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

@Grumblevolcano

Indeed Sony does have a number of dormant IP, I think for them they are looking for gaming franchises they can convert into film or animation. It’s why they purchased Crunchy Roll and are in talks with Kadokawa. It’s a balancing act for them, very much risk vs reward. The major difference is the number of evergreen IPs Nintendo has at its disposal, not to mention family friendly appeal. These are already proven system sellers that sell through the entire console generation. Sony neglected many of its IP over the years so it will cost $ to reboot them and with recent market failures such as Concord they may be looking to avoid risks of new or unproven IP moving fwd.

I was thinking it’d be cool if Switch 2 could automatically render and upscale Switch 1 games but that would in some ways take the magic out of their remake ability

@VoidofLight

This is such a valid concern, you have to wonder just how backwards compatible the system will be. You would hope most games designed for Switch 2 games are too powerful to be played on Switch OG. This is Nintendo afterall! They won’t been keen on alienating its install base between Switch 1 and 2. I don’t see the point in making Switch 2 games that are handcuffed to an 8 yr old system with a decade old tech , just release those on the Switch 1.

Bit of a slippery slope with this upcoming launch. You want to highlight the uniqueness , newness of the device without crushing the current appeal of its predecessor which u still plan to support. I’m hoping they’ve sorted it out as they’ve had plenty of time to plan in between counting Switch profits.

@Rainz I’m just worried that it’ll end up being a ps5 situation where all the games are made for the old console first and then brought to the new console- effectively holding those games back immensely.

My biggest concern is that they release a bigger (screen) console and don't bring out a smaller (screen) console (the same size of the current OG Switch).

Bigger is nice and all, but it can also make it more difficult to lug a console around with you.

It would be nice to have an option of whether you want a bigger screen or smaller screen.

I'm concerned that this is going to be a Wii U-lite scenario, that the system is going to be too similar to the original and that casual gamers are not going to be able to tell that it's a new generation. Although unlike the Wii U, this generation may pan out to be too similar because it's looking like nothing more than "more power".

@Bolt_Strike
I would argue that one of the most compelling selling points of the Wii U was the significant jump in power over the Wii. The problem was that they used New SMB and Nintendo Land to sell it, neither really showed what it could do. And worse they released it at a time when PS3/360 were kicking goals and PS4/XBOne were just around the corner

I think this time around the jump in power will again be the main selling point. Whether people here like it or not. And I would agree we are repeating some of the patterns of the Wii U here (significant jump in power to follow an ageing but hugely successful platform). The main difference is that the Switch brand is stronger than the Wii brand was. But also of note XBox is basically dead and PlayStation is increasingly seen as too expensive. I hope the other difference is that they have the software early on to sell the leap in performance

I mean most of the Wii U titles didn't really do too much different from their Wii/3DS counterparts and they tried marketing Tropical Freeze's graphical upgrades with the "look at all of the individual hairs on DK" and it got made fun of and memed, so I don't think it's just NSMB and Nintendo Land failing to show off what the Wii U could do. That was a problem with the Wii U lineup as a whole.

I mean the Wii U's patterns are not something you want to be repeating.

Doesn't really mean much if they can't see a tangible reason to upgrade.

Xbox and Playstation are declining, but PC and mobile are growing. There's a clear trend of gamers shifting towards playing on generalized hardware that can do more than just play video games, and that's not a favorable trend for Nintendo. They're not going to be able to win the power game against PC, so it'll inevitably have better third party support, so most likely the only people buying a Switch 2 are Nintendo fans that want its first party games. And typically when first party games are the only real selling point for a Nintendo console, they don't sell well (see: N64, GC, Wii U).

A massive reason why the Wii U didn't do well was because it struggled differentiating itself from the Wii. Partially because of it not having games that took advantage of the system's power at launch- but also because the marketing wasn't great and caused many people to think that the console was just a normal Wii with a tablet. It didn't help matters that Nintendo kept marketing it to children exclusively, showcasing that it was a children's toy, rather than something everyone of all ages could enjoy.

If the Switch 2's main thing is only being more powerful, then the whole reception of the console will end up depending on three things:

1. Good marketing that explains why this console is it's own thing and not just another Switch (which will be harder without a gimmick, but given that Sony and Microsoft never use gimmicks to market their consoles and only use power, I feel like Nintendo could get by).

2. A name that actually makes it clear that this isn't the same console, or an attachment for the current console. Something that makes it more clear-cut that this is a successor. Not something like the Wii U or "New Nintendo 3DS XL," but rather something that could actually change things up. Calling it the Switch 2 might be their strategy- or calling it something entirely separate from a Switch could probably be the strategy they pick.

3. Having games that demonstrate the console's capabilities at launch. Games that are from big ticket franchises that actually showcase why someone would want to buy the console- along with showcasing what the console is actually capable of. It can't be something like a 2D Mario, but rather needs to be something on a much larger scale. The launch year also needs to be more packed full of games if they're wanting to actually get audiences to check the system out.

Then there's a smaller point. System price. Nintendo's consoles are reaching for a family demographic, so they would do well to eat a loss and make their consoles cheaper to buy for those families. There have been cases where systems they've made have been more expensive at launch- and it's never really worked out for them. The 3DS flopped a good bit at launch because of it's price-point (to the point where it had to have a price reduction), and one of the contributing factors to the Wii U's failure had to do with the price point as well. It would be smart for Nintendo to come out of the gate with a lowball for the next system's price, even if they're eating a loss. Something that'll be inevitable anyways in America given the tariffs being placed on internationally produced goods and parts.

@Bolt_Strike
A lot of the failures of the Wii U were due to them dragging out the Wii for too long and attempting to sell hardware where the only selling point was more power with no games to showcase that. Which was especially troublesome when their competitors were getting stuff like The Last of Us, GTA5, Red Dead Redemption

Is Nintendo doing the same now? Well. Maybe. I'd argue that the Switch 2 should be out already and the fact that it isn't has allowed the Switch brand to degrade somewhat. Although certainly not as much as the Wii brand did in the early 2010s. I would also argue that, like the Wii U, we're going to see the Switch 2 launch against fairly established competition and potentially without big titles like GTA6. Although unlike the Wii U I think it's fair to say that Switch 2 will have no competition in terms of value, convenience, performance for a portable device

Which is why I said at the end of the last page that my two concerns are:
1. That they've dragged the Switch brand out for too long and people have already just moved on to other platforms already
2. That the software in the launch window won't capture people's attention and/or won't do a good enough job of showcasing the Switch 2

@skywake That's an interesting take actually, and I'd agree also in being somewhat worried that the Switch 'brand' is a bit dragged out... and people have sought out alternatives.

For the record, I'm a huge fan of Nintendo (since childhood) and to this day remain somewhat of a 'loyalist'. However - even I have succumbed to the lure of a Steamdeck to 'tide me over' until Switch2..... and am genuinely surprised actually in how much I like the deck, and the amazing wealth of advantages it brings to the table.

I guess I really really want Switch2 to 'blow me away' - but fear that it might seem to me almost like a 'watered down' steamdeck? Deck certainly lacks the battery life, UI simplicity and 'plug-and-play' workings of the Switch.... but it brings so much to the table in terms of Power, library, and such a wealth of customisation options (both from an overall interface/UI perspective, and also tweaks per game)

It feels quite antiquated returning to Switch sometimes, and not having the option to fully remap controls per/game.... also looking at the bland UI with no real scope for customising except for night/day themes.

However I do love how simple the Switch is, and you really can't fault that 1st party catalogue of incredible games. I hope Nintendo come out swinging with a great portfolio day1 (1st party and 3rd...) to justify the purchase.

But I guess also the landscape for handheld gaming is far more competitive now. I can only speak for the Deck, which in & of itself is a fine piece of kit, but also there are devices from ROG Ally / Lenovo etc. Whilst I don't believe these would be suitable and/or make a dent in younger/child consumers... for people of my age bracket who have the patience, these are pretty solid alternatives.

I am hoping and wishing for Switch2 to be a success, and honestly expect it would take a lot for me NOT to buy this day1.... but I do have some concerns in that Nintendo have gone so long not having to try particularly hard, that they may rest on their laurels somewhat.

Here's to wishing for a bright Switch2 future though sincerely

My only concerns are linked to the physical media support.

1. I am worried that it will not have accessible physical media to 3rd party publishers. Like a plastic DRM key and nothing more.

2. I am worried that if it has backwards compatibility, it will not include my current physical games.

I know that it will be more powerful than the Switch 1 so it will support lesser versions of current gen games like it did with Hogwarts Legacy. If it comes really close to the power of the Steam Deck, we will be just fine.

I have nothing to fear anymore and it is relieving.

+1

LOL.!

@VoidofLight I feel like Nintendo taking longer than expected to release was probably in part to absolutely make sure they were confident in 1. - 3. As for price point? Much harder to guess; they couldn't fully have predicted things like upcoming tariffs or some of the currency exchange rate fluctuations. 41% of Nintendo's current Switch-related gross profits are hardware according to their recent disclosure; I realize the net profit margin can be much higher for games than hardware, but I suspect Nintendo is wary about actually losing money on hardware.

I feel like at worst a couple special games like ring fit might lose support, but it seems relatively likely that even those few games will still work if you use the Switch 1 joycons with Switch 2.

So this is kinda like PS5 and Xbox Series X compatibility with PS4 and Xbox One games respectively where some games from said platform won’t work on their current gen counterparts?

My only fear is Switch 2 Pro articles in the first year.

My biggest fear is time

Honestly I'm not sure there's much they COULD'VE done to take advantage of the system's power aside from making more exploration heavy 3D adventure games, that's where the real potential for improvement was. That's one area where I think the Wii U massively dropped the ball in terms of lineup, they seemed to mainly be putting all of their eggs in the BotW basket to provide that and it got delayed multiple times until it was cross gen, leaving the segment of the fanbase that grew up with games like Mario 64, Mario Sunshine, Banjo Kazooie, OoT, and Metroid Prime high and dry, there wasn't much on the Wii U that appeals to that demographic. Which probably also fed into the "kiddie" perception too, because Nintendo largely didn't make those kinds of games there were probably people that thought they couldn't and thought that the Wii U was only capable of super simplistic casual party games and linear 2D platformers.

I mean maybe in the past, but Microsoft and Sony are failing to convince gamers that the current gen leap in power is necessary or useful, even graphics buffs are looking at comparison shots and having trouble telling the difference. Pure power is experiencing diminishing returns, it always has been, and we've reached a point where most people can't even tell the difference anymore. So I don't think Nintendo will scrape by as well as you think. The only thing Nintendo has going for them is that they haven't gone for the highest of high end power like Microsoft and Sony, but they've still gone far enough that they might have many of the same problems.

Honestly the U.S.' situation looks so grim and I'm not sure there's much Nintendo can do about it. The U.S. is already facing a cost of living crisis and that's about to get much, much worse with the tariffs. I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. gaming market all but dies in the next few years as many U.S. consumers are priced out of the hobby and the U.S. no longer becomes a major market for the industry.

Ehh, that's not the selling point they were going for. In addition to more power, they also wanted the selling point to be dual screen gaming on console. But they failed to show why that would be useful and all they did was recycle things that they did on DS and 3DS. There was a lot of missed potential in how they used the Gamepad to interact with the TV in ways that the DS and 3DS didn't because of how the Gamepad was detached from the main screen instead of connected to it. Things like screen overlaying or differing orientation, they showed a lot of that in the reveal trailer and there were some intriguing uses there, but the games didn't actually do much with any of that. I feel like if they implemented more of that stuff the Wii U wouldn't have been as big a failure as it was. Maybe not super successful, but definitely not the abject failure it was.

Maybe value at best. Smartphones, particularly the newer phones released in the last few years, are starting to beat the Switch in performance (hell there are even games that run better on those newer phones than a PS4). And convenience, Nintendo really only has an advantage in terms of the convenience of playing games that have a complex control scheme, anything that needs a lot of sticks and buttons (and there's alternatives that are starting to eat into that like the Steam Deck and attachments to mobile devices like the Backbone), in terms of the convenience of having a gaming platform that can play a large lineup of games and do a lot of of other tasks (which is something the market is saying they value), PC and mobile trounce Nintendo. Nintendo isn't really as set in these areas as you think.

It seems like it's more about 3. The rumor is that the Switch 2 was originally supposed to launch by now but was internally delayed because the games weren't ready. In particular, I think the 3D Mario is holding things up the most (it's possible there's multiple, but I'd guess the 3D Mario is the big one dragging things the most) and they really want that game to be available early. The rumor is that the new 3D Mario is open world, and that game stands a strong chance at being a major selling point for the Switch 2. Unfortunately, as we've seen in the past (most notably the two Zelda games) open world games are notorious time sinks and tend to be delayed multiple times, so that's probably why the Switch 2 is stuck in this weird limbo where we know it's coming but they keep repeatedly not announcing it. I'm guessing the launch date has been internally delayed not just in that one instance, but multiple times because that open world 3D Mario keeps needing more and more time.

And the US is one of Nintendo’s biggest markets, so we’re not sure how the higher price for the Switch 2 due to tariffs may affect them

I doubt that we are looking at significantly higher Switch 2 prices because of tariffs. Nintendo already does a lot of their manufacturing in Vietnam, as well as China, as a result of previous trade wars, and they've yet to be mentioned in connection with proposed tariffs. Just ship those units to the US for sale instead of Chinese-made ones, and it's all good.

If the worst came to the worst, and Vietnam attracted heavy tariffs too, they could set up a final production line in the US similar to how Sony have one for the PS5 in Japan; it's basically built out of components that are shipped in as kits and pretty much entirely by robots to keep costs down. Sure, prices would still go up, but not by nearly as much as the tariffs suggest.

The main issue is that it would take months to set up and the US effectively gets locked out of the market in the meantime, unless people are prepared to pay sky-high prices. I suspect that's why Nintendo might want to be waiting until the dust has settled to launch the console.

The possibility that it might all just be hot air from a guy who would say anything to get elected has crossed my mind too. Still, take it seriously but not literally, as the saying goes.