Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@WaveBoy
Nice!

Yea, I’m handheld all the way. I just beat Mega Man 1 for the Gameboy on my original Gameboy last week, tiny screen and all haha

I think like a lot of this kind of thing there are a lot of people who like to project the image of being the kind of person who is into it. But that's not really the same as actually being into it. Like the people who walk around with a band shirt despite not knowing any of their songs

Personally, I'm definitely into retro games. I'm just not really into the inconvenience of retro hardware, outdated screen technologies and obsolete AV setups. I love still having all my old cartridges. I'm just.... not particularly keen on angling a GameBoy screen upto the window just right or having a CRT dominate my living room

..... with that said, I do also have multiple crates of records on display and a record player setup taking up space. So I guess I'm a bit inconsistent

Yeah, I love retro games. I just don't love retro hardware that much.

I've been using emulators since the 90s, and it's just nice to have modern conveniences like save states, rewind and the ability to pause the game and look stuff up on the internet on the same device.

The hardware can be tough to manage, for sure. I have my NES and SNES on a dual hookup to a CRT in my basement, but again, I'm lucky enough to have that space to do so. If I lived in an apartment, it would be tough to set aside room to do that.

@rallydefault "If I lived in an apartment, it would be tough to set aside room to do that." That's the reason I debated with myself on getting an Analogue 3D (and an Analogue Pocket, because my '89 GameBoy needs some repair work done) to play my old cartridges. Decided against it though – for now at least – because Switch (and life in general) keeps me busy enough.

I just can't do it anymore. I can't wait these excruciating 12 hours. I'll go insane.

I'm going in now. It may be on NSW1 but I don't care. I need to play Metroid Prime 4 now. I'll just use NSO cloud saves to bounce my progress over to the NSW2 version tonight. About 15 more minutes...

It's been grand, but... audios amigos!

edit
Btw, we hear a lot of fearmongering about digital, and there are some drawbacks, but let us consider this real, actual event that just happened to Kit- losing dozens of physical games along with his Switch. Not trying to stir dissent, but let's keep it real. This wouldn't have happened if his games were digital. Just stating the facts.

@JaxonH
People lose stuff. I feel bad for him.

@rallydefault
Modern Physical video game media in most cases, at least for me, just doesn't look unique, eye catching, or different enough nor substantial unless you're going all out with companies like LRG. It just doesn't feel like art anymore(especially for PS5 & XSX) in most cases, like it did with the 8-16 bit generations. I'm repeating myself, but i really liked some of those Long Box PS1 cases(Resident Evil 1, Jumping Flash! etc), and White Label Dreamcast too towards the later 90's. I'm such a sucker for a lot of the 80's & early to mid 90's NA illistrated and mostly interprated cover art. They were so oulandish & fun.

Still, I do want a physical copy for DK Bananza & Kirby Air Riders, because I think they actually look quite nice cover-wise, and blend in really well with the near-All red case design. I would of gone physical for Metroid Prime 4 too, but that banner really bugs me. it's gotten to a point where i just don't care anymore. I miss having that re-sale value, but i don't want stacks of Switch, Switch 2 & PS5 games eating up my space.

NES, Genesis, GameBoy, SNES and then to a lesser extent, the Long Box PS1 & White Label Dreamcast cases had the best case design and art work imo. These days, it's just basic standard discs and minature handheld carts sporting game logo's, either in flimsy blu-ray like cases, slathered in warranty/legal-whatever text, with a corporate sterile boring clinical looking logo, or what Switch 1&2 are doing.

@JaxonH
Your passion, enthusiam and excitement really is contagious.
Unfortunately for me, I've got a pretty decent chunk sized NS1 backlog to chip away at. I might be a little late to the MP4 party. Bummer. I was really looking forward to experiencing Samus's side kick Myles, aka, Metroid's Rick Moranis.

BTW, is Super Mario party Jamboree(NS2)'s Mouse based Mini-games worth while? They're the only reason I'm interested in checking that one out. But forking over $100 is a tough pill to swallow when I've got no interest in everything else the game has to offer.

I'm disappointed. What the heck!

I was led to believe MP4 was gonna have a lot of character interaction and dialog with Myles McKenzy. I play for 2 hours, and only got 15 minutes with him? 10 of which he was just quietly following behind me? Come on with this. I WANTED more interaction with him. 15 freaking minutes? I know he talks over the radio occasionally once you reach the overworld, and I'm assuming he'll appear later in the game with the other soldiers for a bit, but dang...

Way everyone was talking, I was expecting at least half an hour with him, maybe even 45. He's too good a character to just relegate to obscurity that quickly. Seriously.

@rallydefault
Ya, I feel for him too. I lost (well, it was stolen) my original chipped NSW1 OLED. Thankfully I was able to replace it and reinstall all my games.

@WaveBoy
My honest opinion? No. They're cool, but not worth the buy-in, imho.

I think Red Dead Redemption, Tomb Raider, Metroid Prime 4, Cyberpunk, Hogwarts Legacy... these are games that really leverage mouse mode.

@WaveBoy
Yea, cases and stuff aren’t as creative as they used to be. And manuals - ha! Most games don’t even come with them anymore. Some of the art and storytelling in manuals from the first few generations were soooooo good.

I remember poring over the manuals from my SNES and N64 games in particular.

Which kind of reminds me of strategy guides, too!

Y'all I just realized a super obnoxious thing the switch 2 does. You can't change the order the system does updates in, which currently means I'm stuck waiting for a half hour Hitman update before I can download the new Mario kart world update. Such a silly and easily fixable issue too tbh, just let us manage updates like we can full game downloads (I also haven't turned my system on in a good while, so there's so darn many game updates lol)

Gotta share the Metroid excitement. Been playing all day, can't stop, this is that game my friends. It just is. I don't care what ANYONE tells you... this is that game.

All opinions are valid, everything is subjective, but in my humble subjective opinion, this game is on the level and then some. And if you disagree, with all due respect, you're just wrong 😀

@Bigmanfan
That's not true.

You simply click on Mario Kart World, and select "Download First" and it immediately switches over.

@Bigmanfan There's so many annoying things like this that stick out particularly bad since I primarily play on Steam Deck. These are all things you can't do on Switch 1 or 2, but can do on SteamOS:

• Can't choose where to install a game, ie. internal memory or memory card, before installation. Have to move it afterwards which is a waste of time and locks the system down.
• Can't pick which updates to install in what order
• Can't record at 60 fps
• Can't see power consumption and estimated time left playing the current game
• Can't download updates while playing many games that support online functionality even when they don't use it (Animal Crossing pauses all downloads despite me not using online modes, for example)
• Can't see download speeds or set limits

There's a lot more things but they veer into "unfair territory" compared to competing console platforms, like being able to adjust my own game settings, so I won't go into that. But man, Switch 2 is seriously annoying a lot of the time without these basic features.

@JaxonH No, the "Download first" button is for downloading software, not updates to software. It doesn't exist for the latter.

@OmnitronVariant
I know you like doing your "Switch 2 is the worst console ever made" schtick but man, you're really stretching it here. Honestly I can't see how someone who uses both systems regularly would come out of the experience with the conclusion that the Switch 2 is WORSE for data management and installs than Steam Deck

Firstly, Steam downloads and patches generally are pretty CPU heavy which if you have a slow connection or a decent desktop are not an issue. But when you have a relatively CPU limited device that all kinda falls apart. Especially when patching a large game. Even worse, although supposedly they've changed this recently, Steam OS required the Deck to be actively on for all game updates. It was rough. I've heard that apparently they've improved these things in recent updates but still, it has never been a strength of the device. Not even remotely. The way they've structured it works fine for a desktop that spends most of its time not playing games. It's not so great for a relatively low powered portable gaming device

Meanwhile on Switch and Switch 2 it's just.... you start the download and it does it's thing. An update comes in? It does it in the background while I'm not using it. I turn it off or do something else before the download is done? It keeps going. Is it breaking speed records? Maybe not. Honestly I wouldn't know.... because the way it behaves means it just never seems to get in the way. Which is exactly how it should be

Sorry, I really shouldn't bother replying to your posts, you have quite the reputation at this point. But man. I don't get how you can spin one of my greatest frustrations of the Steam Deck and somehow contort your perspective on it into a hammer to smack the Switch 2 with. It's truly bizarre

@skywake Different folks, different strokes. I have a gigabit connection, Steam Deck tends to top out at 80 MB/s for patches and downloads so they're really fast, hence for me it didn't matter that I had to have it on. Which is another problem I have with Switch 2: The download speeds, at least from the European eShop. I know it's slow because it can take fifteen minutes downloading a 15gb game. On the same connection my Steam Deck is on.

And I'd rather have the option to pick which order to update games in. I also appreciate being able to choose where to install software, that's way more important to me than "background downloads" when it's sleeping.

When I'm sharing my opinions, I'm not saying they're universal. They're my point of view. These things matter to me. I also never said I consider Switch 2 the worst console ever; it's not worse than the Switch 1, and Switch 1 is pretty great. It's just disappointing Nintendo hasn't resolved issues that bothered me even with that. For an iterative console it hasn't iterated at all on some of its fundamental issues relating to software downloads, patches and installation. On the operative system front it's practically the same as a console from 2017 but slightly faster at downloads. It still can't record videos at 60fps.

To not have to twiddle around in game settings is one of the main reasons people game on consoles. The good old plug and play factor. If you really really wanted that, and you say you also own a Switch 1, why did you ever buy a Switch 2 and now complain about it? In their functionality they are basically the same device. It was only ever advertised as a more powerful Switch. I mean, either you are making this stuff up (most likely explanation) or you have some serious issues… . Like @skywake writes, "it's truly bizzare".

Alright. I've made my decision. No matter what, I am getting a Switch 2 at some point. Hopefully early 2026. Even though there are a few things that Nintendo is doing that I don't like right now (none of it is about the console or first party Nintendo games though).

The thing is, as I mentioned in the new "how would you rate the first year of the Switch 2" thread, pretty much no matter what happens this entire console generation will be awesome but have a bit of "meh" mixed in the whole time. So I thought that instead of the generation just being awesome and meh, I might as well buy a Switch 2 and have the generation be awesome and meh but still enjoy a few new Nintendo games like Pokémon.

I've basically already planned how the entire generation will go for me. I'll get that Switch 2, specifically the Pokémon Legends Z-A bundle, and do a complete system transfer with my original Switch (there's a reason for that I will get to later). I'll quickly play through that game and its dlc in time for Pokémon Gen 10, which I might actually end up pre-ordering (it would be my first time pre-ordering a game, Pokémon is my favorite franchise ever so I trust it enough). I'll also purchase and play any new mainline Zelda, the next Super Smash Bros., Kirby Air Riders, and I'll also get the Switch 2 Editions of Zelda TotK and Animal Crossing New Horizons, plus maybe some other game every once in a good while, perhaps 3D Mario. Other than the things I just listed, I probably won't get any other Switch 2 games. I do intend on skipping Pokémon Pokopia because my hype for that one was drained when it was announced to be a Game Key Card. While I'm not playing a game on Switch 1 or 2, I will be playing Hyperdimension Neptunia games on my PlayStation 4.

As for what I will do with my original Switch after the system transfer: I will factory reset it. You read that right. I'm factory resetting it after the system transfer. Then, I will set it up again, and this time, I will not be connecting it to the ol' internet. It will be a completely offline console for all my Switch 1 physical games and those only. I may borrow my family's Switch to get a few software updates through local communication. I'm doing this because I want to own at least one completely offline console, and that option will be more viable once all of my digital games have their new home on my Switch 2. Also, I kind of just want to do it to spite Nintendo (and NoA) by being as anti-GKC as possible (completely offline console) and potentially intentionally ordering physical games on Playasia that go against NoA's newer guidelines, like the Playasia Switch releases of the Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth games. I will also see if I can figure out how to mod my offline Switch 1 to lower the system version a bit.

Also, with the way that Nintendo, and the world in general, are going, I won't be surprised at all if the Switch 2 ends up being my final Nintendo console. I can only put up with so much side crap (like GKC), and this time around I had to go through hours upon hours of thinking just to find a plan that felt good enough. But I can't wait to join y'all in the Switch 2 Club, because the console itself looks absolutely awesome and I can't wait to get my hands on one!

Yeah, nah, this ain't it. I have a 500Mbps connection, a WiFi 7 access point and I've seen patches on Steam Deck just crawl to a halt. I monitor the network activity and it's not using it at all, it's entirely held back by the device itself. Hell, I have a 2.5Gbps connection between my desktop and my WiFi 7 AP and the game fully patched on my desktop with local transfer going. Often it's still pretty slow. To the point where I wonder if it'd be quicker to just delete the game and redownload it from scratch... or just not bother with any games larger than ~10GB or so at all on the device. It CAN saturate the link, it CAN be close to a Gigabit with a clean download. The day to day experience updating games on Deck however is usually nowhere near that

And the bit about the Switch 2 eShop download speeds. I mean, ok, sure. But I downloaded Metroid Prime 4, as I said here, pre-order, 29th of November. My router keeps track of which devices downloaded what and when so I can look back at that point in time to see what the average + max download speeds were. I only see hour increments that far back but when I made that last post there's a spike during that hour to download. The average bandwidth over that hour is 59.1Mbps, or ~29GB/hour, the size of Prime 4. The max download speed over that hour? .... 531Mbps.... that's basically what my connection tests at. Works out to be ~7mins which honestly tracks given how fast downloads have been for me on Switch 2 generally

Honestly, my interaction with downloads and updates on Switch 2 is often just me turning on the device from standby and it saying "update finished". On Steam Deck the interaction is usually just me turning on the device and seeing there are multiple game updates pending, one starting and on more than one occasion having it sit on the table while I watch a TV show or something and wait for the patch to finish. So as a user of both devices you complaining about Switch 2 here while praising the Deck just doesn't ring true at all

You say the download manager on Deck is better. I would agree with that. The problem however isn't with the download manager, the problem is that I have to interact with it to the extent that I do. It's just not something I think about at all on Nintendo's hardware

Righto. I mean, opinions are easy, opinions are free. I'm not opposed to people having their own opinions. Where it falls flat though is when you try to argue that the sky is green and the grass is blue and then pass it off as "just my opinion"

I have a question about games on both Switch and Switch 2. I definitely want to get Octopath 0 eventually, and saw someone on here mention how the town building limit is higher on Switch 2, so I looked it up and saw this is true. So I'm just wondering, are there any other games where there is actually an in-game difference like this between the two versions? I generally don't care that much about graphics and FPS unless it's incredibly bad and would be willing to get a game on Switch 1 if it's otherwise the same, but this makes me definitely want Octopath 0 on Switch 2. So are there other games that are actually different besides graphics and performance upgrades?