Switch Discussion Thread
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:55 pm
So with all of these "leaks" and rumors, and E3 coming up, I figured it would be fun and interesting to share our own predictions about the upcoming console. These don't necessarily have to be things that have been leaked or rumors or anything - Nintendo has proven that the rumors may or may not be credible with the respect to the final product.
I'll give my predictions to kick things off. First off, I think that they will return to a more traditional control scheme. I, personally, loved the Wiimote and the Wii U Gamepad, but they weren't the biggest hit in terms of attracting or keeping third party support. I'm not saying they'll go back to an entirely traditional control scheme like the Xbox One, but more like what the Playstation 4 has with the touch pad and light bar that interacts with the optional camera (optional being the key word there rather than requiring a potentially unpopular accessory like the touchscreen controller).
In terms of physical media, I do think that it will support physical media, though Nintendo is certainly pushing digital media HARD with the structure of the My Nintendo program. I think they'll go with a proprietary card or cartridge like the Playstation Vita did to cut down on loading times as well as (and here's my next prediction) work with a handheld component. I think the NX will be, at its core, a home console, but I think that there will be a handheld device that you can purchase separately (or in a bundle) that can play the games on the go albeit with lower performance - think playing a PC game on Ultra vs playing the same game with everything on the lowest settings. Now I'm not well versed in coding or anything, so I'm well aware that what I'm saying might not even be possible without an insane price tag, but since this entire thread is supposed to be speculative, I figured I'd throw that out as my potentially outlandish prediction.
I also think that will be either a second 8th generation console OR the first of two 9th generation consoles (I'm not sure which or if we'd even be able to say definitively until other companies' hardware comes out years down the line). While I think it will be substantially more powerful than the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, I don't think it would be on par with the inevitable Playstation 5 and likely Xbox Alpha (or Xbox A or whatever stupid bullshit name Microsoft comes up with), so I think that Nintendo would release another console a year or two after those releases to compete more directly with them since Nintendo has always (at least in North America) stuck with a roughly five year life cycle for its home consoles whereas Sony and especially Microsoft don't.
Lastly, I do not think it will feature any Wii U or 3DS backwards compatibility. I think they'll go for an x86 architecture (that's one rumor I do believe) to make it easier to port games from other consoles, but from my understanding (which may very easily be incorrect; feel free to correct if you're more knowledgeable about that than I), you'd have the issue that PS3 had with PS2 backwards compatibility; you'd have to have the guts of a Wii U stuck inside the new console if you wanted to pull it off. Since Nintendo is going to have to lure gamers to the new machine after the disastrous Wii U (even though I think it's a damn great platform), a needlessly high price tag is NOT the way to go.
Those are just my predictions, though. I'd love to hear some of yall's thoughts about the mysterious new console and get some discussion going.
I'll give my predictions to kick things off. First off, I think that they will return to a more traditional control scheme. I, personally, loved the Wiimote and the Wii U Gamepad, but they weren't the biggest hit in terms of attracting or keeping third party support. I'm not saying they'll go back to an entirely traditional control scheme like the Xbox One, but more like what the Playstation 4 has with the touch pad and light bar that interacts with the optional camera (optional being the key word there rather than requiring a potentially unpopular accessory like the touchscreen controller).
In terms of physical media, I do think that it will support physical media, though Nintendo is certainly pushing digital media HARD with the structure of the My Nintendo program. I think they'll go with a proprietary card or cartridge like the Playstation Vita did to cut down on loading times as well as (and here's my next prediction) work with a handheld component. I think the NX will be, at its core, a home console, but I think that there will be a handheld device that you can purchase separately (or in a bundle) that can play the games on the go albeit with lower performance - think playing a PC game on Ultra vs playing the same game with everything on the lowest settings. Now I'm not well versed in coding or anything, so I'm well aware that what I'm saying might not even be possible without an insane price tag, but since this entire thread is supposed to be speculative, I figured I'd throw that out as my potentially outlandish prediction.
I also think that will be either a second 8th generation console OR the first of two 9th generation consoles (I'm not sure which or if we'd even be able to say definitively until other companies' hardware comes out years down the line). While I think it will be substantially more powerful than the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, I don't think it would be on par with the inevitable Playstation 5 and likely Xbox Alpha (or Xbox A or whatever stupid bullshit name Microsoft comes up with), so I think that Nintendo would release another console a year or two after those releases to compete more directly with them since Nintendo has always (at least in North America) stuck with a roughly five year life cycle for its home consoles whereas Sony and especially Microsoft don't.
Lastly, I do not think it will feature any Wii U or 3DS backwards compatibility. I think they'll go for an x86 architecture (that's one rumor I do believe) to make it easier to port games from other consoles, but from my understanding (which may very easily be incorrect; feel free to correct if you're more knowledgeable about that than I), you'd have the issue that PS3 had with PS2 backwards compatibility; you'd have to have the guts of a Wii U stuck inside the new console if you wanted to pull it off. Since Nintendo is going to have to lure gamers to the new machine after the disastrous Wii U (even though I think it's a damn great platform), a needlessly high price tag is NOT the way to go.
Those are just my predictions, though. I'd love to hear some of yall's thoughts about the mysterious new console and get some discussion going.