Topic: I feel like the Switch's final form could be a laptop inspired console? NS3

Love the NS2, but can't help but think how close they are to being a laptop (not necessarily a big laptop for personal use but for Nintendo/gaming lifestyle). We have the mouse, you can take the console with u per usual, TV hookups, wireless controllers, and now we have the camera for chatting and streaming. I'm sure you can connect your keyboard to it as well. Why not make it easy and just combine all these gadgets//features and make a laptop-like console.

I love my 3DS and still enjoy the feeling of folding my console. Nintendo seems to want being a part of our lives as much as possible and a laptop-like console could happen (old Game & Watch inspired colors for the folding console would be a cool marketing idea).

I get the impression that only a fraction of Switch 2 owners are going to use the mouse feature.

Most will ignore it.

I could see Switch 2 being the Switch's final form like you had the GB line (GB/GBC -> GBA), the DS line (DS -> 3DS) and the Wii line (Wii -> Wii U) all being 2 generations long.

At that point call it Nintendo Go!

You mean Splatoon, Minecraft, FortNite, FireEmblem and Civilizations type games will benefit from mouse options. That's discounting quite a bit of users without seeing the Switch 2 released yet. Also don't forget Microsoft COD type games and some mouse type games will come over and that will also expand Switch 2 gaming library and bring over those that want to be gaming on the go as well now that a mouse exits.

@Magician We don't know that yet. I always play mouse for shooting and P&C games. Disabled gamers will likely be using the mouse feature as well.

@Jester676 I doubt I'll use mouse even with games like civilization and Minecraft. Fundamentally, I rarely game while sitting in front of a desk or equivalent flat surface. If I did I would probably play games like that on a laptop rather than Switch.

Most of the added Switch 2 features like mouse controls and camera are optional in most gameplay scenarios, which allows more people to enjoy games the way they want to. I still believe the majority of gamers will continue to use standard features like joy-cons and pro controllers whilst ignoring the awkward camera, so I don't see a laptop-style device being a thing for Nintendo any time soon.

With regards to the mouse functionality, I have a discreet media PC hooked up to my TV and use an ergonomic wireless mouse on the armrest of the sofa, which works perfectly fine for Windows and occasional gaming. Going off reports from the Switch 2 events, I've no reason to suspect mouse mode on NSW2 won't work equally well, particularly if you're using a peripheral to enhance joy-con comfort. It's a useful option to have at your disposal for certain genres like FPS and sims, even if it doesn't necessarily become the primary way of playing for most people.

Giving gamers multiple options to play how they choose will always attract more players than forcing them to play one way, it's just common sense really. The key is to keep these options simple and user friendly enough for the average player to appreciate, in order to maximise the potential audience. Laptops and PCs are by no means associated with these strengths when compared to consoles, so I don't really see it being an option for Nintendo, particularly when their most successful console has been the antithesis of this.

@FishyS No one ever said it would be on table or desktop for mouse use. We all need to remove ourselves from this only option "mindset".

This is the other group of gamers for those whom are able body tend to forget and discount - those with disability also want to enjoy life pleasures as well.

I mean... it's a mouse. Fundamentally, it needs a flat surface to be fully usable. In the Nintendo Switch 2 experience they had everyone awkwardly standing at a table to play drag x drive. Obviously other surfaces are technically possible, but for some games it probably wouldn't work great without a table type surface.

@FishyS Until everyone gets their hands on Switch 2 and experiments with the mouse is when this will tell how it functions. So what is your issue with Switch 2 having a mouse for both Joy-Cons2 for? Your so hung up on Table mouse that you will realize this when it's too late.

Yeah, even though laptops can be connected to tvs and controllers to act like a docked console, it's really just much more of a nuisance than using a real console. Everything on Switch is just easy to use in whatever mode you want and I assume Switch 2 will be also, possibly minus the weird camera accessory.

I have absolutely no issue with it, I think it's a great addition. I just also doubt I will particularly use it. Like many Switch players, I don't use joycons all that much while docked. I also simply don't have an urge to use a mouse for any games I can think of I play on Switch.

@FishyS Your already deciding for all Switch 2 preorder owners without even having tried games that will come with this feature? You need to stop grouping the rest of us Switch 1 and soon to be Switch 2 owners as in the same camp. You should ask those with "Disability" if you can't use the Joy-Cons then you shouldn't game then right? This is a big population of gamers whom were always forgotten and they range from disable veterans and those born with disability to those to no fault of their own in accidents or beyond their control to someone of elderly age should be given chance as well. This is the group having a mouse will improve their life even if they don't game as often as the rest of us. Remember how the Wii sports brought people whom would never game so would you have not packaged this with Wii like Reggie did that exploded the Nintendo brand. All ages played and loved this Wii sports this showed that simple games made the difference to a whole populous.

All I said in that last post is that I personally doubt I will use mouse and that many Switch 1 players use pro controllers. The thing is... two things can be true at once. I assume millions of people will love mouse mode and I'm also guessing (time will tell) that 10s of millions of people won't particularly use it (especially including people who primarily play in handheld mode or with pro controller).

As for whether Switch ever takes a laptop form I think thats rather ridiculous. The typewriter was never a good control input method for playing video games. It was used as a matter of necessity only. The mouse is incredible. But the dream has always been to leverage the accuracy of the mouse without being weighed down by the ancient typewriter. As in, mouse for one hand and one-handed controller for the other. Switch 2 offers precisely that.

Going back to the typewriter would be such an absurd regression I can't imagine a single gamer who would opt for carrying a built in bulky typewriter instead of an ergonomicly designed controller built specifically for the task. Computers require typing quite often. Video game consoles do not.

@FishyS
Don't think you'll need a desk. Sitting in a recliner you can use the armrest. Sitting on a couch you can use the cushion next to you. Plus people come up with all kinds of creative solutions. If someone insists on a flat mouse surface they sell mini mousepads with small beanbag pouches on each side to weigh it down, made for armrests. $10 on Amazon. Or people will use a small tray-like surface with a mousepad on it in their laps.

Handheld players probably won't use it much though, like you said, unless utilizing tabletop mode. But I do expect it to be at least as popular as gyro aiming.

@Jester676 a fan of all those games and hasn’t crossed my mind at all of using the mouse mode. Pro controller it is.

@Grumblevolcano Maybe we'll get a foldable design next gen after NS2.

Dual Screen Switch 3 Pro....Front/Rear cameras.

The Switch's final form will be that of a celestial being with a single appendage for flight.

This final form will only be unveiled after a long and brutal fight. It will come as quite a shock to everyone and in moving into this final form the Switch will acquire both a vast new reserve of power and an even more dramatic background music.