Topic: Is The Switch 2 Worth It???

I think at this stage what you need to ask yourself is do you feel there's value in it now at $450 vs paying $500+ at this time next year for the same console? With tariffs, inflation, and component prices going up due to the AI boom, hardware isn't going to get cheaper any longer as the generation progresses like it did during the 8th gen and back. You've got a new gen console that's been out for six months and has some worthwhile games so far, is near 100% BC with the previous system where many of those games run better on it, and is going to be the focus of Nintendo for probably at least the next 5 years.

Sure they may do a portable only Lite or a Switch 2 Pro/OLED a few years down the road, but I feel the amount of gameplay you'd get out of the hardware for a few years imo would justify that cost cause of how much I've played my system to date. I like the look of the new Yoshi game coming out next Spring and you can probably imagine Nintendo has the next 3D Mario in the pipeline for holiday next year especially coming off the release of the Mario Galaxy movie next Summer. To me getting the hardware now while it's cheaper beats spending even more on it next year even if I wouldn't play it as much until more games drop even if that hasn't been the case for me personally.

@Dang_69 That's what I am saying. It might be the case.

Because Sony collects a bigger portion of money from each game than steam does, according to some articles I read. Now I can't say if this is truly correct or not, but you can see hardware is going insane because of the AI bubble. Ram that cost 100 dollars now costs 400, so there's no way that all systems aren't getting more expensive, but all of these companies can decide to sell at a loss and recoup it with games. Steam has said they don't wish to do that so they will have to communicate that you're going to get games without a big licensing fee attached.

You're not wrong to worry but we have no idea what gaming will look like soon.

I can promise you that the corporations aren't going to let their profits fall for your sake.

From everything I've seen, the default across PlayStation, Switch and Steam eshops is 30%. Steam however charges less for games which earn 10s of millions of dollars (which presumably rarely affects indies). Nintendo and Sony have special non-public agreements with some big devs so it's hard to know what they are charging those same mega sellers.

@FishyS Definitely have no idea. I am just parroting what I have read about the difference between console and PC digital marketplaces.

Why would you want to play old 16-bit or 32-bit games with 4K or even 8K resolution? Unless the games are modded somehow, wouldn't they still have the original, lower-resolution graphics? Which can look awful (especially pixel graphics) if theyre AI-upscaled to a higher resolution.

Upscaling can be brilliant for both 3D and 2D games and AI upscaling even better. Lot of emulators can increase their rendering resolution dramatically. In another thread I showed an image of how Metroid Prime 4 is emulated with a much higher native resolution and the results look better than the Switch 2 graphics. As this small section of a 4K screen shows.

Even 2D pixel art can be AI upscaled with dramatic improvements.

It's all down to how much performance you have in the system to do these tasks and emulate at the same time. Can you do it without introducing additional input lag etc. It feels like older 8bit and 16bit systems are fairly easy to enhance visually but as you go into 32bit systems it gets a little bit more difficult. This is something that will improve as performance of systems improve. There is a huge improvement in Dolphin emulated graphics if you can render beyond normal native resolution and go to 720p or beyond.

As someone who grew up with 8-bit and 16-bit games, to me those examples don't look like "improvements" rather than the AI altering the graphics to have a specific, soft and air-brushed art style which obviously isn't there in the original games. So it's not just about upscaling rather than the AI actively interpreting what the game's visual style should be like. It might be fine if you like this kind of air-brush art, but to me they look meh.

Also, I wonder how the upscaling would work with a more cartoonish 8/16-bit game like Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World, since the art style seen in those examples would obviously look kinda stupid with such games.

Interesting, are there any video/image examples of what this looks like?

I have my grievances(low internal memory, hidden costs like the express SD cards, GKCs), but overall I’ve been pretty happy with my purchase. Some good games, GC on NSO, I especially love the boost it gives uncapped Switch 1 games

I will say though, if you’re interested in a Switch 2, get it now if you can because it’ll very likely get a price increase next year

That was my worry even on day 1 although the fact that Switch 2 went on a sale for black friday makes me think there is some price wiggle room.

That was a refreshing on-topic reply when most of the thread has instead been arguing 'are steam devices worth it' 😆

@FishyS
If you're specifically weighing the pros, I'll say this. If you hated Switch 1, I doubt Switch 2 will change your mind.

If, however, you loved Switch 1, then NS2 will feel like Christmas morning for you. Imagine 3rd party games that actually run without massive framerate issues and in 1080p on a giant 8" screen, with 3D audio even from the built in speakers, with joycon that are larger and more ergonomic with larger analogs that use non-rim-contact glide tech (and thus prevent drift since it's well established that friction caused micro shavings of plastic to fall into the housing), which magnetically snap on and off the system and grip.

Imagine an eShop that isn't constantly stuttering and loading. In-game load speeds drastically improved. Actual 1440p and 4k docked resolution for many games, and 60fps far more prevalent.

Then imagine every Switch 1 game that had framerate issues maxing out their potential target and no more dynamic resolution drops. Games like Trials Rising finally playing smoothly in handheld mode and not dropping resolution to sub-720p. Games like Monster Hunter Stories 2 and Dragon Quest Builders 2 holding a locked 60.

Now imagine better rumble, rear mappable grip buttons on the back of the pro controller and charge grip, an audio jack on the pro controller, and the ability to instantly start a chat with any friend, and share your screen, and even show video if you connect a camera. The system somehow uses advanced machine learning and AI to filter out the game audio so the person on the other end only hears your voice, and clearly, even when the system is docked across the room.

Imagine being able to play 2p with friends online or locally who don't even own a copy of the game, even with a Switch 1. Not every game offers that feature but many do- Split Fiction, Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity, DK Bonanza, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Super Mario 3D World, etc. And it feels native! If you owned a Wii U, it's like that gamepad technology but perfected.

And Imagine the ability to play with a pro controller, or joycon-in-grip pro controller, or split joycon, or any of the above with gyro aiming, or using mouse mode. And Imagine you buy a $10 firm mousepad that's 8" x 10" (200mm x 250mm) with one of these accessories and you dive into games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Metroid Prime 4 with that precision mouse aiming.

If you imagine all that and think eh, not inspiring me... then don't buy a Switch 2. But if you imagine all that and think wow, actually sounds really cool! Then you should have bought one yesterday.

@JaxonH Damn I didnt realize the Joycons were that much better. My biggest problem with the original and even the OLED Switch was how cheap the joycons felt. The sticks felt like they could snap at any moment and of course the stick drift made me very wary of using them much. Instead I just opted for a third party pro controller (which I love) to play my Switch.

After hearing your praise about the joycons I just might have to rethink about getting a Switch 2

It's wild to me that people keep trying to push this comparison as if there's some victor to declare. They're both great devices with different use cases. Switch 2 is more integrated, modern, sleek and power efficient and Deck is a PC with a significantly larger battery and with a better display

It's like asking what's better, a smartphone or a laptop? And it's like.... what even is that question? They're different kinds of devices. It depends

I totally accept what you are saying but the level of processing can go from light to heavy and just simple anti-aliasing can help. You can have 2D games that just look a little cleaner and smoother at 8K but still clearly much the same as the original graphics. I remember using consoles on CRT screens with composite connections so they looked pretty grim and all the time you were getting radiation fired at your eyes. Screens are amazing nowadays and so ridiculously cheap. When you have a 8K screen (I don't) you have something that can adapt cleanly to any previous resolution as there are so many pixels. It's not a like a Switch 2 showing a 720p image on a 1080p screen and losing image quality because pixels aren't matched 1:1. You lose some detail as 1920 is not 1280 and 1080 is not 720. When you have 8192, 1280 goes into it more cleanly same as 720 into 4320. It displays older resolutions better where its difficult to adjust the native resolution i.e. 2D sprite games. My television is rather old now being a 3D TV and I think the highest refresh resolution it supports is 72Hz at maybe 1080p or 1440p but its good to know that the Steam Deck can support 8k 60 or 4K 120Hz.

@Tasuki
It's actually kinda crazy how just a few minor improvements can make such a difference with the new Joycon.

The analog sticks are like 50% larger in diameter, which is like 225% surface area (since area of circle is pi*r^2). I know it's technically a partial spherical surface but it's such a small arc that we can simplify things for rough estimates. That makes a huge difference, and by not making rim contact it feels buttery smooth to rotate around in a circular motion.

Then the fact they're longer, and wider (the side of the Joycon protrudes which inserts into the side of the console) which makes it feel more comfortable to grip.

The ZL/ZR triggers are larger which feels better. The face buttons are also larger which feels better. The SL/SR buttons are waaaay larger than before which makes sideways Joycon feel, not "ideal" but definitely usable, whereas with NS1 it was borderline not the case. And the rumble is a noticeable step up from NS1. Not to mention, they can be used as a mouse, and the way they Just magnetically snap in and out is more satisfying than it has any right to be. Sometimes I just snap them in and out for fun. It's oddly fulfilling 😀

@JaxonH Well controller is an important factor for me when it comes to choosing a console. One of the main reasons I passed on the OG Xbox back in the day was because of the Duke controller that they originally had.

Mostly because of the Joycons is why I dont use my Switch especially in hand held. Even when I cant use the TV I just use the pro type controller I got and just set the Switch up on a table. If and that's a big if I do use the joycons its with the grip accessory and even then I am afraid of snapping off the sticks. My joycons are basic the other player controller when I play 2 player games like MK 8.

I just cant believe someone at Nintendo when asked to quality control the Joycons said yep that's good. Nintendo has long been known for the great quality of their controllers I have NES controllers from the late 80s early 90s and they still work great. The Switch was the only Nintendo console that I opted for third party controllers ( Well the Gamecube I opted for Wavebirds instead of Nintendo's own controllers but those were so awesome back in the day). I mean what was the QA department on vacation when the Joycons were presented?

Still its good to hear that the Switch 2 greatly improves the Joycons.

@Tasuki
Here's a comparison. Also note the Pro controller and charge grip have rear mappable GL/GR grib buttons, mappable from Quick Access Menu and automatically saved on a per game basis. Highly recommended.

Nice. Definitely can see the difference. Will have to start saving up for one now. Definitely moved up on my list of game stuff I need to get in 2026. Thanks for all the info.

One thing that you can't see in the pics is how much less waggle there is when the Joy-Cons are attached to the console. The magnetic connection is a massive improvement over the rails that the Switch 1 used.