The Nintendo Switch Thread

[Candescence]

The official explanation for the March 2017 release is so they can get a robust launch lineup ready.

Makes sense, seems like Nintendo doesn't want a repeat of the 3DS and Wii U's launches.

[MegasonicZX]

12 minutes ago, Candescence said:

The official explanation for the March 2017 release is so they can get a robust launch lineup ready.

Makes sense, seems like Nintendo doesn't want a repeat of the 3DS and Wii U's launches.

I am completely all for this, honestly after how abysmal the PS4 and Xone (and wii u) was when it came to launch titles it would be nice if we got a system that I didn't have to wait a couple of years for in order to actually get at least 5 new games on.

[Graystripe2000]

I wonder if this is why the NX won't be at E3. 

https://www.twitter.com/mochi_wsj/status/725285335307964416

[Salamander]

My reading is that, with nine months or so between E3 and the NX release, they don't want to eclipse what's left of their Wii U and 3DS line-up - and the 3DS still has some big names coming - so they're holding off on the NX reveal in order to prevent their nearer-release Wii U and 3DS promotion from competing for time with their long-distance NX promotion.  So E3 will be the last hurrah of the Wii U, probably the 3DS as well, and then Nintendo will dedicate a big reveal event of their own to the NX, probably in September or October because six months seems like a more healthy build-up period.  And then E3 next year, just a few months after the NX comes out, will be when the NX really starts to shine with plenty of future announcements, hopefully.

[Milo]

13 minutes ago, FFWF said:

My reading is that, with nine months or so between E3 and the NX release, they don't want to eclipse what's left of their Wii U and 3DS line-up - and the 3DS still has some big names coming - so they're holding off on the NX reveal in order to prevent their nearer-release Wii U and 3DS promotion from competing for time with their long-distance NX promotion.  So E3 will be the last hurrah of the Wii U, probably the 3DS as well, and then Nintendo will dedicate a big reveal event of their own to the NX, probably in September or October because six months seems like a more healthy build-up period.  And then E3 next year, just a few months after the NX comes out, will be when the NX really starts to shine with plenty of future announcements, hopefully.

Eclipse what, though?

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE and Paper Mario: Color Splash stand as the only 2016 Wii U titles remaining for release this year that have been previously announced (with #FE already being released in Japan to virtually no fanfare regarding sales). 3DS is somewhat better with Kirby: Planet Robobot, Metriod Prime: Federation Force, and Pokemon Sun and Moon; but not by much. And if 2015 --as well as the final years of past Nintendo consoles in general-- is any indication, whatever surprise games they may have at the E3 will most likely be low budget, spinoff / rushed filler material, a la Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, Zelda: TriForce Heroes, and Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. 3DS is sitting in its twilight year and development for the Wii U has all but been abandoned by Nintendo's major developers (presumably, anyway).

On top of that, eclipsing the 2016 Wii U/3DS lineup is practically an absolute cakewalk considering that not even one of those games are even going to be playable at their E3 booths...

As for that March 2017 release date, I wouldn't count on the NX making it there (unless it was a handheld iteration, with the console iteration coming later). I can totally see it being delayed to a holiday 2017 release.

[Marcello]

8 minutes ago, Gabe said:

Eclipse what, though?

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE and Paper Mario: Color Splash stand as the only 2016 Wii U titles remaining for release this year that have been previously announced (with #FE already being released in Japan to virtually no fanfare regarding sales). 3DS is somewhat better with Kirby: Planet Robobot, Metriod Prime: Federation Force, and Pokemon Sun and Moon; but not by much. And if 2015 --as well as the final years of past Nintendo consoles in general-- is any indication, whatever surprise games they may have at the E3 will most likely be low budget, spinoff / rushed filler material, a la Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, Zelda: TriForce Heroes, and Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. 3DS is sitting in its twilight year and development for the Wii U has all but been abandoned by Nintendo's major developers (presumably, anyway).

On top of that, eclipsing the 2016 Wii U/3DS lineup is practically an absolute cakewalk considering that not even one of those games are even going to be playable at their E3 booths...

As for that March 2017 release date, I wouldn't count on the NX making it there (unless it was a handheld iteration, with the console iteration coming later). I can totally see it being delayed to a holiday 2017 release.

3DS also has Rhythm Heaven Megamix and I think Picross 3D 2.

I don't see NX being delayed. It's almost certain it was delayed from late 2016 to March 2017 and I don't think Nintendo want that embarrassment.

[Zaysho]

I'm pretty surprised that the system is slated for such an early release next year. Disappointed it won't be at E3, but if E3 2016 is to be the last hurrah of the current gen Nintendo systems, I think it is for the best.

I wonder why an early Spring release though, that's not typical for a console, is it? Is the line-up going to be ready for that? Or is this just so they can stagger out the game releases better for the next holiday season?

 

Though I can't complain too much... it just means I know what I want for my birthday next year.

[Graystripe2000]

And now we have stuff like this going around. 

https://www.twitter.com/E3NintendoBot/status/725344686395805696

 

[Marcello]

Koei-Tecmo Starting Development on NX

Hyrule Warriors 2? Dynasty Warriors? Dare I say it, Ni-Oh?

[JaidynReiman]

1 hour ago, Marcello said:

Koei-Tecmo Starting Development on NX

Hyrule Warriors 2? Dynasty Warriors? Dare I say it, Ni-Oh?

I doubt Hyrule Warriors 2 is in development yet. That'll probably start in Fall or something, or maybe late summer, set for a Fall 2017 release (or Winter/Q1 2018).

 

16 hours ago, Operationgamer17 said:

And now we have stuff like this going around. 

https://www.twitter.com/E3NintendoBot/status/725344686395805696

 

Every source was wrong. Ok, maybe they had plans for a 2016 launch at one point, but its highly unlikely they've been planning that for most of this year.

[Marcello]

11 minutes ago, JaidynReiman said:

Every source was wrong. Ok, maybe they had plans for a 2016 launch at one point, but its highly unlikely they've been planning that for most of this year.

The Trevelyan NOA schedule/marketing leak from NeoGAF seems to be real and it indicated NX coming this year. Something must've happened that caused it to be pushed back to March. E3 only having playable Zelda also points towards changed plans, I think.

[Conando]

If there was a hitch in the dev kits getting out, the delay does make total sense. Either way it seemed like it was about ensuring there were actually games to buy with it from the get go.

[Patticus]

Just starting development? Don't expect to see anything at launch then, unless it's a port of something already out there, which it might be if it's easy to develop for.

[Indigo Rush]

(Per @Dejimon11's request)

How I imagine Nintendo came to the decision to skip showing the NX at E3 this year...

 

[Patticus]

Funnily enough, by the time next E3 rolls around, the NX will already be out there in the wild. Hopefully that'll allow them to skip all the "launch window" game pledges and deliver a big line-up of second gen games. Can't see that happening though, not with this late dev kit release debacle.

[Conando]

Nintendo studios themselves have had them for some time,  so I can see offerings from them by next e3. As for 3rd parties, I really only expect ports and multiplats unless it's Platinum.

[JaidynReiman]

23 hours ago, Patticus said:

Just starting development? Don't expect to see anything at launch then, unless it's a port of something already out there, which it might be if it's easy to develop for.

Techmo Koei's Warriors games can be made pretty quickly. Either way, though, I was kinda thinking the first thing might be Hyrule Warriors 2 set for a Fall 2017 release anyway.

 

On 4/28/2016 at 5:27 AM, Marcello said:

The Trevelyan NOA schedule/marketing leak from NeoGAF seems to be real and it indicated NX coming this year. Something must've happened that caused it to be pushed back to March. E3 only having playable Zelda also points towards changed plans, I think.

Ok, so, here's the inconsistency with this.

We've been getting "rumors" left and right which supposedly stemmed from people who had the dev kits since at least E3 2015. If there was a delay in getting the dev kits out, literally every single rumor we got was false.

In regards to changed plans, I again think its possible 2016 was a launch window idea at one point, but all these rumors about it being changed at the "last second"? You can't just change something like that at the last second. This had to have been planned for months.

 

14 hours ago, Conando said:

Nintendo studios themselves have had them for some time,  so I can see offerings from them by next e3. As for 3rd parties, I really only expect ports and multiplats unless it's Platinum.

Numerous Nintendo studios are actively working on new game projects we know nothing about. Next Level Games supposedly had a Wii U dev kit in addition to a 3DS one and were working on a new Wii U title in addition to Federation Force (said Wii U title could've been pushed to NX, or may get a dual release).

Naturally there's Retro Studios (betting its a new DK game; still bet they could dual release it, though), Monster Games (likely working on a new racing game finally; would be perfect as an NX launch title), the teams behind Mario Kart and the main Mario platformers (its been known since 3D World came out that the next 3D Mario would not be on Wii U), and Monolith Soft (they announced they were doing something on NX, though with their length of time its probably not a launch window title).

There's studios like Camelot, who put out a very barebones cheap game. Camelot is a pretty small studio, but even for them and for it being an HD title, I can't imagine that game having started development before 2015, let alone since June 2014. (I really think they were working on something else and were forced to make a quick Tennis game on Wii U for the holidays). Granted, anything they'd do would probably be more a late 2017 title (unless they get help from a bigger Nintendo studio).

 

HAL Laboratories also tends to put out a handheld Kirby title, then a console Kirby title. We can probably expect a new console Kirby next year on NX.

 

Intelligent Systems is likely one of the few that doesn't have much room for a major title, since they're working on Paper Mario: Color Splash and Mobile Fire Emblem. They could still produce a smaller game, though, such as a new Pushmo, or (god forbid) they finally bring back Puzzle League...

 

And that's just everything off the top of my head.

[Tails spin]

32 minutes ago, JaidynReiman said:

Techmo Koei's Warriors games can be made pretty quickly. Either way, though, I was kinda thinking the first thing might be Hyrule Warriors 2 set for a Fall 2017 release anyway.

 

Ok, so, here's the inconsistency with this.

 

We've been getting "rumors" left and right which supposedly stemmed from people who had the dev kits since at least E3 2015. If there was a delay in getting the dev kits out, literally every single rumor we got was false.

 

In regards to changed plans, I again think its possible 2016 was a launch window idea at one point, but all these rumors about it being changed at the "last second"? You can't just change something like that at the last second. This had to have been planned for months.

 

Numerous Nintendo studios are actively working on new game projects we know nothing about. Next Level Games supposedly had a Wii U dev kit in addition to a 3DS one and were working on a new Wii U title in addition to Federation Force (said Wii U title could've been pushed to NX, or may get a dual release).

Naturally there's Retro Studios (betting its a new DK game; still bet they could dual release it, though), Monster Games (likely working on a new racing game finally; would be perfect as an NX launch title), the teams behind Mario Kart and the main Mario platformers (its been known since 3D World came out that the next 3D Mario would not be on Wii U), and Monolith Soft (they announced they were doing something on NX, though with their length of time its probably not a launch window title).

There's studios like Camelot, who put out a very barebones cheap game. Camelot is a pretty small studio, but even for them and for it being an HD title, I can't imagine that game having started development before 2015, let alone since June 2014. (I really think they were working on something else and were forced to make a quick Tennis game on Wii U for the holidays). Granted, anything they'd do would probably be more a late 2017 title (unless they get help from a bigger Nintendo studio).

 

HAL Laboratories also tends to put out a handheld Kirby title, then a console Kirby title. We can probably expect a new console Kirby next year on NX.

 

Intelligent Systems is likely one of the few that doesn't have much room for a major title, since they're working on Paper Mario: Color Splash and Mobile Fire Emblem. They could still produce a smaller game, though, such as a new Pushmo, or (god forbid) they finally bring back Puzzle League...

 

And that's just everything off the top of my head.

Alpha Dream must be thinking of a new game idea if the NX has a handheld component to it. Since it's for right now more than confirmed to be a console 

[Patticus]

16 minutes ago, Tails spin said:

Alpha Dream must be thinking of a new game idea if the NX has a handheld component to it. Since it's for right now more than confirmed to be a console 

Nintendo's handheld and console divisions were merged two months ago, which is significant, and to my mind can only mean that a serious rethink of the company's hardware future has occurred at the highest levels of the corporate structure.

I'm expecting a hybrid system of some sort, hopefully combining the rich and diverse gaming environment Nintendo's handhelds are renowned for, with the epic experiences and gorgeous visuals and gameplay we associate with their home consoles. Like the DS before it, the NX will probably be introduced as a third pillar, instead of a direct successor to either of the company's current systems - sort of an insurance policy in case it flops.

[Zaysho]

I don't think this was really discussed or even mentioned in the previous rumors, but would anyone rule out backwards compatibility with the NX? I feel like I've taken that for granted with the last couple generations, being able to just hop over from one system to the next and take my stuff with me (and likewise jump back when I feel like it), but could it possibly be a concern this go around?

[JaidynReiman]

57 minutes ago, Zaysho said:

I don't think this was really discussed or even mentioned in the previous rumors, but would anyone rule out backwards compatibility with the NX? I feel like I've taken that for granted with the last couple generations, being able to just hop over from one system to the next and take my stuff with me (and likewise jump back when I feel like it), but could it possibly be a concern this go around?

That's a debate. You'd think that Zelda would just be backwards compatible, but who knows? Maybe Zelda is the only game that's going to be cross-release because its a massive title and they want the biggest support for NX on launch, and they'll provide BC for all the biggest Wii U games (there's not too many big Wii U titles anyway). They might not be able to have everything innately BC like in the past, but they could certainly at least make the biggest releases work on NX.

Granted, some ports are quite likely, such as for Smash.

 

Naturally, the GamePad would need to be compatible with NX as well. But based on the rumors, it might be a dual console/handheld.

[Candescence]

3 hours ago, Patticus said:

Nintendo's handheld and console divisions were merged two months ago, which is significant, and to my mind can only mean that a serious rethink of the company's hardware future has occurred at the highest levels of the corporate structure.

I'm expecting a hybrid system of some sort, hopefully combining the rich and diverse gaming environment Nintendo's handhelds are renowned for, with the epic experiences and gorgeous visuals and gameplay we associate with their home consoles. Like the DS before it, the NX will probably be introduced as a third pillar, instead of a direct successor to either of the company's current systems - sort of an insurance policy in case it flops.

If the NX is a 'hybrid', it's gonna be a metaphorical one, not a literal one - basically a family of systems rather than just one, which is what Iwata hinted strongly at before he died, hinting at a iOS-style ecosystem. He even denied it wasn't a literal hybrid.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

3 hours ago, Patticus said:

Nintendo's handheld and console divisions were merged two months ago, which is significant, and to my mind can only mean that a serious rethink of the company's hardware future has occurred at the highest levels of the corporate structure.

I'm expecting a hybrid system of some sort, hopefully combining the rich and diverse gaming environment Nintendo's handhelds are renowned for, with the epic experiences and gorgeous visuals and gameplay we associate with their home consoles. Like the DS before it, the NX will probably be introduced as a third pillar, instead of a direct successor to either of the company's current systems - sort of an insurance policy in case it flops.

Like the Virtual Boy too!

[Patticus]

1 hour ago, Candescence said:

If the NX is a 'hybrid', it's gonna be a metaphorical one, not a literal one - basically a family of systems rather than just one, which is what Iwata hinted strongly at before he died, hinting at a iOS-style ecosystem. He even denied it wasn't a literal hybrid.

Damn, I had no idea. So, do you think that we should expect a "NiOS" type situation, with a family of systems all operating on the same OS? Or perhaps a shift back toward the likes of the Sony-Nintendo Playstation and the Panasonic Q? Just spit-balling, you understand.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Patticus

[Candescence]

36 minutes ago, Patticus said:

Damn, I had no idea. So, can we expect a "NiOS" type situation, with a family of systems all operating on the same OS? Or perhaps a shift back toward the likes of the Sony-Nintendo Playstation and the Panasonic Q? Just spit-balling, you understand.

What Iwata described was the idea of having the handheld and console as 'brothers' that can, in theory, play the same games, and even directly referenced iOS and Android as examples of ecosystems with multiple devices with multiple form factors with a shared library and OS. Nintendo have been doing quite a lot of restructuring lately, with the handheld and console development divisions being merged together, and Iwata hinted that they've been able to get handheld power up to the point where making completely different assets for both types of hardware is no longer necessary. I imagine the NX devices will at least share a lot of games, with the console being higher-resolution and with more graphical effects, but fundamentally having the same games as its handheld brother. This would make it a lot easier to fill up release schedules and avoid droughts.