Nintendo NX is now Switch (Official thread) (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

As was stated earlier, there's no rumors or evidence that the scrollable shoulder buttons will be on NX, Leo just thinks they should do it and is really hopeful. I agree that it's a neat idea, but I also agree that it probably wouldn't work so well with what the NX appears to be trying to do.

There are no Super Mario Maker 2 rumors, but there are rumors that some of the Wii U's best games (specifically Splatoon, Super Smash Bros, and Super Mario Maker) are going to be ported to NX and available at or near launch. A lot of rumors from a couple months ago said that Nintendo was having trouble with getting Super Mario Maker to run on NX (I believe I read that the port over wasn't so stable and that there were issues with connecting the Wii U version's online infrastructure with the NX's new infrastructure so user-created content could carry over). Leo said he thinks Nintendo would make a sequel rather than just port the game over.

Personally, I see some games as existing more as platforms than single experiences (LittleBigPlanet and Rock Band are two good examples) where they can sell extra content over a long period of time rather than keep releasing new games. Sure, we've seen 3 LBP games and 4 Rock Bands, but each one had a couple years between releases and a ton of DLC. I could see Nintendo trying to do that with Super Mario Maker on NX, especially since it would be on every one of their platforms. It would be weird to release SMM on 3DS in December then SMM2 at NX launch in March, effectively telling 3DS owners "sorry, you picked the wrong platform to buy this game for, if only you'd waited 4 months then you could play something better." And delaying SMM2's release on NX by a few months simply to not interfere with the 3DS release and anger people who just bought it also seems kind of silly, especially if they want the NX to hit the ground running with great games right away.

I am hopeful (though there is zero evidence that this will be the case) that Nintendo will include something great as a pack-in for NX, like Splatoon, SMM, and Smash Bros.

 

[LeoA]

A standard trigger. A scrollable trigger would feel very weird.

I don't know.

While I can think of benefits from it, I can't quite conceptualize how it could be laid out, either. But if the feature was present, Nintendo has my trust that it will be comfortable and work well.

If they were on detachable controllers, they'd have to omit the pointer IR sensor.

No, they wouldn't.

Again, just look at the Wii remote design. It has a IR sensor and it has a trigger. These two very different features aren't mutually exclusive items.

Since I doubt scrollable shoulder buttons could be comfortably implemented on remote shaped detachable controllers

Even this is an assumption.

The sides detach if we're to believe most NX related rumors of recent weeks, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we suddenly lose the gamepad form factor and that they must be held individually in each hand like you do with Wii remotes in boxing on Wii Sports Club for the Wii U or held horizontally like you do for NES Virtual Console downloads.

Frankly, I'm betting that if the sides indeed do detach for console use, that we get a piece of plastic to connect them to that substitutes for the docked center section, maintaining a traditional handheld/gamepad style form factor.

As was stated earlier, there's no rumors or evidence that the scrollable shoulder buttons will be on NX, Leo just thinks they should do it and is really hopeful. .

I'm been very forthcoming on the feelings behind my opinion, so clarification really wasn't necessary, Morgan.

What I'd love to see are all these rumors that state that it isn't even a feature that's present here. I'm puzzled why you've seen so much on this, yet I've seen nothing about the shoulder buttons one way or another despite following things along at places like Eurogamer and Neogaf.

I think you saw one rumor, decided it fit your view, and have accepted it as gospel. Like I already said, don't put too much stock into rumors. A new and likely contradictory one will just appear in the next week just as it always does.

A lot of what you've approached ridiculing me about in this sub-forum the past couple of years where Nintendo's next-gen hardware is concerned, is virtually accepted as fact these days. Mobile chipset, a hybrid console/handheld, etc.

Leo just thinks they should do it and is really hopeful. .

I think that to say that I'm "really hopeful" that this feature is present is a misnomer. I just think it's a good idea. My opinion on the NX doesn't hinge in any way on if this particular idea is incorporated into it or not.

They're only shoulder buttons.

but there are rumors that some of the Wii U's best games (specifically Splatoon, Super Smash Bros, and Super Mario Maker) are going to be ported to NX and available at or near launch.

From Emily Rogers, only...

And what you're not mentioning, at least for the Super Mario Maker bit, is that she came right out and said that she didn't know if it would even be released. She only has been told that some work involving it has been done.

A lot of rumors from a couple months ago said that Nintendo was having trouble with getting Super Mario Maker to run on NX (I believe I read that the port over wasn't so stable and that there were issues with connecting the Wii U version's online infrastructure with the NX's new infrastructure so user-created content could carry over).

Never saw this, but I again find it incredibly hard to believe that Nintendo would have difficulty there. I don't buy into this one at all...

Leo said he thinks Nintendo would make a sequel rather than just port the game over.

Because of a key piece of information that you just neglected to mention. A 3DS port of Super Mario Maker for a handheld system that came out back in 2011 and is on its way out, has been announced for release this Fall.

Why release a handheld port of Super Mario Maker on the aged 3DS and steal the thunder away from a NX launch release next March of what could've been the first portable conversion of Super Mario Maker, the Wii U's biggest hit? Doesn't make a lick of sense so I'm assuming that the NX port isn't happening.

But since Super Mario Maker was a success, I see no reason not to expect a sequel on the NX.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I don't remember exactly where I saw it, might have been an Emily Rogers comment from a while back or something, but the early rumors out from devs (rather than patents) said that the scrolling shoulder buttons weren't present on dev units, which means they're likely to not be on the final hardware. And again, there was never a leak or rumor that they were actually being used, just the one patent, and your opinion was based solely off of that one patent.

I have seen mockups where a center piece can be used for the side controller pieces to dock into and I think it looks kind of stupid. I also doubt Nintendo would have that much detachable plastic. If anything, they'll just push for separate controllers that can be used (that you could buy separately, like Wii remotes or Pro controllers) or modes of play that involve one detached controller only instead of a middle piece. Or hey, maybe the two pieces held separately like Wii remote and nunchuk. Maybe a third party would make a middle piece, but I doubt Nintendo would.

 

[laser]

No, they wouldn't.

Again, just look at the Wii remote design. It has a IR sensor and it has a trigger. These two very different features aren't mutually exclusive items.

The Wii Remote + Nunchuk only has two triggers and one shoulder button (such a config was ok on the N64 and GC because games weren't quite as complex then, but they finally had to cave and have a standard button layout on the Wii U) because the sensor takes the space of the shoulder button on the remote. A trigger ≠ a shoulder button.

 

[LeoA]

A trigger is just a style of shoulder button. it doesn't even need to be analog, as shown with the Wii U.

I'm sorry, but I disagree with you and don't understand your reasoning that you believe supports you.

Hopefully we'll get details like this over the next few weeks, if the rumored September/October reveal ends up happening.

 

[laser]

A trigger is just a style of shoulder button. it doesn't even need to be analog, as shown with the Wii U.

The Xbox 360 controller is the accepted standard of game controls. Two narrow digital "bumpers" for secondary functions above two analog triggers for primary functions such as firing a gun or accelerating a car. Anything less than this puts core gamers in a tizzy:

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/syst...again-wii-u-will-not-have-analog-tr-29250905/

The scrollable shoulder buttons idea is meant to add extra functionality to the secondary "bumpers", not the primary triggers. Doing the reverse would feel pretty weird.

 

[LeoA]

NX isn't out to take on the Xbox One and the Playstation 4 directly. So it should be of relatively little consequence if Nintendo goes their own way with something like a digital trigger like the Wii U Gamepad and Pro Controller features.

The multiplatform fare that by and large dominates on the competition won't be here in significant numbers even if Nintendo was aggressively courting them with equivalent specs and such. And outside of racing games where it gives some added finesse for analog braking and accelerating, what does it bring to your average modern console game anyways?

As for scrollable shoulder buttons, I never argued that it would be the triggers that it would be incorporated into. But that said, we really don't know, do we?

We don't even know if this has triggers...

 

[laser]

And outside of racing games where it gives some added finesse for analog braking and accelerating, what does it bring to your average modern console game anyways?

I do know that the original Halo on Xbox would've felt a lot different with digital triggers. You'd squeeze, and that little delay/buildup in firing/charging made the guns feel more substantial. The guns in Perfect Dark just the year before felt like shooting (still very fun) pencils. I experienced that same weak feeling in Splatoon, though the fact that you played as a kid firing blobs of goo probably affected the intensity as well.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U all have the same number of buttons in a relatively similar configuration. I would assume, even for virtual console purposes, that Nintendo would try to get 2 shoulder buttons on each controller. I doubt the triggers would be analog, because it really doesn't matter. The Wii U Pro controller was pretty great without them.

Some more rumors I read (on reddit, from a 4chan post, so HUGE grains of salt): the subscription plan would be like PS+ in that you get a few free games every month or full/nearly full access to the virtual console games. The idea is to basically sell the console to people who want nostalgia. The VC would go from NES through to the GameCube, so having ALL OF THOSE GAMES in a mobile/console hybrid would be a big seller. They are apparently going to push for nostalgia by selling wireless controllers modeled after past consoles, too, starting with GameCube controllers. And part of that is Smash getting a remaster and launching with NX (the remade GameCube controllers were a big hit with Smash Bros.) One of their "new" ideas is pushing an NX app store for games like you see on Android and iOS, with small/cheap things being made easily and quickly available. This was done on PS Vita and 3DS but wasn't so hot. Metroid (Halo-style with co-op and stuff), Pikmin 4, Mario Kart 9, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Maker, Starfox, FF spinoff, and a new Galaxy-style Mario coming within 6-18 months of launch. They want a new big game every 3-4 months.

All this will supposedly be announced this Friday in a new style of Direct. Going forward, their Directs will be played in an app or something that has links/pics that pop up in the video that you can click on to get more info about a specific game. On NX, this will be a unique app (think the Nintendo Channel on Wii) that will have links directly to demos for games shown in the videos. Not sure how this would work this coming Friday, but possibly a YouTube video with links embedded in it to videos for specific content/games talked about?

Again, all rumors from 4chan, so could be 100% made up or surprisingly real. Interesting ideas, if true at all.

 

[LeoA]

I would assume, even for virtual console purposes, that Nintendo would try to get 2 shoulder buttons on each controller.

I agree with that assumption.

My point only was to emphasize that we're still in the dark on even basic details like the presence of shoulder buttons of some sort.

We know virtually nothing for concrete information on the NX other than that it's a dedicated piece of gaming hardware from Nintendo that's currently in development, that we'll learn more about it this year, that it's slated to launch in March 2017, and that a Zelda port will be available at launch.

Not much point quibbling over details too much as of yet, since Nintendo has done a good job of keeping a tight lid on things as shown by how contradictory the rumor mill has been which rather demonstrates that much of it will be proven to be hogwash when all is said and done.

Some of these people clearly are outright lying to us to get website hits.

 

[laser]

The Pokémon Company's CEO has pretty much reconfirmed that NX is a hybrid:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1281443

 

[LeoA]

Not NX related, but since it has been mentioned a good bit in this thread, here's another surprise about the upcoming Super Mario Maker port for the 3DS.

Note what it says near the bottom, under 3DS.

 

[laser]

Hah!

I'm guessing it's for performance reasons. Probably a quick and dirty port without full optimization.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

It may be a memory issue. I think they've run into that before with some other games on 3DS not being 3D, or even keeping certain features only for New 3DS.

 

[laser]

New projector patent published, though it's almost certainly for QoL (note the "BMI" in the demonstration image):

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1283078

 

[laser]

A trial production run of NX has apparently begun:

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160922PD207.html

Apparently backed up by Emily Rogers, FWIW (scroll down):

https://arcadegirl64.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/rumor-what-should-we-expect-from-the-final-nx-product/

Methinks the reveal had better come soon to prempt factory leaks...

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I'd imagine a reveal soon, too, for the same leaky reason.

I think Nintendo abandoned their QoL initiative, since they announced it a really long time ago and haven't shown anything from it. The projector tech could just be them patenting new ideas and testing them out, rather than a patent for a real product. Companies can file patents and have them remain secret if they are part of an impending product, but they didn't do that here which suggests to me that its neither NX nor QoL related.

 

[laser]

New rumour saying that NX is actually in THREE parts:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1283573

I'm not putting much stock in this one. It shows it as basically a Wii U with a battery in the base unit:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=217900190&postcount=283
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=217900400&postcount=305

No way are they going to release something that confuses the mass market ever again...

EDIT: Yep, looking false. Thought it had the stink of yet another fan-made mockup...

 

[laser]

http://www.thecountrycaller.com/35922-nintendo-notifying-retailers-to-place-final-wii-u-order/

 

[Morgan Jolley]

There's probably plenty of Wii U's out there for the people who really want one.

I'm wondering if the NX will have some backward compatibility with Wii U, more in the Virtual Console sense. Wii games started to appear on the Wii U eShop and the NX supposedly has a touchscreen controller, so maybe there's a way to play on the controller and the TV at the same time, thus letting Wii U games be ported up? If so, then fine, kill the Wii U.