Topic: Does anyone else feel like this is more "Switch U" than Switch 2?

@JaxonH The PS audience leans more towards digital while the Nintendo audience leans more towards physical. As for the consoles, it's a safe assumption that both systems will do very well over the holiday season. PS5 players will be picking the console up in preparation for GTA6 and Switch 2 players will be picking up the console for the already released MK World + DK Bananza.

@JaxonH The fact that a console with such a comparatively tiny install base has such a large presence in Amazon's top sellers has far more to do with game sales overall having nosedived, than it does with an indication of success. Bundling Switch games in with Switch 2 is just ... sad. There's just no other way to describe that. What you call a snappy O.S, I see as anodyne and characterless, a far cry from the inventive and appealing front end of the hardware from Nintendo's past.
What I see from modern Nintendo is a company that used to strike a balance between making money and serving customers, to a company that now makes every decision based on money and nothing else, pushing prices ever higher when it's clearly not necessary, nickel and diming their customers at every turn. A failure to use TMR sticks, when that surely would have fixed drift. Micro sd express, a decision which likely has more to do with striking a behind the scenes deal to prop up a failing format, than it does with serving their customers, when the inclusion of M2 ssd support would have provided faster speeds at lower cost to the end user. A screen that is objectively worse than that of the preceding console. Many people, myself included, wondered what Nintendo would do when they no longer had ports of Wii U games to bolster their software line-up. I naively believed they would have to finally increase their first-party development output, but why would they do that, when they can just port Switch games to Switch 2, add on some low effort additional content, and then sell the games to their fanbase again, for more than the original price? The new Pokémon game has a $70 price, $30 dlc announced before the game has even released, and a requirement for an online subscription to to use the mega evolutions. A physical version of an in-game book that doesn't include the additional pages added for the re-release of an overpriced Wii game. The obvious justification for the book not including the extra pages being that Nintendo feared that some fans might buy the book and not the ports. This would probably be a pretty small portion of the fanbase, but to modern Nintendo, every penny counts, apparently. Amiibo that now costs $40. Egregious attacks against the rights of their own fans, effectively bricking hardware (designed to rely on an internet connection for just about everything) on a whim. Patenting game mechanics that have long existed before they featured in Nintendo titles, in the name of stifling competition and the creativity elsewhere in the industry.
This company is a mere shadow of what it once was, so blinded by greed that they deserve to fail with Switch 2. They deserve it, and I truly believe that is what is best for the industry as a whole, before Nintendo drags the rest of the industry down with them.

Is Reddit down or something?

I find it amusing that people would say the same Nintendo who milked the GB for a decade, arrogantly thought people would pay a premium for the SNES, scuttled the Nintendo PlayStation because they thought Sony wasn't a threat. The same Nintendo who decided unilaterally that power wasn't the play, that different input was the play, and decided to go it alone in the Wii/DS era ignoring the established market. That Nintendo, they've changed, they used to be humble

Seriously, Nintendo has always done their own thing generally with little regard for the competition. They've always been the company of cheap components at high margins while arrogantly declaring "but you'll pay that because nobody is doing what we do". The only time in their history Nintendo has been "humble" was in the late 90s and early 00s. And even more specifically, when they rushed the GBC out the door because they were worried about the Wonderswan

They're the Apple or Pixar of gaming. They declare that they're doing things nobody else is. The only reason they survive is that often they are the only people putting that amount of resources into some of these ideas

Didn’t Nintendo make you buy the same games on the Wii virtual console, the 3DS, the Wii U, and then the Switch before NSO really became a thing?

Is that the Nintendo we’re romanticizing now?

Yeah if I have to hear the “This never would have happened if REGGIE was president!” argument again I’m going to be mildly annoyed.
Nintendo has always been this way, the only reason it appears to be worse is because their ability to bold-facedly fleece their fanbase has gotten easier. Enjoy their art (if you are financially able to) and leave it at that.

its kinda funny to me this thread still exists, but i wanna ask a question: What IS the suddenly turned evil company Nintendo’s next greedy, corrupt, move? (wrong answers only!)
Personally, I think theyll release Kirby’s Dream Buffet 2: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (enchanced visuals and added kirby COLORS!) for $70. And mario’s mustache is coming to Mario Kart World for only $39.99.

@OctolingKing13,

Alright, here's a wrong answer: starting January 1st, 2026, if you quit paying for NSO, Nintendo sends this menace after your house:

Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, then again when ported to the GBC, then again when ported to the GBA. And then the VC launches which at the time seemed like the end game. Until they charged you to migrate the game to the Wii U VC, and sold it to you again on the New 3DS, and then again with the SNES Classic Mini

I technically paid for Donkey Kong Country on 5 different occasions before NSO launched. Well, less because I was a child for some of them but you get the idea. This is the Nintendo we're comparing current Nintendo to. None of this is new

With the above said though, Donkey Kong Country on the GBC is an underrated gem. Something was gained when they squashed that game onto the GBC. Although possibly this is just the nostalgia goggles talking

Anyone else remembering the Nintendo Selects/Players Choice lines? The ones that ran through the Gamecube/Wii/3DS generations? What about the points that Nintendo gave away with every single game and console purchased? I guess these things must be just the effect of "nostalgia goggles" or "romanticising" Nintendo's past? This is not the same company, things have absolutely changed. Their business practices have changed. To pretend otherwise is clearly false.

Club Nintendo was great but it only came west in the late 00s. Before that there was nothing of the sort. They replaced it partially with Gold and Platinum but that wasn't as good, I'd argue, and then with the release of the Switch the rewards started to migrate to NSO

Only recently have they retired Gold points. Which sucks sure. But also, to suggest that they're significantly different to how they used to be based on this argument? It's a bit flimsy. Before Wii Sports none of the Nintendo hardware I got came with a game. Before 2008 Club Nintendo did not exist in Australia or the US. There have been good and bad periods but, broadly, they're largely the same as they've always been

Also there's an argument to be made that even at it's best Club Nintendo didn't really give you much that a basic NSO sub plus Platinum points doesn't. Music, random small exclusive games, pencil cases, pens, posters. All of it is still there

So yeah, you're definitely romanticising past Nintendo

I have no idea what reality this comment is coming from. We're complaining about user interfaces now? Seriously. This thread has not only jumped the shark it's now just sitting on a bench waiting for everyone else to pack up

@skywake OmnitronVariant is completely correct. Looking at the design that went into the user interfaces for Wii and Wii U, and then comparing that to Switch and Switch 2, it's like night and day. Wii had weather forecast, a news channel, photos, a message board, an internet browser, all wrapped up with unique and memorable sound and music cues. Personalisation with Miis. It was all instantly recognisable and is memorable to this day. There were reasons to turn the Wii on outside of just playing a game. To this day Wii is my favourite console. I still miss reading news on the Wii, which I would do every day, despite it being available elsewhere. In contrast, we have something entirely anodyne and characterless, which took no time to design at all, and has no features, The Switch interface isn't something that people will look back on fondly, in future days. There just isn't anything there to look back on.
While you're here, maybe you'd also like to defend Nintendo's decision to tie the Virtual Boy hardware to a subscription, that that's the only way to access the games. Once the service tied to Switch is shuttered (something Nintendo has a history of doing) that Virtual Boy shell is at best a paperweight, most likely e-waste. Why doesn't it come with the games on a cartridge? It surely wouldn't have cost that much more, and Nintendo is already charging more than enough, without even including the controller.

Think about it. Depending on the way this all shakes out, your and others defences of Nintendo's bad practices could age like wine, or like milk. I'm betting it's the latter. This and other comment sections are like an intervention, a way to let Nintendo know that they're going down a bad path, and while it once might have been easy to assume that none of this discourse reaches them, I think it's a pretty sure bet that the new modern control-freak Nintendo is definitely watching.

Let's put it this way. Little Timmy's off the rails. He used to be a good kid. He got all his homework done on time, mowed the neighbours lawn and helped the elderly with their shopping, but now, he's got dark circles under his eyes, is keeping odd hours and has been seen breaking into people's houses. It's like he suddenly has a desperate need for money, for some reason. It's time for an intervention, from those who care for him. What little Timmy doesn't need, is someone to explain away his actions and pretend to everyone that he's always been this way. It might take the heat off, at least for a little while, but it's not going to do Timmy any favours in the long run.

It’s mad right?

I have no idea where this idea about design philosophy is coming from. Nintendo’s games are as creative and acclaimed as ever. I would say Switch gave us some of the best entries in various Nintendo series.

I’m convinced some users are desperately trying to find negative things to say about Nintendo even if it makes no sense whatsoever.

@WhiteUmbrella
Basically you had two points in that wall of text so I'll address those

Firstly on the Wii/Wii U OS being more frilly than the Switch and Switch 2. Personal preference I'd argue. Personally I use game consoles to play games so the sluggishness of the Wii U and 3DS OS in particular were pretty bad on that measure.

And in any case, the central argument here was that Nintendo are greedy and anti-consumer right? I don't know, to me it seems a bit off to cite the colour of their OS during this era as an example. Especially when the 3DS charged you for themes and had a literal claw machine to get badges of which you could pay for additional turns. That's the era you're being nostalgic for

In any case I'm fairly sure the argument being put was a swipe at games rather than the OS. Which is even more absurd

On the second actual point, Virtual Boy being part of NSO. I'm not sure what your point even is here. What would be the more consumer friendly move? Return to the Virtual Console? Sell a limited edition Classic Mini style Virtual Boy with games included? Would you rather they just keep the VB locked in the vault or something? Honestly, I'm not sure what your complaint here is. The existence of something you don't want to buy isn't anti-consumer. It just isn't. Nintendo expanding what's included in NSO is just straight up a good thing

@WhiteUmbrella
Hey! I found your theme song! It's called "Goin' Cherry Pickin'!"

@skywake Regarding Virtual Boy, I could just copy and paste from my previous comment;

"Once the service tied to Switch is shuttered (something Nintendo has a history of doing) that Virtual Boy shell is at best a paperweight, most likely e-waste. Why doesn't it come with the games on a cartridge? It surely wouldn't have cost that much more, and Nintendo is already charging more than enough, without even including the controller."

How much more explanation could it possibly need than that? You shift the goalpost by painting Virtual Boy as added value for NSO. That's ridiculous. It seems there's a certain contingent on here prepared to criticise Nintendo for their current direction of travel, and another that are determined, for some misguided reason, to defend anything and everything Nintendo does, no matter what. You'll defend them even if their direction of travel harms the company, when to many it seems obvious that what they actually need is not blind defence, but some home truths about the direction they are taking, and where it is leading them. You also downplay the loss of Club Nintendo, not very effectively in my opinion, and completely ignore that the old Nintendo brought down the prices of their best selling software over the course of the generation, presumably because you have no good answer. Not only do the new Nintendo not do that, they actively increase prices for re-releases. This is the first generation ever where hardware that was released eight years ago costs more than it did back when it launched. Wake up.

Nintendo Switch was lightning in a bottle the same the Wii was, and Nintendo bungled the messaging around the Wii U and it well underperformed power wise to the newer consoles. Switch is still popular and people I think just want a more powerful Switch which Switch 2 is. The problem I think Nintendo is having is again bad communication, sticker shock as video games are going up in price and everyone remembers Smash, Animal Crossing, etc and those games are not here yet.

What Nintendo SHOULD do is do Switch 2 Editions of those games and add something small and freshen them up until their replacements are ready.

@WhiteUmbrella
And now we've arrived at the, "You disagree with me, therefore you are a Nintendo fanboy."

@WhiteUmbrella
As I said, the existence of something you don't want to buy isn't anti-consumer. The "it'll become e-waste" but you're now spinning. Is that not also true of the Wii Ballance Board? Or the DK Bongos? Or the Zapper? The Super Scope? ROB? Or the Ring Fit Ring? Explain how this is new

Also, in terms of the price of the console being more than it was at launch. Probably more true in post Brexit borked UK and post Tariff US than it is elsewhere in the world. But also, if you hadn't noticed, all of the things are more expensive

Honestly, I just don't see this supposedly entirely different Nintendo who is behaving entirely different to everyone else and entirely different to how they used to. Yes they're a corporation, yes they're concerned with profits. But they have always been that as are all of these companies.

What I don't understand is the specific and targeted vitriol towards Nintendo specifically. And I especially don't understand the desire by some to pretend their output is crap. In part because if it truly was crap they wouldn't care enough to comment.... and if they do care enough to discuss even though it is crap I don't understand why they would torture themselves