Nintendo's very own Reggie Fils-Aimé and Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on the latest "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" to promote the upcoming Super Mario Run. As a surprise, Reggie brought the company's upcoming home console/handheld hybrid to the show, flawlessly running the upcoming installment in The Legend of Zelda series:

Skip to 4:50 to see the surprise guest​

It might be hard to realize that the console is actually a real thing coming in only a few months, after so many circulating rumors before its announcement and only an official introductory video released. But there it is, proof and all and it is actually our first live look at the machine in action. Reggie added that more details about the Switch will be shared on January 12th.

Bonus video: watch the multi-talented Shigeru Miyamoto play the Super Mario Bros. theme live on guitar below:

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[grossaffe]

If Switch were as powerful as XBONE it would cost more than an XBONE because you have to account for the manufacturing costs of all the hardware in it that isn't in traditional home consoles. That's why it'll be slightly less powerful than that and cost about the same.

The Switch is coming out a couple years after the XBONE, so more powerful technology is cheaper. Also the Switch doesn't have the cost of Blu Ray licensing fees, however much that may be.

 

[Xzi]

The Switch is coming out a couple years after the XBONE, so more powerful technology is cheaper. Also the Switch doesn't have the cost of Blu Ray licensing fees, however much that may be.

Yeah that's fair. OTOH Switch is also considerably smaller so it's not like they could fit the same hardware from an XBONE in it. Which is why it all evens out in the end cost-wise.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Yeah that's fair. OTOH Switch is also considerably smaller so it's not like they could fit the same hardware from an XBONE in it. Which is why it all evens out in the end cost-wise.

Funnily enough its cpu is much faster than jaguar so i have no fears of its power.

 

[Xzi]

Funnily enough its cpu is much faster than jaguar so i have no fears of its power.

Yeah pound for pound you're definitely getting more power out of Nvidia hardware than AMD.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Yeah that's fair. OTOH Switch is also considerably smaller so it's not like they could fit the same hardware from an XBONE in it. Which is why it all evens out in the end cost-wise.

Doesn't have to fit the same hardware, it just needs to fit approximately equivalent hardware. ARM is optimized to be small but efficient, so I don't think we'll see any problems based on size (although there are 99 other ways Nintendo could fuck it up. I'm remaining optimistic but I'm setting my expectations low)

 

[Deleted User]

Everyone Else: Holy shit, Zelda BOTW footage on the Nintendo Switch!

Me: Holy shit, Miyamoto can play the guitar!

 

[foob]

Exactly. And if we compare it to the 3ds,Nintendo's current handheld platform, the difference is ridiculous. Everyone is so caught up with specs that they're missing just how big of a leap in handheld gaming this has the potential to be. I've always dreamed of having a home console experience on a handheld. The 3ds and the vita did a damn good job of trying, and this looks like it's gonna be the one that actually succeeds. I'll be very happy if Nintendo continues in this direction of focusing on their handheld platform, and absolutely smashing the competition. Now that's not to say I want them to abandon the home console market entirely(which is actually why I really like the idea of the switch since it allows them to focus on a handheld without completely abandoning the gamers who only play on their TVs), but this is definitely a step in the right direction imo.

The fact that you are thinking of this as a handheld and not a home console *should* be worrying for Nintendo. Case in point: a buyer wants to buy the *best* version of a third-party game for playing on TV. Does the Switch get consideration? Probably not.

Do third-party developers enjoy having to cut down the features or capabilities in order to cater to the (likely) compromised 'hybrid market' approach Nintendo is offering? Probably not. Does it remind them of Wii U development headaches? Probably (or probably not). Of course there are more variables than this, but it sort of makes me ask who is really benefiting from this half-half appraoch? In the end we have a bigger portable (which some might go for but I think most will dislike) and we have a not-quite-there compromised home console and we have games on what-should-be more expensive cartridges.

Moving forward? If it is a portable, it's a bigger one with perhaps more graphical goodness that will really appeal to some users. But it definitely comes at a cost. This appraoch is filled with compromises.

With all that said, I don't know what else Nintendo have got in their bag to be 'different' this round. So I think they *must* be different again, even though it is filled with compromises & even though this basic Switch concept doesn't really get my juices flowing.

 

[Xzi]

The fact that you are thinking of this as a handheld and not a home console *should* be worrying for Nintendo. Case in point: a buyer wants to buy the *best* version of a third-party game for playing on TV. Does the Switch get consideration? Probably not.

The Switch doesn't, but neither do either of the other consoles. PC wins out every time when it's a game available there. Anything else is just targeting 1080p, often at 30 FPS.

Do third-party developers enjoy having to cut down the features or capabilities in order to cater to the (likely) compromised 'hybrid market' approach Nintendo is offering? Probably not.

They won't have to cut anything down, worst case scenario Switch has to run games at medium settings instead of of high or at 30 FPS. It'll support all the major engines. It's Pascal.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Case in point: a buyer wants to buy the *best* version of a third-party game for playing on TV.

Fallacy. The definition of "best" is quite subjective. There are many qualities a buyer can take into consideration when he decides what is "best", and portability is a very valid one.

 

[foob]

Fallacy. The definition of "best" is quite subjective. There are many qualities a buyer can take into consideration when he decides what is "best", and portability is a very valid one.

Of course there are many definitions of 'best', that goes without saying.

For the sake of clarification: best visuals & sound, primarily for a user who does not care about portability. In other words, the typical home TV user. For those that do care about portability, the Switch offers them a lot of flexibility, even if it is just playing in another room while someone else watches TV. I think they might be stretching the definition of convenience and portability here, but we'll see. I'm still very iffy about the entire concept because - from what I can see so far - both areas seem to be notable compromises.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

PC wins out every time when it's a game available there. Anything else is just targeting 1080p, often at 30 FPS.

A well-specced PC is usually several times the cost of a console. So, for the sake of this argument, I don't count the PC as a direct competitor to the Switch. The Xbox One and PS4 are typically seen at retail where the Switch will be seen; we will more-than-likely see them competing head-to-head for the wallets of the masses (at a similar price point).

 

[Bladexdsl]

more powerful than Parker

what the fuck is that?

 

[grossaffe]

A well-specced PC is usually several times the cost of a console.

depends on how you define "well-specced". If you mean a PC that's several times the power of a console, then sure. But you can also build a PC that's competitively priced. Or anything in between. Ultimately, the consumer can choose their ideal machine based on cost and performance.

 

[sarkwalvein]

what the fuck is that?

He means it outclasses Spiderman, of course Bortz sure has a different opinion. /s
(anyway, I don't know why people say this outperforms Nvidia Parker, sources?)

 

[Bladexdsl]

so your telling me the switch is more powerful...than a car?

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

what the fuck is that?

Nvidias latest mobile chip.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

He means it outclasses Spiderman, of course Bortz sure has a different opinion. /s
(anyway, I don't know why people say this outperforms Nvidia Parker, sources?)

It uses A73 which destroys denver. Its GPU is reported to be better as well

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

so your telling me the switch is more powerful...than a car?

Well yes in a sense.

 

[zac122]

The fact that you are thinking of this as a handheld and not a home console *should* be worrying for Nintendo. Case in point: a buyer wants to buy the *best* version of a third-party game for playing on TV. Does the Switch get consideration? Probably not.

Do third-party developers enjoy having to cut down the features or capabilities in order to cater to the (likely) compromised 'hybrid market' approach Nintendo is offering? Probably not. Does it remind them of Wii U development headaches? Probably (or probably not). Of course there are more variables than this, but it sort of makes me ask who is really benefiting from this half-half appraoch? In the end we have a bigger portable (which some might go for but I think most will dislike) and we have a not-quite-there compromised home console and we have games on what-should-be more expensive cartridges.

Moving forward? If it is a portable, it's a bigger one with perhaps more graphical goodness that will really appeal to some users. But it definitely comes at a cost. This appraoch is filled with compromises.

With all that said, I don't know what else Nintendo have got in their bag to be 'different' this round. So I think they *must* be different again, even though it is filled with compromises & even though this basic Switch concept doesn't really get my juices flowing.

Lemme get this straight. The fact that I'm looking at a TABLET as a handheld device should worry Nintendo? The system is literally just a tablet. Even as a powerful tablet it's not a home console by any stretch of the imagination. If I was to attach my android phone to my TV by whatever means would that make IT a home console? No, and to say that it would do so would get me some looks suggesting I might have a banana growing out of my forehead. Just because Nintendo has given us a way to send the image to a TV bundled with the system doesn't make the tablet any more than a tablet. I concede your point about porting games, you're right. No Dev wants to massacre their game to make it work on a console with lower specs. As for the power we won't know for another month. It's best just to wait until the event in January to say any more on the power. The only compromise comes in when you look at it as a home console. In terms of a handheld it's super beefy. The price is the only thing that would hurt it as a handheld(I'll admit that a price point around $350 would be a bit much for a handheld. Any more than that and I'll be waiting until the price drops significantly)

 

[grossaffe]

@zac122 Let me ask you this: what defines a home console?

 

[KingVamp]

Tbf 1) A phone isn't a console at all. 2) Even if it was "just handheld", being a handheld doesn't define price alone.

 

[zac122]

To me a home console is a box that can't be used without a monitor to hook it up to. This is a biased opinion formed by many years of gaming almost entirely on my laptop and handhelds. Imo anything that is played strictly on a TV is a home console. The wiiu was a godsend for me since I could play my games even though everyone else was watching stupid shows. But it still qualified as a home console because the gamepad was basically a portable monitor,and the wiiu itself is definitely a box(the box thing is more of a joke than anything, and has no bearing on the definition of home console). The switch doesn't fit this definition which I will admit is incredibly biased because of my personal experience with gaming. Still I don't think I'm wrong when I say a tablet isn't a home console.

 

[grossaffe]

So you, then, define a home console by its limitations rather than on it's capabilities.