Personal computing discussed

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synthtel2
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:54 pm

Vhalidictes wrote:
That said, pretty much all modern consoles (bar possibly the upcoming Xbox) are either slower than (or soon to be slower than) mobile devices, which already have a huge install base (and therefore, developer attention).

There are battles left to fight, but that war is over already. The current fight is between VR headsets and, well, HDMI-out to see how (not if) phones output their games to a larger canvas.

Last I knew (which wasn't that long ago), mobile devices were having trouble getting to even half a TFLOP. The OG XB1 is 1.3 TFLOPS, the PS4 is 1.7, the PS4 Pro is 4.2 IIRC, Scorpio is rumored to be 6, and the traditional min spec for PC VR (970/1060/290/480) starts around 3.5. Also consider power use: there's no way to fit anything close to a 1060 in a fanless tablet on 14nm. By the time a 10W tablet can do what a 100W card can do today, the 100W cards will have moved on to yet better things.
 
Kretschmer
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:25 am

I think that Nintendo is making a mistake with trying to check every box with one SKU.  $300 is a lot to ask for a "supplemental" gaming platform, and they piled on gimmick features (touchscreen, motion sensors, etc.) that were poorly used on the Wii U (and Wii, really).
A more prudent approach would be multiple SKUs:
Home Console ($150-200): Basically a Shield TV that runs Nintendo hardware.  Higher clocks than the portable variant.  Standard "pro" controller without tablet screen, motion controls, etc.
Portable SKU ($175-225): "Tablet" SKU that contains the mobile tablet and controllers but no base station.  Base station sold separately for the difference between mobile SKU and $300 current SKU.
Home + Portable SKU ($300): Current SKU.

By getting the entry price down down, Nintendo could really up their sales (and install base), keeping them from the Wii U "low sales/third-party support" death spiral."  This also allows publishers to focus on good core gaming experiences without trying to accommodate many types of input.
 
Kougar
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:14 am

It's not a console, it's a handheld. A very expensive handheld gameboy. 

If we call it a console, then it's outrageous it can't run Zelda at 1080p. The Switch isn't even released yet and already existing games have to be limited to 900p @ 30 FPS to run on it. 

If we call it a handheld, then it seems less outrageous that it can't run existing games at native 1080p @ 60 FPS. Until you consider that the Wii U could at least run Zelda at 720p @ 30 FPS. I think Nintendo is doing more harm than good to their image with the Switch, it feels like they gave up on making a console entirely and are focusing purely on handhelds from here on out. 

That said, I'm not a console gamer. Last one I had was an N64, and I wouldn't want a Nintendo Switch even if someone gave it to me. 
 
LostCat
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:17 am

I guess by that standard the PS4 Pro isn't a console either, because it can't run a lot of things at 1080p@60.  FF15 gets about 45fpsish from what I've read.
Meow.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:34 am

PS4 Pro games are required to render at resolutions >>> 1080p, and then scale that image to fit whatever display it's connected to, and if a game has not been updated for the PS4 Pro the console shuts off all the extra resources so it's identical to a regular PS4. If given the opportunity, I think PS4 Pro games could run at 1080p and 60fps.

The "not a console" logic is still flawed, though. Is its closed-off ecosystem for a device that plugs into a TV? Then it's a console.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
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Kougar
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Tue Jan 24, 2017 3:23 pm

LostCat wrote:
I guess by that standard the PS4 Pro isn't a console either, because it can't run a lot of things at 1080p@60.  FF15 gets about 45fpsish from what I've read.

That may be, but that is still better than having it capped at 30 FPS. Because they ARE capping Zelda to 30 FPS and locking it at 900p. 
 
LostCat
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Tue Jan 24, 2017 4:03 pm

Kougar wrote:
LostCat wrote:
I guess by that standard the PS4 Pro isn't a console either, because it can't run a lot of things at 1080p@60.  FF15 gets about 45fpsish from what I've read.

That may be, but that is still better than having it capped at 30 FPS. Because they ARE capping Zelda to 30 FPS and locking it at 900p. 

Which is pretty standard for the X1/PS4 generation of consoles.
Meow.
 
Kougar
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Wed Jan 25, 2017 6:26 am

LostCat wrote:
Which is pretty standard for the X1/PS4 generation of consoles.

If that's really true then it just makes consoles seem like a complete joke.
 
LostCat
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Wed Jan 25, 2017 8:41 am

Kougar wrote:
LostCat wrote:
Which is pretty standard for the X1/PS4 generation of consoles.

If that's really true then it just makes consoles seem like a complete joke.

If you could match their performance with $400 or less when they launched or ~$250 now then go at it.

Keep in mind you'll have to have textures at High or Ultra in this theoretical build.
Meow.
 
Kretschmer
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:02 am

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the Switch online environment developer session.
"We're doing it, guys!  Time to implement an online platform..."
"Great!"
"...as a phone app!"
"What?"
 
CuttinHobo
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Re: Nintendo Switch

Wed Jan 25, 2017 1:26 pm

Kougar wrote:
[...]
That said, I'm not a console gamer. Last one I had was an N64, and I wouldn't want a Nintendo Switch even if someone gave it to me. 


Nintendo's console is arguably the best console for a PC gamer to own (if you have any interest in consoles at all, of course) because of the exclusives you can't play any other way. Most major PS4/XBO titles are also available for Windows.

That said, I demand value for my hard-earned dollar, and for my purposes the Switch is falling short on that front like the Wii-U before it. If Kretschmer's additional SKUs were a reality, I would pick up a home-console-only Switch once there was a large enough library to justify it.

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