Introducing the Nintendo Switch

[eneuman96]

At first glance I didn't think much about the Switch not being backwards compatible with DS games, but then I saw pictures of what the Switch cartridges look like & I thought, "This thing really should play DS games". I mean the cartridges look very similiar to the existing DS cartridges.

I may be in the minority, but I've been waiting for the Wii, then the Wii U & now the Switch to be able to play DS games. The Switch boasting portability should be ideal to play DS games. I would've bought a Wii U if I could've played my Advance Wars DS games on it. It's that big of a deal for me. Without that feature I'm pouting like a child. I may be acting immature & thinking irrationally, but I feel like Nintendo is still trying to hold back on what they could be offering their consumers. It's like they still think they are dominating the video game market & people will just give them their money no matter what. In actuality Nintendo is in a slump. This would be a perfect opportunity to give Switch owners an awesome library of DS & 3DS games to play on the big screen TV right off the bat. Instead I have the feeling that Nintendo just thinks that they can charge consumers countless times for digital downloads.

Two things to mention:

One, Nintendo has announced that the Switch will not make use of two screens like the Wii U did with its Game Pad, so it's highly unlikely that it'll support DS or 3DS games.

Two, there are a number of DS games available on the Wii U's Virtual Console (not Advance Wars, though both GBA games in the series are on there). However, I much prefer playing DS games on, well, a DS. The Wii U's options of displaying both screens are all awkward in different ways.

[snakeboy]

The Switch boasting portability should be ideal to play DS games.

How feasible would it be, though, to play DS and 3DS games on the go with the Switch without dual screens?

[snakeboy]

I may be acting immature & thinking irrationally, but I feel like Nintendo is still trying to hold back on what they could be offering their consumers.

Doesn't every company hold back what they could be offering to consumers? I suppose Sony could have made the PS4 backwards compatible with the PS1, PS2, and PS3 if they wanted to, but I can understand why they didn't: it's a business and doing so wouldn't have been cost effective.

[Stalvern]

There's a difference between necessary prioritization and deliberately withholding features to milk the userbase - which, yes, is an immature and irrational understanding of why the Switch lacks DS support even though it has kinda sorta similar media.

[Atariboy]

The Switch boasting portability should be ideal to play DS games.

How feasible would it be, though, to play DS and 3DS games on the go with the Switch without dual screens?

It's certainly doable, but it would have to be heavily compromised as seen with some of the various screen options on the Wii U Virtual Console. Take this particular option that's most suitable for games that spread the playfield across both screens like Yoshi's Island DS and Contra IV did, for an example.



The screen is rumored to match the size of the Wii U's 6.2" screen, which based off what I see in the trailer, is likely pretty accurate. Not only is that a lot of wasted screen real estate, but you don't even have to do the math to tell that it won't come close to matching the size of the 3" 4:3 and 3.53" 15:9 displays on non-XL models of the DS/3DS lines (let alone the 4.2"/4.88" screens on their respective XL counterparts).

There are other issues as well, so I really don't see Nintendo even bringing these games to the Virtual Console someday in such compromised form on a single screen game system. Even with dual screens an option and several screen display choices, some of these DS games just don't translate well to the Wii U.

So don't sell your DS and 3DS systems just yet...

[Rookie1]

I wish Nintendo would just do an info dump on this thing. I mean, 5ish months away from release and we still dont know anything about it except what it looks like and a few minor things that it does. Why? Why? Why? It just seems so silly and makes me think that there is a lot that they havent nailed down yet. Like they are still trying to work out kinks on all fronts.

With the holidays coming, the retro NES mini will probably do well, However, a late 1st quarter or early 2nd quarter Switch console launch might be fighting headwinds from people who just paid off Christmas and now are looking at 2016 tax returns on their desks. Giving consumers more information before the holidays not only allows consumers to budget, it allows Nintendo to make some changes if the public reacts poorly, and builds the kind of relationship that communication and transparency fosters.

I fully agree with you, and wish that is what would happen. Nintendo always seems to do what THEY want though, never really taking the user base in to consideration. And, with the exception of the Wii of course, it really hasnt worked well for them in the console market.

I have said it a lot about this thing; I have high hopes that Nintendo will do us right with it, but have very low expectations.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like its going to be a bust. So many promises with absolutely NOTHING backing them right now. We are so close to release and all we have is a video showing how much hipster millennials will love it, and not much else. Just a few 3rd party rumors. Internet sleuths have proven pretty reliable with this whole thing though, and a lot of them are saying its just a re-purposed NVIDIA Shield based on various sources and 3rd party press releases:

http://www.geek.com/games/nvidia-shield ... 1-1617026/

Which is a solid tablet, but not doing well in the gaming market.

Guess we will see (eventually).

[bluenote]

There's a difference between necessary prioritization and deliberately withholding features to milk the userbase - which, yes, is an immature and irrational understanding of why the Switch lacks DS support even though it has kinda sorta similar media.

I think the infrastructure is completely different and is not worth engineering to make it backwards compatible with DS/3DS games.

Plus, from what I've read, Nintendo wants to completely break free from the DS/3DS/Wii/Wii U generation. They want this to be completely new, unlike the Wii U.

[CaptainCruch]

The screen is rumored to match the size of the Wii U's 6.2" screen, which based off what I see in the trailer, is likely pretty accurate.

Does the Nintendo Switch actually have a touchscreen?

[Atariboy]

It remains to be seen.

It makes sense that it would incorporate the feature when being used as a portable (if for nothing else the heavy resemblance to a tablet and people being trained to expect such a device to support touch control). but it also wasn't demonstrated or ever mentioned in the reveal trailer. So it's a legitimate possibility that touch control is dead here, which isn't devoid of sense when the tablet portion of the system has to be docked when utilizing it on a television.

By nixing it completely, there's no restriction of features to portable use only, which has to help with the seamless transition that Nintendo is going after.

[Rookie1]

I would have to assume that this thing will be touch screen for at least the UI. I cant imagine this wont offer streaming services and what not. Would be clunky if you needed the controllers to just watch a movie, so much easier to scroll through things via touch.