The Nintendo Switch isn't a new idea — it's been around since 1994

Nintendo's long history of streaming handheld games to your TV.

[skydragoonityx]

I remember having this, playing my gameboy games on my console. Those where the days

[rainslacker]

I remember playing my TG-16 console games on my Turbo Express. That was the first hand held that had the same power as it's console counterpart.

Required two separate consoles of course, but was a similar concept as what's being talked about in this article. Actually that was more applicable to the Switch now, because this didn't play home console games.

[darthv72]

totally agree. The Express was what I would play military madness on all the time. Until the caps went bad...

There is also the Sega nomad which is both the portable as well as console in one. And it too supports local multiplayer so yeah... Nintendo is just taking an old idea and making it new again.

[rainslacker]

God, Military Madneess was one of the most fun games I've ever played. So addictive.:)

I never knew about the nomad when it first came out. I only found out about it years later when I was getting more into collecting. But I do have one now, but the screen crapped out on me a few years ago. Haven't gotten around to fixing it. Nifty little system though.:)

[godashram]

If you go that route.... NEC with the PC Engine/GT and TurboGrafx 16/Turbo Express did this before Nintendo, with the same card based games on both console and portable. Sega followed afterwards with the Sega Nomad that allowed the same games on both Genesis/Megadrive and Nomad. Nintendo with the Super Gameboy put portable games on your TV, NEC and Sega put your TV games on a portable, which is more like the Switch.

[Nivekki]

And there hasn't been a console maker that has made it relevent since then. Remarkable,

[MRMagoo123]

and there still hasn't been one yet. even more remarkable.

[ocelot07]

More recently the Neo Geo X.

[conanlifts]

The difference between switch and every other device preceeding it is the adaptive gpu. No other device before has had a gpu that ramps up its output by more than double. But otherwise i think most gamers understand that other devices have allowed portable games to be played on a tv.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Why is performance then better undocked?

[conanlifts]

This is only on Zelda, which has frame drops while docked, but it also runs at higher settings and resolution. Fast rmx, I am setsuna are examples of increased resolution and graphics while docked without issues. Mario kart 8 has been examined and also performs at higher resolution without issues while docked.
Also it has been reported there is a firmware problem that saps some of the gpu power, which might explain why there are frame drops in zelda or it might simply need an update to fix the problem.
If it were a trend with all titles i would agree with you, but it's only an issue in 1 title. Regardless my comment is accurate. It has a scaleable gpu tgat increases when docked. This is well known and reported.

[xMANB3ARP1G]

sd11 your right but you were replying to a troll just a FYI

[Segata]

Oh hey an article on what I have been saying in the comment section since the whole rumor of NX hybrid started on this site. Except it's 1990 with Turbo Express.

[tigertron]

Remember the GBA adapter for the GC?

[gamer7804]

This article is wrong. This is playing portable games on a home console, not the same exact games.

The article is partially right, but it wasn't Nintendo. It was NEC, who also developed the first cdrom game console. They made the turbo express which could play the exact game chip card games as the turbo grafx 16.

[rainslacker]

Sadly, in the US, TG16/Duo was more a footnote in console history.

I think back in the day, after getting the CD attachment, I was probably the only person I knew who actually knew how to pronounce Ys.

Hudson and NEC really could have had a place in the current market if they marketed their system better, and got some of the amazing support it had in japan over to the states. It's absolutely amazing the game catalog the system had over there, even compared to Genesis or SNES. Games were still being made for it into the 7th gen, well after it's successor the PC-FX was abandoned and NEC left the console market.

TGCD/Duo was the first console with an actual mid-gen upgrade that allowed for forward/backward compatibilty, although the FC was entirely dependant on the developer. All other companies used a secondary device which split the user base.

Turbo express was pretty awesome as well. But at $400 a pop, and the need for batterries, it was prohibitively expensive compared to the competition. I didn't get one until much later in life, although I did get a TG-CD attachment for Xmas one year when they were still $700. Changed how I viewed gaming for a long time, as I came to expect long, voiced cutscenes, as well as CD quality music. Was hard to play carts for the longest time.

[Wallstreet37]

I've put links to the turbo express ever since fanatics started to try to act like Nintendo thought of this or did it first. First portable that played console games on the go and plugged into a TV was the turbo express which was turbografx16 on the go. All this was done before ganeboy or any other system could do this or even thought of it.

[Wallstreet37]

https://www.google.com/amp/...

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Sega Nomad was the best hybrid console.

[Wallstreet37]

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

Did anyone notice it recently got 2 low scores and dropped to 97? The dream of highest rated game with no low scores has died.

[The 10th Rider]

It still has significantly more perfect scores than any other game. 52 perfect scores VS 42 for the Last of Us and Super Mario Galaxy 2. That's a pretty impressive feat. I think with the increased number of reviewers it's more difficult to get a higher metacritic score than it was over a decade ago.

[Wallstreet37]

Of course it is that's why ocarina 99 holds no weight with only 22 reviews factored in. Uncharted 2 is sitting at a 96 with over 100 reviews factored in, more than anything of them.

[Tross]

True, I guess you could say the setup with the Super Gameboy was like the Switch. However, it was also a lot simpler and technically it was two separate systems, three if you count the Super Gameboy itself as an add-on to the SNES. Also, Gameboy games were first and foremost handheld games. That said, the effect of being able to play a game on a console then take it on the go with a handheld was achieved.

[Vetalka83]

I wish i could go back to 94...

[PurpHerbison]

REACHING

[DialgaMarine]

To be fair, the idea of all the games on one unified platform is new, but it almost feels too little too late. The Switch is what Wii U should've been, and without strong third party support, then what's the point? I keep hearing the excuse of "oh, just buy third party games on PC!", but doesn't that ruin The whole point of having a hybrid console to begin with?

[NXFather]

Yeah, I forgot about that until today. HOWEVER, I AM THE ACTUAL FATHER OF THIS CONCEPT IN MODERN TIMES.