5 ms·

Yeah, the two people playing Mario Kart split screen on that thing was laughable.

by wmeredith 10y ago

hprotagonist 10y ago
with half a controller each, too.
- Cyph0n 10y ago
  Which struck me as a brilliant idea.
  - 6stringmerc 10y ago
    As the years go on and my fingers get more wear and tear, my first question seeing the tiny controller option was "I wonder how bad my hand will cramp using this" but it looks absolutely perfect for kids.
  - GrumpyYoungMan 10y ago
    I dunno. I'll grant that it's a clever idea but those half-controllers aren't going to have all the buttons that a full controller does, so games using that mode will be restricted in what controls they have. Plus, the ergonomics is not going to be as good as a full controller as well.
    - abjorn 10y ago
      It looks like they've kept the D-Pad in so it can double as the A/B/X/Y buttons in that situation, which I think is a really clever way to alleviate some of that issue. I think the type of games where this use case makes sense probably don't need a large number of buttons anyways, though.
    - r-w 10y ago
      But they don't need to have all the buttons or even be ergonomic; they just need to be convenient enough that there's nothing else that provides the same functionality or better. Everything else just affects the quality of the experience, but that determines whether anyone even buys it.
    - serge2k 10y ago
      > those half-controllers aren't going to have all the buttons that a full controller does What are you talking about? https://i.imgur.com/zhz5wHh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zhz5wHh.jpg
    - aphistic 10y ago
      They looked like they're basically small Wii controllers.
- nkg 10y ago
  I can't imagine how complicated it must be to develop a decent game that works with a full controller, half a controller, 2 full controllers, 4x1/2 controllers, etc
  - mathw 10y ago
    Wii U devs are already doing that kind of thing. Mario Kart 8 supports a ridiculous variety of controllers from both the Wii and the Wii U, which actually is great if you're me because you can suddenly do four-player Mario Kart thanks to those old Wiimotes lying around! I hope the Switch can still talk to Wiimotes. Even if they drop sensor bar and the ability to point (which will prevent most Wii games coming to Virtual Console without substantial modifications), being able to pair with one and use the nunchuck or the classic controller would be great for someone like me who has a Wii gathering dust and a Wii U on active service.
    - JimmyAustin 10y ago
      Given that the sensor bar is just two IR diodes spaced apart, it's not unimaginable that they could just integrate it into the body of the console itself. There exists a youtube video of someone using two Zippo lighters to emulate it.
  - Pfhreak 10y ago
    I'm sure there's an abstraction over all of it. The game just has to support N controllers. The number of inputs necessary to drive mariokart are pretty small (turning, acceleration, menus, items). Other than maybe displaying some specific images for each controller type, I doubt the game actually cares deeply about the full vs half controller.
- wodenokoto 10y ago
  The "half" controller is basically a full super nintendo controller
- cbhl 10y ago
  If each half of the controller is similar to a Wii Remote (+-pad and two or three buttons and an accelerometer/gyroscope) then it'll be plenty to play a lot of Wii U games.
scrabble 10y ago
It's brilliant. I have kids, and I could definitely see it coming places like the car where the kids are able to play together, or where I am able to play with the kids.
- danneu 10y ago
  Growing up, my family would do a 24 hour drive to visit family in Pennsylvania, and my dad would get the Sega/N64 working in the van with an inverter for my sisters and me to play on this tiny 10in screen. I looked forward to the 24 hour drive because we'd play games like Mario Kart the whole time. Not an easy drive to make with triplets, but we loved it. Didn't make a peep.
  - ddavidn 10y ago
    Similarly, we hooked up the N64 in the motorhome on a tiny CRT TV and played split-screen (Tony Hawk, mostly). Great times, terrible hardware.
TulliusCicero 10y ago
I've used the Wii U Gamepad to play multiplayer games in the car with my son (you don't need a monitor at all). Yeah it's a bit of a tight squeeze, but still fun.
sergiotapia 10y ago
I'm a parent - I think it's brilliant and probably the #1 usage the console is going to get!

Yeah, the two people playing Mario Kart split screen on that thing was laughable.

hprotagonist 10y ago

with half a controller each, too.

Cyph0n 10y ago
Which struck me as a brilliant idea.
- 6stringmerc 10y ago
  As the years go on and my fingers get more wear and tear, my first question seeing the tiny controller option was "I wonder how bad my hand will cramp using this" but it looks absolutely perfect for kids.
- GrumpyYoungMan 10y ago
  I dunno. I'll grant that it's a clever idea but those half-controllers aren't going to have all the buttons that a full controller does, so games using that mode will be restricted in what controls they have. Plus, the ergonomics is not going to be as good as a full controller as well.
  - abjorn 10y ago
    It looks like they've kept the D-Pad in so it can double as the A/B/X/Y buttons in that situation, which I think is a really clever way to alleviate some of that issue. I think the type of games where this use case makes sense probably don't need a large number of buttons anyways, though.
  - r-w 10y ago
    But they don't need to have all the buttons or even be ergonomic; they just need to be convenient enough that there's nothing else that provides the same functionality or better. Everything else just affects the quality of the experience, but that determines whether anyone even buys it.
  - serge2k 10y ago
    > those half-controllers aren't going to have all the buttons that a full controller does What are you talking about? https://i.imgur.com/zhz5wHh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zhz5wHh.jpg
  - aphistic 10y ago
    They looked like they're basically small Wii controllers.
nkg 10y ago
I can't imagine how complicated it must be to develop a decent game that works with a full controller, half a controller, 2 full controllers, 4x1/2 controllers, etc
- mathw 10y ago
  Wii U devs are already doing that kind of thing. Mario Kart 8 supports a ridiculous variety of controllers from both the Wii and the Wii U, which actually is great if you're me because you can suddenly do four-player Mario Kart thanks to those old Wiimotes lying around! I hope the Switch can still talk to Wiimotes. Even if they drop sensor bar and the ability to point (which will prevent most Wii games coming to Virtual Console without substantial modifications), being able to pair with one and use the nunchuck or the classic controller would be great for someone like me who has a Wii gathering dust and a Wii U on active service.
  - JimmyAustin 10y ago
    Given that the sensor bar is just two IR diodes spaced apart, it's not unimaginable that they could just integrate it into the body of the console itself. There exists a youtube video of someone using two Zippo lighters to emulate it.
- Pfhreak 10y ago
  I'm sure there's an abstraction over all of it. The game just has to support N controllers. The number of inputs necessary to drive mariokart are pretty small (turning, acceleration, menus, items). Other than maybe displaying some specific images for each controller type, I doubt the game actually cares deeply about the full vs half controller.
wodenokoto 10y ago
The "half" controller is basically a full super nintendo controller
cbhl 10y ago
If each half of the controller is similar to a Wii Remote (+-pad and two or three buttons and an accelerometer/gyroscope) then it'll be plenty to play a lot of Wii U games.

scrabble 10y ago

It's brilliant. I have kids, and I could definitely see it coming places like the car where the kids are able to play together, or where I am able to play with the kids.

danneu 10y ago
Growing up, my family would do a 24 hour drive to visit family in Pennsylvania, and my dad would get the Sega/N64 working in the van with an inverter for my sisters and me to play on this tiny 10in screen. I looked forward to the 24 hour drive because we'd play games like Mario Kart the whole time. Not an easy drive to make with triplets, but we loved it. Didn't make a peep.
- ddavidn 10y ago
  Similarly, we hooked up the N64 in the motorhome on a tiny CRT TV and played split-screen (Tony Hawk, mostly). Great times, terrible hardware.

TulliusCicero 10y ago

I've used the Wii U Gamepad to play multiplayer games in the car with my son (you don't need a monitor at all). Yeah it's a bit of a tight squeeze, but still fun.

sergiotapia 10y ago

I'm a parent - I think it's brilliant and probably the #1 usage the console is going to get!