Nintendo of America has made quite the preemptive announcement, promising to show off more information about their upcoming Nintendo Switch system during a live presentation on January 12, 2017.

According to NOA, the pricing, release date and launch lineup will be discussed in the stream.

This will be an event for invited media, financial analysts, and trade partners in Tokyo that will be globally livestreamed on Jan. 12, U.S. time. The presentation will include the launch date and pricing for Nintendo Switch, as well as a look at the lineup of games currently in development

There will be opportunities for the public to participate in other hands-on events around the same time, details of which will be announced later.

SOURCE

 

[osaka35]

They're playing this release right. Not a deluge of information, but the right information at the right time. The general population don't need to know about any haptic feedback or the like at the moment. All they need to know is what they showed us. New home console. and you can take it with you and play local multiplayer anywhere. Come january, once that notion has saturated all it's going to, you give out the rest of the details and games.

They definitely got themselves a new marketing team.

 

[mashers]

Also, I think you're the guy next on my list for Sketch Request.

I think so too. But mine is complicated, so feel free to skip it if you don't want to do it (though it would look amazing on my wall )

 

[sarkwalvein]

@sarkwalvein
There are few things I find more obnoxious on a forum than quoting somebody, changing the words to your own opinion, and writing "fixed". If you disagree with me then that's fine of course, I don't care. But I hate people "fixing" other peoples comments. My opinion is my own and is perfectly valid; it doesn't need to be "fixed".

Ok, I don't care.
If you got the message, it's alright.
If you didn't read again.

 

[air2004]

Gba should create a block pool for how units people think will be sold in the first 3 months. Part of the kitty could pay for server costs while the rest goes towards prizes.

 

[Noctosphere]

The only one lower is a GTX 1040 and it's still capable of 1080p@60 with mid-high settings. You'd have to go all the way back to a GTX 960 before you'd see a card that might struggle to pretty much max out 1080p.

i could max a lot of games at 1080p with my old gtx760... imagine what ican do now with my new gtx1060

 

[LightyKD]

I'm not worried about the power of this thing. Hell, I'm currently happy gaming on my PC using a GeForce GT730 and yes, I know most here will say that it's a shit card. The major thing for me is connectivity and media apps. I DO hope that the Switch has a webcam. I want Switch to have streaming video apps and a damn media player for once. I want a decent update to Miiverse that compliments the console. Miiverse might be a glorified website but it has potential and is pretty much similar to the Steam community. Finally I want to be able to EASILY chat with people. Nintendo, it's a dumb ass move to give people a friends list icon but then force them to travel to the Miiverse to send messages instead of allowing messaging from the damn friends list. UGH! Finally, support for motion and touch, USB hard drives, SD cards and other accessories would be nice. As long as developers are using the full power of the console, I'm happy.

With Wii, developers were half assing it. It was like a puzzle that nobody wanted to bring together. One game had great online, one game has great water effects, one game has a huge city, one game has decent looking characters, not many games tried to present the Wii gamer the whole package within the Wii's limits. In regards to Wii U, it was wasted potential and mostly Nintendo's fault. Games pricing was NOT competitive. Miiverse, while decent needs improvement. Messaging friends was a pain in the ass. No media player, no decent web browser updates, and not enough streaming apps (PBS Kids and HBO Go would have been nice). -the inability to control your sound set from the Gamepad yet you could control most cable boxes and TVs which STILL required you to have a second remote. Wii U was a fucking mess. Shitch has a lot to make up for and if Nintendo fails this time, they might was well go join Sega in the third party arena.

 

[Xzi]

And again, i find it hilarious that kids continue to compare Desktop gpus which are a half a feet long with a a huge cooler

XB1 and PS4 don't use full-sized GPUs. They use APUs. Really not that far off in power from mobile GPUs. Same reason they had to pull the trigger on new hardware revisions so early.

 

[Fronic]

Personally if it has as amazing of a launch as everyone is anticipating it might be the first system I don't get two years down the line but on release. Hell I still need to get a PS3 but exclusives are rare and most are dull. Nintendo hasn't disappointed me yet even with the Wii U, but I only bought it 2 years ago when I saw a nice library. Funny thing is it feels like PS4 might actually be at a spot that if I had the spare change and owned a PS3 I would get it because it finally has a set of games worth it instead of remakes and multiplats that I would rather get on PC.

All I know is that the Switch is going to be at least as powerful as a Wii U and rumor mill suggests closer to Xbone. And it is going to be portable and have Nintendo games on it. Plus, less chance of a drought by having only one system out there. I seriously think that is most of what brought the Wii U down was the focus on the 3DS, more than anything. Sure the first year of the Wii U was hampered by poor marketing, and that is all on Nintendo, but it had the best first year this gen if you just look at high quality exclusives.

Just because I see some people that need to chill this is just my opinion and so yes it is not absolute truth it is just dem feels.

 

[TemplarGR]

Personally if it has as amazing of a launch as everyone is anticipating it might be the first system I don't get two years down the line but on release. Hell I still need to get a PS3 but exclusives are rare and most are dull. Nintendo hasn't disappointed me yet even with the Wii U, but I only bought it 2 years ago when I saw a nice library. Funny thing is it feels like PS4 might actually be at a spot that if I had the spare change and owned a PS3 I would get it because it finally has a set of games worth it instead of remakes and multiplats that I would rather get on PC.

All I know is that the Switch is going to be at least as powerful as a Wii U and rumor mill suggests closer to Xbone. And it is going to be portable and have Nintendo games on it. Plus, less chance of a drought by having only one system out there. I seriously think that is most of what brought the Wii U down was the focus on the 3DS, more than anything. Sure the first year of the Wii U was hampered by poor marketing, and that is all on Nintendo, but it had the best first year this gen if you just look at high quality exclusives.

Just because I see some people that need to chill this is just my opinion and so yes it is not absolute truth it is just dem feels.

Sorry to dissappoint you, but the droughts will happen for the Switch as well. The Wii U didn't face droughts because of the 3DS, that is nonsense. Nintendo always supported their handhelds, even before the SNES was released, and they didn't have as much droughts on their main consoles. And it's not like the 3DS was extra-supported by Nintendo or anything. If you count the games and look how many years the thing was out, it got less support than the original DS and GB. And it faces a similar drought from 1st party for some time now.

Also, you don't seem to realize how Nintendo operates and how game developing works. There is a reason Nintendo tries to make each portable similar to the power of an earlier home console: They can port games, game engines and assets, and have them run well with minimal alterations and work required, compared to creating a game from scratch. See that Super Mario 3D Land? Its engine is from Super Mario Sunshine/Galaxy with some changes to better fit the 3DS. Zelda's is Twilights Princess. Fire Emblem's is a directly from the Wii u. Etc etc. The only thing that changes is the resolution output, lower resolution textures, 3D support, plus some 3DS specific changes like usage of its special shaders. All it takes then is a recompile for the ARM architecture. That's about it.

So, Nintendo didn't have to pay so much money to develop games for the 3DS. Nor they needed really large teams. Their major focus was on the Wii U, but they have been stuck in the past. Nintendo doesn't like to invest money to please its customers. They like to provide 0 and ask for a ton of money for it. When a company is used to just port SNES games to a handheld and get rich, they think the good times will last for ever so there is no need to invest in better development studios, like other companies like Sony are doing. So the Wii U dev teams really couldn't compete much, because HD AAA development requires bigger and better organized studios, AKA investments.

Nintendo pays its greediness, that is why they are eventually going out of business.

 

[Xzi]

So, Nintendo didn't have to pay so much money to develop games for the 3DS. Nor they needed really large teams. Their major focus was on the Wii U, but they have been stuck in the past. Nintendo doesn't like to invest money to please its customers. They like to provide 0 and ask for a ton of money for it. When a company is used to just port SNES games to a handheld and get rich, they think the good times will last for ever so there is no need to invest in better development studios, like other companies like Sony are doing. So the Wii U dev teams really couldn't compete much, because HD AAA development requires bigger and better organized studios, AKA investments.

Nintendo pays its greediness, that is why they are eventually going out of business.

I have no idea what you're talking about, third-party developers didn't want to stick around with the WiiU because the hardware was much older for a home console, and also because it's a pain in the ass to implement touchscreen support when they don't have to do so for XB1/PS4. If you make the hardware powerful enough and it sells enough units, there's no reason not to port to that system. It's more potential money on a game you've already developed.

This is compounded by the possibility that Switch might have gamestream, local or server-based. In which case, third-party support would never be a problem, you could play games like TW3 max settings if you have a solid router.

 

[LightyKD]

Everyone here should really hope that there is NO 3DS successor. If that happens, kiss Switch and all of the effort to combine the portable and home teams goodbye. Only thing saving that, would have been ...

1) Switch being able to provide a 2 screen experience.

2) next Nintendo DS variant using the same game cards as Switch, that way its only a matter of creating a "low" option for the portable, a "medium" option for the Switch tablet and a "high" option for dock gaming.

If Nintendo was smart, they could salvage this by creating a cable that goes from the tab to the dock for dual screen play and Wii U backwards compatibility

 

[Fronic]

Nintendo pays its greediness, that is why they are eventually going out of business.

Whatever dude. I understand how development works as I am a developer. I do think it is funny how you explained how every developer uses their engines and have used them forever. Uncharted is a huge Sony game and it has not changed in the same exact way you are talking about. Halo did what? Added dual wielding to 2 and more vehicles further on? Did they even upgrade physics? The thing is Nintendo wants to change the way we play and that is why every gen Xbox leaders complement them. Hell, even Nintendo games themselves are designed around basic principles of enjoyment. Their games are meant to be fun and their developers think in a vastly different way than most other studios, always to the benefit of the gamers. Also, just so you know Nintendo games are not small things and tend to have the same scope as any other AAA game, and also AAA does not mean much in quality mostly quantity.

Anyways I don't care much about comparing beyond that because outside of all that I just play games. I will play Uncharted, though after 2 I kinda don't want to shell out more cash for it unless I see a great sale. I will play Halo and CoD and Starcraft 2 and LoL and etc because I am a gamer. So yes I will play Mario and Zelda too. I enjoy almost all the games out now because they are on wonderful hardware and are themselves wonderful software. Thing is the Wii U just happened to become the house favorite for a few reasons other than a great many Nintendo and indie games. It has local multiplayer games worth it and I have frequent guests, friends, and a family that play with me. So more often than not it is a toss-up between my PC or the Wii U on the big screen.

But I also won't be delusional with how poorly Nintendo handled the Wii U. From reveal to release there were just questions. Most Wii U owners felt justified by Nintendo Land because it showed the functionality that would make that Gamepad worth it, but this never was expanded into games. Actually, they droughted the system the first year and this last year, basically half the console's life. They could have started releasing at least standard games like Donkey Kong TF which literally disabled the Gamepad screen and still was a good game. Add to that Nintendo didn't really properly start advertising it until right before Smash.

I will say that Nintendo is become much more diverse in more ways than making bundles of cash on mobile games. Splatoon had a team that felt like new blood and one of the top games of its genre while still feeling Nintendo. Zelda BotW is a game that had at least one other team's help and might be considered a large "AAA" game by that definition. The NSdevkits have been in multiple developers hands for almost a year if not longer and had a large team including Nvidia custom building its chips, which Nvidia boosts about in their blog. So things are at least changing in many ways, we with all see what will happen. I have seen there are many other people that I wouldn't suspect are excited about the NS.

I don't expect the NS to be groundbreaking in graphics but I do know I like games and this sounds like it will be pleasant.

tl:dr I play video games

 

[zeromission80]

Well for me its not about frames per second and HD this and that all the time, I always find myself playing older consoles and handhelds through emulation... Of course i m 36 lol and I grew up in the golden age of gaming, anyway I'm a softy for Nintendo and will get my switch on release day. I love gaming as long as it entertains me, I have all current consoles and a decent gaming pc. But I always rollback to the older titles through emulation. Just game people whether its on a tablet, phone, console, PC whatever, if it entertains you then good!!

 

[WhiteMaze]

Sorry to dissappoint you, but the droughts will happen for the Switch as well. The Wii U didn't face droughts because of the 3DS, that is nonsense. Nintendo always supported their handhelds, even before the SNES was released, and they didn't have as much droughts on their main consoles. And it's not like the 3DS was extra-supported by Nintendo or anything. If you count the games and look how many years the thing was out, it got less support than the original DS and GB. And it faces a similar drought from 1st party for some time now.

Also, you don't seem to realize how Nintendo operates and how game developing works. There is a reason Nintendo tries to make each portable similar to the power of an earlier home console: They can port games, game engines and assets, and have them run well with minimal alterations and work required, compared to creating a game from scratch. See that Super Mario 3D Land? Its engine is from Super Mario Sunshine/Galaxy with some changes to better fit the 3DS. Zelda's is Twilights Princess. Fire Emblem's is a directly from the Wii u. Etc etc. The only thing that changes is the resolution output, lower resolution textures, 3D support, plus some 3DS specific changes like usage of its special shaders. All it takes then is a recompile for the ARM architecture. That's about it.

So, Nintendo didn't have to pay so much money to develop games for the 3DS. Nor they needed really large teams. Their major focus was on the Wii U, but they have been stuck in the past. Nintendo doesn't like to invest money to please its customers. They like to provide 0 and ask for a ton of money for it. When a company is used to just port SNES games to a handheld and get rich, they think the good times will last for ever so there is no need to invest in better development studios, like other companies like Sony are doing. So the Wii U dev teams really couldn't compete much, because HD AAA development requires bigger and better organized studios, AKA investments.

Nintendo pays its greediness, that is why they are eventually going out of business.

Even if that's the case, there's good recycling, and there's bad recycling:

 

[anhminh]

We already see what Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild trailer for E3.

That will most likely be how the game will look like on Switch so I am sure as hell ain't complain about it.

 

[foob]

* reveal unit with no detailed specs
* create buzz. Milk the buzz for all she's worth
* reveal specs months later, when only geeks and investors are listening - during the quietest time of the year - so as not to sap that hard-earned buzz

Somewhere there are PSPand Vita hardware engineers shaking their heads at the progress of the portables market (and their company's place in it).

 

[ArabianNights]

What the fuck is wrong with Nintendo?

 

[TotalInsanity4]

What the fuck is wrong with Nintendo?

??

 

[Hyborix3]

Hopefully this announcement is worth the wait and not a disappointment. My main concerns are is the power of the unit, upcoming games and region locking. Price point is another thing to make it sell. From the video it looks like they're abandoning the gimmicks that not many people will use and brought a gimmick that people actually wants. Portability.

 

[Taleweaver]

So...the half-assed launch trailer is all we're going to get this year?

Meaning: everybody but nintendo fanboys will have already forgotten about this and will happily spend their Christmas period buying stuff from the competition (Christ...there isn't even a single wiiu game coming out anymore, right? ). At the very best they'll notice the PROPER announcement somewhere when they're busy playing with all their presents, but I don't see it getting more than a shrug and a "naah...I'm good as far as games go" from the general audience*.

Assuming this'll be a "mostly 1st party thing", the launch period sales will consist solely of nintendo hardcore fanboys**. After that, 3rd party support will most likely drop like a stone and the main gamer crowd will at best get one out of curiosity. Especially if nintendo continues to be an ass as far as their claims towards streamers go.




*okay, okay: if they can get exclusive 3rd party AAA-content like red dead redemption 2, it'll turn some heads. But the chances on that are less than zero.
**yes, even with Zelda as a launch title. I've heard far too many "...but smash bros will increase wiiu sales", "but mario kart will increase wiiu sales" and "but bayonetta will increase wiiu sales" to believe it'll make a difference.