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I'd argue that the future of games consoles is still in jeapordy, but the doom and gloom arguments of 2012 were premature. The Nintendo switch is a perfect con

I'd argue that the future of games consoles is still in jeapordy, but the doom and gloom arguments of 2012 were premature. The Nintendo switch is a perfect conceptual example of what the smartphone could turn into, in terms of gaming. It all runs on mobile hardware, with Nvidia Tegra powering the graphics. What's to stop Apple or other companies supporting slot in controllers on the side of the phones? I think it's inevitable that companies take influence from the switch. Once we have 'switches' using the iPhone or Samsung galaxies, etc, I think there's no turning back. Then you can just cast that video feed to the TV a la Switch dock, just over wireless connection. Of course it will take a while to build up the infrastructure for it, but this idea seems obvious.

matte_black 9y ago
Your phone is a phone. You could game on it, but I don’t see hardcore console gamers using it as their primary console for tv gaming. Better to have a dedicated device with it’s own storage and environment built for games.
aaron-lebo 9y ago
The Switch wins because of the games behind it. Even with a nice dock that's never coming to a phone because those companies don't get games. I'd also argue the Switch isn't really a console It's a mobile that can dock (and Nintendo has dominated mobile gaming for 20+ years, so that's not new). It's really underpowered. Playing BotW on a TV at 920p 30 frames is ok, but it's still way below the other real consoles, which can push pusedo-4k. That's really impressive, and may account for some of their popularity. Both the Xbox and PS4 have been really solid systems without lots of the flaws of their predecessors.
- ekianjo 9y ago
  > The Switch wins because of the games behind it. You could have said the same thing for the WiiU (while not a fully portable console per se): It had a few excellent games, but nobody wanted it. It's not as simple as that.
  - aaron-lebo 9y ago
    The Wii U wasn't a mobile at all, though The tablet was tied to the console.
    - ekianjo 9y ago
      Yes but how much does the Switch gets used outside vs inside? In Japan even though it is doing well I have never seen any kid playing with a Switch outside, while 3DS can be seen everywhere.
      - sotojuan 9y ago
        If Japan isn't doing it, then I am guessing Americans don't either. You barely see 3DSs outside anymore. Personally I don't bring my Switch outside because it cost a lot of money, while my 3DS was $100 used. Kind of a weird attitude, since my phone is just as expensive if not more, but it feels unsafe to take the Switch out for my commute.
        ekianjo 9y ago
        Yeah. In Japan its not a safety issue, so I am not sure why they dont carry it around. Maybe because they already have a smartphone anyway and dont want to carry tons of devices around? Anyway this kind of defeats the purpose of having a portable console format for the Switch if it is not used in this way.
  - skellera 9y ago
    The thing is the Switch has already proven to be a winner and it's mainly because of the content on it.
  - niftich 9y ago
    The Switch's success is helped by its predecessor's failure, not unlike Windows 7 was helped by poor reception of Vista. Plenty of people skipped on the Wii U, but demand for Nintendo's content remained high. People wanted to play BotW and Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 despite not wanting to commit to a dead-end console, so Nintendo gave them BotW, Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, and dropped hints [1][2] that more are forthcoming. The Switch refines and realizes the vision of the Wii U and allows gamers who love Nintendo's content to experience some of the best chunks of what they missed, with the promise that more exciting content is on the horizon. The Switch largely sold because people still want to believe in Nintendo, and they think they executed successfully this time around. [1] http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/15/e3-2017-bringing-more-wii-u-games-to-switch-is-an-aactive-discussiona-for-nintendo http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/15/e3-2017-bringing-more... [2] http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-more-switch-wii-u-ports-bring-them-on http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-more-s...
bootlooped 9y ago
> What's to stop Apple or other companies supporting slot in controllers on the side of the phones? If it would make the phone 0.1mm thicker, Apple will not do it.
- marpstar 9y ago
  There doesn't need to be a hardware change, and companies are already offering such devices. Even in Apple's own online store: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKPB2VC/A/gamevice-controller-for-iphone-and-iphone-plus https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKPB2VC/A/gamevice-contro...
  - koiz 9y ago
    Hardware is first pillar content is the second. Why would I buy the first if the second doesn't exist?
pasquinelli 9y ago
your analysis is of the game console as a piece of hardware. similarly, why pay for hbo when i've got youtube? because hbo has the good shit; youtube has mostly just shit.
koiz 9y ago
Whats to stop Nintendo from copying from other companies? Because that's what they did. Content is King. Nintendo made better hardware and people flocked to it but the content was always there.
partiallypro 9y ago
But then you can't use your phone when you're gaming, makes no sense, and you're on a weaker system. Why would anyone do that? The next big thing is already near, it's what Microsoft and Apple will both be doing soon. Bringing their primary system gaming into the living room, using Apple TV or Xbox. The Windows store and App store will both be doing this soon. Microsoft has a head start, but Apple will jump into it soon enough. The reason people are buying gaming consoles is because it fixes two problems at once and it costs the same, if not cheaper, than an AppleTV. You can stream all of your services and TV...and you can game. Closing the platform gap is the next big thing, not the Switch model. The Switch is cool, but as a standalone product, making that a phone is just nonsense. The phone is a gaming companion for more powerful devices, and it coexists in the gaming spectrum as a time passer.
skellera 9y ago
I'd love to see Apple create a console with their custom A chips. They could easily outperform the switch if they wanted to go to that form factor. Otherwise, I still think they could put out a great console with the help of one of the graphic card companies. The issue would be content. Since the other consoles are more like desktops, creators would need to make sure that the games worked on ARM as well. Doubt this will ever happen but it would be pretty cool.
- pornel 9y ago
  They've done it and called it Apple TV: https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/specs/ https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/specs/ Seriously, they're even selling a proper game controller for it: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HL4P2/steelseries-nimbus-wireless-game-controller-with-minecraft-apple-tv-edition?fnode=a4 https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HL4P2/steelseries-nimbus-...
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

matte_black 9y ago

Your phone is a phone. You could game on it, but I don’t see hardcore console gamers using it as their primary console for tv gaming. Better to have a dedicated device with it’s own storage and environment built for games.

aaron-lebo 9y ago

The Switch wins because of the games behind it. Even with a nice dock that's never coming to a phone because those companies don't get games. I'd also argue the Switch isn't really a console It's a mobile that can dock (and Nintendo has dominated mobile gaming for 20+ years, so that's not new). It's really underpowered. Playing BotW on a TV at 920p 30 frames is ok, but it's still way below the other real consoles, which can push pusedo-4k. That's really impressive, and may account for some of their popularity. Both the Xbox and PS4 have been really solid systems without lots of the flaws of their predecessors.

ekianjo 9y ago
> The Switch wins because of the games behind it. You could have said the same thing for the WiiU (while not a fully portable console per se): It had a few excellent games, but nobody wanted it. It's not as simple as that.
- aaron-lebo 9y ago
  The Wii U wasn't a mobile at all, though The tablet was tied to the console.
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    Yes but how much does the Switch gets used outside vs inside? In Japan even though it is doing well I have never seen any kid playing with a Switch outside, while 3DS can be seen everywhere.
    - sotojuan 9y ago
      If Japan isn't doing it, then I am guessing Americans don't either. You barely see 3DSs outside anymore. Personally I don't bring my Switch outside because it cost a lot of money, while my 3DS was $100 used. Kind of a weird attitude, since my phone is just as expensive if not more, but it feels unsafe to take the Switch out for my commute.
      - ekianjo 9y ago
        Yeah. In Japan its not a safety issue, so I am not sure why they dont carry it around. Maybe because they already have a smartphone anyway and dont want to carry tons of devices around? Anyway this kind of defeats the purpose of having a portable console format for the Switch if it is not used in this way.
- skellera 9y ago
  The thing is the Switch has already proven to be a winner and it's mainly because of the content on it.
- niftich 9y ago
  The Switch's success is helped by its predecessor's failure, not unlike Windows 7 was helped by poor reception of Vista. Plenty of people skipped on the Wii U, but demand for Nintendo's content remained high. People wanted to play BotW and Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 despite not wanting to commit to a dead-end console, so Nintendo gave them BotW, Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, and dropped hints [1][2] that more are forthcoming. The Switch refines and realizes the vision of the Wii U and allows gamers who love Nintendo's content to experience some of the best chunks of what they missed, with the promise that more exciting content is on the horizon. The Switch largely sold because people still want to believe in Nintendo, and they think they executed successfully this time around. [1] http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/15/e3-2017-bringing-more-wii-u-games-to-switch-is-an-aactive-discussiona-for-nintendo http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/15/e3-2017-bringing-more... [2] http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-more-switch-wii-u-ports-bring-them-on http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-more-s...

bootlooped 9y ago

> What's to stop Apple or other companies supporting slot in controllers on the side of the phones? If it would make the phone 0.1mm thicker, Apple will not do it.

marpstar 9y ago
There doesn't need to be a hardware change, and companies are already offering such devices. Even in Apple's own online store: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKPB2VC/A/gamevice-controller-for-iphone-and-iphone-plus https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKPB2VC/A/gamevice-contro...
- koiz 9y ago
  Hardware is first pillar content is the second. Why would I buy the first if the second doesn't exist?

pasquinelli 9y ago

your analysis is of the game console as a piece of hardware. similarly, why pay for hbo when i've got youtube? because hbo has the good shit; youtube has mostly just shit.

koiz 9y ago

Whats to stop Nintendo from copying from other companies? Because that's what they did. Content is King. Nintendo made better hardware and people flocked to it but the content was always there.

partiallypro 9y ago

But then you can't use your phone when you're gaming, makes no sense, and you're on a weaker system. Why would anyone do that? The next big thing is already near, it's what Microsoft and Apple will both be doing soon. Bringing their primary system gaming into the living room, using Apple TV or Xbox. The Windows store and App store will both be doing this soon. Microsoft has a head start, but Apple will jump into it soon enough. The reason people are buying gaming consoles is because it fixes two problems at once and it costs the same, if not cheaper, than an AppleTV. You can stream all of your services and TV...and you can game. Closing the platform gap is the next big thing, not the Switch model. The Switch is cool, but as a standalone product, making that a phone is just nonsense. The phone is a gaming companion for more powerful devices, and it coexists in the gaming spectrum as a time passer.

skellera 9y ago

I'd love to see Apple create a console with their custom A chips. They could easily outperform the switch if they wanted to go to that form factor. Otherwise, I still think they could put out a great console with the help of one of the graphic card companies. The issue would be content. Since the other consoles are more like desktops, creators would need to make sure that the games worked on ARM as well. Doubt this will ever happen but it would be pretty cool.

pornel 9y ago
They've done it and called it Apple TV: https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/specs/ https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/specs/ Seriously, they're even selling a proper game controller for it: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HL4P2/steelseries-nimbus-wireless-game-controller-with-minecraft-apple-tv-edition?fnode=a4 https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HL4P2/steelseries-nimbus-...

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]