Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

You don't necessarily need two Switch 2s for Gameshare; you can also use a Switch 1, including the Lite, for the second screen and they're still relatively cheap. Lots of people will have both consoles already, even.

Also, I don't foresee it ever being used in a situation where you'd have two consoles in your lap. The most likely use for it in single-player games is so that you can have a touch screen in your hands when the console is docked. You've already got one of those when it's undocked, so that case is already covered. It's not like you had two screens available with off-TV play for the Wii U either, after all.

@Bolt_Strike
There are 150million Switch consoles out there and it's a portable so a lot of households have multiple units. This isn't a case of asking people to buy a second console just to play a game. For a large section of the userbase it's going to be hardware they already have

In terms of the Animal Crossing bit.... I read what you said, I just didn't agree. They're just going down the list of bit franchises and making sure they have a reason for you to go to Switch 2 for them. I don't think Animal Crossing is somehow massively different to Splatoon 3 or the Zelda games in this regard

And not only is this really boring when buying a new console, it's worse because most S2E's are barely upgrades at all and you have to show side by side comparisons for a lay person to even notice. Then there's the BotW / TotK upgrades where sure, they run better and have higher res textures, but the engines retain problems that are much more visible at a higher resolution, like the abysmal shadow cascade distance that slices horizontal "cuts" across scenery right below Link. Or ACNH where you're still stuck at 30 fps on a console that made a big deal about 120 hz VRR display in handheld. It's baffling when most games don't even hit half that. Why waste money on it?

Pokemon Z-A made me pull out my S2 from storage and use it for a good 35 hours, but now I'm back to waiting until what's likely to be late 2026 for another reason to touch it again.

@OmnitronVariant
"late 2026" - lol ok

Glad I came to the thread for my early-morning hyperbole.

I really dislike Switch 2 editions but my argument is about the gold mine of legacy content that can't be played on the Switch ecosystem at present. Like for example it's really sad that Wonder is getting a Switch 2 edition while most of the NSMB games are trapped on old hardware.

@Grumblevolcano I'm assuming rhe nsmb games will eventually come in either ports or on NSO. If we had one of those $40 ports like Galaxy for nsmb wii I would buy it in a second.

I'm not a huge fan of these Switch 2 editions which just increase the graphics and add a small DLC either... and some games (e.g. mario maker 2) I am actively hoping it doesn't happen because it makes sequels feel far away.

However one game I would love to get a Switch 2 edition is Peach Showtime. Slight improvement to graphics and a little DLC is precisely what that game needs. Plus I would like to see Nintendo acknowledge that it still exists so that I can hope for a sequel someday even if no time soon.

@skywake I don't mind that part. I like it because it means only one person has to buy the game and I can get mates to play games without forcing them to buy a game they wouldn't play otherwise. 51 Worldwide Games is great. I wish Jamboree had it online. Didn't much like 3D World but I don't like the multiplayer in that generally.

@FishyS
Oh man, a Showtime Switch 2 editions would be awesome! It already has such a cool art style; it would look amazing. The fps increase would go a long way in smoothing out the feel of the gameplay in a lot of the costumes, too.

I don’t mind the Swirtch 2 editions. I don’t buy most of them. People just assume Nintendo can’t walk and chew bubble gum at the same time without knowing how much/how little dev time goes into these. I don’t think we can use them as any indicator.

Having a lower performance second screen is going to limit what they can do with dual screens, plus hardware snobs are not going to be happy with that.

No, it needs to be. If you can only use dual screen in docked mode, it undermines the whole point of a hybrid. A hybrid needs to have both a DS/3DS style handheld mode and a Wii U style docked mode, you can't just have one or the other.

And you don't agree why...?

I mean there's some of that too, but legacy content is generally not the primary reason to buy a new console, you can always play it on the old console if you still have a working console and Nintendo tends to do little to update their older games. The primary reason to buy a new console is for new content. New, current gen entries in an IP always outsell old past gen entries.

This. S2Es would be fine if they were bonuses, but they seem to be acting like they're full games and they're not. Switch 2 needs the sequels first and foremost and it feels like the S2Es signal that almost none of them are happening anytime soon.

I'm all for NSW2 Editions. The more the better imo. It's not like they take any significant development time, people who arent interested can simply opt to not purchase, and those who are can get a higher resolution, often higher framerate version on NSW2 for a marginal upgrade fee, and if they're physical diehards they have that as an option as well.

I hope every NSW1 1st party title eventually gets a NSW2 upgrade. But, I dont think they all will. For whatever reason I suspect Fire Emblem and Xenoblade may never see updates.

@Bolt_Strike Because of the choices made about the hardware, the most exciting possibility about Switch 2 to me is the concept of someday Switch 2 being the system where everything is all in one place. Switch 1 games via backwards compatibility, Nintendo adding to the 1st party lineup via both new and old games meanwhile 3rd parties bringing over plenty of games that wouldn't have been possible on Switch 1.

Right now the biggest things getting in the way of that scenario are the existence of Switch 2 Editions (1st party side of things) and Key Cards (3rd party side of things).

In an alternate reality where Switch 2 was a gimmick console instead, the most exciting possibility would've been how brand new 1st party games utilize said gimmicks.

It's not just about development time but scheduling. Nintendo often works on these smaller projects and that sits on them until strategically releasing them when they think the time is right. This often means using these entries as placeholders to tide people over until the next main entry. This is especially true for IPs that don't get yearly entries like Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, etc. And Animal Crossing is not one of those, it tends to only have entries about every 3 or 4 years. So no, having ACNH S2E in 2026 and then a new game in 2027 seems optimistic. I don't even think 2028 is on the table either. Most likely this signals that the new AC game is 2029 or later.

Also right on time NL posts an opinion piece on S2Es and they sum up this sentiment quite well.

https://www.nintendolife.com/features/opinion-animal-crossing...

I'm starting to see the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions as a big ol' placeholder in Nintendo's release schedule. It's one of those 'we're not quite ready to show you what's next, so here's something familiar to keep you busy in the meantime' moments that we're becoming increasingly well acquainted with. Surely a brand new game would be a much better prospect for console sales?

It was a similar story on Switch. Rather than give us a new Mario Kart, we got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; instead of a new 3D Mario, we got Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. They're great games, no doubt, but they're also a telltale sign of 'you're years away from a new entry, mate'.

Nah, I think Fire Emblem is popular enough to get a S2E. I think Three Houses S2E is especially likely.

As for Xenoblade, 2 is next in line for a Definitive Edition since they released DEs of 1 and X on Switch. It's possible they might go for a S2E instead, but I strongly suspect some kind of re-release of 2 is happening this gen.

I mean that's a great bonus, but you don't need new hardware for that, you can do that with existing hardware. The biggest draw for new hardware is new games, you can't really get around that.

Vastly superior reality, that would do a far better job of justifying new hardware. Can I go live in that reality please? This timeline sucks in so many ways.

@Bolt_Strike
So instead of a placeholder you’d rather…. Nothing?

What some of us are saying is that these “placeholders” don’t necessarily mean anything when it comes to the release timing of the next major game in whatever franchise. It’s literally impossible for anyone outside of Nintendo to know at the moment.

Personally, I would rather have more small little games instead of very late and kinda random DLC. Give me your Nintendo World Championship: SNES Edition and Sushi Strikers. But I'm sure Nintendo decided they could make more money off of the DLCs instead.

In terms of timelines — I doubt Nintendo would have decided 'know what we really need 4 months before a new Animal Crossing comes out? DLC of the old Animal Crossing!'. So it does tell us some information — just enough to get our hopes down. But I agree it doesn't necessarily have anything to do whether a new game is coming in e.g. 2027.

@FishyS
I dont think they're releasing NSW2 Editions "4 months before" a new release.

I think they're plugging gaps for games that are 2, 3, 4+ years away. You can screencap this comment and hold me to it- we will not see a new Animal Crossing in 2026 or 2027. If I'm wrong, feel free to throw this in my face in the future. But I don't think that's going to happen.

@Bolt_Strike
I hope you're right. I'd love a NSW2 Edition of Fire Emblem and Xenoblade. We'll see.

I agree they would almost certainly not put out the DLC in 2026 if they were releasing a new game in 2026. 2027 though? That will be very disappointing if there isn't a new game. I wouldn't necessarily assume that based purely off the DLC — this is the company that randomly released 3 Mario RPGs in a 12 month period.

So what if the second screen is of lower performance. It was in the Wii U and 3DS, after all.

No it doesn't.

As before, the off-TV experience for the Wii U was that you had a single screen. The DS and 3DS have screens of sufficiently low resolutions that you could display both at once on the single screen of the Switch 2, with considerable upscaling.

That's all that's needed for authentic ports of games from all three systems to Switch 2.

If you can foresee any uses beyond that, a Switch 2 obviously can cast to another Switch 2 and presumably make use of its extra features. I just don't see anyone making many single-player games like that, and especially not ones that would need to be played that way undocked.

@FishyS
We are getting those small games. Two so far exclusive to the Switch 2, in fact.

Anyway, as for the 4 month thing… you kinda disproved yourself by acknowledging that Nintendo does weird stuff all the time. And not just that time they released three Mario rpgs in a span of like half of a year. Does anybody remember how Splatoon 2 came out barely 2 years after the first one, even though the first was such a big hit and basically a live service game? That was a weird time, too.

So, I return to my original statement: I don’t mind these Switch 2 editions, and I don’t think any of us can accurately use them to divine timing for the next new releases in any franchise. Nor do they seem to be stopping us from getting the smaller releases so far, either.

I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they do tease a new Animal Crossing in the February Direct lol

I mean ... Splatoon 1 was stuck on a dead console. Nintendo had to do something. They could have made a 'deluxe' version for Switch but instead decided to make a sequel with a lot in common. Basically the same thing they did with Mario Maker. It was just one of the several ways Nintendo decided to salvage Wii U games/ideas onto Switch.