Hacking Switch VR discussion

[Marxally]

Wouldn't it be possible to use a cardboard-like headset? I use a 15€ plastic headset with my crappy smartphone with a 720p screen (Moto G2) and looks farly well. For a cheap headset, I don't see a problem. Would be fun to play a silly/cheap game while holding the Joy Cons.

I honestly don't know, that's why I am asking.
After all, I don't really care about VR, at least ATM. Tried PSVR at a gaming con and got sick of it after 5 minutes. (playing a slow-paced horror game, lol)

 

[TotalInsanity4]

And what "literally" any game that uses it?

Guessing you've never played Mario Kart or Splatoon 2 or Blaster Master 0 then

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

Guessing you've never played Mario Kart or Splatoon 2 or Blaster Master 0 then

That's just standard rumble not HD Rumble.

 

[duffmmann]

Nintendo has been clear about VR being a possibility for the Switch, by literally saying as much as well as patents showing off images similar to what fan mockups have imagined for VR with the Switch, you dock in the Switch itself to a helmet not unlike a Galaxy Gear VR, though due to the Switch's design it could slip into place with even less hassle than the Smart Phone solutions. I think the only reason they wouldn't do it would be if the games just can't look good in VR on Nintendo's system. And while I could see the games not looking amazing, I can still see them looking more than good enough to warrant the device. The biggest thing Nintendo would have going for it's Switch VR solution is affordability, a unit like this for the Switch wouldn't cost more than $100, and even that is probably more than you could buy such a unit for, plus it also has the benefit of not being tethered by cables. It would probably stand as the best version of the smart phone VR solutions we're seeing now. I'm curious if 2 joy-cons could be tracked for your hand positions, perhaps a separate camera accessory would be necessary too for capturing that kind of stuff, which could make it a bit more costly, but still considerably less than even a PSVR.

Thing is, if Nintendo does this, they're going to launch with one must have VR title. And what franchise does Nintendo have that's first person? A game already announced to be coming to the system? Yes, I think that Metroid Prime 4 may optionally be able to be played in VR and I think it might launch alongside (perhaps even with) the Nintendo Switch VR unit. That is if Nintendo does VR for the Switch at all. I think if MP4 comes out and there is no word on VR being an option for the game, that would be a pretty good indication that Nintendo may have given up on the prospect for the Switch.

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

Battlefield/CoD on the Switch would possibly help boost sales and I personally would love to play Battlefield 1 on the go.

I know that many people here despise shooters but remember that the Switch isn't your console, it's Nintendo's and they need a library of games to push sales on it. I really wish Switch had an FPS just to try it out with the Joy-Cons/Pro Controller (the Pro Controller is practically an Xbox controller anyhow).

 

[duffmmann]

Battlefield/CoD on the Switch would possibly help boost sales and I personally would love to play Battlefield 1 on the go.

I know that many people here despise shooters but remember that the Switch isn't your console, it's Nintendo's and they need a library of games to push sales on it. I really wish Switch had an FPS just to try it out with the Joy-Cons/Pro Controller (the Pro Controller is practically an Xbox controller anyhow).

Sure, there are plenty of 3rd party titles well suited for it. But what would be the game developed by Nintendo that they would try to push the unit with, a launch title for the Switch VR platform? I can only think of one coming directly from them, and that's Metroid Prime 4, it would logically make a lot of sense for the game to be playable in VR, and to make it a launch title for the VR platform would be a brilliant way to sell VR units and get more enthusiasm on the Metroid franchise in general.

 

[Xzi]

Battlefield/CoD on the Switch would possibly help boost sales and I personally would love to play Battlefield 1 on the go.

I don't think Nintendo is scrambling for a way to boost sales right now with Switches flying off the shelf. If they want some good FPS games, they should port Overwatch and DOOM(4).

 

[duffmmann]

I don't think Nintendo is scrambling for a way to boost sales right now with Switches flying off the shelf. If they want some good FPS games, they should port Overwatch and DOOM(4).

Overwatch Team seemed enthusiastic but also said it was probably pretty unrealistic to get it running on the Switch, but never to say never. So they probably would like to get that on the Switch, but its probably not gonna happen at least not anytime soon. Haven't heard anything about Doom on the system though.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

That's just standard rumble not HD Rumble.

Except it's both pitched and nuanced to express thinhe that you can't see visually. Don't try to tell me that the rumble would be the same in MK8 with a non-Switch controller

 

[Xzi]

Overwatch Team seemed enthusiastic but also said it was probably pretty unrealistic to get it running on the Switch, but never to say never. So they probably would like to get that on the Switch, but its probably not gonna happen at least not anytime soon. Haven't heard anything about Doom on the system though.

Overwatch's minimum requirement is an Intel HD 4400. It wouldn't be hard to port it to Switch, it would just take some time adapting it to a different architecture.

 

[weatMod]

Nintendo would be crazy not to pursue VR in some form, the only problem that might arise is the switch's 720p res being too low for VR, but even then i think an early Oculus Rift prototype used 720p
View attachment 97031

Nintendos main business is hardware , the are going to sell you a switch HD in the next 2 years
that comes with an HD screen and probably some other added feature, probably they will release another hardware iteration before the HD VR model release or maybe after or maybe both ,i am going with both since Nintendo merged their portable and home console divisions they are going to be needing to sell more hardware, they are not particularly known for hardware revisions of their home consoles but portables is a different story and this being a hybrid and them relying on hardware sales to carry their business i would expect a significant hardware revision well within 2 years time

 

[Xzi]

Nintendos main business is hardware , the are going to sell you a switch HD in the next 2 years

720p is HD. 1080p portable wouldn't be a big upgrade, it would reduce the battery life considerably, and it would require more powerful hardware, thus being more pricey. Switch is already the perfect balance of compromise between power and portability. For 2017, anyway. Maybe in four years we'll have better consumer battery technology and faster portable GPUs to go along with it.

 

[weatMod]

720p is HD. 1080p portable wouldn't be a big upgrade, it would reduce the battery life considerably, and it would require more powerful hardware, thus being more pricey. Switch is already the perfect balance of compromise between power and portability. For 2017, anyway. Maybe in four years we'll have better consumer battery technology and faster portable GPUs to go along with it.

720 is not full HD ,and so they make it higher than 1080 ,closer to occulus rift of HTC vibe and more powerful and bigger battery or require VR mode to use an AC adapter and or battery pack
this is Nintendo we are talking here look at how many iterations of the 3DS there were , trust me they are not going to wait no 4 years before a new hardware revision ,this is how they make their money on hardware revisions
at least it is how they made their money on their handhelds and now that everything is merge into one they are not going to stop relying on hardware for their bottom line , trust me new hardware is on it's way much sooner than you think

let us count the number of 3DS hardware revisions in its so far 6 year lifespan
1)3DS
2)3DS XL
3)2DS
4)N3DS
5)N3S XL
6)N2DS XL

that is 6 system hardware revisions in 6 years by my count , an average of 1 per year

this is how Nintendo makes its money , do not expect them to stop now

 

[TotalInsanity4]

You know, I'm curious... are we for certain that the Switch screen isn't 1080p but locked to 720p by the OS?

 

[weatMod]

You know, I'm curious... are we for certain that the Switch screen isn't 1080p but locked to 720p by the OS?

yes interesting point i wondered this myself before the release
the VR more might bump up the resolution and change power management settings

 

[Xzi]

720 is not full HD ,and so they make it higher than 1080 ,closer to occulus rift of HTC vibe and more powerful and bigger battery or require VR mode to use an AC adapter and or battery pack
this is Nintendo we are talking here look at how many iterations of the 3DS there were , trust me they are not going to wait no 4 years before a new hardware revision ,this is how they make their money on hardware revisions
at least it is how they made their money on their handhelds and now that everything is merge into one they are not going to stop relying on hardware for their bottom line , trust me new hardware is on it's way much sooner than you think

I agree with you on the VR bit, but I don't think they're going to make that play anyway (even 1080p is really weak for VR, also the screen needs to do 90 FPS). As for new hardware with any substantial changes, yeah, I give it four years. Or about a year after the X2 chipset comes out, because that will probably be $450 or so at launch. Form factor is what limits Switch, and it's already a more powerful console than Wii U. Nobody wants a larger Switch, it's already larger than 3DS XL in size, but making it smaller means you have to reduce the power of the hardware. I'm not saying portable-only and console-only versions of Switch couldn't be released sooner than four years, but IMO neither of those would be an improvement even if they were cheaper.

 

[duffmmann]

Overwatch's minimum requirement is an Intel HD 4400. It wouldn't be hard to port it to Switch, it would just take some time adapting it to a different architecture.

I thought it'd be pretty simple as well, but the development team didn't seem to think so at all.

 

[Xzi]

I thought it'd be pretty simple as well, but the development team didn't seem to think so at all.

More like, "we've got several other projects so we'll get to it when we get to it."

 

[weatMod]

I agree with you on the VR bit, but I don't think they're going to make that play anyway (even 1080p is really weak for VR, also the screen needs to do 90 FPS). As for new hardware with any substantial changes, yeah, I give it four years. Or about a year after the X2 chipset comes out, because that will probably be $450 or so at launch. Form factor is what limits Switch, and it's already a more powerful console than Wii U. Nobody wants a larger Switch, it's already larger than 3DS XL in size, but making it smaller means you have to reduce the power of the hardware. I'm not saying portable-only and console-only versions of Switch couldn't be released sooner than four years, but IMO neither of those would be an improvement even if they were cheaper.

what i foresee them doing is this, much the same as they did with 3DS
they will divide their customer base into 2 separate categories or maybe 3

they will be the same as the 3DS
1)users who care casually about 3D (3DS , 3DS XL)
2)users who do not care about 3D (2DS,N2DSXL)
3)users who care most about 3d (N3ds, N3dsXL)

same with switch
1)users who do not care about VR
2)users who care casually about VR
3)users who want full VR experience
and they will have different hardware options for each type of user /customer

because right now VR is just a niche market that may or may not catch on

like 3D was an even smaller niche that really didn't catch on

 

[duffmmann]

More like, "we've got several other projects so we'll get to it when we get to it."

Maybe, but they sure sounded like they wanted to do it though. It didn't read like they were looking for excuses to not do it.