Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

If Sony and MS can get away with the "same console, just more powerful" for the last 20+ years, so can Nintendo.

The only reason it didn't work for them before is they had too many mishaps and their systems weren't appealing at large

They've finally found a format everyone loves. They've found their place in the market. At this point all that experimentation and throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks should be a thing of the past. It was exciting for us loyalists but at the price of not really getting a fantastic system that often. Now that they've nailed the system, all they need to do is follow the blueprint every other console maker does.

Some ppl won't be into the whole, "just more power" thing, but most ppl will be. It's what everyone wants. How many articles and reddit posts have you seen over the last 6 years hoping for some new radical concept? Now. How many have you seen hoping for a more powerful Switch?

I rest my case

@JaxonH They have to be careful. They have built up their business on their own terms and not letting the tail (third parties) wag the dog. If they do create a more powerful Switch, it needs to be on their terms, because they have new game ideas for it...not for third parties' sake.

wooo, Sifu is gonna be good y'all. Very meaty combat.

@JaxonH Iteration will do wonders to an extent I think. Nintendo has to find that line where iteration doesn't promote confusion (WiiU) but still has innovation (Gamepad, HD rumble, Touch screens) as Nintendo will most likely not make a box that matches Sony and MS, so they can't lean on parity. Not saying that they can't do it. The top two selling consoles of all time are Nintendo handhelds for a reason, but it is a fine line they have to walk. They have to keep customer engagement and momentum as well as court devs many of which still either put Nintendo as secondary or snub. I'm not sure what that magical formula is though.

You can count on me for some upcoming Switch games information I got from play-asia.

@Anti-Matter I'll count on you then.

Some upcoming Switch games according to play-asia.

@GrailUK
I think they can walk the line @Ryu_Niiyama mentioned by appeasing both. Nintendo can do great on their own, but with 3rd parties they're an unstoppable beast.

All 3rd parties want is enough power to run their games properly.

All Nintendo needs to do is make a new system that players are excited for, and for which 3rd parties can easily port their games. Doesn't need to be a portable PS5 at $750, it just needs to be a portable PS4 at $399, with a Switch 2 Lite to follow a couple yrs later at $299 (rising costs and inflation, as well as competing systems at $550, will justify the somewhat higher price)

We've already got info about the new Switch chip. They're sticking with the hybrid format (as they should).

@Anti-Matter Oh, any info on that 'Think' game? I recently played a table top game called Zendo (I think) where you have to build structures according to a certain rule and players take turns to build something and guess the rule. Very clever game.

@GrailUK
Zendo ?
I found this board game called Zendo from Google image.

@Rambler I'm nervous that I won't be able to answer that in a succinct manner so let me think on my answer.

@JaxonH When did we get chip info? Are these Switch pro rumors or a leak?

@Anti-Matter Yes, that's it! Was pretty cool.

@Ryu_Niiyama
The Nvidia leaker kopite was the source, and they're never wrong. They've basically got a 100% track record in the Nvidia PC community. When they say something you can take it to the bank. They don't normally deal in Switch leaks but because it's an Nvidia chip they came across info.

Leak was later confirmed by other sources as well.

Tegra 239 Orin chip using ampere architecture, 8 core CPU. Will be downclocked to preserve battery life, obviously. Expect PS4 docked performance, base X1 handheld performance. Has potential to use DLSS though its yet unknown whether it will.

https://wccftech.com/nintendo-switch-pro-successor-rumored-nv...

@kaisu
Nobody's talking about copying MS/Sony with a power console. We're simply talking about Switch 2 being more powerful than Switch. Which obviously needs to happen, and will happen.

@Rambler you are correct PS3 was a hardware extremely hard to program/develop, only on the late lifecycle of the console, Sony own subsidiaries and third party has started figer out how to make games on the console and @JaxonH for the Switch sucessor, Nintendo need to find the right balance between a powerful hybrid afordable console, maybe the Switch sucessor will have similar techinal/graphical power equivalent to a PS4 Pro or a SteamDeck, so the Switch sucessor can easily get ports for games designed for PS4/PS5 or games around this techinal aspect.

@kaisu I suppose the argument could be made that a system lives and dies by its library (not sure how much I agree since two of my favorite systems WiiU and N64 had smaller libraries than most) and that library size/breadth/diversity is dependent on dev and publisher buy in. Nintendo is not going to float the money the way MS (Gamepass) or Sony (exclusive content and timed exclusives) do so all they have is the hardware buy in and ecosystem (their own first party production and the perception of Nintendo as a partner and viable platform) to work with. For better or worse. Nintendo imo takes the long view after their more aggressive approach in the 80's and 90's and the tortoise usually wins, but there are few pink elephants in the room to deal with.

Game consoles function as status/social symbols just as much as entertainment. Consumers (the vocal ones anyway) often want bigger better, cooler...even if those people tend to have a very myopic software attach rate.
Devs want ease of programing and portability and a sure thing for sales (usually) as being on the popular platforms (depending on the genre of course...and dev reputation) can be a instant boost to sales.
Shareholders want profit profit profit. They see people scalping and fighting over 600 dollar fun bricks and they want a piece of that pie.
Manufacturers want homogeneous products (or at least the parts list) for ease of manufacturing while maximizing profit.
Games are considered a luxury item so very little consideration is given to people that fall outside of the market demographics (I mean they will take your money but they aren't usually making systems with those people in mind).
Marketing bias. Companies spend a fortune telling you what you should want to buy and why. So some of that is just internalizing that mantra.

Throw all that in a pot and you get people applying the same standards to every system.

All that said. Nintendo since the 80's has always had a gaming is for everyone approach. If Nintendo could have come up with a mobile phone when the iron was hot they would have done that because similar to MS they want their product everywhere (difference is for MS the ecosystem/windows/xbox os is the product). Sony feels like the only one that doesn't currently have the blue ocean hook (they count on brand loyalty for that now that the dvd player (Ps2) and blu ray (Ps3) have done their jobs) because they have mindshare saturation. People seem to buy PS the way they used to buy Nintendo in the 80's as in the brand is synonymous with gaming (with variations by region).

@JaxonH You know me, I am a skeptic until Nintendo makes an announcement but I may toss an extra few hundo onto my TotK OLED hope fund. As long as the system is BC I'm happy.

Granted, I have no solid idea of Switch customer base demographics, but my suspicion is that the crowd that is asking for more power on Reddit etc. is not the sector of the market that turns Nintendo hardware into a runaway success. Some of those people have been griping about Switch's lack of power since Breath of The Wild and probably spend more time riding the PS/XB/PC train than they do with their Switch (if they even own one).

How do you price a new Switch model without the previous one getting discounted? It would have to be more expensive. But if it's a new console, that 279 quid price point was sweet. Do they discount the Switch whlst it's still selling 20 million units a year? Do they make the new Switch more expensive and prohibit the same sales growth? Do they release a pro model that might be more acceptable to be more expensive. Gah, so glad I'm not in that job!

@gcunit
Its not just about them, it's the overwhelming hunger for a more powerful Switch. We've seen more anticipation for it than we ever saw for a new PS, new Xbox, or even other Nintendo system.

Ppl love the hybrid concept, and are super hungry for the next gen Switch. "The masses" may not be writing reddit posts, but the enthusiasts sure as heck are. More than we've ever seen for any other system. The hunger is real.

The masses will follow because that's where the games will be. Ppl go where the games are. Switch is popular because it has tons of great games that are hybrid. New system is also hybrid, and when the games come ppl will want one.

Unlike Wii, Switch has a very engaged user base. People who habitually buy and play games. Those ppl care about good games on a hybrid system. New Switch releases with more games, new games, games Switch isn't getting/can't run, those ppl will buy one.

It's not some elaborate conspiracy or anything. Switch is super popular, and ppl are extremely excited for the next one. The boom/bust cycle is over for Nintendo. From this generation forward, expect consistency of success like we see with PS/Xbox.

@Ryu_Niiyama
It's always good to be prepared

There's a significant chance we're not getting a new system next year, due to Switch momentum still exceeding 20m/yr. It's possible we just get a Zelda OLED. If we don't get Switch 2, we'll at least get one last revision. Maybe a Lite OLED, or maybe a $149 TV only version. And if that's the case... cool. We buckle up and ride out the last 2 yrs.

But if we do get a new Switch, it would be good to have some dry powder on deck, just in case. I'll be setting aside a bit from tax returns. And if it's not needed, no harm done.

@kaisu no, this clamoring for a more powerful hardware has intensify, since the release of Xbox Series X-S e PS5, we dont know how Nintendo is gonna respond to this situation, the longer they take to release the Switch sucessor, the harder it will be for ports to come to Switch, since in the most time most games will be designed around next-gen hardware, making it harder to port to Switch( unless demading huge optamization on the console, a risk, few companies is wiling to take) and @GrailUK, maybe lower the price of the others Switch models to $50 they are prevoisly priced.

@Giancarlothomaz Hurts my brain lol. Price cutting is usually to maintain sales ande certainly not something they do for no reason.. So if they want to maintain 25 million units a year...then why release a new console? Honestly, it doesn't make sense (to me anyhoo.)