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Hi guys, I recorded a quick audio log of my thoughts immediately after attending the Nintendo switch hands on preview. The footage taken is from my phone and nothing special, just filler for the sake of showing what the event was like that is relooped halfway through.

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I also just saw the prices of the switch peripherals and games, frankly I was disgusted. I felt that I needed to record an extra ten minutes of audio to voice my concerns. The prices for the games and accessories for the switch are purely Nintendo gouging its fanbase. Nothing can justify the prices here, in my opinion if these prices are not lowered by a good 30% across the board the switch is DOA and will fail.

 

[UltraHurricane]

Absolutely ridiculous pricing for accessories. There is nothing that justifies controller prices like this, no matter what kind of tech is in them. DS4 controllers have sixaxis, a touchpad, the works - all they're missing is the kitchen sink and they cost 49,99. There is no reason why a bunch of buttons and an accelerometer should cost this much, the PS4 and XBO controllers are overpriced as-is and Nintendo went far beyond what was already too much. This very well might bury an otherwise interesting, albeit underpowered system.

you do realize the joy-cons come with the system right?

or you REALLY think it costs nothing to cram NFC, 3D rumble, IR cameras that are essentially mini-Kinects and motion sensors (that'll probably be more intuitive then the sixaxis) into a form-factor roughly the size of two gameboy micros

 

[Deleted-355425]

you do realize the joy-cons come with the system right?

or you REALLY think it costs nothing to cram NFC, 3D rumble, IR cameras that are essentially mini-Kinects and motion sensors (that'll probably be more intuitive then the sixaxis) into a form-factor roughly the size of two gameboy micros

im sure the 3 people that want those features will enjoy them.

 

[UltraHurricane]

im sure the 3 people that want those features will enjoy them.

i'm just saying, it's weird to call them overpriced considering the tech you're getting with them, and then also say the DS4 and Xbone controller is overpriced too?? like what? somehow everyone knows how much it cost to manufacture controllers i guess

 

[Foxi4]

i'm just saying, it's weird to call them overpriced considering the tech you're getting with them, and then also say the DS4 and Xbone controller is overpriced too?? like what? somehow everyone knows how much it cost to manufacture controllers i guess

You do know that we can just look up the costs of components, right? Or compare the total cost of the device to other devices? It really takes no effort.

 

[migles]

or you REALLY think it costs nothing to cram NFC

pardom me, isn't NFC just a coiled wire and a decoding chip?

 

[Foxi4]

you do realize the joy-cons come with the system right?

or you REALLY think it costs nothing to cram NFC, 3D rumble, IR cameras that are essentially mini-Kinects and motion sensors (that'll probably be more intuitive then the sixaxis) into a form-factor roughly the size of two gameboy micros

Yes, I do think it costs next to nothing. The 3D rumble you're all jerking off over is a couple of motors connected to a microcontroller which changes voltage on their power rails in response to the information from the gyro, the rest is a matter of programming. I will bet money that implementing the features costs under $5 for Nintendo, since they're doing it in bulk.

 

[darkten]

LOL i am sure Nintendo will be fine...for every one of you, there is someone like me out there that bought one for each family member, sight unseen, because we've never bought anything from them that we didn't enjoy. I predict early death predictions are far, far too early

Note - there is no possibility I would have bought a Wii U for every family member. Do you see it yet?

 

[gamesquest1]

dude the Nintendo logo takes about $50 to print on there ofc

 

[Foxi4]

pardom me, isn't NFC just a coiled wire and a decoding chip?

Yes, it is. It's probably the same microcontroller that controls everything else, by the way. And an IR camera is just a low-res matrix that detects infrared, they cost almost nothing. Those are not expensive components, the most expensive part is the case because you had to design a mold for it.

 

[migles]

Yes, it is. It's probably the same microcontroller that controls everything else, by the way. And an IR camera is just a low-res matrix that detects infrared, they cost almost nothing. Those are not expensive components, the most expensive part is the case because you had to design a mold for it.

there are 3 dollars bluethoot usb dongles, like i said nfc is just a little wire coiled and a chip to decode (because standarms and stuff) also cheap as a condom.
i can't talk about the IR camera. about the gyros prices you know theese are in every device nowadays, they can't be that expensive.. even 30 dollars android phones have them
feedback motor, it can be a custom design, which can be expensive to develop...

and lets not forget one of the great stuff nintendo says is that "it's better to use already stabilized technology"
so most of this stuff is probably parts that are very common... which translates to: cheap to buy

Anyway, are people forgetting about one thing????

theese things have a non replaceable battery (i don't see it using AAA batteries)
so you know what this means? in 1 year you will need to buy replacements (if they lasted that much and you didn't break or lost them)
so yeah, nintendo milk is a very cool game

 

[grossaffe]

about the gyros prices you know theese are in every device nowadays, they can't be that expensive.. even 30 dollars android phones have them

Can you point me to a $30 android phone that has built in gyroscopes?

 

[UltraHurricane]

Yes, I do think it costs next to nothing. The 3D rumble you're all jerking off over is a couple of motors connected to a microcontroller which changes voltage on their power rails in response to the information from the gyro, the rest is a matter of programming. I will bet money that implementing the features costs under $5 for Nintendo, since they're doing it in bulk.

so even if you can boil down the components to around $5 you're still have to cover the cost of battery, buttons, testing and R&D to make sure all the features work together, and make sure the molds have decent build quality, at the barest minimum the manufacturing would be around $25, and since they're charging $80 for a pair, the individual price should be $40

but hey, they're a business, they still gotta turn a profit

 

[migles]

Can you point me to a $30 android phone that has built in gyroscopes?

maybe i made some confusion...
isn't the gyroscope the part that gives the option to auto rotate the display? or i was making confusion with accelerometer?

 

[Foxi4]

Can you point me to a $30 android phone that has built in gyroscopes?

https://www.cnet.com/products/ringing-bells-freedom-251/

It costs $4 and features a quad-core CPU, two cameras, a 4-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Today be fair, manufacturing costs are around $8, there's subsidies involved and it's made in India, but Nintendo makes their stuff in China which isn't a bastion of human rights either.

so even if you can boil down the components to around $5 you're still have to cover the cost of battery, buttons, testing and R&D to make sure all the features work together, and make sure the molds have decent build quality, at the barest minimum the manufacturing would be around $25, and since they're charging $80 for a pair, the individual price should be $40

but hey, they're a business, they still gotta turn a profit

Nobody sells goods at an almost 100% markup. The console business revolves around selling hardware at a slight loss and making money on software. The reason why Nintendo doesn't do that is that there's no software to make money on.

 

[grossaffe]

maybe i made some confusion...
isn't the gyroscope the part that gives the option to auto rotate the display? or i was making confusion with accelerometer?

Might use both. Either way, I'm interested in seeing these $30 Androids. I'm not saying that they don't exist, but I am skeptical. And I want to specify that a $30 phone that comes with a plan is not a $30 phone.

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

https://www.cnet.com/products/ringing-bells-freedom-251/

Wikipedia page on it is covered almost exclusively in controversy with claims of ponzi scheme.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_251

edit: also, looking at the specs listed, I do not see anything about a gyroscope. It does list an accelerometer.

 

[migles]

Might use both. Either way, I'm interested in seeing these $30 Androids. I'm not saying that they don't exist, but I am skeptical. And I want to specify that a $30 phone that comes with a plan is not a $30 phone.

http://a.co/3VirLRE

current price is 55 bucks, my friend bought it in a sale for 30 bucks
it's an awfull phone but it does the job which is using it for whatsapp messaging
and it's even a dual sim!!

 

[Foxi4]

Might use both. Either way, I'm interested in seeing these $30 Androids. I'm not saying that they don't exist, but I am skeptical. And I want to specify that a $30 phone that comes with a plan is not a $30 phone.

Wikipedia page on it is covered almost exclusively in controversy with claims of ponzi scheme.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_251

edit: also, looking at the specs listed, I do not see anything about a gyroscope. It does list an accelerometer.

Normally those chips have several "degrees of freedom", they're rarely just an accelerometer or just a gyroscope. As for the phone, I picked it randomly - I could post any cheap Chinese knock-off phone as well, I just figured posting a phone that costs $7-8 will make things funny.

The market for cheap smartphones is booming in developing countries, $30 phones are not a tall order at all, and most have android and some form of motion controls.

https://qz.com/314285/30-smartphones-are-here-and-theyre-getting-better-every-day/

 

[grossaffe]

Normally those chips have several "degrees of freedom", they're rarely just an accelerometer or just a gyroscope. As for the phone, I picked it randomly - I could post any cheap Chinese knock-off phone as well, I just figured a phone that costs $7-8 to make was funny.

The market for cheap smartphones is booming in developing countries, $30 phones are not a tall order at all, and most have android and some form of motion controls.

https://qz.com/314285/30-smartphones-are-here-and-theyre-getting-better-every-day/

Yes, but how many of them have high precision motion controls, and how many of them actually cost $30 without being subsidized with contracts, preinstalled software, ads, etc.?

Again, I'm not claiming it's impossible. I'm just asking for verification of the claim that was made that they do exist.

 

[Foxi4]

Yes, but how many of them have high precision motion controls, and how many of them actually cost $30 without being subsidized with contracts, preinstalled software, ads, etc.?

Again, I'm not claiming it's impossible. I'm just asking for verification of the claim that was made that they do exist.

I just showed you a list of'em. For God's sake, I can go to Adafruit right now and get a 3-DOF high-precision gyroscope module on a breakout for $12.50, and that's one unit for an individual customer on an assembled PCB, not thousands of chips bare.

 

[p1ngpong]

The issue here is Nintendo could have kept things simple and gimmick free and kept the costs down too. I am sure even with the gimmicks everything could have been 20% cheaper easily and they could easily have made a profit still. But what excited me about the switch originally was apart from the concept of the unit being in a dock and the two halved independent controllers it looked relatively gimmick free. The two obvious gimmicks were simple and were things devs could easily work with or not even consider. The unit being portable makes no difference, devs knowing the potential for two player gaming is always an option just adds a simple option to the equation.

But no, here we go again, gimmicks for gimmicks sake and this time in an impractical form factor considering the scope of the console. Are you going to use the waggle on the go ever? Chances are no you wont. When I see waggle and other gimmicks I get that same sinking feeling I have been getting with Nintendo over the past few years and generations. What games will be sacrificed and ruined just for the sake of trying to prove a point and justifying a gimmick? Zelda's on the DS anyone? How did Starfox Zero grab you? Or will the gimmicks just end up barely utilized and something that just adds extra cost to us for little gain like a motion plus or a Wii U tablet screen?

Nintendo expects us to trust them and invest a hefty premium once again in gimmicks that will more than likely amount to nothing. At this point their track record has been more miss than hit for the past few generations, I do not have that faith in them to deliver. This is why most people do not care about waggle controls and do not trust them. And when I say most people I am not talking to the people here that are reading this, you are the minority, the extreme minority. Sometimes I think that a lot of you do not realise that. When I say nobody cares about these gimmicks I mean average gamers, the vast majority that went out and got XBOXs and PS4's. If Nintendo kept things simple and invested the costs in simple things both gamers and developers could widely appreciate, more powerful hardware, a better screen, better battery etc there would not be a problem here.

But no let's drink the Nintendo koolaid once again and empty out our pockets once again and pray that these gimmicks pay off and lead to an interesting game or two. Then we can smugly point at the two games that might actually benefit from all this and proclaim Nintendo innovative geniuses while the rest of the world doesn't care and plays on its xboxes and PS4's that have 10x more users and 10x more games in their libraries to play on.