Topic: Would you buy a Switch Micro?

Hey all. Switch 2 rumors are amping up again, the latest being it will be a fair amount bigger than the OG. That seems to be the trend with stuff like Steam Deck, Legion Go, and whatever else, and I'm kind of against it. Switch to me was already pushing size limits for a "handheld" console, and I'm hoping they don't go any larger.

This got me thinking, Nintendo has on occasion made some hilariously small revisions at the tail end of a console's lifespan, like the Wii Mini and GBA Micro. How likely is this for Switch? There is precedent, but there have been no rumors or leaks to suggest the idea is even on the table.

Which is a bummer, because a clamshell, DS sized Switch would be the best handheld ever.

Honestly idk if they would go smaller than the switch lite.

Yeah, most games aren’t quite optimized for smaller screens nowadays. Even on the Lite, some games have text and icons that can be hard to see.

The Lite is the smallest that the Switch can get without feeling hard to play.

I think you could just about squeeze a Lite-sized screen into the form factor of the 3DS XL by having really small bezels.

Oh, and make it dockable. If Nintendo want to squeeze the max out of Switch sales, the final cost-reduced model ought to be capable of hybrid use even if it's lacking the niceties of detachable Joy-Cons and HD rumble.

I have switch 5 years, I have never used it in handheld mode. The games that play in handheld mode dont really work great on the size of the screen. So I dont think I'd really like a switch mini. Except to collect maybe😁

@Matt_Barber This is about what I had in mind. Top flap almost entirely screen, bottom flap contols and speakers. It could work, and would actually fit in your pocket.

The lite is too small for me and I always hated the size of the 3DS so anything smaller than the Switch/OLED I am not buying. My vision is bad enough as is. Not making it worse.

I’m hoping for a screenless version. Having a screen is wasted on me. Other than trying it out I have never used it in handheld mode and never will.

I'm a hori split pad pro user, and those feel just right size-wise, so a micro probably wouldn't appeal to me.

Yeah, I think this is the problem with ever trying to go back to the days of 3DS size screens. Keeping text and UI features visible means extra work for porting devs. Inevitably third party support would decline unless the market proved the thirst for smaller screens was big enough, which I don't think it would nowadays, as much as I personally like the N3DS form factor.

@gcunit But since the Switch just has one screen, they could dedicate the whole top flap to it. The bottom flap would be controls and speakers.

@judaspete not sure if it’s just me, but unless there’s a full on keyboard down there, clamshell consoles with one single widescreen look very ugly.

Like that one that was a very obvious 2DS XL look-alike with a single screen and empty sadness on the lower panel.

It would also involve recessed analog sticks or flat circle pads, and we all know those leave marks on the top screen (which would be more noticeable on a wider screen!).

You could have a look at the Retroid Pocket Flip for a rough idea of how it might work. That's got semi-recessed sliders for its analogue sticks and makes good use of the space on the lower panel for a more ergonomic layout.

Sadly, it has a lot of issues, most notably a hinge that's prone to snapping if you open it from anything other than dead centre, so I wouldn't recommend one. Still, I think that they got the layout right, if nothing else.

Sticking a full keyboard on there is also possible, as in the GPD Win Mini, but I can't think of a lot of Switch games that would use it, especially when you've already got a touch screen.

The touch screen would be another point against the clamshell design, since it would have to be on the top section.

Not only would that make it awkward to use, extended use of it would also put extra strain on the hinge.

I'm all for tiny consoles so I'd be all in. Or at least I would be if I hadn't picked up a Switch OLED last month. If they release one and it was cheap enough? Then sure.

Even if some games don't scale down that well there is NSO which, frankly, would be enough to justify it. Also while some titles don't scale there are still games like Pocket Rumble, Gato Roboto etc that are basically portable games already. Also stuff like Mario Kart, Link's Awakening HD, Super Mario RPG HD, New SMB would be fine. Not everything is BotW

And for text scale. If they were to do this there's nothing to say it wouldn't identify itself as different hardware. You could patch existing titles to display text differently when they encounter this hardware. Wouldn't be perfect, I doubt most would bother to go back, but it's an option

Nah, I don't want a repeat of the Gameboy Micro or anything. The Switch Lite exists for that reason alone.
Can't say much for the Wii Mini...since I've passed on wanting one. Same for the Gameboy Micro.

About the Wii mini, it was mini in name only. The thing itself wasn’t that much smaller compared to a regular Wii.

The GB Micro was a bit of a speciality though: it wasn’t simply a striped down, smaller version… It was actually somewhat of a premium/fashionable addition to the GBA lineup.

Sure, it's a bad arrangement for games that are played entirely on the touch screen, but most Switch games aren't like that. You're most likely to need it for typing in some text or pointing at things, which you can do with one hand while holding the base with the other.

I've used my GPD Win like that for seven years without having any issues with the hinge. (Wish I could say the same about the batteries and the heat sink.) I suppose Nintendo always have to factor in a lot more rough and tumble though, given that they'll often end up in the hands of young children.

There are some games that are already hard enough to see on there. I really do appreciate games like Fire Emblem Engage, in which the text is really easy to see.