17 ms·

The Nintendo Switch and Gadget Design

65 points by mcone 9y ago

QAPereo 9y ago
It really isn't, its just another timely gimmick and a walled garden.
- xeromal 9y ago
  I'm not sure if you've actually used it for any duration, but it actually ain't too much of a gimmick. It's docked at home most of the time, but I took it on the plane to iceland for example and was playing zelda the same as I do at home. When my buddy wanted to play mario kart I was able to take the joycons off the side and use each piece as a tiny controller. It definitely looks gimmicky, but damned if it's not convenient when you do need it.
  - kennysmoothx 9y ago
    The fact that a single controller breaks up into 2 fully capable controllers still surprises me to this day. You can play multiplayer from anywhere with a buddy next to you, also 2 controllers breaks into 4 thats great fun when you have guests over. The Switch all in all feels very polished and thought out, very happy with mine.
    - iwebdevfromhome 9y ago
      Not fully capable, I believe it lacks some buttons ? Like the second joystick. But, if the game is designed with this in mind, then the joycons are more than functional!
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
      - EpicEng 9y ago
        They are fully capable and no buttons are missing. Do you have a counter example? Do you even own one?
        Avenger42 9y ago
        You can't use a single Joycon to play Breath of the Wild, for example (at least not as well as with the full controller). You need the second joystick to move the camera, all four of the right buttons and left buttons are assigned to different controls, the plus and minus buttons are different pause menus, and there's a use for the left and right triggers as well, which aren't accessible in single-Joycon mode. Yes, it's great for Mario Kart (before I got the Pro controller, my wife and I were playing with one Joycon each), and similar games (I assume ARMS and 1-2 Switch are built with single-Joycon use in mind) but it's not enough for every single game.
        EpicEng 9y ago
        I see what you're saying: >The fact that a single controller breaks up into 2 fully capable controllers still surprises me to this day. Right, each controller on their own is not fully capable. That said, I think it's an impractical goal (really; how would you play a game like BotW with one hand? Impossible.) and I'm not sure the Gparent meant it that way.
        baby 9y ago
        You can't play Lego or minecraft with these, you need two pair of joy cons.
        EpicEng 9y ago
        Two pairs? You don't need two pairs, you need one pair. Looking back though, I either misunderstood the OP or the parent is correct. One joycon is obviously not fully function on its own, I never meant to say that.
        baby 9y ago
  - QAPereo 9y ago
    I've used it for a while, because despite how little I've enjoyed Nintendo hardware for quite a few years now, I still love some of those games. I'm sorry, but I don't care about mobile, I don't like small screens, so there is zero appeal for me here. Putting your mobile and console lines together is, at the end of the day, gimmicky in a world full of tablets and easier ecosystems to use. Nintendo has been chasing that original Wii money, and that doesn't always mean we get the best consoles, or the best games.
- bitwize 9y ago
  Walled gardens are the future of gadget design. 98% of the mass market just wants to consume, without getting exposed to crud and malware. For them a walled garden is ideal; openness invariably leads to Bonzi Buddy and Comet Cursor.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - QAPereo 9y ago
    I'm not disagreeing with you, but it's also nothing like an innovation or the future of anything, it's just the best that can be managed for now. I think that probably encryption or block chain technology is likely to help create a chain of trust in the future for non-walled gardens.
  - spacelizard 9y ago
    Look at the incentives of the people who made Bonzi Buddy and Comet Cursor. That kind of crud and malware will continue to exist as long as spying and advertising are the prevalent business model, which they still are. This isn't going away with a walled garden, in fact the device manufacturers welcome it with open arms.
    - r00fus 9y ago
      So tell me what is the equivalent of Bonzi Buddy on the iOS App Store? While there are occasional apps that aspire to such, the fact that basic OS functions are private APIs and are not distributable on the only widely available vector into devices prevent malware and many (but not all) privacy breaches.
- oneeyedpigeon 9y ago
  Aren't all consoles 'walled gardens'? If not, what is it about the Switch that makes it more of one?
  - carussell 9y ago
    Looks like you're trying to creatively reinterpret the comment you're responding to into something that's easier for you to take down. I don't see where QAPereo says the thing that you say they're saying. (In fact, I see the opposite, but that's beside the point.) EDIT: Three people (strictnein, nicky0, EpicEng) show up to point out the comment I'm referring to said it's "just another [...] walled garden". Er, yes. That's my entire reason for commenting. I can see the words that were written. Which is why I'm calling out the person I replied to for asking a question that suggests those words say something else. Here's a breakdown of what has just occurred: Person A suggests it's no different from any other walled garden that's come around before. Person B asks Person A to defend the stance that it's different from other walled gardens. I point out the contradiction between what Person A has said and what Person B apparently wants Person A to have said. Then you all show up. Why are we here? I'm gonna leave HN for a while.
    - strictnein 9y ago
      I'm really puzzled by your statement. Honestly. All major consoles are walled gardens.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
    - nicky0 9y ago
      I see them say "it's a walled garden"; what do you see?
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 9y ago
- merpnderp 9y ago
  Taking it to family and friend gatherings and playing the quickdraw game has now become a norm. I love that it facilitates silly interactive sports where my mother in law is giggling as she outdraws my nephew.
- paulcole 9y ago
  > walled garden You say this like it's a bad thing? I love the walled gardens that commenters here seem to hate: iOS, iTunes, Kindle, etc. I know what's going to work, where to buy what I want, don't have to worry about incompatibilities, and know who to go to if I need support. And the prices are reasonable!
  - spondyl 9y ago
    I think it depends on the walled garden itself but in a case like iTunes, said garden has been withering without being watered for quite some time. It still works but it can be clunky at times and hasn't received a substantial update for quite some time last I checked. Sometimes it's nice if a device would just adhere to standards. For example, I can simply mount my OnePlus 3 and traverse it like any regular USB on Linux. Meanwhile on Windows and Mac, I have to use a wonky, seemingly unmaintained Android File Transfer program that gets in the way more than it helps!
- EpicEng 9y ago
  In what way is it a gimmick? A portable that I can also play on a TV... it's been wildly successful (challenged by a weak opening lineup to boot) and many people use it in both modes consistently. It's functional and incredibly useful. By definition, not a gimmick. Hell, I've never liked handhelds, but I enjoy being able to take my switch on business trips. And no one cares about consoles being walled gardens except for people like you on forums like these. Really, 99.999% of people playing these games couldn't care less. In fact, people like these walled gardens better than any other medium because they're simple and they work. The moment my wife has to open a terminal to figure out why her open source variant of a graphics driver is acting wonky is the moment she gives up and goes back to the console.
- balls187 9y ago
  I thought it was a gimmick as well (having owned a Wii and a Wii-U). Then I decided to buy the switch for BOTW, and it's no gimmick at all. Sitting on the couch in whatever slouch position and playing is amazing. And occasionally when I am away from the couch and want to game, the hand-held mode works great.
- kin 9y ago
  It's actually one of the most celebrated consoles by indie developers to date. I don't see anything walled about that at all. What's the gimmick you're referring to? The motion controls? The handheld mode? The dock mode? The kickstand?
- baby 9y ago
  It's not a gimmick. I played it on my parents TV a bunch, moved out, and then played in the plane, played in Airbnbs, played at the laundromat, and now I bought a TV at my new place to be able to play on TV again. Now I often undock it to play in the bed. I haven't really been into handheld gaming but this thing just makes sense. That being said it really lacks games at the moment. Controllers are fucking expensive as well.
dawnerd 9y ago
> The Switch is the first gaming system that works anywhere and everywhere. Uhhhhhhh, what happened to all of nintendos past handhelds, sonys psp, the countless older handhelds that never gained traction?
- tr4656 9y ago
  Guessing the author means that you can dock it and play on a TV/monitor in your house in addition to being portable for taking around.
  - ihuman 9y ago
    But it's not the first to do that. There's a cable that allows you to connect your PSP to your TV.
    - shados 9y ago
      Yeah, I had the same thought. However, the Switch actually makes that convenient, by design. I would play my PSP on TV all the time. It sucked. Getting the screen full size required your TV to have that option (and crappy cheap TVs didn't). Fumbling with the wires was annoying. It didnt have a stand. The Switch has the same feature, you're right. But its designed (and marketed) around it. That's the difference.
      - crtasm 9y ago
        Too small because of underscan? I'm baffled why with HDMI and the 1080p standard it's now the other way round - I need to disable overscan to get the full image and games still have to prompt me to choose a safe area to display UI elements.
    - balls187 9y ago
      You can play the PSP in your handheld and connected your TV. With the Switch you can use it docked, handheld, and tabletop (i.e. stand alone).
potatolicious 9y ago
I have a Switch and enjoy it a lot - but "future of gadget design" seems like an overstatement. The docked mode works great (though the performance at 1080p is a bit sluggish in some games), the split-multiplayer mode in games like Mario Kart is friggin genius. I love that the Switch has brought back local multiplayer. But its actual portability is kind of marginal. Unlike the DS/3DS, it doesn't fold up in a way that facilitates putting it in a bag. The scratchability of the screen means you really don't want to carry it bare in a bag bouncing around with your keys, and the protruding thumbsticks on the controllers make it something of a pain to fit into your default backpack/bag compartments. It really demands a dedicated carrying case, which is something I thought we got past in the 90s in the Game Boy era. Overall still really enjoying the Switch, but I carry it around a lot less than I used to carry around a Nintendo DS.
- strictnein 9y ago
  > I love that the Switch has brought back local multiplayer Sort of. I was really disappointed to find that Splatoon 2, one of the biggest games for the Switch, does not feature splitscreen multiplayer. The original Splatoon, on the Wii U, had awesome local multiplayer: one player used the TV, the other used the screen on the Wii U GamePad. Each user got a full screen. How splitscreen wasn't possible with better hardware is a little confusing, to be honest.
  - jclardy 9y ago
    Yeah, I was completely sold on the Switch as the best couch co-op console till Splatoon 2 came out. Nintendo's biggest new franchise...and you have to use our crappy online service to play with friends (Or everyone has to invest $360 to play locally.) Throwing salt on the wound is having the co-op mode being only playable when they want you to. I actually haven't played it since the first time I went to play Salmon Run and it was blocked off. Splatoon 2 is a really fun game, but they really did a botch job on the end user experience.
    - mercer 9y ago
      Nintendo wouldn't be Nintendo without doing a whole bunch of stuff that just doesn't seem to make sense. Come to think of it, my 'relationship' with Nintendo is very similar to the one I have with Apple. I sometimes feel that they intentionally do stuff that is unfriendly to their user-base, but ultimately they can get away with it by doing a whole bunch of stuff right in a way that others don't. (And come to think of that, this description applies to most of the closest friends I've had throughout my life. Odd, that.)
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
jclardy 9y ago
The worst thing from a hardware perspective on the switch is their proprietary dock. They could have used open standards for docked mode, then people could use existing things (like my Apple HDMI dongle, or any of the other third party USB-C power/HDMI ones) as a portable docking solution. Personally I'm not going to buy a second dock, because it is unnecessarily bulky for traveling, when some thing dongle sized could do the exact same job. Taking my switch and plugging it into a friends TV shouldn't be as much of a hassle as it is, being that it is a portable console. Yes, it is smaller than other consoles even with the dock, but it still requires its own bag to carry it all.
- saghm 9y ago
  I haven't gotten one myself, but this might be something you're interested in: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/6/13/15793502/nyko-portable-docking-kit-nintendo-switch-dock-e3-2017 https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/6/13/15793502/n...
- kllrnohj 9y ago
  According to http://plugable.com/2017/04/26/plugable-products-unofficially-compatible-with-nintendo-switch/ http://plugable.com/2017/04/26/plugable-products-unofficiall... they are using a standard, just they are using the uncommon MyDP standard instead of the more common HDMI alt modes. But there are alternative docks available - Nyko makes a much smaller, more portable dock, for example. Charging, input, and network adapters are all common, standard USB-C & Bluetooth, so that's progress at least.
  - TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago
    Not using HDMI alt mode isn't really that uncommon. Apple's products output DisplayPort rather than HDMI.
    - kllrnohj 9y ago
      Specifically it's that MyDP is uncommon, not that DP is uncommon.
ferentchak 9y ago
I think the TurboExpress had most of these killer features. I wanted one soooooo bad when I was a kid
nsaslideface 9y ago
The Switch has a huge amount of potential, but it lacks the games still. None of the big releases so far use the platform to its fullest: they're really good video games, not necessarily good _Switch_ games. BOTW, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Odyssey all seem like they are just Wii U games with better internal quality, only sparsely interfacing with new Switch features. Nintendo also shed beloved handheld features like Streetpass, didn't include obvious features like Bluetooth audio, and are really messing up their online services ... the internet Splatoon fanbase seems to roundly regard the Switch online experience a failure for the context of 2017
- b_ttercup 9y ago
  ARMs is solid. First time I have preferred motion controls over traditional inputs (for entertainment, not efficacy).
- currymj 9y ago
  i have a really weird and contrarian opinion, which is that Splatoon online is good because it's bad. I swear I actually believe this, though, not just trolling. voice chat is difficult and terrible, so nobody really uses it! that's a major plus in my book. most people will never run into more vile people than when gaming online. the multiplayer is unbalanced, issues with lag and disconnection often mean that the outcomes of matches just aren't fair. this is good, because it sort of limits how seriously you can take the game. just relax and have fun instead of a hypercompetitive 3-hours-a-day online sport. the inconvenience of parties/team up is good, it means it's hard for people to get an us-vs-them mentality or want to just dominate weaker players. i'd be really shocked if this is all intentional on Nintendo's part; it's probably just hubris and not-invented-here syndrome. but in practice it feels almost like all the online inadequacies are a kind of traffic calming -- like putting trees and islands in the middle of a busy road to get people to slow down. it makes things more welcoming for people like me who normally loathe online games.
  - nsaslideface 9y ago
    I totally get that. That theory's interesting and I agree the game shouldn't aspire to have the same sort of player experience/base as those of CoD or PUBG. The lack of voice chat is no problem for me, though the app is terrible at what it tries to do (voice chat with your own team) which is something I'd want to do with casual friend players. Instead I just end up using Skype.
AnotherHustler 9y ago
Quote from the article: "This console, made for shooters and runners and jumpers, could become something much greater than Nintendo ever imagined, because anyone who wants to can build the software and hardware to improve it." Is this true? Is it no longer necessary to be an approved Nintendo developer to write software for it? I recall back in the day it was difficult for an indy to get a Nintendo dev licence. What's changed here? EDIT: For those who care - this is what I just found... http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/292788/Becoming_a_Nintendo_Switch_indie_dev_will_be_tough_early_on.php http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/292788/Becoming_a_Nintend... According to above article, it will be tough getting onto the platform as an indy. Pity, I was excited for a moment...

65 points by mcone 9y ago

QAPereo 9y ago

It really isn't, its just another timely gimmick and a walled garden.

xeromal 9y ago
I'm not sure if you've actually used it for any duration, but it actually ain't too much of a gimmick. It's docked at home most of the time, but I took it on the plane to iceland for example and was playing zelda the same as I do at home. When my buddy wanted to play mario kart I was able to take the joycons off the side and use each piece as a tiny controller. It definitely looks gimmicky, but damned if it's not convenient when you do need it.
- kennysmoothx 9y ago
  The fact that a single controller breaks up into 2 fully capable controllers still surprises me to this day. You can play multiplayer from anywhere with a buddy next to you, also 2 controllers breaks into 4 thats great fun when you have guests over. The Switch all in all feels very polished and thought out, very happy with mine.
  - iwebdevfromhome 9y ago
    Not fully capable, I believe it lacks some buttons ? Like the second joystick. But, if the game is designed with this in mind, then the joycons are more than functional!
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - EpicEng 9y ago
      They are fully capable and no buttons are missing. Do you have a counter example? Do you even own one?
      - Avenger42 9y ago
        You can't use a single Joycon to play Breath of the Wild, for example (at least not as well as with the full controller). You need the second joystick to move the camera, all four of the right buttons and left buttons are assigned to different controls, the plus and minus buttons are different pause menus, and there's a use for the left and right triggers as well, which aren't accessible in single-Joycon mode. Yes, it's great for Mario Kart (before I got the Pro controller, my wife and I were playing with one Joycon each), and similar games (I assume ARMS and 1-2 Switch are built with single-Joycon use in mind) but it's not enough for every single game.
        EpicEng 9y ago
        I see what you're saying: >The fact that a single controller breaks up into 2 fully capable controllers still surprises me to this day. Right, each controller on their own is not fully capable. That said, I think it's an impractical goal (really; how would you play a game like BotW with one hand? Impossible.) and I'm not sure the Gparent meant it that way.
      - baby 9y ago
        You can't play Lego or minecraft with these, you need two pair of joy cons.
        EpicEng 9y ago
        Two pairs? You don't need two pairs, you need one pair. Looking back though, I either misunderstood the OP or the parent is correct. One joycon is obviously not fully function on its own, I never meant to say that.
        baby 9y ago
- QAPereo 9y ago
  I've used it for a while, because despite how little I've enjoyed Nintendo hardware for quite a few years now, I still love some of those games. I'm sorry, but I don't care about mobile, I don't like small screens, so there is zero appeal for me here. Putting your mobile and console lines together is, at the end of the day, gimmicky in a world full of tablets and easier ecosystems to use. Nintendo has been chasing that original Wii money, and that doesn't always mean we get the best consoles, or the best games.
bitwize 9y ago
Walled gardens are the future of gadget design. 98% of the mass market just wants to consume, without getting exposed to crud and malware. For them a walled garden is ideal; openness invariably leads to Bonzi Buddy and Comet Cursor.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- QAPereo 9y ago
  I'm not disagreeing with you, but it's also nothing like an innovation or the future of anything, it's just the best that can be managed for now. I think that probably encryption or block chain technology is likely to help create a chain of trust in the future for non-walled gardens.
- spacelizard 9y ago
  Look at the incentives of the people who made Bonzi Buddy and Comet Cursor. That kind of crud and malware will continue to exist as long as spying and advertising are the prevalent business model, which they still are. This isn't going away with a walled garden, in fact the device manufacturers welcome it with open arms.
  - r00fus 9y ago
    So tell me what is the equivalent of Bonzi Buddy on the iOS App Store? While there are occasional apps that aspire to such, the fact that basic OS functions are private APIs and are not distributable on the only widely available vector into devices prevent malware and many (but not all) privacy breaches.
oneeyedpigeon 9y ago
Aren't all consoles 'walled gardens'? If not, what is it about the Switch that makes it more of one?
- carussell 9y ago
  Looks like you're trying to creatively reinterpret the comment you're responding to into something that's easier for you to take down. I don't see where QAPereo says the thing that you say they're saying. (In fact, I see the opposite, but that's beside the point.) EDIT: Three people (strictnein, nicky0, EpicEng) show up to point out the comment I'm referring to said it's "just another [...] walled garden". Er, yes. That's my entire reason for commenting. I can see the words that were written. Which is why I'm calling out the person I replied to for asking a question that suggests those words say something else. Here's a breakdown of what has just occurred: Person A suggests it's no different from any other walled garden that's come around before. Person B asks Person A to defend the stance that it's different from other walled gardens. I point out the contradiction between what Person A has said and what Person B apparently wants Person A to have said. Then you all show up. Why are we here? I'm gonna leave HN for a while.
  - strictnein 9y ago
    I'm really puzzled by your statement. Honestly. All major consoles are walled gardens.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - nicky0 9y ago
    I see them say "it's a walled garden"; what do you see?
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 9y ago
merpnderp 9y ago
Taking it to family and friend gatherings and playing the quickdraw game has now become a norm. I love that it facilitates silly interactive sports where my mother in law is giggling as she outdraws my nephew.
paulcole 9y ago
> walled garden You say this like it's a bad thing? I love the walled gardens that commenters here seem to hate: iOS, iTunes, Kindle, etc. I know what's going to work, where to buy what I want, don't have to worry about incompatibilities, and know who to go to if I need support. And the prices are reasonable!
- spondyl 9y ago
  I think it depends on the walled garden itself but in a case like iTunes, said garden has been withering without being watered for quite some time. It still works but it can be clunky at times and hasn't received a substantial update for quite some time last I checked. Sometimes it's nice if a device would just adhere to standards. For example, I can simply mount my OnePlus 3 and traverse it like any regular USB on Linux. Meanwhile on Windows and Mac, I have to use a wonky, seemingly unmaintained Android File Transfer program that gets in the way more than it helps!
EpicEng 9y ago
In what way is it a gimmick? A portable that I can also play on a TV... it's been wildly successful (challenged by a weak opening lineup to boot) and many people use it in both modes consistently. It's functional and incredibly useful. By definition, not a gimmick. Hell, I've never liked handhelds, but I enjoy being able to take my switch on business trips. And no one cares about consoles being walled gardens except for people like you on forums like these. Really, 99.999% of people playing these games couldn't care less. In fact, people like these walled gardens better than any other medium because they're simple and they work. The moment my wife has to open a terminal to figure out why her open source variant of a graphics driver is acting wonky is the moment she gives up and goes back to the console.
balls187 9y ago
I thought it was a gimmick as well (having owned a Wii and a Wii-U). Then I decided to buy the switch for BOTW, and it's no gimmick at all. Sitting on the couch in whatever slouch position and playing is amazing. And occasionally when I am away from the couch and want to game, the hand-held mode works great.
kin 9y ago
It's actually one of the most celebrated consoles by indie developers to date. I don't see anything walled about that at all. What's the gimmick you're referring to? The motion controls? The handheld mode? The dock mode? The kickstand?
baby 9y ago
It's not a gimmick. I played it on my parents TV a bunch, moved out, and then played in the plane, played in Airbnbs, played at the laundromat, and now I bought a TV at my new place to be able to play on TV again. Now I often undock it to play in the bed. I haven't really been into handheld gaming but this thing just makes sense. That being said it really lacks games at the moment. Controllers are fucking expensive as well.

dawnerd 9y ago

> The Switch is the first gaming system that works anywhere and everywhere. Uhhhhhhh, what happened to all of nintendos past handhelds, sonys psp, the countless older handhelds that never gained traction?

tr4656 9y ago
Guessing the author means that you can dock it and play on a TV/monitor in your house in addition to being portable for taking around.
- ihuman 9y ago
  But it's not the first to do that. There's a cable that allows you to connect your PSP to your TV.
  - shados 9y ago
    Yeah, I had the same thought. However, the Switch actually makes that convenient, by design. I would play my PSP on TV all the time. It sucked. Getting the screen full size required your TV to have that option (and crappy cheap TVs didn't). Fumbling with the wires was annoying. It didnt have a stand. The Switch has the same feature, you're right. But its designed (and marketed) around it. That's the difference.
    - crtasm 9y ago
      Too small because of underscan? I'm baffled why with HDMI and the 1080p standard it's now the other way round - I need to disable overscan to get the full image and games still have to prompt me to choose a safe area to display UI elements.
  - balls187 9y ago
    You can play the PSP in your handheld and connected your TV. With the Switch you can use it docked, handheld, and tabletop (i.e. stand alone).

potatolicious 9y ago

I have a Switch and enjoy it a lot - but "future of gadget design" seems like an overstatement. The docked mode works great (though the performance at 1080p is a bit sluggish in some games), the split-multiplayer mode in games like Mario Kart is friggin genius. I love that the Switch has brought back local multiplayer. But its actual portability is kind of marginal. Unlike the DS/3DS, it doesn't fold up in a way that facilitates putting it in a bag. The scratchability of the screen means you really don't want to carry it bare in a bag bouncing around with your keys, and the protruding thumbsticks on the controllers make it something of a pain to fit into your default backpack/bag compartments. It really demands a dedicated carrying case, which is something I thought we got past in the 90s in the Game Boy era. Overall still really enjoying the Switch, but I carry it around a lot less than I used to carry around a Nintendo DS.

strictnein 9y ago
> I love that the Switch has brought back local multiplayer Sort of. I was really disappointed to find that Splatoon 2, one of the biggest games for the Switch, does not feature splitscreen multiplayer. The original Splatoon, on the Wii U, had awesome local multiplayer: one player used the TV, the other used the screen on the Wii U GamePad. Each user got a full screen. How splitscreen wasn't possible with better hardware is a little confusing, to be honest.
- jclardy 9y ago
  Yeah, I was completely sold on the Switch as the best couch co-op console till Splatoon 2 came out. Nintendo's biggest new franchise...and you have to use our crappy online service to play with friends (Or everyone has to invest $360 to play locally.) Throwing salt on the wound is having the co-op mode being only playable when they want you to. I actually haven't played it since the first time I went to play Salmon Run and it was blocked off. Splatoon 2 is a really fun game, but they really did a botch job on the end user experience.
  - mercer 9y ago
    Nintendo wouldn't be Nintendo without doing a whole bunch of stuff that just doesn't seem to make sense. Come to think of it, my 'relationship' with Nintendo is very similar to the one I have with Apple. I sometimes feel that they intentionally do stuff that is unfriendly to their user-base, but ultimately they can get away with it by doing a whole bunch of stuff right in a way that others don't. (And come to think of that, this description applies to most of the closest friends I've had throughout my life. Odd, that.)

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

jclardy 9y ago

The worst thing from a hardware perspective on the switch is their proprietary dock. They could have used open standards for docked mode, then people could use existing things (like my Apple HDMI dongle, or any of the other third party USB-C power/HDMI ones) as a portable docking solution. Personally I'm not going to buy a second dock, because it is unnecessarily bulky for traveling, when some thing dongle sized could do the exact same job. Taking my switch and plugging it into a friends TV shouldn't be as much of a hassle as it is, being that it is a portable console. Yes, it is smaller than other consoles even with the dock, but it still requires its own bag to carry it all.

saghm 9y ago
I haven't gotten one myself, but this might be something you're interested in: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/6/13/15793502/nyko-portable-docking-kit-nintendo-switch-dock-e3-2017 https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/6/13/15793502/n...
kllrnohj 9y ago
According to http://plugable.com/2017/04/26/plugable-products-unofficially-compatible-with-nintendo-switch/ http://plugable.com/2017/04/26/plugable-products-unofficiall... they are using a standard, just they are using the uncommon MyDP standard instead of the more common HDMI alt modes. But there are alternative docks available - Nyko makes a much smaller, more portable dock, for example. Charging, input, and network adapters are all common, standard USB-C & Bluetooth, so that's progress at least.
- TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago
  Not using HDMI alt mode isn't really that uncommon. Apple's products output DisplayPort rather than HDMI.
  - kllrnohj 9y ago
    Specifically it's that MyDP is uncommon, not that DP is uncommon.

ferentchak 9y ago

I think the TurboExpress had most of these killer features. I wanted one soooooo bad when I was a kid

nsaslideface 9y ago

The Switch has a huge amount of potential, but it lacks the games still. None of the big releases so far use the platform to its fullest: they're really good video games, not necessarily good _Switch_ games. BOTW, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Odyssey all seem like they are just Wii U games with better internal quality, only sparsely interfacing with new Switch features. Nintendo also shed beloved handheld features like Streetpass, didn't include obvious features like Bluetooth audio, and are really messing up their online services ... the internet Splatoon fanbase seems to roundly regard the Switch online experience a failure for the context of 2017

b_ttercup 9y ago
ARMs is solid. First time I have preferred motion controls over traditional inputs (for entertainment, not efficacy).
currymj 9y ago
i have a really weird and contrarian opinion, which is that Splatoon online is good because it's bad. I swear I actually believe this, though, not just trolling. voice chat is difficult and terrible, so nobody really uses it! that's a major plus in my book. most people will never run into more vile people than when gaming online. the multiplayer is unbalanced, issues with lag and disconnection often mean that the outcomes of matches just aren't fair. this is good, because it sort of limits how seriously you can take the game. just relax and have fun instead of a hypercompetitive 3-hours-a-day online sport. the inconvenience of parties/team up is good, it means it's hard for people to get an us-vs-them mentality or want to just dominate weaker players. i'd be really shocked if this is all intentional on Nintendo's part; it's probably just hubris and not-invented-here syndrome. but in practice it feels almost like all the online inadequacies are a kind of traffic calming -- like putting trees and islands in the middle of a busy road to get people to slow down. it makes things more welcoming for people like me who normally loathe online games.
- nsaslideface 9y ago
  I totally get that. That theory's interesting and I agree the game shouldn't aspire to have the same sort of player experience/base as those of CoD or PUBG. The lack of voice chat is no problem for me, though the app is terrible at what it tries to do (voice chat with your own team) which is something I'd want to do with casual friend players. Instead I just end up using Skype.

AnotherHustler 9y ago

Quote from the article: "This console, made for shooters and runners and jumpers, could become something much greater than Nintendo ever imagined, because anyone who wants to can build the software and hardware to improve it." Is this true? Is it no longer necessary to be an approved Nintendo developer to write software for it? I recall back in the day it was difficult for an indy to get a Nintendo dev licence. What's changed here? EDIT: For those who care - this is what I just found... http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/292788/Becoming_a_Nintendo_Switch_indie_dev_will_be_tough_early_on.php http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/292788/Becoming_a_Nintend... According to above article, it will be tough getting onto the platform as an indy. Pity, I was excited for a moment...