Project Indy: The 3DS successor that was shelved

[Vodacixi]

JWeinCom said:

Vodacixi said:

Dependence from external elements to function (continous electric current, a screen, a controller...). Since the Switch has all of that built in (it has a screen, it has a rechargeable battery, it has a controller), it is built as a portable device that can be taken away from the house and played everywhere. Home consoles cannot do that. Therefore, the Switch is a portable console that happens to be able to connect to a TV.

Is a laptop a desktop computer because you can put it on your desktop and use it as a desktop computer? Is and iPad a home device because you can project the image into a TV or a monitor?

Home device is a vague term, so I'd need to know how that's defined, but tentatively I'd say sure, it could be a home device. On the other hand, a laptop is not a desktop as it is different in key functions. For example, I cannot modify my laptop in the same way I could a desktop.

The same logic as to why it is a portable console that happens to be able to connect to a TV can be flipped just as easily the other way. It has all of the features of a home console. It can connect to a TV out of the box, be played on external storage, connect with add ons and external controllers etc. Therefore, the Switch is a home console that just so happens to be able to have a screen.

As for dependence, that's just a clever way to try and frame a feature as a lack of something. You're basically saying it lacks not having a battery and a screen. The more natural and accurate way to say that is that it has a battery and screen.

To avoid getting hung on semantics, let's focus on physical reality. Whatever semantics you want to use, to meet your requirement would not require adding anything tangible, as in functionality or hardware, to the Switch.  You are suggesting that the Switch would be a home console if we took out the battery and screen.  There is nothing we need to add to reach your standard, therefore, it is not lacking anything, it just has something extra. And I don't know why having those extra features would disqualify it from being a home console.

By the same logic, you could argue it is not a handheld because it lacks dependence on built in controllers, a built in screen, or battery power.

So... is any portable console that can connect to a TV also a home console? Is the Analogue Pocket a home console?

It's very simple. The Switch has the form factor of a handheld, the hardware of a handheld and the features of a handheld. The fact that it CAN also be connected to the TV doesn't make it a home console. The Switch is not a stationary device, which is what a home console is. The Switch is a device you can take with you anywhere you want. That's what separates both categories: the ability to take it somwhere else or the inability to do so. Because yes: having certain features makes something one thing or another. A moped and a motorcycle are different kinds of vehicles: one can't get past 50 km/h and cannot be used in freeways and the other doesn't have those limitations because it has different specifications. But nothing stops me from only using my motorcycle at 50 km/h and only driving outside of freeways. Would that make my motorcycle a moped? Of course not, just like the Switch is not a home console just because you can use it as one.

To me it's a very clear matter. If you still want to go on about this... I'm sorry, but it's such a silly conversation to me that I'll just leave it here xD