Topic: Nintendo Switch 2 Predictions

@GrailUK I think SEGA has them beat by 30 years:

@Buizel Ha!

We’ll also see where battery life goes based on all of this. Maybe around the same level as the Switch V2/OLED or more, but could also be less.

I did find this article on how the Switch 2 eShop could be changed (apart from running better) and then I noticed one part caught my eye: "a universal store that operates almost akin to the AppStore in that titles displayed will run on the hardware you’re navigating the store on"

When I saw that, I asked myself this: Wouldn’t such Switch 2 universal store already be the My Nintendo Store (as well as having extra selections like purchasing hardware, accessories, other merchandise, and even the My Nintendo Rewards)? Nintendo could use that as the Switch 2 storefront if they wanted to put a universal storefront and add some extra features if they wanted to, unless the universal store part was referring to something else.

So there are some more images of the JoyCon out in the wild now. Higher resolution images. it appears as though theres some kind of optical sensor on the inside which is a bit odd given it would be covered when the JoyCon are attached

One theory I'm kinda liking is that it's a lidar sensor. And that the main unit and any JoyCon accessories have some kind of mirror/channel to reflect the image into the sensor from the front. Not entirely sure what purpose such a sensor would have but in theory, and with sufficient processing behind it, you could probably use it for inside out motion tracking. Also for room mapping if you wanted

Or it could just be something to detect when the JoyCon are attached. Who knows

@skywake Have seen some think it’s to allow the joy con to be used like a mouse though I don’t understand the logic or how it would be incorporated into games.

Why should Nintendo release a console which just looks like a new version of the original Switch? According to all those "leaks" it will just looks the same with some difference which will be unnoticeable for the majority.

Wii and Wii U looked different from each one, yet it ended up confusing almost everyone. If "Switch 2" indeed looks like on all those "leaks" it will be a much worse Wii U situation here then.

Not many are as "well informed" like those people on forums, since mostly of them never frequents on those pages. They're just regular customers who just enters a store and purchasing the product they wants without any research all before.
They'll be 100% confused if now they sees that "Switch 2" looks in their eyes exactly the same as the original Switch, just a bit bigger, so it must be a new Switch XL then, so nay not buying it!

It will be so fun to see when Nintendo unveils it for real... I'm still so certain of that the mostly will getting a meltdown then, since it's so much different from those "leaks" and that it's so much weaker. Not a chance that Nintendo will release a high-end console in this current climate of the world.

@Keman People buy phones every one or two years no problem and they always look the same as the previous models. The naming Switch 2 should be enough to differentiate it from the current console. The problem the Wii U had was that its name was confusing and the marketing should the tablet as the prominent part of the console, thus making it seem like an add on to the Wii.

Seems to work fine for phones, PCs, etc. And although PS5 looks like a bizarre alien artifact I don't think that was actually the main selling point rather than the easy to understand 5 > 4.

@Keman Nintendo have found a concept that has been really really successful, which can be iterated, so why change concept just for the sake of it, when this concept has lots of room to run for much longer.

They can distinguish between the Switch 1 and Switch 2 using the games, which is what most people care about. If the new 3D Mario looks way better than Odyssey etc and has the same level of Nintendo quality, it will drive sales. If 3rd party games look and play way better on Switch 2 , it will drive sales. If there are loads of new 1st and 3rd party games on Switch 2 that are not on Switch 1, it will drive sales...

People have now pointed out components in the shipping data that were effectively labelled as JoyCon Mouse Feet. So it's a mouse. As for what it could be used for, well, a mouse is a fantastic input device for gaming and it'd be useful to bring back a reliable pointer input for Wii games. And personally I would call it worth the effort just for Mario Paint on NSO

In any case, it's a very cheap input device to add to the toolkit. And Nintendo are usually pretty good at adding cheap and overlooked input devices to their consoles

@skywake The fact it’s now known to be a mouse makes me think Nintendo has a game in the works that requires a mouse. Nintendo usually adds these features for their own teams to make use of. Mario Paint Switch is gonna be a look game. Calling it now.

@FragRed
Just realised, CIV 7..... I might have to reconsider which platform I buy it on

@FragRed I could see it being a big selling point for a Mario Maker 3. It would make building levels on the TV much easier

This article just came up: https://gazlog.jp/entry/nintendo-switch2-advanced-node/

One of the images even showed it with the serial number. I typed it up on the Nintendo Repair Center Website and it pretty much confirmed these being the real Joy-Cons. More info here.

With that optical sensor, I was thinking it could be to allow us to use the Switch 2 Joy-Cons as a mouse. Would actually be useful for if they release Super Mario Maker 3.

@MrCarlos46 it would be awesome if they release a 3D Mario maker. It would basically be a 3D Platformer game maker engine.

So there's supposedly an IR mouse gimmick in the new Joy Cons? I mean, that's something I guess, but I don't really see what it could do that the existing Joy Cons couldn't. Gyroscopic controls could already do the point and click gameplay of the Wii pretty well, so what is this really doing that's new? This sounds like a 3DS-esque kind of gimmick, they'll probably push it early in the system's lifespan and then it won't catch on and they'll just drop it a few years in.

@Bolt_Strike
Gyro has its weakness though. For excample gyro-drift or not registering very subtle movements. A mouse option would be huge for, if we are talking about Nintendo games, Splatoon for example. How comfortable or practical it is, is the other question though.

@MrCarlos46
Sigh... another sign that this thing may barely be considered an actual handheld anymore. If the battery life is going to be that abysmal, may as well just call it a "couch handheld" lol

But I suppose that's the wall you're gonna run into when you have to choose between those pillars, and they know they need to reach around PS4-level power if they're going to keep the big third parties on board.

The audio's impact on battery life is always worth nothing, though. All through owning my og Switch and OLED, I've been able to get really good battery life by running my audio pretty low, and I also don't connect anything to it through Bluetooth. That can go a long way towards preserving some battery life.