Topic: Switch Pro Upgrade Disappointment

I’ve had a Switch since it’s release and I’ve got to say it’s a fantastic console.

There are, of course, some downsides… The screen is a bit small, no bluetooth, drift issues etc… but they are pretty much outweighed by the positives.

I must say that the upgrade that was announced a few weeks ago is extremely disappointing. It’s far too minimal to justify the expense. Yes the screen is better but my time is generally spent using the Switch docked anyway.

So… what to do… well, the incoming Steam Deck seems like the ideal replacement. I have a fairly extensive steam collection anyway, so the only games missing will be Nintendo exclusives… which can be played on my old NS… for now.

I can’t believe the missed opportunity, again, from Nintendo. Apple replace products yearly (ish) and they are a moderately (😜) successful hardware company because of it. Developers (if you believe the reports) complain about the power the Switch has, and the amount of effort needed to make their games playable on the console. Then we have the differences in graphics, because of the lack of power. Even Nintendo’s own, polished, games suffer from Frame Rate dips…

It is so disappointing that Nintendo shy away from listening to consumer needs/wants with their own blinkered viewpoint. Maybe it’s just me… maybe I want a catch all entertainment system that delivers everything I want… maybe I’ve just got too used to Apple methods…

The next Switch iteration will arrive in three or four years.

Just be patient.

Personally I don't really need a Switch Pro to come out. I've been happy with my Switch since I got it in 2017, plus those Switch Pro rumors have been going around for a few years now (those rumors annoy me, to be honest) so I was not expecting Nintendo to make it. I'm not super into the Switch OLED either, but I'm fine with it coming out. Also, what if that becomes just like the New 3DS and has a few games that are only playable on the Switch Pro? I don't think that will sit well with some people. I'm not against the idea of a Switch Pro, but I would want a Switch successor more, probably in like a few years. Preferably if it's backwards compatible with our current Switch games.

Hopefully not a Switch nexGen sooner is better then later. OLED is using yesterday tech of v2 and nothing in gain or performance will be had unless neXtGen Switch comes out. That's way too long considering chipsets have changed and they are putting OLED on v2 chipset to move products out. And that means a New Switch is coming already.

@revowp Missed opportunity? Switch is their most successful console to date. Valve are capitalising on it. I'm sure it will do well, but I think you are doing Nintendo a diservice. They are raking it in lol.

Anyhoo, I'm sure Steam Deck will have it's fans. It's worth bearing in mind that out of all the games on Steam (all of them), not a single one of them were designed or developed to work on a 7" screen. Granted, there are exceptions, but most are developed with that in mind on Switch. Nintendo aren't out of the console making business lol. But their next console might not even be a Switch (maybe just incorporate it.) Afterall, a Switch Pro that everyone so desperately wants is forcing Nintendo to compete with specs and I'm not convinced they can. You bought a Switch for the concept. I'm sure we will all be buying their next console for the same reason...not because of specs.

Oh, does the Steam Deck actually 'switch'?

I'm good with my old switch, tbh I'm kind a glad I don't need to be forced to jump on a pre-order for yet another console, I'm good like this, all though my switch like is going to have to get replaced one day, I mean those joy cons are not going to last.

I'm glad they aren't wasting everyone's money with a pointless upgrade when the switch successor is likely right around the corner. If they had and there were exclusive games I would have been disgusted.

Switch is fine the way it is. If power and graphics is what you're all about either go for a PS5 or wait for Nintendo's next gen system. It's coming sooner rather than later.

From what I can tell when they are fancing up a v2 with OLED means they are trying to move out older hardware for the new hardware that is coming. Just like Auto they sell off 2020 and are bringing in 2021 right behind the older model exit. They aren't that slow to notice that the sooner the better for their profits and bottom line. And people talking how this will break the lineup is just fooling themselves. Nintendo is in the Business of Making Money$$$ while providing us sheeps something to play-then surprises us with hey look at neXtGen Switch is here now. That's what I expect to happen they will worry less about splitting but then again they are in the Business of making and selling Switches and Nintendo games not our best buddies. And the OLED with just transition to the 4k(Docked) model as something is coming around the corner. Yeah sounds prediction but this is Nintendo. I rather a 4K sooner then later and with the larger Storage Ram for saved/data as my collection of games is 300+ and the more room the better as my 1tb might not hold them either. Might have to get another 1tb when sales happens again unless we get the 2tb.

I find it weird how people who take any chance they can to say that "companies aren't people" or "X company isn't your friend" (both are true, but that's beside the point) often refer to said company with a level of resentment similar to a bad break-up - in other words, still sort of treating the company as a person and a former friend.

@BrazillianCara I think that it's that they only came to such a realization after having previously been sucked in to believing that they had a personal relationship with said company, and - even now that they've been able to rationalize it somewhat - that disappointment still stings.

Plus, let's face it, Nintendo don't exactly market themselves as a mere supplier of products.

So far as the Switch Pro goes, I'd think that anyone with more than a passing interest in the underlying technologies would have known that anything more than shoring up the performance of existing games at 720p/1080p would have been unlikely, as the hardware that can offer more significant improvements is currently expensive, cutting edge and power hungry. As such, the possibility that Nintendo might pass up the opportunity of doing something like that with the - widely and correctly predicted - hardware refresh was always something that ought to have been entertained.

How can you be disappointed when they haven't even announced a Switch Pro.

I’m disappointed because they aren’t moving with the times… Switch Pro was never advertised but the Switch is four years old now… at least. It’s old, old technology. Look at PC’s, if you want AAA then you need to upgrade at least every 2 years. Most people can’t afford that commitment so just turn down the settings until they are forced to upgrade.

It’s a shocking piece of capitalism that works for certain companies. Rightly or wrongly depending on your point of view.

I really do love the idea of the Switch though… Tate Mode with a Flip Grip is awesome for arcade games. It’s something that ‘just’ works because of the design.

But it needs a ‘constant’ upgrade. Gone are the days when a console cycle was 7-8 years. It’s too long. Whoever changed this, whether it was Apple, Samsung, Sony or Microsoft is immaterial… it’s the way of the world now. Hardware needs updating… surely the intermediate consoles of PS4 Pro and XBox 1X prove that…

Nintendo have, indeed, found a winner in the Switch, but if the Wii—>Wii U transition is any indication of future progress then I fear for that (their) future.

@grailUK Oh, does the Steam Deck actually 'switch'?… Yes it does. It has a dock just like the Switch. Disappointingly though you can’t remove the Controllers or use the console, properly, in Tate Mode… looks like I’ll be searching for the perfect console for a while then…

The Steam Deck is being sold at an absolute loss for Steam right now, since the tech is expensive, and you can’t even buy a normal gaming pc for that amount, without things like ray tracing.

I’m glad Nintendo isn’t making a switch pro, since that means that people won’t be forced to upgrade to play things like BOTW 2 like it’s meant to be played, and not at a choppy 10 fps, as it was made for the pro in mind.

@GrailUK
a theoretical upgraded switch doesnt need to be cutting edge tech to be a significant upgrade, for example if it could run something like hyrule warriors AOC at a stable 30fps that would be a big improvement.

people loving the concept is a big reason why people are hoping for an upgrade since as you mentioned, the next system may not even be a switch, heck it may not even be a hybrid or even BC with the current games, which i imagine is why you see people using the term "pro" rather than whatever follows the switch.

im definitely hoping the switch concept carries over to future nintendo systems though, since its the one which allows the most options in how someone plays the game rather than the much more restrictive concepts of the wii and wiiu, and is the first time a nintendo handheld has been playable on the tv in over a decade.

@VoidofLight The idea that games become unplayable because of a hardware refresh are pretty much gone, unless that company chooses to.

All the big players allow backward compatibility in some form or other, but the latest games are also available too… granted only upto a certain point in time… my iPad still plays the latest games despite being 6 years old, they just play better on a newer model, which has at least a yearly update.

I really don’t want a major update of the hardware, just something that keeps the console current. The OLED model just seems so lazy… essentially it’s the same machine with a few ‘cosmetic’ updates…

I take the point that developers may not optimise their game for the lower spec model properly but we have that now anyway. Even some of Nintendo’s own games have problems with frame rate dips. It just gives more options.

Anyway, the search continues… perhaps I’ll build my own from a Pii kit and emulate 😎

@Mgalens Spot on. Onwards and upwards… The Switch could be Nintendo’s iPad… Bi-annual updates, add missing features, charge more money, make people happy… keep selling the over-priced games.

It’s a very successful console, but in technology terms… things need to keep moving forward.

as mentioned in a comment im hoping the next nintendo system is more a DS>3DS jump than a wii>wiiu jump, refining on the ideas the switch brought to the table.

i generally feel like some of my favorite things from nintendo are from when they try an idea again and refine it such as the aforementioned 3ds and Mario Galaxy 2 (and why i am interested in what botw2 does)

As long as huge exclusive games, such as Shin Megami Tensei V, Pokémon Legends, Bayonetta 3, Metroid Prime 4, and Breath of the Wild 2, are still in development for Switch, there is just no reason to think about, or to announce/release a new console. Wait until all those big hitters are out, then we can talk again.

I like the fifth year of a console the most. It means Nintendo has all their usual suspects and sequels out and releases something new, often new innovative IPs or sequels to IPs that rarely get touched, and only sell well enough with a broader audience.

In its fifth year...
on N64 we got Conker's Bad Fur Day, Sin and Punishment, Excitebike 64.
on Gamecube we got Geist, Chibi-Robo, Battalion Wars.
on Wii we got The Last Story, Xenoblade Chronicles, Pandora's Tower, Skyward Sword.
on Wii U we unfortunately got nothing (except Breath of the Wild) because it wasn't popular enough..

You want a new console just as we enter the most exciting fifth year? Then you'll be missing out on some of the best and most innovative games. It would be reasonable to cut it off if it sold 13M units like the Wii U but it would crazy for a potential 100M console.

Every console should at least have a lifespan of 5 years. That's just what I expect when buying a new Nintendo console at launch. Wii U barely managed that, the other Nintendo consoles did just fine. And Switch obviously does great with no end in sight.

With this 5-year-cycle in mind I don't want to hear about a new Nintendo console until at least March 2022.

@Mgalens Oh, I hope they make another one, but I won't be one of thise folk wondering what on Earth Nintendo are playing at if they don't.

@revowp Thing is, gens won’t just go away, and while the mobile system of yearly upgrades work for mobile, it doesn’t work for game consoles. Backwards compatibility will be a thing, but that’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried about not being able to play a specific game the way it’s advertised, due to being built for a better refresh in mind.

The reason console generations will never truly be gone is because if a company makes a game that’s on both systems, then they’d be stuck to the limits of both systems, never being able to take advantage of the new generation’s tech. This is why people get mad due to the ps5 barely having any exclusives, and having to share it’s game with the 4.

It’s amazing how everyone’s declaring console generations as “dead” because Microsoft said they were, when Sony and Nintendo still pretty much believe in them. The only reason Sony is releasing games on both Ps4 and Ps5 is because the low supply of ps5’s.