Nintendo finally reveals the Switch console

No, it’s similar to 3DS, around 3-6 hours depending.

Nintendo says Zelda lasts 3 hours, which is borne out by most reports doing the rounds now.

In the worst case - with the brightness turned all the way up - one site reported 2.5 hours. Pretty good IMO.

Have you ever owned a 3DS? Yes, you put it on the charger after you finished playing a session. The New 3DS added an extra half to one hour to battery life, and that came out over three and half years after the original hardware…

Really, playing 720p 30fps portable Zelda for three hours is pretty decent. Are there any figures on other devices playing modern games for over 3 hours like that? Most battery tests you see focus on browsing or video playback.

Here’s how it stacks up to 3DS:
https://imgur.com/w8K0t9k

Yeah. Battery life aside, the first 3ds was an ergonomic nightmare. The XL is clearly the “proper” form factor for it.

The DS lite was clearly the proper form factor for that generation.

The GBA SP was clearly* superior to the GBA. (* Arguable, but the backlight was a pretty big deal).

I owned the first (and second) generation of all of the above. “Nintendo handhelds get better with later hardware revisions” isn’t a controversial statement, I think.

I mean, I’m not buying a Switch for probably a year regardless, since I have a toddler and thus no real time to play it anyways, and I have a backlog of terrible JRPGs to play on the Vita for my commutes. But I do wonder if there will be a relatively early revision (as per their handhelds) or not (as per their consoles).

I can get away with forgetting to charge my 3dsXL for a couple days if I leave the wireless turned off. That’s basically my ideal.

The Verge casts doubts on the comfort of the Joy-Con grip for longer-term play:

But after an hour or so, its compromises are noticeable. It’s cramped for one thing, forcing you to hold your hands very close together. It also lacks a proper directional pad, and several buttons can be awkward to reach.

Even then, I got a grip for my XL - big improvement!

“Nintendo handhelds get better with later hardware revisions” isn’t a controversial statement, I think.

Yeah, all I meant was three and half years is a long time to wait for a minimal battery improvement, if Switch follows the same timeline. But you’re right, the standard XL did last a bit longer than the original 3DS.

Well duh! Surely that was obvious to everyone the second they were made public? Two little sticks will not replace a dedicated controller.

Careful, you might have just restarted an earlier discussion about those joy-cons.

Il’l restrain myself. ;)

For those that can’t read Japanese, Voez, a rhythm game from FlyHigh Works, will only be playable in handheld Switch mode.

[quote]
This software can not play in TV mode[/quote]

This is the first Switch game announced with this restriction.

Interesting. Hopefully they’ll have clear icons on the game box/digital store pages that make it easy to tell which games are restricted to one mode.

I can’t wait to play Breath of the Wild on my Wii U.

voez is on mobile devices. I’m thinking it requires a touchscreen, hence the restriction.

Good, I’m glad that touch-only games are allowed. It means that small developers with limited budgets don’t need to hamstring their ideas when bringing over amazing iPad games by forcing controller / TV-size picture support into them.

If anyone here ends up with a pre-order the don’t want, I’d be happy to buy it from you. Still haven’t managed to find one.

Wii U Breathers unite!

http://i.imgur.com/0pXJJtq.gif

i suspect there may actually be as many as in the single digits of us!

I’m on team Wii U.

Me Too! I have a Wii U!

I’m undecided on whether I hunt midnight launches for one, pick it up later, or just play Zelda on my barely used “why do I keep buying Nontendo boxes” WiiU. I am hoping side by side of WiiU vs Switch Zelda help me make the call.