Global Hardware 15 December 2018

[DonFerrari]

Intrinsic said:

zorg1000 said:

Again, if the hardware was inside the dock instead of the handheld component than it would not be able to function as a hybrid, it would be a fully stationary device or something like Wii U where you could only play within 20-30 feet of the base unit.

In order to make something a full-fledged hybrid, it needs to have the ability to be fully portable which is only possible if the hardware is in the portable component.

And no it's not just plastic/cables to make portable part connect to TV. It has increased performance when docked, comes with a fully functioning console controller and it plays console games, not like Gameboy Player or Vita which just let you play your handheld games on a TV.

For me this is how I see it.

Its a hybrid because it can be used both as a home console and a portable and has everything out of the box to allow this.

Now if it didn`t have a dock and you had to buy a dock or cable seperately to make it work on a TV then I would call it exclusively a handheld.

Now if its hardware to run games was built into the dock and the dock had to be plugged in to the wall for it to work at all I would call it a home console.

So to me, what qualifies something as handheld or home console is where the hardware lies. If the device can work in its entirety without a TV or being plugged into a wall then its a portable. If it needs a TV and a wall plug then its a home console. 

Another way to look at it; if you are in an empty house and want a gaming device, you walk into a store and spend $300 on a PS4,  it will be useless to you when you get home because you still have to buy a TV. But that is all you will need to spend on the NS and you are good to go. 

This is why I say the NS functions as a hybrid (something that can do both) but is designed from the ground up as a handheld. .One can say that its "home console" function is secondary since they are just a by product of secondary tech (dock) added to the box and since it will work in its entirety regardless of that added tech.

Its like a laptop. Laptops fall under the classification of Mobile PCs. No one calls them desktop PCs even though they can work and perform identically to a Desktop PC. We even have some laptops that are more powerful than desktop PCs but they are still not called desktops. I can take my laptop and plug it to my TV and even close the lid but still that does not make it a desktop even though its acting like one. 

The reason for all this confusion is because there isn't an official name or classification for what kinda device the NS is. So naturally people will disagree on what it is since everyone is trying to shoehorn it into pre existing categories. I chose to look at it as a hybrid. Built like a handheld but designed to be both.

If the dock had additional HW that made it improve the performance of the games (instead of just allowing what is already inside the portable part to work on the 100%) then it truly would be needing both to work depending on the situation.

PortisheadBiscuit said:

colafitte said:

But your comments goes after the poster, not against their argument. It's personal and it shouldn't be. You're accusing people of being jealous and that's is as incendiary as derailing the thread.

You took my comment, which wasn't directed at any individual, and made it personal. The gaming world is full of narratives, whataboutisms, etc; There's no difference in let's say, someone predicting the LTD sales of Switch or predicting what the narrative would be if Switch was underperforming. They're both unknown factors and can only be predicted by previous trends etc; 

It may have to do with you being well know to make generic inflammatory posts against an userbase.