Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@MarioLover92
Thanks

I know right now everyone is playing Fire Emblem as that's where the hype is (and rightfully so), but it is of note that Persona 4 Golden is now out on Switch.

This is one of the best JRPGs of all time. And only $20. Just... don't neglect it. Can go ahead and skip Persona 3 though. It's too dated and word is there's a remake coming anyways.

What's the source on this? I had assumed the re-release of P3P after all this time would mean no remake or "definitive edition" for the foreseeable future.

As much as I'd love to play P3 or P4 right now... I'm two palaces in to P5R. I wish they had sieved these games out a bit more!

@Buizel It's coming from a respected Resetera user, they say both Persona 3 remake and Persona 6 are nearly done with an announcement due this year.

I'm playing Persona 3 at the moment, I've had it on my to play list for years so regardless of a remake coming this was a good opportunity to finally play it.

@JaxonH no, i still trying find to final 4 figure box in Bayonetta 3 and beat Rodin(he is hard as hell)

I think the ship has sailed on a definitive edition of P3. At least any time soon.

@Buizel It's OK. P5R is a dramatically better game than what came before it anyway.

@Ralizah @jump Personally, I've played both P4 and P5 before (finished once and twice, respectively) - I even consider the latter to be my favourite non-Nintendo game of all time. I've got maybe 5-10 hours into P3FES before and...it's okay? But if a remake were to come I'd probably sooner replay P5 (as I am doing) and even P4 for now before touching P3P, and just wait it out.

P3 is a bit of a cult classic (which some, perhaps niche, online spaces heralding it as better than even P4), but as someone who came a bit late to the Persona party I've struggled to get into it. The gameplay just feels so outdated to even P4, let alone P5. If I were to play it would be almost entirely for the characters and story events. It's just a shame that they missed the opportunity to at least give us a definitive edition that unifies the benefits of both FES and Portable.

A remake could go a long way for me though. Revamp the battle system and social links (having the latter use the Persona 5 confidant model of all social links providing new unique features and bonuses to the game mechanics) and we're golden (no, not Golden). I'm even willing to look past the repetitive design of Tartarus if these things are vastly improved.

So, I think we can safely assume Switch 2 is releasing March 2025.

With recent reports Nintendo plans to increase sales projections for FY7 (they're hitting 21 million for FY6 which ends March 2023), there's no way a Switch 2 is releasing in March 2024, as that would likely involve a fall teaser announcement, and there's no way they can hit 21+ million units if they sabotage the Switch with an announcement for a successor before the holidays.

This means fall 2024 would be the absolute soonest, and I don't believe they will release during the holidays. The Switch launched in March, as did 3DS, and that's worked well for them. So March 2025 is where the chips seem to be falling.

Obviously this is speculation, but it is evidence based reasoning. So if anyone was "holding off" or anything like that, I think you're safe. Though it is possible we could see one final revision in fall 2023 to push sales those final 2 years, it's hard to say what form that will take. With Switch Lite sales having dropped off, I expect a Lite OLED. But that's just my prediction.

Also, Persona 4 Golden SwitchUp Review

@JaxonH Lol, this is another one of those times the internet insisted on reading between the lines at Nintendo, when they stated they see an unusual lifespan of 10 years. If you ignore all the rumour mongering, they are surprisingly transparent. The Switch has brought romanticism back to the hobby and that is a very powerful thing.

could Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom have the darkest/mature plot of the franchise?(i higly doubt that)

@JaxonH if Nintendo bring all it big games to Switch right now, it could heavily impact the launch of it sucessor, they cant release all it big games on Switch, they need to save some like a 2D/3D Mario for it sucessor or we gonna have another Wii U situation, with huge gaps between releases(surely Nintendo want to avoid this, they want the Switch sucessor to have a similar or a higher sucess then Switch, since sadly all Nintendo sucessor sadly underfemed(Game Cube, Wii U, N64.

@JaxonH @GrailUK Yeah I did used to think 2024 would be the year the successor launches but if Nintendo are able to up the number of systems they produce (and actually manage to sell them. That’s gonna depend what holiday games they have other than DLC) then I do think 2025 maybe when it doe’s finally happen. The final year, which would be 2024 for the Switch, is usually quiet first party wise in terms of heavy hitters because they’re gonna be focusing on a strong year 1 lineup for the next system.

The biggest problem will be keeping third party support coming in the meantime, especially as the hardware is so old compared to what the competitors have. And that statistic of only 18% actively developing anything for the Switch seems concerning.

@FragRed First party games, indies and 'proven third party games' seem to be serving them well. Sure the odd miracle port doesn't hurt either.

I would have thought their biggest problem is remaining as prolific. Especially with any move to next gen what with development time increasing.

I think we’ll see something like:

• New Switch revision in 2023 announced a few months before its launch like the other revisions (either launching with TotK or a new Mario game)
• Announcement of some sorts for Switch 2 in April/May 2025
• Proper reveal at E3 2025 (if E3 still exists by then)
• Release in Holiday 2025

Releasing March 2025 would harm Holiday 2024 Switch sales which seems a bit foolish unless Switch momentum has plummeted which doesn’t seem to be the case given how Switch production is increasing.

@Grumblevolcano Ow, you still reckon we will see a new Switch this year?

@GrailUK A revision, yes but not sure what it would be. Digital Foundry seems to have debunked the more powerful Switch revision theories in the sense that it did exist but got cancelled but I’m not sure something like a Switch Lite OLED would result in that much more production.

@Grumblevolcano Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn't down for a Zelda edition Switch

@Grumblevolcano the only revision i could imagine Nintendo could do is Switch Lite OLED, also a price cut help Switch keep selling well

@GrailUK
That's true. Nintendo flat out stated they wanted a longer generation. I guess the question was, how does Nintendo define that timespan?

But ya, most Nintendo consoles are dead by the time they're going into their 7th year. So it made sense to usher in new hardware after 5-6 years. But when your console is still selling 21 million units in its 6th year and projections are to sell even more in the 7th year... like... it's a business. Of course they're gonna keep selling a console that's doing numbers like that.

I think we all kind of expected Switch to start slowing down by now, and even late into last fall there were a lot of reports of Switch sales slowing down and momentum waning, thus arguments supporting the viability of new hardware sooner than later. But it seems those reports were inaccurate. It wasn't declining demand, it was the chip shortage. Now that supply constraints are rectified, they're pressing full throttle again.

I think it's time we all just accept 2025 is the year, forget about it for now, and enjoy this golden era of gaming we're in. After all, Switch is in the pinnacle of its lifespan and the games releasing are rapid fire knockouts, one after another.

Dokapon Kingdom Connect according to play-asia.