Topic: Am I the only one worried about post-2020 Nintendo?

@Anti-Matter : If the package includes two discs, then it is likely to include 50GB discs.

@Zuljaras : BD-XL is a separate format that was hardly ever used (and require their own drive/player) which is available in 100GB and 128GB varieties. To the average consumer/gamer, it should not be brought into conversation as its very mention only serves to confuse the average person with the UHD Blu-ray format (which also comes in 100GB capacities).

Blu-ray discs are available in 25GB and 50GB capacities. There are outliers such as mini Blu-rays, BD-XL and the like, but their uptake has been so negligible that they do not warrant mention.

Ultra HD Blu-ray discs come in 50GB, 66GB, and 100GB capacities, and have higher bandwidth than standard Blu-ray discs. I have yet to see a retail release use 50GB UHD discs though, but such discs could be beneficial for a hypothetical game that could be played entirely from the disc where a standard 50GB Blu-ray may not have sufficient bandwidth to afford such an option.

Either way, I can only assume that virtually all disc-based games will require installation on PS5/Xbox even if they could technically be played directly from the disc.

@Silly_G Actually I think I have read that the Xbox One X could read the UHD Blu-ray but they never used them for games. Was is movies or something like that?

@Zuljaras : That's right. The Xbox One X (and above) includes a UHD Blu-ray drive, but this has only been used for movie playback. I assume that the format hasn't been used for games in order to avoid splitting the userbase as those with an original Xbox One wouldn't be able to play them.

@Silly_G Well the Xbox team said that they will make sure the owners of One X would still get games some years after Series X release so I guess they could utilize that drive for the newer releases If I am not mistaken those 100GB discs will be the base standard in the new gen.

@Zuljaras : My guess is that standard Blu-rays will be the standard, but, seeing as both new consoles will be utilising a UHD Blu-ray drive, then will have the option to use UHD discs should the need arise, but I strongly doubt that they will be used unless absolutely necessary. Why use expensive 66GB and 100GB discs when most games will need no more than a 25GB standard Blu-ray? It's mainly the AAA blockbusters that will utilise the higher capacity discs, but it wouldn't surprise me if we see similar situations to what we see on Switch, with publishers opting to use lower-capacity media and imposing mandatory downloads upon the consumer.

Publishers will have five possible formats/capacities to choose from in which they can distribute their games next generation:
BD-25
BD-50
UHD-50
UHD-66
UHD-100

@Zuljaras They said for all XB1 systems, not just XB1X so physical versions of games like Halo Infinite would likely still be using BD-50 discs so they can run on the older XB1 models. Either that or Series X physical games are going the route of Overwatch on Switch which is just a download code in a box.

There is a banner on new Xbox game boxes that says playable on Xbox One / Series X so they are BD because the original Xbox One is not compatible with UHD but Xbox One S and X are. Those will be 25/50 GB. Once cross-gen games are no longer produced, boxes will say playable on Series X and those will be UHD BD, 50/66/100 GB.

EDIT: On topic. Switch was very dated when it was released and I didn't expect it to be so successful but to be honest all Nintendo handhelds have been more successful than Switch: GB, DS, 3DS.

Switch will be even more dated when next generation arrives later this year but Nintendo has three viable options: continue with Switch, make another, more powerful, handheld/hybrid console or become a third party publisher (my preference). Whatever they choose, they'll be successful again. Nobody should worry about Nintendo. They're mainly a software developer and one of the best in the world.

All this talk about more storage and stuff though—that just goes back to why I stopped playing PS4. For some reason all these open world games started feeling like work. And it started feeling like every single new game, aside from the stuff by From Software, was some kind of open world something or other. And the rest were walking simulators that only existed for the wow factor. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t even stomach the Spider Man game for some reason.

A couple of you have called me out on comparing Nintendo to Apple. I meant that comparison with a massive amount of respect. I am a huge Apple lover/user. I think Nintendo and Apple are similar in a lot of ways as far as how stubborn they are about quality and how willing they are to stick with their vision, even if it takes a year or two for the end user to see the benefits. I think this is a big part of what drew me back into the Nintendo ecosystem.

@spiderman0616 That's why I like Nintendo and Microsoft because they usually make more "gamey" games. There are also lots of third-party games that aren't open-world games but it's true that Sony has focused on that with Spiderman and Horizon Zero Dawn.

Nintendo is like Apple too in how they view the relationship between software and hardware....

@rockodoodle And Iwata was an Apple fan and Nintendo first released mobile games on iOS.

@BlueOcean 3DS was not more successful than Switch. The Switch is outselling the combined sales of the 3DS + the Wii U at this point after their respective launches. Gameboy is kinda an odd duck to talk about anyways, considering that consists of both the Gameboy and the Gameboy Color over twice the length of a normal system, and the Color had a huge exclusive library of its own.

And believe it or not, it's actually in-line with the DS's sales so far, but there's no way that'll last. No other system actually accelerated sales for 2 more years this far into its life cycle.

I'm not worried. In fact, I reckon we will be hearing about some games sooner than later. Sure, the pandemic has scuppered some plans, but companies are managing to work around them in a (hopefully temporarily) 'new norm'.

@link3710 Sorry, I mean overall, 3DS sales are 75.3 million. Switch is now 59 million. Probably, Switch will overtake 3DS, I don't know but I agree with you, I don't think that Switch will overtake DS, if that's what you mean. Thanks for the information. What do you mean by "No other system actually accelerated sales for 2 more years this far into its life cycle"? Do you mean that Switch won't keep sales this high?

Yep—I get the same feelings from using my Nintendo stuff as I do with my Apple stuff—I actually look forward to using it. Yes, Nintendo is pretty lacking in the online functionality, but the Switch OS itself is rock solid in my opinion.

I think it's pretty cool how Nintendo and certain developers can get max use out of Nintendo hardware.

I think it has a chance to pass the DS- especially if they drop the price in a year or two on the Lite.

@BlueOcean I meant that the DS, for years 4 and 5 of its life actually continued with massive year over year growth, which is highly unusual. It didn't peak in sales until year 5 or 6 (I forget off the top of my head), and continued selling well for years after that. I don't think the Switch will catch it.

@link3710 Yeah I completely agree with your comments.

@spiderman0616 It's very solid because it's bare-bones 😁.

@rockodoodle Hmm, I'm not sure. It still has to reach 3DS which is 16 million higher.

I think whether Switch passes DS will be dependent on Lockhart. Just looking at the systems, it's obvious PS5, PS5 digital edition and Series X will be more expensive than Switch. Lockhart however could be cheaper if Series X is priced competitively with the PS5 digital edition (not expecting it though). I've said this before but I think the cheapest system will sell the best this holiday.