Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@skywake
There's always both winners and losers.

Publishers win if Xbox goes under since they can then reach their target audiences on 3 platforms instead of 4. Meaning less development cost. But keep in mind, publishers and developers would win most in a monopoly with just one platform, which obviously wouldn't be good for consumers.

More platforms = more variation in hardware. I'm so grateful Nintendo exists. They're the only ones who innovated and brought us a hybrid handheld console. They're the only ones who standardized gyro aiming, and are now attempting to standardize mouse aiming in the console space. Like gyro, it may never fully take over but if it could get as big as gyro is today, where most devs include it automatically, that's a huge win for us.

That all said, I think Xbox is the one platform that has brought little to nothing to gaming as a whole. One could argue they standardized the digital space on consoles, and fair enough. But they never adopted gyro- to this day their controllers don't even include a gyroscope or accelerometer. Heck, they don't even include rechargeable batteries. They don't have HD Rumble. They've failed to even keep pace with the innovations of other consoles, much less innovate themselves.

At least PlayStation controllers can utilize gyro. And we do see it catching on more and more on PS5. That's largely thanks to Nintendo standardizing it first, and now Nintendo fans demand it in multiplats, and the devs then implement for both Switch 2 and PS5. Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion just patched in gyro aiming for NSW2 and PS5, for example. PS5 also added HD Rumble after Switch did, and have put it to great use. In some games, even better than Nintendo. And they've at least innovated in small regards like the touchpad and the trigger resistance (even though I don't like that whole trigger thing, and while the touchpad is mostly gimmicky I'd rather have it than not have it).

Nintendo even added rear grip buttons on their standard pro controller and charge grip. Xbox is still using silly paddles on a controller that costs as much as a Switch Lite. Not that Sony has done any better with their ridiculously priced "elite" controller. The $90 Switch 2 Pro Controller puts all those optional $200+ controllers to shame, and it's not even a "special" controller.

But I digress. What I'm getting at is, losing Xbox doesnt feel like the loss it should be, because they've failed at every turn to actually bring something of value to the table. Literally everything the Xbox Series does, PS5 and/or Switch 2 does it just as well or better. One exception perhaps being smart resume. But... that's not really a big deal to me.

When we lost Sega, we lost an innovator. Dreamcast was so far ahead of its time. At least half a decade. It doesnt really feel like we're losing anything of value with Xbox. Except to say, Sony will go unchallenged. It was competition that kept consoles from having DRM in the 8th gen. Without competition, who will stop Sony from taking similar measures? Not that it'll affect me much since I pretty much gave up playing on other consoles and almost exclusively game on Switch 2 now. But I still care. Because whatever Sony does, it opens the door for Nintendo to follow.

I do think we'll see more 3rd party games on NSW2 as a result. The development costs allocated for Xbox ports can be re-allocated for Switch 2, which developers will rely on more and more to compensate for lack of sales on Xbox.

Just played a cup in Mario Kart World.

Believe it or not I haven't really played the game since it launched. I played some free roam but never even tried a full cup to completion. It's fun as heck! Just unlocked Donkey Kong, a new cart and a new bike, and got a silver trophy in 150cc on the first cup. This game seriously rocks. I adored Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. But this game is every bit as good. Driving to the next track adds much needed variety. Don't get me wrong, I like traditional 3-lap tracks too, but it's also nice when everything is different.

@JaxonH
I think the gameplay in World is the best it’s ever been.

Knockout Tour is awesome.

Freeroam is chill and awesome.

The highways between courses during GPs and online can get old after awhile.

@JaxonH
TBH now the Switch 2 is out and probably going to remain fairly stable for the next 5 years at least. The next "console" I get will probably just be a PC running one of these Steam-OS-Like distributions of Linux. Possibly even Steam OS itself if that's how it pans out. And, if anything, the failures of MS in this space is making that option increasingly more viable

So personally I couldn't care less about XBox disappearing as a hardware platform

Just played an hour of Yooka-Replaylee. This game rocks! Some shadows of NPCs are low quality and stand out (though Yooka and Laylee's shadow is dark and crisp), and I've noticed one or two minor frame drops here and there, but overall it runs fine.

It's really fun. Hard to put down, actually.

@skywake
I dont think I'm gonna buy any more consoles moving forward. I owned a PS2, PS3, PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5, PSP, PS Vita and PSVR. But after Sony abandoned Vita, then abandoned VR, I said enough. Passed on the PS5 Pro because the difference was so negligible, and at the current $830 price it's just absurd. I could almost get TWO Nintendo Switch 2's for that price. Or a Switch 2, Mario Kart World, a 1TB microSD express, Pro Controller and camera. Not that I play my PS5 anymore anyways. And certainly don't play my Series X anymore.

PS5 Pro barely looks any different than PS5. And PS6 is going to be even more negligible vs PS5. IF I wanted to play a game, I can grab a PS5 version. And that'll probably remain true for another 10 years. But I don't have interest in playing on tethered platforms anymore. It's gotta be hybrid. That's the only way I'd buy another platform moving forward- if PS made a hybrid PS6. But it sounds like they're gonna sell a console and handheld separately. Not only would that cost $1200+ I don't want to deal with cross saves over internet and some games not running or releasing on handheld and all that jazz. Besides, I can't even keep up with games releasing on Switch 2. Toss in an entire generation's backlog of NSW1 titles and ya... I'm good.

My PC is hooked up in the spare bedroom. Bought MH Wilds on Steam, and it wouldn't run on Deck. Then I lost interest in the game because they finally crossed that line of excessive casualization. I long for the days of MH World. At least I have MH Rise + Sunbreak (800+ hours I've put in already) and MH Stories 3: Twisted Reflection drops in March for Switch 2.

So even PC and Steamdeck I don't play anymore. I'll hold onto my PC, which has a 2080 ti GPU and i9 9900 CPU. It was state of the art a few years ago, but now it's a 1080p Max settings PC. Sometimes I can get 1440p Max or 4k Max using DLSS but at least I know it can run any game at 1080p Max settings... it's probably roughly on par with PS5, maybe a PS5 Pro, give or take, but I'm never upgrading it or buying a new one. I just don't play it anymore. Same for Steamdeck. I have the Limited Edition OLED with a 2TB SSD installed and a 2TB microSD. But it cant run current AAA games nowadays, and hasn't for at least a year. Don't have my PS5 or XSX hooked up anymore.

As I've gotten older, the need to play every game has faded within me. Partially because I've lost interest in PS exclusives, and the few Xbox exclusives I am interested in are likely all coming to Switch 2. I like Gears 5, Halo MasterChief Collection, Indiana Jones and... well, I would say DOOM but the new one seems to have missed the mark- I love Wolfenstein but MachineGames made Indiana Jones instead. And most 3rd party games I'm interested in will likely end up on Switch. The big ones I wanted were Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, Persona 3 Reload, Metaphor Fantazio and Expedition 33. The first 4 games are already confirmed. Metaphor is leaked to be on the way after P3R, and I'm confident E33 will land on NSW2, eventually. Surprisingly, I dont have much interest in Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2 now. I'd much rather see World ported. But neither will happen. We'll get a brand new Monster Hunter designed with NSW2 in mind, which is the most I could hope for anyways.

There will probably be a couple games that fall through the cracks and miss NSW2, games I want to play. But it'll likely only be a small handful. And that's not enough to persuade me to buy some other console and play tethered to a TV. Those days, I think, are behind me.

It's so much easier when you only deal with 1 platform, and that platform covers all bases- Nintendo exclusives, 3rd party, console, handheld, tabletop, gyro aiming, mouse aiming, Pro Controller, Split Joycon, etc.

@JaxonH
Fair. For me the main reason I want a PC in my setup is for the older games, emulation and just generally the stuff that Switch doesn't cover. My Steam Deck does a fairly competent job of that and, frankly, the compatibility on Linux is good enough

It's just.... I'm pedantic and the Deck isn't a great hybrid platform. I don't really want to have to bother with resolution, controller or dock shenanigans and a bit more power than Deck can deliver for some titles certainly wouldn't hurt. So now that Linux gaming is a bit nicer I'll probably scrounge together a little TV PC. Not this year, possibly not even next year, but certainly before Switch 3

To be fair I've always been PC/Nintendo and have always been pretty keen on using Linux. So none of this is really new. But yeah, not a lot of concern from me about the death of XBox hardware

I personally am thinking for a windows handheld instead rather than Steamdeck (Xess seems to be amazing??), something like MSI Claw 7AI+ seems to run newest games nicely while not destroying my budget at the same time. 700 bucks, but like, then I can have 2 handhelds for all my needs... (this tbh is borne from wanting to mod Silksong lol, which is impossible to do on Switch)

I used to big big into PC handhelds. I was an original GPD Win 2 owner with custom Nylon back cover to lower shell temps. And of course I got Steamdeck, then Steamdeck OLED, and swapped the NVMe with a 2TB SSD.

My issue has always been for Windows... it sucks. Navigating Windows on a handheld is such a pain. The other issue is battery life. Some models now exist with 80 Whr batteries but they're too heavy. Ive learned the Steamdeck is the max weight I can tolerate. About 675-700g is my limit.

My Switch 2 with adhered magnetic ring on back and a Genki 38.5 Whr portable magnetic battery has a total weight 10g less than the original stock Steamdeck weighed. So it gets 5-6 hours battery life while remaining under my weight threshold.

But Windows handhelds are 800-1000g, sometimes more. The ones that weigh less either have insufficient battery or cost $1500+

Steamdeck really is the only PC handheld I'll even remotely consider playing. In fact I actually really like Steamdeck OLED. I just hate that using it like a hybrid doesnt really work since Steam carries over your resolution and graphical settings, so you have to constantly go into settings and change it any time you switch modes of use. And if youre coming from TV to handheld the increased resolution often means the display is too zoomed in to see anything on the Deck screen which makes it extremely difficult to change the resolution back to 720p.

If Steam could fix that issue and have a separate cache of settings when docked, I would use it more.

Lastly, it can't run new AAA games nowadays, and the games it can run, like Hades 2 and Persona 3 Reload, Switch 2 has. Or will get soon enough. What it is good for, is a nice fat backlog of my favorite older Steam games. It's great for MH World, Spiderman, The Last of Us, Gears 5, Halo MCC, etc. I used to use it for Metroid Prime 2 with gyro via Primehack, but after installing the all in one Emulator Station or whatever its called it screwed up my Primehack settings, and despite 15 hours of tinkering I failed to ever get it working again. Finally gave up and said I'm done. Life is too short for all this tinkering crap. I'll wait for a Switch port with gyro aiming.

But I can understand the appeal, having been a user of them myself. Personally, I may consider Steamdeck 2 whenever that releases, if battery life is sufficient. Then again, if Switch 2 is getting most games anyways, and I already have Steamdeck OLED for my backlog of Steam games, maybe not.

@JaxonH
Wait, did you say PS6 will be console and handheld?
I still confused to imagine the look of PS6 machine.
So PS6 will be like Wii U or two separated machines (PS5 style and PS Vita style)?

@Anti-Matter There are rumors that the PS6 will supposedly come in two versions. One will be a standard PS6 like the PS5/Pro, and the other will be a Switch-style model with a handheld and dock.

The standard PS6 is supposed to come without a drive, like the PS5 Pro (which you have to buy separately).

And the handheld version of the PS6 is supposed to be less powerful than the standard PS6 because it's a handheld, etc.

But these are all just assumptions so far because Sony hasn't really said or shown anything yet.

@Kellvasion
I wonder if the physical games distribution for PS6 will be two version: Blu Ray disc for console version, cartridge for handheld version. And both of them will be labeled as PS6.

@Anti-Matter I think the handheld PS6 (if there will be one) will be purely digital.
And the normal PS6 will be Sony's last Console with physical games, unfortunately.

A few years ago I started getting primarily digital games, because I thought it was great being able to play games the minute they released, along with getting a good amount of gold points (which helped me buy some great smaller eShop games that I wouldn't have bought otherwise), and the great deal that was the voucher program. I also loved being able to play my games on multiple consoles, and even played games like Mario Wonder online together with 2 consoles with 1 digital copy of the game.

Now that gold points and vouchers are/are being discontinued, and they updated digital games to only be playable on one console at a time, getting digital over physical feels nearly worthless. It's as if they're discouraging digital purchases now. I decided to primarily get games physically now, very disappointed with how little benefits you get from using the Nintendo eShop now.

Persona 3 Reload is right around the corner. I played the demo and loved it.

Held off when it released knowing it would eventually release on the new Switch console, and here it is! The time has come. Progress carries over to the full game also, which is really nice.

And once Persona 3 Reload drops, their next game announced for Switch 2 should be Metaphor Refantazio in 2026. It's crazy to think back a few years ago everyone in the Switch thread was convinced Persona would never come to Switch. And now we have Persona 5 Royal, Persona 3 Reload on NSW2, and I'm confident the Persona 4 remake will also come to Switch 2 for hat tricks. And let's not forget the excellent Persona 5 Strikers, which I liked just as much as Hyrule Warriors (Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes remains my favorite Warriors game, though Age of Imprisonment seems like it may take the crown). There's also Persona 4 Arena and Persona 5 Tactics, in addition to the original Persona 3 and 4. That's a lot of Persona.

edit
Seems a French retailer has now listed Assassin's Creed Shadows for NSW2

Auchan online retailer listing

For what it's worth, the original Persona 3 still isn't playable on Switch consoles, only Persona 3 Portable, which was a demake for PSP that replaced everything outside of the dungeon sections with a visual-novel style presentation and gameplay. It's unique among all versions of Persona 3 because it lets you play as a girl main character (and have romance options with guys), but the accommodations to allow it to work for PSP make it a significant downgrade from the original apart from the female MC.

(Switch also never had the original Persona 4, only Persona 4 Golden, which was originally a Vita exclusive, but that one's way closer to the original and is more of an enhanced remake than P3P was)

I love the original Persona 3, but I think I love Persona 3 Reload even more, so I'm super happy that Switch 2 users will get to experience it!

Now maybe one day Atlus will give us a remake of Shin Megami Tensei IV on Switch 2 since it's still stuck on the 3DS? Please...?

@charliecarrot
I know. I just said "original" as in "not the new remake"

This is why I'm not excited for PS6 at all. I don't really want to have another digital platform to buy games on. I have steam on PC and physical games for other consoles like Switch. If I don't like a game or get bored with it quickly then I sell it on to recoup most of my money back. I keep the games I love and move on other games. I have been utterly disappointed with the level of exclusives for PS5, I don't actually know of a single PS5 exclusive game I care about. In this instance I would rather have the PC version because even if my PC hardware today is not as capable as PS5, maybe next year it will be. I totally get fixed platform optimisations can deliver gaming performance beyond PC for the same spec and for a PC to outperform a console it has to be reasonably more powerful, maybe at least 50% more powerful possibly more. However console optimisation is often downgrading the game so the weak parts of the spec are avoided to deliver an overall better optimised game but it may not be as good as a PC version on more capable hardware. Anyway PS6 feels like it will be great hardware for a while, maybe it will have 12 months to 18months of technical advantage for any similar priced PC hardware but then the PC will again dominate performance even at similar pricing.

Also PC games get upgraded with new mods including amazing graphic mods which don't appear on consoles. You can have all sorts of visual upgrades to older games that just make the experience far better. You get new levels, new missions, new weather patterns and other upgrades. An old game you love and have gotten bored of suddenly becomes a new game you are familiar with at no extra cost.

Lets not forget there are online costs for PS6 and software pricing will be higher than PC typically. You will be limited where you can play your PS6 software. On PC you might have a great gaming rig, a laptop you move from room to room and a steam deck you put in your backpack all playing the same games pretty much to varying levels of technical performance. I feel the only reason to invest in PS6 for me is a good selection of great exclusive games.

@BonzoBanana
I bought PS5 just for playing 3rd party kids games like BLUEY, PAW PATROL, BARBIE, etc, not for playing 1st party adult Sony games.
A lot of people complained about PS5 exclusive games, but in contrary I felt granted with PS5 for having a lot of 3rd party kids games that I can pick to play.
That's the reason I bought PS5.

The only 1st party PS5 I played is Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, nothing else since I only looking for kids games with a few rated Teen games, never like adult games nor even care AAA games.

I really hope PS6 will still have physical games and especially the kids games by Outright Games, the reason I like my PS4 & PS5.

@Anti-Matter
There’s no way I see the PS6 still having a physical media drive.