Topic: Why a Joy-Con-less Switch model is a terrible idea

@StuTwo I mostly agree with what you are saying. I believe they could release a cheaper Switch that lacks detachable controls and doesn't come with a dock but retains compatibility with that hardware. You'd still be able to sync up joy cons and play that way, you'd still be able to stick it into a dock and play on TV but you'd be able to cut the price down significantly with a device like this. They'd be able cut the cost of the packed in dock entirely, plus the blue tooth devices and batteries from the joy-cons, because they'd be attached and obviously not need them. They could easily release such a revision like that far cheaper. I'd imagine even as cheap as 200 or 180 dollars.

@TheMisterManGuy How many Switch games require the joy cons? Only an extreme minority. How many Wii games require the Wii-mote? Nearly 100%. The joy-cons are a feature, but hardly integral. The ability to connect to a TV, that is what makes the Switch unique and special. The detachable joy-cons are merely convenient.

The joy cons add a lot to the price of the console. They each have a battery, connection points and blue tooth devices. The Switch with the detachable joy-cons is overall more expensive to manufacture by a significant margin.

We aren't talking about making a blander Switch, we are talking about making a cheaper Switch in this thread and ditching the detachable joy-cons, and packed in dock, but retaining compatibility with those devices is the best way to do that in my mind.

Further, as to your point about the hinges not making the DS line less child friendly... all I can do is laugh when I think about the literal boxes of broken DS-family systems I have seen. It's so common that the modding community has taken them to make retro-fitted GBA systems out of them because they are so plentiful. Kids break things. Even among adults accidents happen.

There's already quite a few games that require the Joy-Con. And even if they don't, they're still primarily designed around them, and those numbers are only going to grow in the future. You can't just simply get rid of them just to save some money, they're integral to the Switch's design in every aspect.

[quoteThe joy cons add a lot to the price of the console. They each have a battery, connection points and blue tooth devices. The Switch with the detachable joy-cons is overall more expensive to manufacture by a significant margin.

[/quote]

So? Technology comes down in price eventually, and the Switch is selling so well at its current price, there's no reason for Nintendo to butcher the concept just to pander to what fake armchair analysists think kids want.

We aren't talking about making a blander Switch, we are talking about making a cheaper Switch in this thread and ditching the detachable joy-cons, and packed in dock, but retaining compatibility with those devices is the best way to do that in my mind.

You're essentially making a blander Switch then. If all you want to do is gut the entire soul of the Switch concept, just to artificially boost sales, especially when it's already a massive hit. You've failed as a business man in my eyes. The Switch is selling because people like it's concept. The like the Joy-Con, they like the ways you can play with it.

Further, as to your point about the hinges not making the DS line less child friendly... all I can do is laugh when I think about the literal boxes of broken DS-family systems I have seen. It's so common that the modding community has taken them to make retro-fitted GBA systems out of them because they are so plentiful. Kids break things. Even among adults accidents happen.

Yes, so there's no real need to make some ultra kid friendly product like the 2DS yet. Kids can be clumsy and reckless, but they're not destructive savages. If Nintendo was able to sell a clamshell GBA SP and DS to kids, I see no reason not to sell a detachable controller Switch to them.

Based on what? Even if a lot of people prefer Switch un-docked, that doesn't mean they play exclusively in handheld mode. There's still tabletop mode that still lets them detach the controllers and play. Besides, Nintendo's actual data shows that most Switch owners use the system in both ways.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNbnzU_U8AAFjH-.jpg:large

So don't try and make crap up about "Nobody uses the Joy-Con if they don't play docked" because that's BS.

@TheMisterManGuy er the figures you’ve quoted show that about 30% play “primarily” (i.e almost exclusively) in handheld (or tabletop but I’d be amazed if that’s a truly significant percentage compared to handheld).

Most players do play both docked and not docked but that’s not my point. If there are 10 million players who rarely play - if ever - play docked then that’s 10 million players who have overpaid for a Switch by up to £100.

@StuTwo That chart was from last year. At this point in the Switch's life, those who only play docked or un-docked are a small minority in the Switch's user-base. The vast majority of people are using the console exactly the way it was intended to be used, and that's ultimately what matters to Nintendo.

I think we all on here will hazard to guess that as well.

Children or not that's a mute point

You don't have to work to have common sense here.

Having too many parts hardware can be a big downside should one product fail to sale. So let's not forget that. What you think isn't what's going to sell.

Another thing we call this is Common sense.

Kids aren't the only one that breaks hardware. Teach them well and they learn alot faster than Adult(Kids).

No it's not where did you ever find that out and if you using a Smartphone analogy that is called FALSE equivalence.

@redd214

My kids are younger than that but I second this. A smaller, more durable Switch with fixed Joy-Con a would mean my boys getting their own Switch’s (and a couple more sales for Nintendo) a lot sooner than if they only offer the current configuration.

Unrelated but I think we’ll see such a thing by the end of 2020 and perhaps even this year.

I also have no idea why anybody would want such a thing to not be released. Don’t want one, don’t buy it. It has the potential to bring more users into the ecosystem which is a good thing.