The Nintendo Switch

Nintendo's new hybrid abomination is now being sold in stores. Wow! Check it out! http://www.nintendo.com/switch/

I've been following the hype train for this console for the past couple months or so, but I can't really get on board due to all the misgivings I have with it.
"Why are you so into this, you don't even own a console?" --Felix, probably
That's where you're wrong, kiddo. I'm still PCMR though. Anyways...

From an engineering standpoint the Switch is pretty unsound. All the snapping on and off means too many moving parts which are vulnerable to neglect or rough treatment, especially by kids. If an attachment slide breaks on the Joy-Con or on the main console body its already lackluster handheld gaming capacity is effectively crippled. The kick-stand to prop it up is small and easily snapped off, which seems like a bad idea since it exposes the SD card slot. It'd be very easy to lose or misplace a detached Joy-Con or kick-stand, or if you're a real klutz the whole dang console.

Speaking of handheld mode, the grid-like placement of the buttons and sticks for the sake of symmetry, along with the flatness of the Joy-Cons for a slim horizontal profile make for a rather uncomfortable experience. I know there is a Grip frame accessory you can snap your Joy-Cons to, but that doesn't solve the problem, you need to buy that "full" controller accessory to get the ergonomics that other consoles provide by default.
Back to size, it's two or three times as large as your average smartphone and won't quite fit into your pocket (unless you're a fatass neckbeard or wear parachute pants or something), so all the shitty mobages and Clash of Clones still win in terms of sheer convenience.

Battery life is rated at around 2.5 to 5 hours, essentially the same as the 3DS, but hey it's at 720p resolution at least. [Setting aside the fact that current gen consoles have been running at 1080p for the past 4 years]

Overall I think it was a mistake for Nintendo to try to combine mobile and home gaming into a single platform, as the Switch isn't very good at doing either. Based on the evidence, this line of reasoning is possible for Furude Erika. What do you think, everyone?

I've got a little bit of hands on experience with the Wii U 2 Switch, about an hour or so, it's a pretty solid console battery life seems pretty good, long enough for a trip to keep the kids & annoying family members shut up, frame rate seems to be consistent though as many others have said Breath of the Wild has frame drops in the beginning area. Maybe I'm odd but I have no complaints about the button placement, not any worse than the original xbox first controller layout. As for only being in 720p in hand held and 900p (if I'm remembering correctly) I am not one to care about the resolution of a game as long as it plays well.

Is the console a mistake though, I'm taking a wait and see approach. As long as they don't implement some gimmicky motion control into the screen (they fucked up star fox zero for me with that shit) I will be happy and currently plan get my own around black friday or xmas. Least it will have some actual games I'm interested in unlike the ps4 brick I got.

kaede wrote:As for only being in 720p in hand held and 900p (if I'm remembering correctly) I am not one to care about the resolution of a game as long as it plays well.

As much as I would like to agree with this, I have too many experiences that indicate otherwise. Playing the Wii version of Twilight Princess on a 1080p screen, it was really tough to make out details and there was some sort of grain that obscured any level of detail. The newer Halo split screens are tiny and its hard to see anything. Then there are all my pre-rig adventures in low spec gaming where I turned down resolution in a desperate bid for additional frames per second. [ok maybe these don't count because the developers probably never intended for their game to be played at like 320x240]

kaede wrote:Least it will have some actual games I'm interested in unlike the ps4 brick I got

u wot m8? I don't normally plug consoles but you have this whole collection of exclusives:

• The Last Guardian
  
• Backstreet Boyz Road Trip(FFXV)
  
• Bloodborne/Battleborn/somethingborn
  
• KNACK
  
• Uncharted #: Drake's X
  
• The Last of Us
  
• No Man's S- nah, just kidding
  
• Horizon Zero Dawn
  

And you're saying not a single one is of interest to you? what gaymes did you even get for your big black brick?

Last Guardian: "Train a giant dog" the game, bought it & played it, was an ok game.
FFXV: same deal with x-2, teased yaoi but never follows through. (jk did buy but haven't beat yet, xiii kinda soured me on the FF series so I'm dragging my feet)
Bloodborne: Dark Souls with Cthulhu, sounds awesome but I don't like Dark Souls gameplay.
Knack: Unfinished game don't want.
Uncharted: Make another crash game Naughty Dog. Also never played any of the other 4 games
Last of Us: Make another Jak game naughty dog.
NMS: No... just no.
Horizon Zero Dawn: If this was a game that let me create a character and pick a fighting style then maybe.

I mainly bought it so I could play games with my little cousin when he came over but that never happened, though you could say I am waiting for KH3 and am getting FFXII again.

kaede wrote:Uncharted: Make another crash game Naughty Dog. Also never played any of the other 4 games
Last of Us: Make another Jak game naughty dog.

Nope, Naughty Dog has shifted its focus to serious, character driven moviesgaymes now, no more of that cartoony stuff, that's for babies.
On a related note, Nintendoh needs to make another Metroid game that has more in common with the rest of the franchise than just the title.[Lookin' at you Federation Force]

kaede wrote:though you could say I am waiting for KH3 and am getting FFXII again.

Did you mean KH3.14 Sleep by Death II Full Power 420/69 Days Final ReMix... ok I'll stop now.

Speaking of kingdom hearts look at the ones released on ps3 1.5 & 2.5, add up all the numbers 1 + 5 + 2 + 5= 13

Dunno if its a coincidence but i think they planned it.

Note: wow was surprised I wrote something coherent after being drugged at the dentist.

Edit 2: Also was never a huge fan of Metroid, just didn't click for me for some reason. Though I do think they need to make a F-Zero game. Maybe re-release SF0 without the motion controls to make it a better game.

Oh hey I actually bought a switch and played it for several days with two different games (BOTW & Splatoon 2) and have a few things to say:

1) I like the console, maybe it's because I have somewhat small hands, the controller feels great in my hands, though a little awkward for me if i play with the handheld screen only though that could be that for a handheld I'm use to a 3ds and vita and not a tablet.

2) Splatoon 2 motion controls: not even once. They worked alright on the wii and they have gotten better sense, but stop cramming them in, specially in a FPS it controls horribly, thankfully you can turn them off.

3) text can be somewhat small but still readable in a game like BOTW, but if you have it more than six feet it becomes unreadable (for me at least i have somewhat poor vision)

Overall if there are games you want on the system i recommend getting one, it's pretty fun and the upcoming Mario, FEW, Metroid prime 4, and a new SMT game will be pretty good system sellers.

Also finally played a proper Metroid game (Samus returns for 3ds) pretty fun. Also got a copy of AM2R if anyone wants it send a message and ill upload it.

kaede wrote:3) text can be somewhat small but still readable in a game like BOTW, but if you have it more than six feet it becomes unreadable (for me at least i have somewhat poor vision)

Is this when it's docked and plugged into your TV? Cuz if it's the native screen I'd say that's pretty normal for a portable console.

Undocked only has that problem.