Tried the Mario & Sonic Olympic Games demo. As expected the event quality seems set to random. Archery is good and I quite enjoyed both retro events, but karate and surfing from the main section were awful. I like mashing buttons for these things, so motion controls went in the bin early on, but only having one button for the run input is just silly. I like Olympic games for mp but I haven't played one that grabbed me for close to twenty years now. An Athlete Kings rerelease would instantly trump this.

Also finally unwrapped my copy of Link's Awakening. I'm still waiting for a patch to play myself, so I'm currently watching my daughter wander around. I absolutely despise the soft focus smudging that frames the action, it just looks like the corners of the screen need a wipe. Curmudgeon mode on today I guess, but that particular design choice is an affront to my eyes.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Also finally unwrapped my copy of Link's Awakening. I'm still waiting for a patch to play myself, so I'm currently watching my daughter wander around. I absolutely despise the soft focus smudging that frames the action, it just looks like the corners of the screen need a wipe. Curmudgeon mode on today I guess, but that particular design choice is an affront to my eyes.

You'll barely notice it after a while. And it's a good visual representation of the game's main theme.

Why are you waiting for a patch BTW?

@Jon I'm hopeful that they'll patch out the framerate hiccups. I have a slightly unreasonable issue with games that punch above their weight visually and from what I've read from numerous sources it stutters quite a bit in places, especially undocked. I could make do and carry on, but with so much else to play I'm waiting for a perfect first LA experience with no peas under the mattress. I'd dive in if I was less hopeful about the overall quality elsewhere, but I've been meaning to play it since the 90s.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

@Jon I'm hopeful that they'll patch out the framerate hiccups. I have a slightly unreasonable issue with games that punch above their weight visually and from what I've read from numerous sources it stutters quite a bit in places, especially undocked. I could make do and carry on, but with so much else to play I'm waiting for a perfect first LA experience with no peas under the mattress. I'd dive in if I was less hopeful about the overall quality elsewhere, but I've been meaning to play it since the 90s.

Docked it's virtually nothing. A judder for a second when you move into a new area and that's it. Slightly worse undocked, perhaps, but not enough to spoil anything.

If there's a patch due soon, then may as well wait, I guess. But otherwise don't bother.

Syph79 wrote:

AndCallMeCharlie wrote:

Nah, still believe a pro switch will be with us in 2020

So what features does a Pro Switch offer that’s currently missing from one of the other models, that wouldn’t be more appropriate in their next gen of consoles/handhelds?

Direct HDMI out, massive battery improvement, Bluetooth headphone support, improved performance

JonB wrote:

Related, I notice that Bloodstained got a big patch on Switch this week, aiming to deal with its apparently poor performance. So if anyone's been waiting to play it, now might be the time.

I've been playing it last few weeks and not noticed anything in regards to poor performance and ive got 60% of the map done. May have a look at the patch notes

Omg omg omg 19th november. I love Bubble Bobble and its 4 player as well.

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends

https://youtu.be/Xzum8sMs98M

Edit: tight so and so's, could have included a few more bubble bobble sequels in the package.

AndCallMeCharlie wrote:

Syph79 wrote:

AndCallMeCharlie wrote:

Nah, still believe a pro switch will be with us in 2020

So what features does a Pro Switch offer that’s currently missing from one of the other models, that wouldn’t be more appropriate in their next gen of consoles/handhelds?

Direct HDMI out, massive battery improvement, Bluetooth headphone support, improved performance

The newer version has a 50% battery boost over the first model. It’s unlikely they’ll squeeze anymore out of it - especially if you’re looking for a performance boost too.

Direct HDMI doesn’t feel like a think Nintendo would do, considering they already have a solution in place via the dock (or third-party dock alternatives).

In terms of performance, I still think that it’ll be Switch 2 (or whatever comes next), not Switch 1.5 or Pro.

We didn’t let him in. He’s outside in the bushes, peering at us through star shaped specs.

AndCallMeCharlie wrote:

Quite an assumption that performance / battery wont be improved. Why does a direct TV out not "feel" like something Nintendo would do?

They've just gone through the process of improving the battery - by using a more modern/efficient version of the standard Switch CPU, while keeping the battery capacity the same. If they put a more powerful CPU in there to improve performance then the strain will be higher, and you'll lose out on the battery side. They'd need to put a bigger battery in then, when it's already a reasonable size. For comparison, the latest iPhone has a 3,110 mAh battery and the Switch has a 4,310 mAh battery. It should run for 4.5 to 9 hours, which isn't something that really needs to be improved on in my view.

In terms of direct TV, when you dock a Switch, it takes in more power and unlocks higher clock speeds - so that the 720p resolution of the handheld can be boosted to bigger resolutions for TV screens (in theory). You can't access those clock speeds in handheld without running custom firmware. For Nintendo to do direct TV, they'd need to be happy that holding the Switch is a safe for the higher clock speeds - taking into account both the system ventilation and also the impact on battery performance (which isn't an issue when docked). Nintendo have obviously decided against direct TV in the past and designed the dock on the basis. I can't see them going back on that now.

I'm not saying that these aren't things they'll look at in the future, but I do think they'd be more likely in a wholesale Switch revision (i.e. Switch 2), rather than a Pro or 1.5 version.

That's a given isn't it?

So long as they make the new one backwards compatible like the Game Boy line and digitally like Xbox, I'll be happy.

Nintendo have knack of making lower spec's look incredible anyway. Luigi's Mansion is a gorgeous game, and it's running on little more than a mobile phone. They've not chased the high-end market for a long time, and they don't really need to.

At the risk of looking like someone who is baiting here, the Switch is on course to overtake Xbox One in the near future, if it hasn't already. I doubt it will catch PS4 in its lifetime, but it's an incredibly successful console that's carved its own niche. The software sales per console are also unprecedented.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Most of Nintendo's games don't need to look much better than the upper limits of the Switch spec imo, and those that could do with extra grunt (Metroid, say) could easily look phenomenal on the current gen consoles.

Whilst I agree, this has been what most have been saying since the Wii to defend Nintendo's lower specs approach. We was all happy with Galaxy until we saw Mario in HD, every gen that passes we just seem to knock everything up a gen.

I expect they could do some lovely things with higher specs too. The level of sheen thats been applied to the flagship titles for their past two main consoles has been very pleasing to the eye though.