Topic: Nintendo Switch 2: Your biggest fears and concerns!!

I want there to also be UI music, NGL

@MrCarlos46
would be cool if it had that but also customizable, like you could have the wii shop channel music as an option for the shop theme (after all you cannot improve perfection)

really though as mentioned in the other topic my main hopes is that the new system is still a switch and keeps the same form factor, or at the very least it can still be played like the original system (like if they add a bunch of new ways to play i still would prefer to have the option of playing the games using the same ways as the original system, both as a single screen handheld and a simple TV console with a controller)

Doesn’t look like they’re straying away from the Switch form factor, hence the name “Switch 2.” There is always room for improvement tho.

@MrCarlos46
yeah would be nice to see it refined/more ergonomic, i also imagine we will get a new hori split pad pro or some equivalent (never tried one of those but it looked neat) though am also hoping for things like the ability to remap buttons on a per-game basis since while system-level button mapping is nice (and there are still console games without the option in game to remap buttons) it can be awkward swapping between presets (unless this is already an option and i have missed it in which case disregard some of the prior message)

@skywake

Some great points , it really is hard to measure or compare it power wise because of its hybrid nature. My concern is that somehow inexplicably Nintendo will omit some of those modern standard features. It’s almost unthinkable but what if Switch 2 doesn’t include something like DLSS…unlikely!….but if it’s missing I’m not THAT surprised being that it’s Nintendo. They’ll have cost cutting measures in the Switch 2 for sure, it’s just a matter of how much of those costs will they pass on to the consumer, like memory cards etc.

GTA6 is a big one. It’s going to be the biggest game of the year by far. It’ll be a missed opportunity if won’t play on Switch 2, it’s seems unlikely…how many cartridges would they have to fit the game on? I could see a cloud version. Perhaps Nintendo does add a performance boost to the Dock this time around. Maybe a game like GTA6 could be played in docked mode? Either way the software is actually the least of my worries. I think Nintendo will deliver, they’ve had tons of Wii U ports on the Switch, I’m sure they’ve had dedicated teams developing Switch 2 software for years now. Nintendo understands they do need 3rd parties to fill those gaps between releases so hopefully they provide enough power for that to happen.

My biggest concern is the rumours of not having an OLED screen due to cost cutting. To be honest, after switching to Switch OLED and Steam Deck OLED versions, I wouldn't be able to go back to the older screen technology in portable gaming.

There will probably be an OLED model later down the line

I’m still concerned about what the Switch 2 price could be, especially with how you-know-who wants to implement tariffs once he becomes president next month.

@MrCarlos46

You just know they’ll release an updated version with better battery life down the line. I’m not too concerned battery life, I’m sure they’ll find a nice balance. I’m guessing it’ll average 5-7 hrs, 3-5 hrs for more demanding games

We know the feature-set of the SoC and have done for a good while. It's more advanced than any other console-like device on the market currently, mostly because NVidia has been well ahead of the curve. We also know that, on paper, this should be capable of outclassing Steam Deck fairly comfortably.

The only real unknown in terms of power is what clock speed they're running at. Especially undocked. It's almost certain that they'll restrict it to conserve battery life. Steam Deck can run for hours, the reason it has a reputation for not lasting long is because it gives you the freedom to just churn through the battery. Nintendo won't give you that option, which I would argue is a good thing from an average end user perspective. You don't want to have to explain to the average console gamer what framerate caps and TDP are or have them need to think about it

With that said, there are photos of the dock floating around now. The ventilation on this thing looks to be very, very good. so I would suspect that docked it's going to impress. And given that when in portable mode you're going to be looking at 1080p, they really don't need that much power. They can get away with a fairly aggressive underclock I think

You need to remember the age of the devices you're comparing this to. The Steam Deck is a two year old device, the PS5 is a four year old device, the PS4 is 11 years old, the Switch itself is closing in on 8 years.

Sure tech generally isn't advancing at the rate it was in the 80s, 90s or early 00s but even so a year is still a long time in tech. Combine that with, I'd argue, gaming generally rapidly slamming into a wall of diminishing returns over the last 10 years? I firmly believe that Switch 2 will be the most cost and performance competitive portable console ever. Even before you consider that, IMO, Nintendo are one of the most impressive game publishers on the planet right now and they'll be publishing exclusively on Switch 2

When docked you already get a performance boost on the Switch as it is purely from them allowing the SoC to draw more power. I don't think that'll change with Switch 2, if anything I think they'll be more aggressive in that regard. But there won't be anything additional in the dock to allow this, it'll just purely be the fact that it's not running on battery. The "more power in the dock" bit is a fairly common take but..... it has never made sense and there's no evidence of it

In terms of game sizes? Well, given we know the SoC has circuitry for accelerating file decompression I would expect storage to be used more efficiently. Also I would note that even with some parts of computing stagnating the cost of storage is still dropping rapidly. Faster than ever. You can walk into the shops and buy a 128GB micro-SD card for around $20AU. At retail. They don't even bother to sell cards less than 64GB now, and if they do the 32GB cards aren't any cheaper because you're basically charging for the raw materials at that point. I think storage on Switch 2 will be fine

For GTA6 generally? No idea. That's probably more of a corporate strategy/politics and marketing/target demographic question for Rockstar than it is a raw technical one. If XBox Series S gets GTA6? Then Switch 2 can run it. Simple as that. Whether or not it actually happens is another question

@Mgalens

It should be among the lightest and I think they’ll definitely revamping some of the form factor for comfort. It’ll feel nice to hold that is for sure. I purchased a Hori Split Pad earlier this year…it’s amazing. I love the device, no idea what took me so long to get one. If you game primarily in handheld mode it’s almost a must buy. It will make your Switch a much bigger looking device but I can’t recommend the Hori Split Pad enough …it’s hard to go back to the joycons grip, go get one!

Less to do with the system itself, but that Nintendo is still not going to offer even the most basic of functionality with its online. Why can't I easily message friends? Why can't I chat with them easily? Why do I need a separate device? Why is it so convoluted to do anything online?
Lacking some of the most basic functions that have been around for 20 years now is the single most biggest reason I don't use their service.

I’m just hoping for Switch 2 to have built-in voice chat and bring in more social media features (including Discord support), which may or may not include a new service like Miiverse

• Nintendo being Nintendo in the negative sense - not addressing obvious quality of life improvements, being slow to fix issues, doing dumb things like release Goldeneye with terrible controls.
• lack of eShop improvement (speed, quality control, browsing, search, purchase system, UI/UX)
• few new franchises. I think each console generation should have a push for at least a few new IPs. Not all will land like Splatoon but the effort should be there to be unique and try new things. Let younger devs have the freedom to create new characters.
• mediocre releases that are somewhat fixed after launch. Mainly Mario sports titles and Switch Sports.
• lack of network improvements (ie, Animal Crossing was terrible having people visit, voice chat, friend codes, dropped connections, etc.)
• gaps in game releases since they won't be able to fill out the library with Wii U ports & adjusting to new tech (going from essentially Wii U to PS4 Pro/Xbox Series S could slow development). Part of Wii U's issues was going from SD to HD. I hope they've been implementing whatever pipelines/training are needed so the dev teams are ready for the jump in power/complexity)
• Joy Con drift, no analog triggers, crappy D-Pad on pro controller. No advancement in rumble/haptic like on PS5. Also, I think the motion controls are worse on Switch than Wii, so if there's a way to improve that I might actually use the Joy-Cons.
• lack of innovation. I'm okay with more power and I don't want a gimmick that is the forced priority but additional modes of play would be good. Ideally, for me, reverse Wii U so you have the option to play DS/3DS/Wii U ports via streaming to the dock/tv and have asymmetric gameplay be a thing again. Or for games like Mario Maker where the touch screen is useful. I tried Mario Kart DS on Wii U connected to a 65" TV and could barely make out the screens. A non-cardboard VR headset could be neat add-on. I know VR isn't popular but as an extra mode with some VR-only games, why not? Helps VR devs sell some games and they have the screen and motion controls already so low cost to build a slide-in headset.
• 3rd Party support dropping off a cliff after a few years when PS6 is coming out.
  Edit: whoa - wrote more than I thought, sorry for the long post

Actually, this is right up there for me too. Switch was a great innovation, but I am a bit concerned they're gonna go full hog like Wii/DS and force some gimmicky controls on us. Sure they were interesting, but a lot of the time I don't actually want a workout or have to contort my hands and fingers just to play the new Zelda.

Even if they went back to what they had on Wii U. It's free service was way better than what is on Switch now under a paid model. The paid model should have been better (I'm talking functionality, not the retro library)

I think the biggest concern on anyone’s mind especially mine is will this thing turn out better than the current system or will we have something like the Wii U fiasco where people didn’t really know what it was.

If they want us to pay for NSO, at least make the service work and bring in features we want.

One of the reasons for the Wii U’s failure was the name it got, because the name led to people thinking it was just an add-on to the Wii. By 2013, Nintendo of America eventually had to release a commercial called “Why We Need Wii U” to clear up any confusion and let them know Wii U was a new console, but doesn’t help in the sales area that they called it as an upgrade.

By calling it Switch 2, people will already know this is a next-gen Switch and not a Switch Pro of some sort.

Now let’s see, if the Wii U was instead called Wii 2 and they also focused on marketing the console, would it have done better in sales?

@skywake

Another great post, and I’m assuming you’re referring to the rumoured custom T239 chip? If they are in fact using the T239 then Switch 2 has the potential to to offer a big leap over Switch 1 in just about every facet. Now my concern is….that it is just a rumour in the end. We find out Nintendo has opted to use a different type of Soc altogether, still capable but perhaps lacking in some “oomph” and features the T239 offers. The signs all point that it’s not merely rumour and this could very well be the actual chip they’ve settled on, but damnit it is Nintendo! T239 sounds almost too good to be true but right now it’s making a lot of sense.

Im just as curious about how low Nintendo will underclock the system. It’s definitely going to be low but as you mentioned its for a better overall gaming experience in the end. I’m sure we will start hearing more concrete leaks about dev kits out in the wild. Not too much longer now!

@Rainz
It's using the T239. It's custom silicon which is expensive to design so would only exist if it was intended for use at scale. Also the features it added, improved, tweaked, backported align with a power efficient gaming device. It also architecturally aligns fairly well with the Switch and it has been spotted in shipping manifests alongside other components that aligned with other leaks

If it's using something other than T239 then EVERYTHING we've heard about it is wrong. Probably including any hopes of it releasing next year....

It's T239