
The Nintendo Switch and Gadget Design - mcone
https://www.wired.com/story/nintendo-switch-review/
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AnotherHustler
Quote from the article: "This console, made for shooters and runners and
jumpers, could become something much greater than Nintendo ever imagined,
because anyone who wants to can build the software and hardware to improve
it."

Is this true? Is it no longer necessary to be an approved Nintendo developer
to write software for it?

I recall back in the day it was difficult for an indy to get a Nintendo dev
licence. What's changed here?

EDIT: For those who care - this is what I just found...

[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/292788/Becoming_a_Nintend...](http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/292788/Becoming_a_Nintendo_Switch_indie_dev_will_be_tough_early_on.php)

According to above article, it will be tough getting onto the platform as an
indy. Pity, I was excited for a moment...

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jclardy
The worst thing from a hardware perspective on the switch is their proprietary
dock. They could have used open standards for docked mode, then people could
use existing things (like my Apple HDMI dongle, or any of the other third
party USB-C power/HDMI ones) as a portable docking solution.

Personally I'm not going to buy a second dock, because it is unnecessarily
bulky for traveling, when some thing dongle sized could do the exact same job.
Taking my switch and plugging it into a friends TV shouldn't be as much of a
hassle as it is, being that it is a portable console. Yes, it is smaller than
other consoles even with the dock, but it still requires its own bag to carry
it all.

~~~
kllrnohj
According to [http://plugable.com/2017/04/26/plugable-products-
unofficiall...](http://plugable.com/2017/04/26/plugable-products-unofficially-
compatible-with-nintendo-switch/) they are using a standard, just they are
using the uncommon MyDP standard instead of the more common HDMI alt modes.

But there are alternative docks available - Nyko makes a much smaller, more
portable dock, for example.

Charging, input, and network adapters are all common, standard USB-C &
Bluetooth, so that's progress at least.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Not using HDMI alt mode isn't really that uncommon. Apple's products output
DisplayPort rather than HDMI.

~~~
kllrnohj
Specifically it's that MyDP is uncommon, not that DP is uncommon.

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nsaslideface
The Switch has a huge amount of potential, but it lacks the games still. None
of the big releases so far use the platform to its fullest: they're really
good video games, not necessarily good _Switch_ games. BOTW, Splatoon 2, Mario
Kart 8, and Mario Odyssey all seem like they are just Wii U games with better
internal quality, only sparsely interfacing with new Switch features.

Nintendo also shed beloved handheld features like Streetpass, didn't include
obvious features like Bluetooth audio, and are really messing up their online
services ... the internet Splatoon fanbase seems to roundly regard the Switch
online experience a failure for the context of 2017

~~~
currymj
i have a really weird and contrarian opinion, which is that Splatoon online is
good because it's bad. I swear I actually believe this, though, not just
trolling.

voice chat is difficult and terrible, so nobody really uses it! that's a major
plus in my book. most people will never run into more vile people than when
gaming online.

the multiplayer is unbalanced, issues with lag and disconnection often mean
that the outcomes of matches just aren't fair. this is good, because it sort
of limits how seriously you can take the game. just relax and have fun instead
of a hypercompetitive 3-hours-a-day online sport.

the inconvenience of parties/team up is good, it means it's hard for people to
get an us-vs-them mentality or want to just dominate weaker players.

i'd be really shocked if this is all intentional on Nintendo's part; it's
probably just hubris and not-invented-here syndrome.

but in practice it feels almost like all the online inadequacies are a kind of
traffic calming -- like putting trees and islands in the middle of a busy road
to get people to slow down. it makes things more welcoming for people like me
who normally loathe online games.

~~~
nsaslideface
I totally get that. That theory's interesting and I agree the game shouldn't
aspire to have the same sort of player experience/base as those of CoD or
PUBG.

The lack of voice chat is no problem for me, though the app is terrible at
what it tries to do (voice chat with your own team) which is something I'd
want to do with casual friend players. Instead I just end up using Skype.

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ferentchak
I think the TurboExpress had most of these killer features. I wanted one
soooooo bad when I was a kid

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potatolicious
I have a Switch and enjoy it a lot - but "future of gadget design" seems like
an overstatement.

The docked mode works great (though the performance at 1080p is a bit sluggish
in some games), the split-multiplayer mode in games like Mario Kart is friggin
genius. I love that the Switch has brought back local multiplayer.

But its actual portability is kind of marginal. Unlike the DS/3DS, it doesn't
fold up in a way that facilitates putting it in a bag. The scratchability of
the screen means you really don't want to carry it bare in a bag bouncing
around with your keys, and the protruding thumbsticks on the controllers make
it something of a pain to fit into your default backpack/bag compartments.

It really demands a dedicated carrying case, which is something I thought we
got past in the 90s in the Game Boy era.

Overall still really enjoying the Switch, but I carry it around a _lot_ less
than I used to carry around a Nintendo DS.

~~~
strictnein
> I love that the Switch has brought back local multiplayer

Sort of. I was really disappointed to find that Splatoon 2, one of the biggest
games for the Switch, does not feature splitscreen multiplayer. The original
Splatoon, on the Wii U, had awesome local multiplayer: one player used the TV,
the other used the screen on the Wii U GamePad. Each user got a full screen.
How splitscreen wasn't possible with better hardware is a little confusing, to
be honest.

~~~
jclardy
Yeah, I was completely sold on the Switch as the best couch co-op console till
Splatoon 2 came out. Nintendo's biggest new franchise...and you have to use
our crappy online service to play with friends (Or everyone has to invest $360
to play locally.)

Throwing salt on the wound is having the co-op mode being only playable when
they want you to. I actually haven't played it since the first time I went to
play Salmon Run and it was blocked off.

Splatoon 2 is a really fun game, but they really did a botch job on the end
user experience.

~~~
mercer
Nintendo wouldn't be Nintendo without doing a whole bunch of stuff that just
doesn't seem to make sense.

Come to think of it, my 'relationship' with Nintendo is very similar to the
one I have with Apple. I sometimes feel that they intentionally do stuff that
is unfriendly to their user-base, but ultimately they can get away with it by
doing a whole bunch of stuff _right_ in a way that others don't.

(And come to think of _that_ , this description applies to most of the closest
friends I've had throughout my life. Odd, that.)

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dawnerd
> The Switch is the first gaming system that works anywhere and everywhere.

Uhhhhhhh, what happened to all of nintendos past handhelds, sonys psp, the
countless older handhelds that never gained traction?

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tr4656
Guessing the author means that you can dock it and play on a TV/monitor in
your house in addition to being portable for taking around.

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ihuman
But it's not the first to do that. There's a cable that allows you to connect
your PSP to your TV.

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shados
Yeah, I had the same thought. However, the Switch actually makes that
convenient, by design. I would play my PSP on TV all the time. It sucked.
Getting the screen full size required your TV to have that option (and crappy
cheap TVs didn't). Fumbling with the wires was annoying. It didnt have a
stand.

The Switch has the same feature, you're right. But its designed (and marketed)
around it. That's the difference.

~~~
crtasm
Too small because of underscan? I'm baffled why with HDMI and the 1080p
standard it's now the other way round - I need to disable overscan to get the
full image and games still have to prompt me to choose a safe area to display
UI elements.

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QAPereo
It really isn't, its just another timely gimmick and a walled garden.

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oneeyedpigeon
Aren't all consoles 'walled gardens'? If not, what is it about the Switch that
makes it more of one?

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carussell
Looks like you're trying to creatively reinterpret the comment you're
responding to into something that's easier for you to take down.

I don't see where QAPereo says the thing that you say they're saying. (In
fact, I see the opposite, but that's beside the point.)

EDIT:

Three people (strictnein, nicky0, EpicEng) show up to point out the comment
I'm referring to said it's "just another [...] walled garden". Er, yes. That's
my entire reason for commenting. I can see the words that were written. Which
is why I'm calling out the person I replied to for asking a question that
suggests those words say something else.

Here's a breakdown of what has just occurred:

Person A suggests it's no different from any other walled garden that's come
around before.

Person B asks Person A to defend the stance that it's different from other
walled gardens.

I point out the contradiction between what Person A has said and what Person B
apparently wants Person A to have said. Then you all show up. Why are we here?

I'm gonna leave HN for a while.

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nicky0
I see them say "it's a walled garden"; what do you see?

