to cost 800$!?

And run out of battery in 10 minutes?

Switch should be 4K, more powerful than PS4 Pro, have 20 hours battery life, make toast and cost no more than $199 otherwise Nintendo is in big trouble.
 

Rootbeer

Banned
I play a lot of 3DS and the resolution is absolute trash. Doesn't stop it from being one of my favorite devices with some of the best content and back catalog of old titles through the virtual console. And 720p on the Switch is going to be like night and day in comparision. So it already is going to be a huge upgrade.

I prefer 720p and better battery life. For games on a screen that small, the difference between 720p and 1080p shouldn't be a make or break for anyone. Just bonkers.
 
I agree ... considering the iPhone 6 / 7 is 500+ and the Sony Xperia Compact is 400+ both have 720p resolutions (iPhone is slightly higher 1334×750)
Some people are trying hard to hate on the Switch.... is sad.. this thread and the 3 hours battery one are their favorites by now. BTW.. Where is that Ninja guy that love the Wii U? Any reaction on the Switch?
 

Pimpbaa

Member
Didn't we already know the screen was 720p? Why are people making a big deal about it in this thread? That resolution is perfectly fine for a 6.2" display. At 1080p (considering the hardware), that would mean a lot of shit running at sub native resolutions. I sure as hell wouldn't want a repeat of the Vita.
 

AzaK

Member
On the tablet there appears to be a large vent at the top next to the game card slot.

Nintendo_Switch_12.0.jpg


Just a hunch, but in portable mode the cpu/gpu are down clocked and passively exhaust out the vent. In Docked mode the cpu/gpu clock speeds are upped so target 1080/60, and I have a suspicion the dock has a fan to help deal with the extra heat this could cause.

When docked it's 4K @ 60fps. Those vents at the top are outlets for liquid Nitrogen.

Didn't we already know the screen was 720p? Why are people making a big deal about it in this thread? That resolution is perfectly fine for a 6.2" display. At 1080p (considering the hardware), that would mean a lot of shit running at sub native resolutions. I sure as hell wouldn't want a repeat of the Vita.

Yeah, when even a general Nintendo grump like me thinks 720 is fine everyone else must be out of their minds.
 

Namikaze

Member
720p is a huge upgrade from the 3DS (240p iirc) and Wii U gamepad (480p), not to mention it's a higher quality screen..

Can't wait to see what the next Style Savvy looks like on this thing.
 

CrazyHorse

Junior Member
I would have been happy with 480P. Don't kill me!

Lot of good news recently, I am feeling more positive already about the Switch.

Only thing that could sell me on it is how much power does the dock add? Will it be near Xbone power? That is the crucial question for ports.
 

Grief.exe

Member
Finally some credible information on specs!

Assuming that Eurogamer's info is up-to-date, the Switch's screen is outdated. I'm assuming Nintendo will treat the Switch as an evolving platform in the same way they've treated their older handhelds as evolving platforms. With that in mind, a Switch Lite or Switch XL could have a modern screen, so the platform -- to me -- could be worth an investment down the line. As of right now, the only way a 720p screen makes sense is if the device costs $119.99 or less -- basically the average resell value of 720p devices from 4 years ago.

Multi-touch sounds good, so I'm interested in seeing how the Joy-Cons replicate the touch functionality on the big screen. Messaging the 4 different control methods (Joy-Con, Touch, Pro Controller, Joy-Con Grip) is going to be tough. I don't envy the people in charge of control method and or input method communication(s). As long as they focus on the device and not the control methods then they'll avoid recreating the Wii U problem wherein the console took a backseat to the GamePad, leading to way more confusion than necessary.

Battery life is probably going to be the next leak from Eurogamer. If the rumored 3 hours of playtime is true, then Nintendo should get it out of the way sooner rather than later. Their January event should focus on games and the strong points of the device, and not on the outdated screen or (rumored) poor battery life, as those two would be the majority of headlines from the event. They don't have a lot of time between now and January, so they've got their work cut out for them.

Are you correlating subsidized phone prices with a dedicated gaming handheld?
 
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