Nintendo announced Switch Dev kits are $500
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Assuming there's no glaring problems, I'll probably buy one when their new Mario Kart game is available. I definitely have a soft spot for Nintendo. Since real-life has pushed me to become a casual gamer, I've really started to appreciate their simplicity and predictability. For solo, I've enjoyed every Mario platformer, and I'll probably enjoy whatever they release next. For parties, Mario Kart and Smash Brothers are always a blast with friends.
Even though it appears to be largely considered a failure by the community, I'm actually pretty happy with the Wii U. I bought around five or six games, and thoroughly enjoyed em all. As I wrote this, I decided to look up what other games have been released since I last checked, and I just found out I have a new Paper Mario game waiting to play :).
the kaizo and puzzle communities are remarkable.. both in consistently high quality levels and the people are warm and welcoming
both kaizo and world record attempts at puzzles are exercises in optimisation
and the puzzles(o) feel like spaces for interacting with algorithms and data structures
You made me remember this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua6pbz3ROvQ
Which I still consider the funniest Let's Play of an abusive game I have ever seen
your video is an example of a blind race.. where the people playing are completely unaware of what the level will entail
One of my favourite videogame videos is this blind race(o)
it is such a cool format.. some players create levels for others to race blind in teams of four, switching every death it creates opportunity for so many great moments
i love how the level designers are there to comment, then afterward they race some of the hardest levels in mario maker(i)
your link is of one of the original hacks which was designed to be just totally brutal, but Mario maker has a more inviting difficulty curve
what's really fascinating is the history(o) of this subculture and how it was already fully formed long before mario maker
it almost feels like mario maker was released specifically for this group of super fans, or in response to them
it all started in the mid aughties when a person hacked a ROM so thae could make thaer own levels to torture thaer friends with
More and more people got exposed to this insane idea of hard, though beatable, mario as people kept passing around the hacked rom
it eventual gained legend status and a following
10 years later it basically defines mario maker
that, to me, is remarkable
(o) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uskPV4KCjn8
I'm hoping for the same! Set up a wiki to track everything we know about the device, and we also have a Discord chat set up to discuss the process and work on things together. By default the secret parts of the wiki and chat (where we'll be discussing the details of specific findings, exploitation, etc) are hidden; if you want to be involved directly, message me on the Discord and I'll get you set up.
Wiki: http://reswitched.tech/ Chat: https://discord.gg/hSMpnuG
Edit: Also, the whole reason I decided to get back into this was to have a nice challenge, and to turn the Switch into the ultimate portable emulation console. What's the fun of it without the challenge? I look forward to the cat-and-mouse game.
I found my dev calling with PSP hacking and homebrew development. Those were good times.
There needs to be a commercial incentive for them to develop games.
Nintendo put all their eggs in the Switch basket and if it fails they likely will never recover from it.
Which is good, because my money is on the Switch failing, at least in V1. Great core premise, too many compromises (especially with regard to controller size).
Rodea the Sky Soldier is another example: Yuji Naka specifically recommended on Twitter to play the Wii version rather than the Wii U version, and accordingly the first run of the US release comes with both discs and a reversible cover insert with Wii layout/iconography.
They've got an '80s mentality where the most important thing is making sure there are no bad games published in their name - the whole "Nintendo Seal of Quality" thing. It's not about the money, it's about control.
That's a pretty big lie, given the wii's massive library of shovelware shitshows.
You mean PC? That they've had for years? And is still the primary platform for indie releases?
Maybe they're hoping to make a little money on the pirates...
It's certainly possible—and already done—with iOS.
Likewise, "homebrew" on such a system would probably be like iOS homebrew is currently: an ecosystem of open-source projects where users are expected to download, compile, and sign the binaries themselves using their personal developer certs.
The way this has been impeded on previous consoles is to encrypt retail executables and lock the key in some "secure" coprocessor. These obviously do eventually get cracked, but at that point the system is probably so thoroughly exploited that you can do everything with a retail console anyway.
With this setup, it could easily blacklist known retail binaries and refuse to sign them.
Nintendo accidentally showed a devkit with 64GB of internal storage rather than the 32GB you get on retail units.
1: Nintendo portable systems have sold really well, so the market could be large. DS sold 154 millions units, 3DS has sold 65 million units so far. Of course no guarantee Switch will approach that. It is more risky with the hybrid approach, and continuing stiff competition from smartphones and tablets.
2: Handheld/portable systems are often better fits for indie scale games. Smaller/cheaper/shorter games.
3: Less AAA competition. Nintendo systems haven't been getting the biggest, latest greatest AAA titles from the large publishers, so indie games have more room to stand out.
I believe the Xbox One devkits are just production units with different key material (which prevents commercial titles from running, and allows developer-signed bits to run). Theoretically any Xbox One is a devkit, with the right software provisioning.
Most release games run up to 5mb(or less) to the system memory limits so you can't turn on debugging and waiting for LTCG builds which can take 30mins+.
The problem is likely just that it becomes easier to install third party software if there is some kind of Dev mode inside retail units...but Nintendo's locked down hardware gets jailbroken anyways so I don't see the point in hiding it.
I'm hoping they're also going to continue with the Nintendo Web Framework concept, because that was a pretty smart idea too - having a web technology-based execution environment alongside the Unity / Unreal / native stuff.
They also sound like they're working with Unreal and Unity to make migrating games easier.
If the developer Nintendo Switch could run other developer's retail games normally, I might consider buying one of these instead of a retail Switch just to tinker on.
On a related note, Unreal 4.15 released support for Switch development.[0]
[0]- https://www.unrealengine.com/blog/unreal-engine-4-15-release...
Judging by past Nintendo console dev kits, this will not be the case.
Can't find recent information on PS4 dev kit prices, but given the number of indie games I see on it nowadays (and receive for free with PS+), I imagine it's not unreasonable.
> You can launch your app on a device using a free Apple ID account, but the capabilities available to your app depends on the platform and your Apple Developer Program membership, described in Supported Capabilities.
You just won't have access to CloudKit, Game Center, Push Notifications, Wallet, In-App Purchases, etc.
[0]: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/ID...
There were one joke games for a dollar, just like Steam has now.
There were overpriced games, bad games, shit games. Stuff that should be shamefully hidden on a hard drive long forgotten.
I am certainly glad about the death of Greenlight, and from what I can tell all the "indie@xbox" hype leading up to the launch of the One has been unfulfilled, with those games seemingly ending up on the PS4 instead.
I suppose whoever sells the most consoles gets to have the most indie titles.
Then again, I don't own either console, so maybe "indie@xbox" is better off than I'm thinking it is.
Nintendo had indie games like Stardew Valley ported over to the Wii U, IIRC, so I expect to see similar footwork done for the Switch.
[1] http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Arcadecraft/66acd0...
Of course not everything there was terrible, but the signal to noise ratio was unreasonable IMO, similar to how Greenlight has flooded Steam's new releases with mobile ports and other undesirable software of questionable quality and price.
The only difference between Stardew Valley and something that languishes in Steam Greenlight is the years of constant effort and feedback to produce something of quality.
I love indie games, but I think services like Greenlight have been long since abandoned by anyone who cares and have been overrun by pay-for-vote services, shovelware and pre-packaged asset packs being sold as a completed, original title.
Luckily it's being killed off, after 800 votes on Greenlight I did nothing to stem the tide of crapware flooding the platform. With over 40% of Steam's titles added in the past year alone, there is clearly a problem with lowering the barrier of entry to game development and publishing so far down that games become mix-and-match premade assets, teenager developed memegames, etc. Is it really "starting somewhere" if you're running a legal scam to make a quick buck?
I did mix up the two storefronts, Xbox Live Arcade had some awesome indie titles like Geometry Wars, etc. It was the other one that was basically a dumping ground.
>most of the time it's a student producing something with programmer graphics.
this is fine by me, but don't you think something like that should be shamefully hidden away, part of a portfolio, or better suited as a free browser game? Or even a PWYW title on Itch.io.
Surely they don't need to be on Steam of all places.
Pixel Dungeon was an excellent mobile port of an excellent mobile game, was priced fairly and is right at home on Steam. On the other hand, several mobile titles are overpriced and poorly ported. I don't think that's what Greenlight was intended to do.
"what else goes into publishing for the switch?" whatever's good for nintendo.
"what kind of content restrictions are there?" whatever's good for nintendo.
"is it like the app store where you have to be 100% family friendly?" whatever's good for nintendo.
"what percentage of the sales do you get as a developer?" whatever's good for nintendo.
"will they be cracking down on asset flipping games?" whatever's good for nintendo.
a game console isn't like a mobile platform. it's less like youtube and more like a television network.
Haven't done much research, just a thought.
However when the DS was released they also said it wasn't a replacement for the GBA, when that was also pretty obviously untrue. Additionally, word is that Nintendo has merged their 3DS and Wii U game development efforts to focus on the Switch.
They also don't really have any 3DS games on the radar for further out than the end of the year. It seems safe to assume that Nintendo fully intends to focus on the Switch going forward.
Did Nintendo really say that? I don't see how they could make that argument when the DS literally had a GBA cartridge slot.
The Switch not replacing the 3DS is at least reasonable in theory (not sure about in practice).
Nintendo had just released the frontlit Advance SP a year and half before the DS and had new GBA models in the queue (the micro and the backlit Advance SP) when the DS came out. And behind the scenes they apparently had a single-screen GBA successor in the works too. So they were fully prepared to drop the DS if it failed.
It sounds strange in a historical context but at the movement it really was just an experiment for them. GBA compatibility was relatively cheap so they bolted it on.
They could get further into the home entertainment category and probably drive higher priced sales to the Play store.
Remember this?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of...
A failure.
ChromeOS will run Android applications. I don't think there is that much room or market for yet another console system. Even the XBox one isn't selling as much as Microsoft wanted; the PS VITA is barely selling outside Japan and the Switch may be the last console for Nintendo if it fails.
These things all exist in the Android ecosystem, but they're either built by 3rd parties or not really promoted.
You are suggesting https://www.android.com/tv/?
You might be jumping to the wrong conclusion about why your first post got a downvote. I don't know, and didn't downvote, but I imagine it could be due to talking exclusively about Android & Google in a thread about Nintendo dev kits...
I probably phrased it badly, but I am actually curious about what people think Nintendo's place in the market should be.
Making a new $300 console targeted at casual gamers doesn't seem the wisest move these days.
I would probably say that the Wii was clearly targeted at casual gamers a couple of years before the first Google app store even existed, so this is not a new trend. I would probably also say that since the iOS & Play stores recently exceeded Nintendo's revenues, doubling down on casual gaming may be the right move or even the only market to go after.
I don't know how to claim what Nintendo's place in the market "should" be, but there's no denying they've long been one of the dominating players, and that they still are, even though they've had a decade of decline. The Mario & Zelda franchises are still well loved and unrivaled in longevity by any other series.
Which I guess is everyone's console strategy, but it feels like a questionable one when there are so many casual alternatives on mobile. It also doesn't seem like a very consumer friendly strategy to me. With the Wii at least they tried something new and there actually seemed to be a reason to make a new console besides making money for Nintendo.
Are you planning on making a game for the Switch? Are you waiting to see what sales numbers are like? What would it take for you to make a game there?
I'm not even going to joke about anyone making an Android TV focused game.
No plans to develop for switch or Android tv. More than anything having to do with the consoles, just because I'm doing web dev at the moment not games. Picking a platform is a big problem for developers, and why so many release on all platforms, so I'm glad I'm not worried about it.
I enjoyed wii dev for a stupid reason: because you had to do so much old school low level kind of stuff, there was some nostalgia in it. But it was also painful and nowhere near as nice as Xbox dev. Sounds like the switch dev env is modern.
Games made for a touchpad and finger don't translate well to controllers, just like controller games don't always translate well to touch pads.
It seems like the only reason to get the Switch is platform exclusives, which has always felt like a gamer-hostile move.
The Switch is where Nintendo's bread and butter will be for the next several years. It was in the works long before the NES Mini.
- consoles have games that are, for many people, much more attractive at the top-end (big-name big-budget games Mario Bros|Kart|Whatever, Splatoon, Grand Theft Auto, Destiny, Halo, etc etc... games I or my kids have heard of and are the canonical game version and not watered-down phone spinoffs)
- consoles have real controllers, that all the first-tier games are designed for (compare Mario Bros. for the latest Nintendo console (many hours of fun for multiple members family vs 10 minute novelty game consisting of pressing one button)
- there aren't many games for phones that actually work well for multiple simultaneous players on the big tv
- 99.9% of phone games are pure garbage, while on consoles it's probably only 75% or so
Playstation 4, which is the best selling console of this generation, has shipped 57million units, and Sony also makes publishing profits off many of the popular games exclusive to their system. They also have a paid online service. We're talking billions of dollars for Sony alone.
As for why dedicated gaming machines still capture so much of the market as opposed to the "casual/mobile" gaming market:
-Latency would be too high via a Chromecast causing input lag in fast paced games such as shooters (though lower latency, gaming specific streaming services do exist from Sony, Steam, and NVidia)
-Graphical fidelity wouldn't be comparable. Consoles already are the butt end of many "serious gamer" jokes because they don't have the computational horsepower to provide equivalent outputs to high end PCs (Google the "gaming PC masterrace" memes)
-Touchscreens only serve as good inputs for some types of games (strategy and puzzle games come to mind). Racing games, fighting games, RPG's and platformers are usually tailored to controllers.
As I mentioned before, consoles are even mainstream considered to the gaming PC market, which has a ton of dedicated hardware and revenue still despite the desktop as a whole being on the decline (atleast with your average consumer).
Also, you can get bluetooth game controllers for Android.
Switch uses Nvidia Tegra X1 which is a regular tablet CPU/GPU so the switch doesn't have something special under the hood.
well that answers my question then.
The "just turn it on and play" usability is important too, especially for a device that you only use occasionally. I used to keep a couple of controllers for my PC and suggest multiplayer to people, but it felt like every time I did it something new had broken or needed updating.