
The best Nintendo Switch feature is its lack of region-locking - Tomte
https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/9/14867076/nintendo-switch-no-region-locking-awesome
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CM30
The lack of region locking was also one of the best things about most of the
handheld consoles Nintendo released beforehand. The original Game Boy, the
Game Boy Colour, the GBA and the Nintendo DS were all region free as well, and
it likely helped their popularity a ton, especially given how it meant you
could travel with the system and be sure any games you bought while away would
work with it.

Those systems may not have had an eShop, but in the days before it, I suspect
not having region locking was as helpful there too.

~~~
laumars
Originally region locking was more a byproduct of TV's having different output
standards (NTSC vs PAL). But we're talking back in the 8bit era (and to a
lesser degree, 16bit as well).

Which might explain why most handhelds were never region locked.

~~~
dtech
I don't buy that. DVDs were region-locked with multiple PAL regions, later
consoles which didn't have that problem were and are region locked.

It's about price differentiation between different regions.

~~~
laumars
Hence the "originally" part prefixing my post. I absolutely agree it later
become a monetary thing (bare in mind DVDs came a long time after the time
period I was discussing) but many early consoles didn't have region locking
and some that did, did so because games timed for NTSC consoles would have ran
slower on PAL systems due to the difference in refresh rates between PAL and
NTSC (50Hz and 60Hz respectively). You can see this in effect whenever you
play games on a modded Mega Drive (for example).

That all said, some NTSC games were still released for European markets
without changing their timings. Sonic is one example of this - it runs slower,
the music plays slower etc. For that reason I usually play Sonic on NTSC
console rather than the PAL one (yeah, I have a whole room full of old
computers and games consoles. It's sad but I love it).

------
bitwize
The Nintendo Switch continues to impress me. Maybe its game selection is a bit
thin on the ground, but what's there is great, and it _feels good_ to use. I
love the solid click the Joy-Cons make as they slide and snap into place. I
love to grasp and hold the unit with the Joy-Cons attached. I love to use the
provided controller handle, or the Joy-Cons on their own, one in each hand.
Nintendo has got the ergonomics for this thing on point, and it really feels
built to be a gaming device in a way that, say, an iPad or smartphone doesn't.

The use of flashcarts instead of discs was also asavvy decision,and really
fits with the mobile story of the device. Plus, I miss the instantaneity of
cartridge-based games. Finding out it's region free on top of all this, it's
like they're firing on all cylinders this go around.

No, I'm not a Nintendo shill. I'm just uniquely impressed by the very deep
thought that went into the design, manufacture, and deployment of this
particular console.

~~~
laumars
To be honest I find the game selection to be pretty weak. So far at least. I
mean there are a few standout titles - no doubt. But like with the Wii,
there's an overwhelming amount of shelf fillers which you'd play for a few
hours after buying but then never touch again.

Having carts is a nice touch though but even there I have a few niggles: like
swapping the carts out can be a little bit of a pain (like popping an SD card
out of a mobile phone where you have flaps to remove and then need to jam your
nail into the card to get it to spring out). Plus I don't agree that Switch
games (on the cart at least) load instantaneously. Quite a few games seem to
have long loading times - Zelda being the most notable.

I also really dislike how the Joycons feel when using them as two player.
Particularly the one with the analogue stick in the middle.

But that all said, the things Nintendo got right far outweigh the stuff that
are sub-optimal. It works nicely both docked and as a handheld (eg while on
the train). It's a nice weight, has a good screen and even the battery life
seems pretty decent (despite the horror stories I was reading prior to its
release). The UI is a pleasure to use as well (likely down to it being focused
as a games console rather than home entertainment system). I even like how
game updates can be postponed when you want to actually play the game (unlike
Playstation which prevents you from playing a game until everything is up-to-
date).

Overly it's a really nice console to own. My daily commute is about 2.5 hours
(round trip) on a good day and my Switch has made the commute far more
bearable. In fact I now look forward to it.

~~~
scrollaway
> _To be honest I find the game selection to be pretty weak. So far at least._

Early days. To be honest, there's more than enough titles to make the console
worth it IMO. I have 600 games in my Steam library and I've seriously played
_maybe_ 15 of them. I'm super happy that my switch only has quality games.

And to anyone reading this, I recommend any and all of the following:

New titles: Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart (play it with
friends!), Celeste.

Ports: Rocket League, Stardew Valley, Shovel Knight, The Binding of Isaac,
Skyrim, Enter the Gungeon.

~~~
TheAceOfHearts
I love my Switch and Mario Kart is my favorite game on it, but it's not really
new. I played the crap out of MK8 when it came out for the WiiU. Although it
does have many tweaks that greatly improve the experience.

But I'd agree that it's a must-have! You can just whip it out and race a
friend anywhere.

~~~
laumars
Honestly, Mario Kart 8 annoys me a little. I love the Mario Kart series but
the 3D tracks are over-done in my _personal_ opinion. I also think the more
realistic scenery means some of the tracks lose their personality when
compared to the more cartoony graphics of their predecessors. That said, the
auto-steer and auto-accelerate feature is a _godsend_ for when playing with my
3 year old. I cannot stress enough just how good a feature that is!!!

I mean, I am nitpicking here a little as it's still a solid title. But on
balance it's not my favorite Mario Kart.

Zelda is a very different game from any of the Zelda's before it as well. I do
like what Nintendo have done but I'd also love to see a more traditional Zelda
released for the Switch some point in the future too.

Overall, it's all very easy me being critical when there's so many elements
that can go wrong. So I think Nintendo have gotten far more right than they've
gotten wrong.

------
jcranmer
This article gives the impression that Nintendo was the great market leader of
ending region locks, when that's kind of the opposite of the truth. The
handheld consoles weren't region-locked (except for the 3DS), but the Nintendo
Switch is the first console by that company to be regionally unlocked. By
contrast, Sony gave up region locks in the PS3 era and Microsoft in Xbox One,
both several years ahead of Nintendo.

~~~
throwaway2048
Should be noted Nintendo invented region locking as well (with the NES),
although the situation is complicated by the fact that PAL and NTSC consoles
required different display hardware and timings, Japan still used NTSC and
famicom games still didn't run on North American NESs.

Keep in mind with things like the C64 PAL/NTSC games still ran on the other
consoles, just faster/slower than intended.

~~~
khedoros1
If I'm remembering correctly, besides the NES's 10NES, the Famicom had a few
important differences, like extra audio channels from the cartridge and a
different pinout anyhow.

With a 60-to-72 pin adapter, I suspect they'd run on the top-load NES (which
also ditched the lockout chip).

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bryanlarsen
The switch is awesome for the commute. So I ordered a GPD win 2 hoping to
replicate that feeling and try out some of those hundreds of games I've picked
up in Steam Summer Sales and Humble Bundles that I've never actually tried.

------
nedwin
Funny - tried to buy one at Melbourne Airport a long time ago on way back to
SF and was told "we don't sell them here because they're region-locked". Good
to know that's a myth!

Was willing to deal with power adapters but getting locked into only
Australian-available content is a total PITA

------
wodenokoto
its not a secret and you still can't purchase from the Japanese store with a
non-japanese credit card

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k__
Does it have good non-nintendo releases now?

~~~
TulliusCicero
There are a lot of good indies on there, but AAA titles are rather thin on the
ground. Only a few, like Skyrim and Doom.

------
ezoe
How can we praise the Nintendo Switch?

It is a computer we cannot freely write a program of. It's evil, like the most
of DRM protected gaming consoles.

~~~
dtech
Why is it so important that we should be able to control what it runs? It's a
consumer gaming device and does that perfectly well.

No one is complaining that you can't run your own programs on the dishwasher
or thermostat, or your car (and I fear the day we get jailbroken autonomous
cars)

~~~
Legogris
It's funny you use the car example, because actually yes, I have heard FOSS
fundamentalist using that as a textbook example of when you as a user want to
be able to verify what's actually running.

It's not that far off from tractors and the like, which actually is a problem
for owners when they become abandonware. Comment thread and documentary on
that:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16386012](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16386012)

I'm happy with my Switch despite it being locked down, and hey, it's Nintendo
and people are already running Linux on it:
[https://twitter.com/fail0verflow/status/964954316892119040](https://twitter.com/fail0verflow/status/964954316892119040)

