Nintendo Switches it Up

    The purpose of this project is to survey the Nintendo Switch gaming console and see how it measures up when compared to other new gaming consoles. When it comes to technology, one of the most prominent markets for pushing the bounds of innovation is the gaming industry. Users are always looking for faster systems with better graphics, all while keeping storage costs low. For a long time, gaming came on three main platforms: personal computer, handheld/portable, and console. The Nintendo Switch is attempting to be the first gaming system to successfully bridge one of those gaps: offer console-like gaming in both handheld and home-docked modes.

    In my opinion, a gaming console is a good example of a multimedia system because of it’s combination of media types: audio and visuals, combined with constant user input. The visuals in video games are rendered/created at runtime (though not always), unlike the pre-captured audio, image and video types we’ve looked at in class. However, one of the main focuses of Multimedia Systems (as a class) has been compression for the sake of speed and storage space, and those are two huge factors that can play into the success of a gaming system.

    After some initial sleuthing, it seems that a little research has been done into the software of the Switch, but because Nintendo keeps their information under close wraps it won’t be easy to do a full survey of its inner workings and thus I’ll be comparing its functionality to that of other top-of-the-line consoles. My plan is to spend October researching the Switch and a small portable gaming systems then in November research two other full size consoles, so the final report can contain a comprehensive comparison for how the Switch measures up to its competitors. The weekly schedule, demo video, research findings and console comparison will be available on this website.