Nintendo Switch

[Astonished]

Those Professor Layton games' novelty really wore off pretty quickly. I mean, I'd need at least two of those full games on one cartridge for it to be remotely worthwhile to me. But if the Switch lets you download the games onto it rather than having to buy the cartridges, or if they're not doing that yet but plan to later on down the line (fucking geniuses, these people...) then you might be able to take advantage of some of the sales they hold on occasion or the ones they offer via My Nintendo. I got a pretty sweet discount on Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U and got both DLC packs for free using my virtual coins built up from other purchases. I think if you get a 30% discount on any of those games to download, that would be a good thing to take advantage of. Might be a hell of a long time before the ideal sale/discount situation becomes available, though.

Not for me they didn't... absolutely loved them... it was great for puzzle games, the DS. Are you saying then that the Switch is backwardly compatible with older systems? Apologies but all your talk of virtual coins etc is completely foreign to me since I've been so long out of the console/gaming scene... but what you're talking about sounds interesting. I watched a few YouTube videos to look at the games on it, and I gathered from them that you can download games rather than buy the cartridges, but there's some sort regioning system for that... so to get around that, people would buy the cartridges from other countries etc. The one I was looking at with interest, and would probably be my first game if I got one, was called I am Setsuma (or something like that) and the guy reviewing it had to import it from Japan. I don't whether you were asking about downloads as a general question because you don't have one (a switch) yet, or whether you were just talking hypothetically about Layton... so sorry if I answered a question you didn't ask. But thanks for the advice... I now know more than I did before... that there are accounts, coins, and sales etc which would make it much more interesting to have one.

I do love the puzzles, just the replay value is very low because the story is no longer a mystery in the end and you reach the end of the games fairly quickly. I do like the later games' additional content (the one with the pet hamster was particularly charming) but still lacking in enough content to make it worthwhile for one game per cartridge.

So, Nintendo used to do this thing called Club Nintendo, where you'd get points for entering the serial numbers on any game consoles or games you bought, and you could exchange the coins for either downloadable games or merchandise. They suspended that service after a while (which totally pissed me off because I think I had enough points to get at least one more free game and they all went 'poof'.) They didn't even have a replacement 'rewards' system at the ready when they did that. But then they came back with My Nintendo. Here's how it works:

You get a few different categories of coins to use to get virtual rewards. You have coins for Mario Run, or the Mii-based App Miitomo, and then you have more important Silver and Gold coins. Silver coins are easier to obtain and you get less special rewards for them, but you can earn them easily by just logging into the various programs (eShop and the My Nintendo website itself) and you can occasionally get a discount on a cheap game with Silver coins, but more often than not it'll just be for a new background on your 3DS. Now, the Gold coins are only earned by buying downloadable games on the eShop, and those coins are able to be used to get much larger discounts on a wider variety of games, or get discounts or even FREE Downloadable Content for some games. For example, at this time, I could get a 15% discount on Pikmin for the Wii U using my Silver Coins, or a 30% discount on it using my Gold Coins; obviously the better discount is afforded by the Gold coins even though it's for the same game. That's about the best direct comparison of the two, otherwise their different rewards are pretty inconsistent with each other.

But Nintendo does just do random sales every month or so. For instance, right now almost every Kirby game is being discounted and I'm planning on snagging two of them before it's over, so I'll be earning a few gold points (don't have anything worth it to spend on yet, but I do try to check the eShop every week just to see what's on sale or My Nintendo to see if any new games are offering a discount). I don't know whether the Switch has any kind of game downloading capability up and running yet but I know the same Virtual Console that the Wii U has is not currently available and that's the biggest hangup for me. But if it ever does get put up, I'll be perfectly happy if it's run exactly the same way as the current Wii U eShop.

[emjay]

I loved Nintendo, original gameboy and SNES. But Playstation is my thing now. Love the PS4.
I haven't played many games on my Vita yet.

Switch is like $400 right? That's a halfway decent couch for whenever I finally get my apartment.

Yeah, I'm a 90s child too so my heyday was the SNES, Megadrive, and Mega CD.... and at a pinch, the Master System. Good times... Streets of Rage 2... best game ever

In theory I'd love a PS4 but I have a problem with RSI and its controllers set me off big time... I can't use them for more than a few minutes with it putting me into absolute agony But it doesn't happen at all with the N64 controllers... which are much more ergonomic. I could probably get third-party controller but it's very hard finding stuff that doesn't set off RSI... pretty much trial and error... so it could be an expensive process, with no guarantee of success but in principle a PS4 appeals to me much more than Nintendo, after they went the Wii route... I just want a console with control pads like the good old days, not all this physical movement stuff... it's fine if you've got a big living room, but not so great if you don't as far as I know; but I could very well be wrong since I'm so long out of the loop, PlayStations are just simple but powerful consoles of the traditional type... ie they don't have Wii-like controllers or xbox movement sensors?

[Astonished]

I loved Nintendo, original gameboy and SNES. But Playstation is my thing now. Love the PS4.
I haven't played many games on my Vita yet.

Switch is like $400 right? That's a halfway decent couch for whenever I finally get my apartment.

Yeah, I'm a 90s child too so my heyday was the SNES, Megadrive, and Mega CD.... and at a pinch, the Master System. Good times... Streets of Rage 2... best game ever

In theory I'd love a PS4 but I have a problem with RSI and its controllers set me off big time... I can't use them for more than a few minutes with it putting me into absolute agony But it doesn't happen at all with the N64 controllers... which are much more ergonomic. I could probably get third-party controller but it's very hard finding stuff that doesn't set off RSI... pretty much trial and error... so it could be an expensive process, with no guarantee of success but in principle a PS4 appeals to me much more than Nintendo, after they went the Wii route... I just want a console with control pads like the good old days, not all this physical movement stuff... it's fine if you've got a big living room, but not so great if you don't as far as I know; but I could very well be wrong since I'm so long out of the loop, PlayStations are just simple but powerful consoles of the traditional type... ie they don't have Wii-like controllers or xbox movement sensors?

I think the Kinect and Playstation Move proved to be failures so they abandoned them. Nintendo downplayed that with the Wii U except with some games using the gamepad as an aiming mechanism but I think the Switch is going back to the more active roots like the Wii.

I'm just really fed up with Sony right now, so even though there are a few PS4-exclusive games I wish I could get on my Xbox One (I'm also a tad irked with Microsoft for buying Rare and keeping it from being bought out by Nintendo like it should have been, and creating huge issues with the rights to games like Donkey Kong Country). But all the problems I have with the PS4 hardware are directly related to how they're actively screwing over the players and trying to milk as much ill-gotten money out of them as possible, and I'm having none of that. Let's hope this delay in making the Switch a viable online system is worth it and Nintendo doesn't make these huge mistakes.

[emjay]

Not for me they didn't... absolutely loved them... it was great for puzzle games, the DS. Are you saying then that the Switch is backwardly compatible with older systems? Apologies but all your talk of virtual coins etc is completely foreign to me since I've been so long out of the console/gaming scene... but what you're talking about sounds interesting. I watched a few YouTube videos to look at the games on it, and I gathered from them that you can download games rather than buy the cartridges, but there's some sort regioning system for that... so to get around that, people would buy the cartridges from other countries etc. The one I was looking at with interest, and would probably be my first game if I got one, was called I am Setsuma (or something like that) and the guy reviewing it had to import it from Japan. I don't whether you were asking about downloads as a general question because you don't have one (a switch) yet, or whether you were just talking hypothetically about Layton... so sorry if I answered a question you didn't ask. But thanks for the advice... I now know more than I did before... that there are accounts, coins, and sales etc which would make it much more interesting to have one.

I do love the puzzles, just the replay value is very low because the story is no longer a mystery in the end and you reach the end of the games fairly quickly. I do like the later games' additional content (the one with the pet hamster was particularly charming) but still lacking in enough content to make it worthwhile for one game per cartridge.

Yeah, I agree with you on that... no replay value... I've only played any of them once... but I didn't buy them new either... as usual I was late to the scene so I just bought a shit load of puzzle games second hand and cheap when I got the DS. I don't think I would or did pay more than a tenner or so for a game. I'm the same with everything else... I don't need things when they've just come out; I'm patient and happy to wait for things to come down in price. Like I've just watched Lost for the first time, and got the whole box set for £21. And perfectly happy with that arrangement... even if it means I'm seeing it years later than it came out. Absolutely incredible it was... best series I've ever seen.

So, Nintendo used to do this thing called Club Nintendo, where you'd get points for entering the serial numbers on any game consoles or games you bought, and you could exchange the coins for either downloadable games or merchandise. They suspended that service after a while (which totally pissed me off because I think I had enough points to get at least one more free game and they all went 'poof'.) They didn't even have a replacement 'rewards' system at the ready when they did that. But then they came back with My Nintendo. Here's how it works:

You get a few different categories of coins to use to get virtual rewards. You have coins for Mario Run, or the Mii-based App Miitomo, and then you have more important Silver and Gold coins. Silver coins are easier to obtain and you get less special rewards for them, but you can earn them easily by just logging into the various programs (eShop and the My Nintendo website itself) and you can occasionally get a discount on a cheap game with Silver coins, but more often than not it'll just be for a new background on your 3DS. Now, the Gold coins are only earned by buying downloadable games on the eShop, and those coins are able to be used to get much larger discounts on a wider variety of games, or get discounts or even FREE Downloadable Content for some games. For example, at this time, I could get a 15% discount on Pikmin for the Wii U using my Silver Coins, or a 30% discount on it using my Gold Coins; obviously the better discount is afforded by the Gold coins even though it's for the same game. That's about the best direct comparison of the two, otherwise their different rewards are pretty inconsistent with each other.

But Nintendo does just do random sales every month or so. For instance, right now almost every Kirby game is being discounted and I'm planning on snagging two of them before it's over, so I'll be earning a few gold points (don't have anything worth it to spend on yet, but I do try to check the eShop every week just to see what's on sale or My Nintendo to see if any new games are offering a discount). I don't know whether the Switch has any kind of game downloading capability up and running yet but I know the same Virtual Console that the Wii U has is not currently available and that's the biggest hangup for me. But if it ever does get put up, I'll be perfectly happy if it's run exactly the same way as the current Wii U eShop.

Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated

[The Industrial Atheist]

I loved Nintendo, original gameboy and SNES. But Playstation is my thing now. Love the PS4.
I haven't played many games on my Vita yet.

Switch is like $400 right? That's a halfway decent couch for whenever I finally get my apartment.

Yeah, I'm a 90s child too so my heyday was the SNES, Megadrive, and Mega CD.... and at a pinch, the Master System. Good times... Streets of Rage 2... best game ever

In theory I'd love a PS4 but I have a problem with RSI and its controllers set me off big time... I can't use them for more than a few minutes with it putting me into absolute agony But it doesn't happen at all with the N64 controllers... which are much more ergonomic. I could probably get third-party controller but it's very hard finding stuff that doesn't set off RSI... pretty much trial and error... so it could be an expensive process, with no guarantee of success but in principle a PS4 appeals to me much more than Nintendo, after they went the Wii route... I just want a console with control pads like the good old days, not all this physical movement stuff... it's fine if you've got a big living room, but not so great if you don't as far as I know; but I could very well be wrong since I'm so long out of the loop, PlayStations are just simple but powerful consoles of the traditional type... ie they don't have Wii-like controllers or xbox movement sensors?

Sorry you have rsi. When I used to play  a lot more, I was probably lucky to not get that. I have had my hands barely able to hold the controller before.
You're pretty much right that playsatations are simple but powerful. Although there is Playstation VR. They seem to always be just a little ahead of their competitors when it comes to graphics. Except if you compare Vita to Switch. But Switch is new and Vita is old. If you compare Vita to 3DS, which came out at the same time, Vita has near HD graphics whereas 3DS is something like 460x320 IIRC

[emjay]

Yeah, I'm a 90s child too so my heyday was the SNES, Megadrive, and Mega CD.... and at a pinch, the Master System. Good times... Streets of Rage 2... best game ever

In theory I'd love a PS4 but I have a problem with RSI and its controllers set me off big time... I can't use them for more than a few minutes with it putting me into absolute agony But it doesn't happen at all with the N64 controllers... which are much more ergonomic. I could probably get third-party controller but it's very hard finding stuff that doesn't set off RSI... pretty much trial and error... so it could be an expensive process, with no guarantee of success but in principle a PS4 appeals to me much more than Nintendo, after they went the Wii route... I just want a console with control pads like the good old days, not all this physical movement stuff... it's fine if you've got a big living room, but not so great if you don't as far as I know; but I could very well be wrong since I'm so long out of the loop, PlayStations are just simple but powerful consoles of the traditional type... ie they don't have Wii-like controllers or xbox movement sensors?

I think the Kinect and Playstation Move proved to be failures so they abandoned them. Nintendo downplayed that with the Wii U except with some games using the gamepad as an aiming mechanism but I think the Switch is going back to the more active roots like the Wii.

My bold.

Bollocks!... it was a nice dream while it lasted

I'm just really fed up with Sony right now, so even though there are a few PS4-exclusive games I wish I could get on my Xbox One (I'm also a tad irked with Microsoft for buying Rare and keeping it from being bought out by Nintendo like it should have been, and creating huge issues with the rights to games like Donkey Kong Country). But all the problems I have with the PS4 hardware are directly related to how they're actively screwing over the players and trying to milk as much ill-gotten money out of them as possible, and I'm having none of that. Let's hope this delay in making the Switch a viable online system is worth it and Nintendo doesn't make these huge mistakes.

Right... so reading between the lines, that's another thing about the new way; that many games are platform independent these days, except for a few exclusives? To me that sounds pretty cool... but obviously not if you're looking out for exclusives on a system you don't have (I rarely do exclusives in anything on principle... so don't watch netflix originals etc on principle)... because it means you can focus on the games rather than the systems that run them. Against exclusivity I'm basically all for 'open source' stuff and actively go against anything that looks like it's trying to lock you in to a particular ecosystem as it were... so I wouldn't get an iPhone if you paid me etc. So if that open source principle is generally in operation with these new consoles, I'm all for that, and fully understand your frustration when that's not the case... hope it works out for you

[Astonished]

I think the Kinect and Playstation Move proved to be failures so they abandoned them. Nintendo downplayed that with the Wii U except with some games using the gamepad as an aiming mechanism but I think the Switch is going back to the more active roots like the Wii.

My bold.

Bollocks!... it was a nice dream while it lasted

I'm just really fed up with Sony right now, so even though there are a few PS4-exclusive games I wish I could get on my Xbox One (I'm also a tad irked with Microsoft for buying Rare and keeping it from being bought out by Nintendo like it should have been, and creating huge issues with the rights to games like Donkey Kong Country). But all the problems I have with the PS4 hardware are directly related to how they're actively screwing over the players and trying to milk as much ill-gotten money out of them as possible, and I'm having none of that. Let's hope this delay in making the Switch a viable online system is worth it and Nintendo doesn't make these huge mistakes.

Right... so reading between the lines, that's another thing about the new way; that many games are platform independent these days, except for a few exclusives? To me that sounds pretty cool... but obviously not if you're looking out for exclusives on a system you don't have (I rarely do exclusives in anything on principle... so don't watch netflix originals etc on principle)... because it means you can focus on the games rather than the systems that run them. Against exclusivity I'm basically all for 'open source' stuff and actively go against anything that looks like it's trying to lock you in to a particular ecosystem as it were... so I wouldn't get an iPhone if you paid me etc. So if that open source principle is generally in operation with these new consoles, I'm all for that, and fully understand your frustration when that's not the case... hope it works out for you

Some things being exclusives are worth it (the Netflix Marvel shows, for example), while others not so much (WB making the third season of Young Justice only available on their limited and exclusive streaming service? May they hang for such assholery.) But since I wanted Rare Replay, I had no choice but to get the Xbox One, and to my chagrin a few games that I do have my eye on are only on PS4, so if we're talking pure volume, PS4 does have more games I would like to be able to play but I can't bring myself to buy one because of how awful the rest of what they're doing with it is. Zero backward compatibility, no ability to play the downloaded games from my PS3, and the fact that you can't buy the older games they're offering in their online arcade, you just have to pay a monthly service charge for access to them, now that's some bullshit. Fuck Sony. It wasn't bad enough they're being dickholes about the Spider-Man movies, now they have to make gaming a chore.

[emjay]

Yeah, I'm a 90s child too so my heyday was the SNES, Megadrive, and Mega CD.... and at a pinch, the Master System. Good times... Streets of Rage 2... best game ever

In theory I'd love a PS4 but I have a problem with RSI and its controllers set me off big time... I can't use them for more than a few minutes with it putting me into absolute agony But it doesn't happen at all with the N64 controllers... which are much more ergonomic. I could probably get third-party controller but it's very hard finding stuff that doesn't set off RSI... pretty much trial and error... so it could be an expensive process, with no guarantee of success but in principle a PS4 appeals to me much more than Nintendo, after they went the Wii route... I just want a console with control pads like the good old days, not all this physical movement stuff... it's fine if you've got a big living room, but not so great if you don't as far as I know; but I could very well be wrong since I'm so long out of the loop, PlayStations are just simple but powerful consoles of the traditional type... ie they don't have Wii-like controllers or xbox movement sensors?

Sorry you have rsi. When I used to play  a lot more, I was probably lucky to not get that. I have had my hands barely able to hold the controller before.
You're pretty much right that playsatations are simple but powerful. Although there is Playstation VR. They seem to always be just a little ahead of their competitors when it comes to graphics. Except if you compare Vita to Switch. But Switch is new and Vita is old. If you compare Vita to 3DS, which came out at the same time, Vita has near HD graphics whereas 3DS is something like 460x320 IIRC

Thanks But I'm used to it... and it hasn't been majorly set off in a while... but once you've got the propensity for it, there's always the potential for it to be set off and then require weeks/months of recovery time... so in other words, once it's happened once you've got it for life, at least potentially... I lost a job because of it, even after ages without it being set off... within two weeks at the job I was in agony. It's related to nerves and causes hypersensitivity so at its worst I was in absolute agony and the only way I could be even slightly comfortable was to stand, naked; I couldn't lie down, sit down, or have anything against my skin... but thankfully that hasn't happened for a long time. For me, what set it off originally was playing Civ2... so it was a mouse rather than a control pad that did it... I just felt a twinge in my arm and that was that. So my advice to you is take it seriously... it's real... and it's incapacitating... so don't get it... and thank god you didn't if you did play so much. If you get that strange twinge in your arm you've got to stop doing whatever you're doing right then.. even saving or whatever might be too much... you just gotta back away from the computer... if I had done that, rather than a few more turns, I might've prevented it turning into a full blown incapacitating experience lasting months and requiring shitloads of physiotherapy... that's something I've learnt going forward... to recognise that twinge and stop instantly to save myself a world of pain. Er anyway, sorry about going off on a tangent like that

Yeah... part of the reason I don't play consoles these days is because of this RSI but occasionally I'll bring out the N64 and it causes me no problems. As to these new ones, I basically have three very simple - and probably wrong - associations about them; xbox... PC in a pretty box , Nintendo... active Wii type stuff, and PlayStation... raw power and fast graphics... so what you say fits in with how I picture it

---

Anyway, I need to go to bed... it's been nice chatting with you guys goodnight

[KevinM1]

The Switch is cool if you're willing to pay $300 American for a console with a fair amount of 3rd party retro/indie games that plays equally well in handheld mode or connected to a TV. Inti Creates in particular has some strong titles (completely remade Blaster Master, Mighty Gunvolt Burst, upcoming port of the Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack).

1st party titles are slowly trickling in. Zelda: Breath of the Wild is fun, but both easy and frustrating (the inventory system leans too heavily on weapon breakage). ARMS is out, and Slatoon 2 was just released. By the end of the year, a new Mario, Xenoblade, and I believe Kirby game will be out. Maybe the Yoshi game, too.

Where the Switch is weak is online. Friend codes are still a stupid thing. The console apparently can't handle voice chat, so it's done through a phone app that has a ton of issues... most people just say "fuck it" and use Discord. No cloud saves. What a Nintendo account means regarding eShop purchases (do you need to re-buy if your Switch is stolen or broken?) is still up in the air. There's no Virtual Console as of yet, and no one knows what it will be like when it's actually implemented. There are no media/streaming apps.

It's a cool little piece of kit. I like it a lot, but it's really a supplementary system at this point. Good for gaming on the go, or playing Nintendo exclusives.

[Astonished]

The Switch is cool if you're willing to pay $300 American for a console with a fair amount of 3rd party retro/indie games that plays equally well in handheld mode or connected to a TV.  Inti Creates in particular has some strong titles (completely remade Blaster Master, Mighty Gunvolt Burst, upcoming port of the Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack).

1st party titles are slowly trickling in.  Zelda: Breath of the Wild is fun, but both easy and frustrating (the inventory system leans too heavily on weapon breakage).  ARMS is out, and Slatoon 2 was just released.  By the end of the year, a new Mario, Xenoblade, and I believe Kirby game will be out.  Maybe the Yoshi game, too.

Where the Switch is weak is online.  Friend codes are still a stupid thing.  The console apparently can't handle voice chat, so it's done through a phone app that has a ton of issues... most people just say "fuck it" and use Discord.  No cloud saves.  What a Nintendo account means regarding eShop purchases (do you need to re-buy if your Switch is stolen or broken?) is still up in the air.  There's no Virtual Console as of yet, and no one knows what it will be like when it's actually implemented.  There are no media/streaming apps.

It's a cool little piece of kit.  I like it a lot, but it's really a supplementary system at this point.  Good for gaming on the go, or playing Nintendo exclusives.

Sounds like they're getting off to the same inauspicious start as the Wii U, but for different reasons. Pull it together, Nintendo, dammit!