Official Financial Results Q&A Clarifies Kimishima's "3DS Successor" Comment

Translation: There's still money to be made from the 3ds, so why change that now?

Well whatever happens. I am neither for or against a new handheld.

The Switch is the 3DS successor. Another year and support for it will be mostly gone.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Exactly. Remember "we will run gameboy and DS side by side" hah, sure xD

I just wish Nintendo could give a straight, honest answer for once. Being as vague as they are has never done them any favours.

das war klar... die erforschen immer neue Produkte, egal ob ein frisch auf dem Markt ist.

I hope they never stop making 3DS games, but to be fair I still see the Switch as a hand-held that can plug into your tv. It is not a console at all.

@Mogster why should they? The 3ds still makes them money. No point saying 'saturn is not Sega's future'. Make as much money as possible while you can at the end of the day.

This makes more sense. The media spinned this the wrong way. I know Nintendo needs to keep the marketing campaigns going but maybe they should do it in house

Ninty games on mobile phones will be there new handheld by the time they have saturated it with great games. I expect a mario kart plus loads of there big games on mobile. Who knows what when it comes to ninty

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Exactly, remember the "Third pillar"-thing? Pillar #2 (The Gameboy advance, still my favourite Nintendo handheld console ever) was dropped pretty quickly when the DS took off...

Some of you guys have been singing about the 3ds's death for so long that when it actually does happen you can't really say I told you so. xD After all, we all know that yeah its going to happen eventually as that's the eventual fate of hardware in the gaming world, but will it officially be this year or next?
Anyway, I love my 3ds. If they can squeeze another year or two out of it by all means please do if the games will be worth it. x3

Hm... interesting news.

I'll give it another year, Nintendo. If it still makes you money by then, I respect your statement, Kimishima. However, if the Switch ends up as successful as you want it to be, the 3DS is pretty much done. No question.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE @EverythingAmiibo absolutely. They unified their 2 hardware development teams into 1 for a reason

@Mogster

You know... some times they properly really don't know them selves???

No one can predict the future, and how the console business evolves in two or three years. Nintendo can't do that either, so they can't really promise anything, and only give vague answers about future products.

This is way better, than promise something that they can't keep anyway.

A 3DS successor properly depends on how well the Switch sells. If the Switch is going the same way as the Wii U, then yes... We will definitely see a 3DS successor down the line.

Nintendo has also been vague about the prices for their new online service. Also to much frustration from fans and media. But Nintendo hasn't really decided yet, what the exact price should be. So it's better to be quiet about it, than promise something that they can't deliver later on.

I do not think, that Nintendo was expecting two years ago, that the 3DS will be doing so well here in 2017. They properly thought that all their investment and time would go into Switch development. But the market has responded differently than what they thought, so they will keep supporting the 3DS with great games. It would be stupid not to cash in on it.

Parents considering a gaming device for their kids, in the UK at least, can buy a 2DS for £60-80. It has years of back catalogue games for 3DS and DS available for it. The DS era was jam packed full of kid-friendly software.

If the Switch does well this year and into next, it's not going to change the fact that a 2DS/N3DS is the best option out there for 4-10 year old.

I hope N3DS and 2DS will still be available to buy, hopefully getting cheaper bit by bit, for a good few years yet. New games aren't necessary (though would be nice).

I've got a 2 year old. In 2-3 years time I won't be getting him a Switch (not unless the price has halved and the kit has proved ultra hard-wearing). But I may well be getting him a 2DS.

As they're going back to single screen gaming, perhaps they could make a new Gameboy. I know it sounds rediculous, but... it could be similar to a GBA or Vita in appearance, but would be running the Switch OS so that every Switch game works on it. As much as I love second screen gaming, it would require too much of a work around and create a scenario similar to the one that caused all the software droughts with Wii U/3DS... so a new DS is probably totally out of the question.

Only thing is, is there any point in this at all? ...because it might bite into the Switch's sales as it's essentially the same thing... especially if it could also be plugged into a tele.

Next up, 3DSwitch!

@EverythingAmiibo And they absolutely did, as a platform holder. People think of "support" very narrowly, it seems.

@Moon
I believe somewhere down the line when there are loads of Ninty games on mobile plus no doubt some of there old VC games will bite them in the assessment and switch sales will suffer for this or maybe not who knows

1. ass

@Mogster There's no reason to give straight responses to questions they probably don't know the answer. A 3DS successor likely depends on whether or not the Switch is successful enough to replace both hardwares, but this is the sort of corporate reality that really doesn't benefit from being spilled ahead of time.

I dont mind the 3ds being around for another 2 years and after that a good 'fading' period. And i also think that the 3ds is going to do well on the secondhand market and also with rare games. I have a new 3ds but still got my old one too so who knows.

That's way different than what was reported here or all over Reddit. By some tototutu wearing lie monger. I hate people talking about things when they know nothing! It can spread like wild fire and hurt the general perception of a consumer base.

@Moon SwitchBoy. No TV out, which would seem to imply no fan as according to most reports it only runs in docked mode to do 1080p on the tv, not 720p on the tablet touchscreen. And bolt on the Joycon so kids don't loose them, nobody is going to care about 1 2 Switch in 2 years anyway. So no fan, no dock, no joycon, no Grip, should be able to hit $149 easily, low enough price for kids. Maybe $129.

And if anybody tells you they can't do a Switch without tv out, ask them if they predicted a $100 Wii Mini with no Internet in the machine even though they bundled it with online game MKWii, or a 2DS that played 3D games only in 2D. Nintendo makes gimped stuff, that's what they do.

SwitchBoy may not happen, a Switch without a dock or a grip could be cheap enough at $149 in 2 years, but they need to hit $149 by Holiday 2018 for kids. Any money they loose they can make up in accessories and online subscription fees. Every kid will at least need a screen protector, a case, and maybe extra Joycon for their friends.

The 3DS (or its next iteration) still has its place. If the Switch featured StreetPass, backwards compatibility, and a more portable design I'd consider the possibility of it being a 3DS successor. But both systems have different purposes. It's like expecting the iPad to replace the iPhone on the basis that its a newer concept. Parents won't want to buy a Switch like they would a 3DS for their children.

@setezerocinco Freundlicher tip: kommentare hier sollten immer in English sein. Ich hab's schon verstanden, aber ich glaube nicht alle von uns sprechen Deutsch...

Friendly tip: comments here should be in English. I understood well enough, but I don't think that all of us speak German...

I'm not sure how far they can take gaming with a 3DS successor. If it continues to sell then I expect a 'successor' to be an incremental hardware bump but nothing more than that.
You've got the adult and child areas of gaming. Switch is clearly targeting adult gamers and I expect there to be plenty of Member Berries on Switch 'member F-Zero? Member 1080 Snowboarding?' 'I member!' It'll aim to appease the hardcore as long as they can get that third party support.
The 3DS will be the kid friendly console that will introduce gamers to dumbed down iterations of classic franchises such as Pikmin (see: Pikmin 3DS)

@ThanosReXXX Oh ship! I did comment automatically and did not notice =P

These events are fascinating to me. The original tweet and translation was In it, Nintendo president Kimishima is quoted as saying he considers a 3DS successor because he sees a need and market for it. ... He doesn't give more details, but he seems to actually mean an entirely new machine , not a 3DS update or refresh."

This new translation is not appreciably different in my mind. I do remember the knee-jerk reactions of people jumping to conclusions about the 3DS being shelved soon with some new completely different device that has nothing to do with the Switch. So much needless hand-wringing. Nintendo is always thinking about future game hardware. The hardware teams were combined ages ago and there is no way there won't be fundamental similarities in the architecture of the devices at least. Nothing that was said or translated this way or that suggests that a new more portable version that is 100% compatible with the Switch isn't being made either.

I never quite understood what people were reacting to. Was something said in the article I skimmed over? Some speculation people took as more important than the actual quotes? A bit confusing.

@setezerocinco I figured as much, hence friendly tip and not "hey you, numbskull" (or worse)

Just like Nintendo claimed DS would be its Third Pillar, we have a Second Pillar situation now. The Switch or a "Switch Mini" will eventually replace the 3DS.

Good to know. As I said in the other article: a separate 3DS successor would kill the entire point of the Switch. We want a Switch because 1) it's a home console we can play on the go, 2) it's a handheld we can play at home (unlike a certain, forced home-only use of the GBA, courtesy of the Wii U - yeah, I won't live that one down that easily), and 3) we pay for one console and we get both home games and handheld games (instead of double-dipping for NES+G&W, SNES+GB, N64+GBC, GCN+GBA, Wii+NDS and WiiU+3DS).
So yeah, I'm all for handhelds but the Switch already kind of is a handheld.

@rjejr You like the name SwitchBoy more than me I think, but it sums up the idea nicely.

I will say that you can play 1-2-Switch on a SwitchBoy (and other Joy-Con games), you just need a separate pair of Joy-Cons. Screen will be tiny and it won't be ideal, but that's one reason a Switch will live happily side-by-side with a mini-Switch. Switch Pocket. I like Switch Pocket for now.

Anyway, I do like some people's suggestions of a clamshell design for it. So you can protect the screen and shorten the overall width. Kind of like GameBoy Advance SP vs. the original.

@electrolite77 Minor correction: the last Nintendo-published GBA game was FFVI, on November 2006.

Besides that, things like customer service and repairs are still support. Most people don't care about that, but platform holders surely do.

I really hate how everything gets blown out of proportion nowadays.
Rumours spread wildly while no one cares for the facts.
Yeah, I know, we're living in a post-factual age, but it's still frustrating

@Mogster Nothing remotely dishonest or crooked in these statements. Not really vague either. Even as clear as it was: "we are always thinking of hardware and a successor to 3DS makes sense because of the different form factor" gets changed up by feverish fearful fans.

@shani Yep, this was a pretty good example of that in my view as well. Very frustrating and there are young people growing up not realizing it doesn't have to be this way.

What I've been thinking, is that nintendo isn't going to say anything right now about the 3DS, until they know for a fact that the Switch will be sales-worthy. If the Switch does really good, then, yeah, I see nintendo giving up on the 3DS...they're going to be heading towards what will make them more money, and granted that it will be a while until the Switch makes as much as the 3DS, the 3DS will stick around for another year or so...just may not have the support from nintendo, but the indie developers and 3rd parties will still make games for it, we'll just see it like the final years of any nintendo product...barely any games and a big drought. Other than that, nintendo isn't going to announce the death of their handheld without proof that the Switch will be a success. Give them until the beginning of next year or even during the launch of the Switch to get a definite answer.

Switch is marketed as a home console you can take anywhere. Not shocked that 3ds will still be alive

Gameboy 3DHD

@SLIGEACH_EIRE even though he just said the 3ds and switch can co exist, keeping the 3ds as an entry level handheld with cheaper games ? I swear I just read that

Idk why people are so hung up on 3DS and 3DS getting a successor.

3DS games look ancient by today's standards. It's 2017, I want to play quality games on the go. Goodness knows I've been waiting my entire life for this day to come- the era of HD console quality handheld gaming...

Even if they did make a new handheld it wouldn't be much cheaper than the Switch (if New 3DS XL is still going for $200, then a successor would definitely be $200-250). At that point why not just buy a Switch and get a handheld and console in one.

There's simply no point to a successor. The principles of price integrity mean it would cost almost as much as Switch, and would offer far less. And it would just be another drain on resources where they have to get a new platform rolling which means they have to pepper it with new releases... it's just not going to happen, not anytime soon anyways.

I imagine they'll toss a few budget releases on 3DS each year to keep it rolling, and let third parties do the rest. Aside from that, Switch is where it's at. That's where the real games are going to be for the coming years...

Let's see, Gameboy dropped in 89'. GBC-Pocket, GBA-SP, DS/lite/DSi, 3DS-New3DS. All highly successful from both standpoints. Great games, all print money. Something tells me there will never not be a new N handheld in the works.

@JaxonH I could see a new handheld in maybe Fall 2018. I do think there will be less gimmicks this time around. I think it will be more of a Nintendo Vita.

@ThanosReXXX
@setezerocinco2

Oh... Ich dachte, es war ein Scherz in Bezug auf den Inhalt des Textes...naja

"I thought it was a joke in regard to the content of the article"
hint: translations mistakes...

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Yeah, the biggest games coming out for the 3DS and New 3DS this year are Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, the Pikmin 3DS game, Fire Emblem Warriors, Lady Layton, Mario Sports Superstars, Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World (already out now), and Dragon Quest VIII (already out now). I doubt that more support for the 3DS will come from Nintendo after that Pikmin game comes out.

I would love to see a true successor to the 3DS there are enough different features between the two for Switch and the 3DS to co-exist . I love the stereoscopic 3D screen and for me it adds alot to the gaming experience on the handheld I would hate to see it go, I think the stereoscopic 3D effect adds more to a game than the HD does and the clam shell design is another thing that would be a shame to lose it's awesome having that extra protection for the screen.

aka fake news

@dres You'll have to excuse me: I do speak German, but if there was a joke in there, or if you saw one, then I sorely missed it, because that's an extra nuance that I don't always get.

@jimi "It's not a handheld according to Nintendo"
Ah, that's why they constantly show people playing the system on a plane, outside or in the bathroom. Because it is not a handheld. And the mode with the joy cons attached to the side is called handheld mode, because it is not a handheld. Yes, it is bigger than a 3ds. But at least for my pockets even the 3ds or e.g. the original Gameboy is a little bit too big.
And a lot of people don't seem to mind carrying their iPads around. But of course nobody would call an iPad portable.

Maybe a mini-Switch with foldable Joy Cons and a phone function.

"Talk of a 3DS sequel was perhaps overblown"

The cat's out of the back, it will happen. Of course!

@JaxonH

Yup, agree completely. Switch is priced like a successor to the 3DS now anyways. Once 3DS sales begin to plummet, Nintendo will sell the Switch without the dock for $199 (maybe with a built in game). A console that is exclusively portable going forward just wouldn't make any sense imo.

"Don't change horses in mid-stream."

With The Switch being a portable device, and Nintendo games on mobiles, another handheld console would be overkill.

Switch is Wii U and 3DS succesor. They have unified their development team and platform a while ago. No need for a separate device when whey can put all their resources into making games for one machine that can be both.

@electrolite77
And let us be thankful for it!

I enjoyed Wii U. Back in its 2014-2015 heyday I remember being quite impressed with the games coming out. But admittedly, Wii U was clunky in the UI, and looked clunky, and just... felt dated. It would've been absolutely amazing if they released it 2 years into the Wii lifecycle or something, back when PS3/360 were still hot out the oven. But in light of the PS4/X1 it just made Wii U feel so... dated. And don't get me wrong, I will tolerate all of that if there's good games, but I don't think anyone wondered why it didn't sell well. We all knew why, and it wasn't just one single reason either.

With Switch, they seem like they're doing the exact opposite. No advertising for Wii U? Super Bowl commercial for Switch launch. 9 month post-launch drought on Wii U? 8 first party games in 9 months following Switch launch (and all the big hitters too- Zelda, Splatoon, Mario Kart, Xenoblade, 3D Mario). Resources devoted to resurrecting 3DS in 2012-2013? Little to no resources required to maintain 3DS during Switch's early years.

I think it's important that they maintain that focus, and I think they know that more than anyone. As soon as they start repeating the mistakes of the Wii U, they start risking seeing the same outcomes as Wii U (granted this system is far more appealing and actually looks modern, but still, any system can be damaged by mismanagement). I truly believe the last thing they want to do is launch a new platform during Switch's early years. Resources it would require could potentially kill Switch, or at least, hinder its full potential.

I think they found the right pattern for maintaining two platforms. Launch Switch in 3DS's latter years, after the system has already established itself and doesn't really need much attention from them to keep going. Only after Switch has reached a stable plateau of success several years from now, beyond those crucial early years, will they then change focus to perhaps releasing 3DS successor. But one thing is for sure- they can't get 2 platforms rolling simultaneously. It takes too much resources at once..

@EverythingAmiibo which Nintendo DS proved to do by itself almost LITERALLY. Up until DSi, at least. XD

I wouldn't buy a Switch for my 8-9 years kids just because it's a handheld device. Nintendo needs something cheaper for parents to buy for their children because there's still a market behind this, and the 3DS is getting really old. Maybe a cheaper, tinier, lighter and less easy to break Nintendo Switch, with no TV support and the same library (basically a "2DS") would work.
But if they divide their consoles again and make Pokemon and Monster Hunter exclusives for that handheld, Switch is dead

@NintySnesMan they could rope in the guys who made Horizon Chase to do a low poly Mode 7 Mario Kart game for phones.

There is no way Nintendo is going to put there main money maker to bed 3DS, i can see a successor coming somtime next year.

@Varnen

This! Basically any new handheld-only device would be a lower-spec Switch much like the 2DS is to the 3DS... same games, just more basic and affordable hardware. Of course, technically the Switch is a replacement for the 3DS and Wii U (if not officially, it will be in practice), but there may well be a market for a cheaper entry point. The other option is Nintendo ditches the handheld-only market to focus on its hybrid Switch and premium smart device games (I'm sure many parents would be more than happy to pass an old smart phone to their kids to play games on).

I know many will be sad to see stereoscopic gaming go, and it's been great - especially on the N3DS, but it's had its time...

@Varnen That's an interesting though, though I would say that the 3DS was only a little cheaper when it launched & just as easy to break... in fact when I bought it (just after launch) I was told by the store that quite a few units had been returned as the 3D slider had broken.

Plus how do we know how robust the Switch is? We're assuming it's easily breakable.. but based on the closed chassis and reports from people who have used on, it seems to be one of the more robust handhelds. I'd be more worried of kids losing the joycons!

@banacheck If they launch a 3DS successor next year they'll damage Switch sales AND ruin that handheld's chances while they're at it. They probably could bring out a new DS/3DS handheld but they'll be waiting until the Switch has bedded in... we're looking at 2-3 years.

@electrolite77 You win 3 internet points! (Which may or may not be worth more than My Nintendo points.)

@JaxonH
I think if the Gamepad had a higher res screen and/or went with capacitive touch it would have been much better received and felt less dated. The UI....the UI was slow, yes, but I don't think I'd call it clunky. In fact it's immensely more user friendly that that mystery meal nightmare design that is PS4. That was a massive step back from the XMB on PS3 (which itself was awkward.) A grid for my games. That's all I ask for on a console. WiiU gives me a grid for games. PS4 gives me this odd tile list that scrolls forever and ever with tiles that move in position on their own. I hate having to use the UI on that thing, it's awful. WiiU's failure was that it took, like, a minute to load the settings menu and another minute to go back again. Slow and organized might still win over fast and unreadable

You seem to be one of the few other people here who recognizes the disastrous effect of launching two platforms in a year and a half had on the WiiU. I'll never understand what made them think that was a good plan.

@Varnen Yeah they really seem to be playing up the "3DS for kids" angle, which could really work. I can see a "2DS" iteration of Switch that's more kid-proof around the time a Pokemon game launches.

That said I'm reading between the lines: 3DS for kids, different market, 3DS coexisting for some time. I have a feeling this means the next Pokemon will still be on 3DS, like B&W was for DS after the 3DS launch to capitalize the huge install base. IT will be the following Pokemon after that that comes to Switch, like X&Y on 3DS, I'd bet. It will take them years to tool a new engine for HD. Game Freak has never worked on that before. Disappointing from a Switch perspective but shouldn't be unexpected.

@NEStalgia
I gotta be honest here... I love the PS4 UI. Well, I didn't at first, but after they added folders it became pretty good. I guess it's not so much the layout that... ok it's not... what it is, is I like how snappy and responsive it is. It's the exact opposite on Xbox One. On X1, the layout is perfect. I love the rows of 4 and mixing all 360 and X1 games together alpha-numerically. I have my Forza Horizon from 360 next to my Forza Horizon 2 and 3 from X1. I have all the Halos together, all the Gears together, etc. What I don't like is how clunky and laggy it is. It's basically just as bad as Wii U, imo.

But I do actually really love the layout of Wii U. That I've never had an issue with and in fact I like it just as much as X1 layout (aside from the fact hovering on or selecting a game makes a big context cloud with the name and covers up both games on either side of it... Man I really wish they'd change that... too late now I guess). i just hated how slow it was going in and out of settings... or any other app on the menu for that matter.

I think I value responsiveness above all else though. I'll tolerate an inconvenient layout provided the system is super snappy. And that's one thing the PS4 nailed. If Switch is snappy like that, aw man, I'm going to be very pleased. I like hitting the home button and having it instantly go to the home screen. Judging by everything else I see with Switch, I have no reason to believe it won't be their best OS and UI to date.

@aaronsullivan Clamshell design doesn't work for me, I've tried drawing it and you can't do it very well w/ the widescreen on top and no screen on the bottom, it just looks too weird. How many GB were there before people decided they needed a clamshell design? It just adds tot he price, and they already did away w/ it on 2DS.

I like Switch Pocket too, but Boy is a whole lot easier for me to type than Pocket. And I don't see them making it small enough to fit into a pocket. I do think a 5" screen is possible, no smaller than that, but w/ the buttons on the sides I think it's still to big too be called "Pocket". It's basically going to be a Vita, should give the Sony fans something to meme about.

I really think SwitchGo is the way to go, but PokemonGo, PSPgo and HBOGo I think have worn out the Go. I woudln't say Boy if there wasn't a history w/ Gameboy, too Adrian Peterson, but the history is there, Gameboy was big.

Way off topic - just signed up our 9th grader for his first college level class, VB, $212 for 4 credits. There's 2 more after this in the series so he'll practically have a computer science semester under his belt out of high school. He's also taking 2 years of AP World History for college credit which should give him almost a full semester. Just felt like being happy, and I know you teach CS.

A business answer through and through. Basically depending on the Switch's success, we will follow the flow.

@rjejr I still think clamshell is the way to go for portable. It's its own built in case/protector, it protects the buttons and controls without requiring a separate case, and makes the buttons not catch pocket edges...it's slick all the way around so it slips in and out of containers including pockets, it keeps the size down, it elevates the screen to a comfortable angle (better ergonomics, something I'll miss on the normal Switch), And, it would differentiate the portable-only version from the full Switch, rather than looking at an odd mini-me without joycons (or MiniCons.) Maybe they'll be mounted external to the clamshell and we can call them ExCons?

@JaxonH Fair points, and it's always confused me that the 3DS UI actually runs faster than the WiiU UI. I'm not sure how that could possibly be, but it is.

I'm impatient with UI's so I can't disagree about valuing the performance of PS4's UI. But....wow, I didn't think it was possible to like the PS4's layout. I mean it's just....if I were to arrange information in the least accessible, least intuitive way I could think of, the result would be PS4. I don't know who designs Sony interfaces. People praised XMB too, though, and I always thought that was a terrible design. It looked pretty, but it's not intuitively navigable. Style over substance. PS4's interface, to me, feels like they wanted something flashy, threw everything at the front screen, and never bothered considering how you'd actually organize things. What surprises me is Vita's UI is so excellent. It's the best UI I've seen on any gaming device since gaming devices had UIs. They got it so right on their doomed handheld and so wrong on their runaway success consoles.

I, too am hoping for better in Switch. I'm nervous though. The few shots we've seen of it, make me think it's laid out like an even more bare bones version of the PS4 interface. Cleaner, so better, but still a disorganized mess. Hopefully we can tile it out like WiiU/3DS too.

@NEStalgia I agree clamshell is a better design, I just can't get it to work w/o looking too spread out on the bottom. Look at the GBA w/ a more square screen, now imagine the top screen is a widescreen rectangle, how much space is going to be empty on the bottom? And even folded in half it will still be big even w/ only a 5" screen, and much thicker than a smartphone.

No saying they won't, they made the 2DS, so anything is possible, but think about it, all the control scheme accessories for 7" tablets, how many of them are like a keyboard on the bottom? I suppose it could work for a smaller 5" screen, but I think the same 6.2" size screen is just too big for clamshell.

@rjejr Yeah, I really don't think they'd make the portable-only one a 6" screen. That would defeat the point of selling both sizes. No it would be a 4" ultraportable or a 5" XL-like portable. And in that form factor, you could easily fill the bottom with the visual styling of the JoyCon Grip and the system would feel uniform.

Even if they could do it at 6", I don't think there's a good business case for that. It would just be a New Switch at that point rather than a pocket sibling. It would reach the same market rather than expand it.

It doesn't have to be a single hinge clamshell either. What about a trifold clamshell that the controllers open to the sides from the center? They could swivel on a flange hinge and lock into a socket at the bottom of the unit. if the removable joycon is sturdy enough, no reason a mechanical slide-rail can't do the same in that layout.

@jimi I think for a majority of people, "portable" means easy to put in a backpack, tote bag, or car. It doesn't generally mean "needs to be in a pocket at all times." Sony discussed that during Vita launch, as well, and most tablets and ultrabooks also fall into that category. Portable means portable, not pocketable. Heck in the US, we only really get the XL option to start with, so no Nintendo is really that pocketable (I have my launch Cosmo Black 3DS still for that.)

To a degree I think the mobile space is replacing the "pocket" role for a gaming system, and that's probably a big purpose for moving to switch. Heck, even for me, the consummate Nintendo junkie that I am, I"m considering FE: Heroes & SMR for my rare pocket experiences, because my phone's always there, and even when I take 3DS with me, it's usually in the bag no the pocket.

My hope is for a nice slick portable mini-Switch (I still think it will happen.) but if they don't, I can' kind of understand where they're going with the "portable is not necessarily pocketable" approach.

@NEStalgia Back when the detachable controllers were rumoured last summer I thought it was a horrible idea, and considered a tri-fold design w/ the Joycon folding in towards each other over the screen, and that's what made me realize the clamshell design w/ a large screen wouldn't work either. 4" or 5" screen would be fine, but a 6.2" screen is just too big, and as you said that would be almost a redundant Switch model anyway.

@rjejr Yeah, a pocket 6" would be doable, but doesn't have a purpose. It's just a different Switch model. Ruins the message. An actually smaller all the way around Switch is the way to go. 4", 5" clamshell or trifold tops. If I were buying a 6" I'd just get Switch as it is, even clamshell it wouldn't be much more pocketable. Maybe even less. If I needed pocketable, I'd want much smaller than a clamshell switch.

@MadameSpuki Exactly. They have different markets, different players want different devices, and some (like me) want both. I don't see any 3DS fans want to stop Switch, but some Switch die-hard fans just try their best to stop 3DS fans to continue enjoy in the way they like. I think someone here really need to try to understand others. I understand they consider tablet-size device as portable, but I hope they can also understand there are lots of players that take 3DS anywhere anytime in the pocket, and not take a bag all the time, that only consider phone-size device as portable to their convenience.

The thing is with the Switch being a "handheld" is this would you really wanna be carrying around a 300 dollar "handheld" and if it breaks you pay another 300 dollars

@NEStalgia Well now that we've gotten the cheaper smaller portable out of the way we can start talking about my $199 SwitchHome w/ a Pro controller. Only in the West, would sell like the Xbox in Japan.
jk We don't really have to talk about it.

@jimi Well in the US there is ONLY the XL. They discontinued the original small 3DS years ago, and never brought the small New here, except for a few limited editions. So 3DS=XL in the US except for the early adopters (I happen to have the original, the first XL and the New XL...I love the 3DS platform ) Of course we got the 2DS before Japan I believe, so they saw the US market as people wanting bigger screens, and kids that needed a drop-proof machine. But since the US is the #2 market for them, that's probably important backstory for understanding their position on Switch. I suspect Japan doesn't care about it being too small either since younger folks always carry bags with them and older folks tend to always carry briefcases with them.

Multiplayer, yeah that's small for the kind of multiplayer you and I are probably thinking of. I think their idea of multiplayer on the go is that tabletop mode is more for party game type games, maybe fighters or coop games....but for playing more "core" games (Splatoon, etc.) they expect everyone has their own 6" Switch (like with 3DS.) Personally that's not a bad tradeoff, as LAN play has been missing from every single platform since PC dropped it in the early '00's. 3DS reintroduced it in a limited scale....so it's a tradeoff. The "quick MK runs" will suck in tabletop mode. But for meeting with fellow Switch owners it would be a great experience.

2 6" screens that would be fun. But the device would be huge! Or heavy. Or expensive. And I can't imagine the battery needed. But I admit that idea sounds fun. I guess it kind of has that though if you're playing with someone else that has a Switch. I can see why they didn't do dual screen though. They couldn't let ANYONE confuse it with the DOA WiiU, and they wanted to give 3rd parties what they wanted: A platform like all the other platforms, rather than give them the excuse of "oh we didn't know what to do with the second screen so we didn't make the game for it." (again.)

I think it comes down to trying to be everything to everyone (or everything anyone wants it to be.) The 2 screens would have made it a better multiplayer machine, but, then, it would have been just a multiplayer machine and not satisfied the single player market at the 3rd parties. The form factor would have been more awkward (and I doubt they wanted it to look/play just like the DS/3DS lines, they wanted it to stand out.)

All that said, Who knows, Switch 2 could very well do something like that, if they drop the 3DS and don't want to drop 2 screen gaming entirely, I could see them doing something like that.

(And yeah the touch screen....I think they had to include it "just in case" and probably couldn't even get the part for the 6" screen without it having a digitizer built in (really who makes 6" screens with a glass/acrylic shield that doesn't have a digitizer?) But I agree at it being effectively pointless since it can't really be used beyond an option.

@rjejr Haha, actually I'd already thought of that myself. It makes some sense, but I can't see them doing it, because Japan. But I can see them selling a Switch+ or Switch Booster that's really its own home console that uses the gamecards and SD cards from the Switch so it works with portable & home dock mode, later in Switch's life to give a gfx boost. Like the 32x, but with games, and it facilitates a handheld

This whole thing was blown out of proportion.

A few extremely generalized and cryptic statements about "considering" and "thinking about" a 3DS successor get leaked, and suddenly console-war obsessed fanboys across the internet have taken this as confirmation that a completely separate 3DS successor is in production that will destroy the Switch's first party support and success.

If Nintendo is still "considering" and "thinking about it", then there is no separate 3DS successor in production. Nintendo will wait a few years to see how well the Switch fairs before deciding whether they should pour hundreds of billions of yen into the development of a separate handheld gaming device.

@JaxonH
Exactly. Hats what people overlook. They want a cheap option, so fine keep the 3ds. But a new successor won't be cheap! $200 at the lowest. So is that something you will buy your children and not care if they break? I would rather just ride the 3ds out then out all resources into the Switch, not worry about a successor.

@rjejr Wow, that's impressive for 9th grade. It will serve him well. I'll take code questions if you got 'em.

@aaronsullivan "I'll take code questions if you got 'em."

Thanks for offering, you probably would have been getting them anyway. And he's a pretty impressive kid, that's not just me, all his teachers too, so questions should be kept to a minimum.

I actually went thru my multiple stack of books from back in the day - I was a CS major in college before switching to Sociology and making it my minor, and my first real job paid for a few classes more - but man those things are outdated. Now I'm just saving them for kindling for when the EMP apocalypse comes.

@NEStalgia "Like the 32x"

Now there's a marketing slogan that's sure to sell.

I get ya, an uber-powered dock. Like we pretty much all expected it to be in the first place and cost $100. Instead Ninteod is charging $90 for a charging station that really doesn't do anything a $10 cable couldn't do. But SwitchPower might make it easier to get PS4 Pro and Scorpio ports, even if they only play on the TV, not the handheld. Yeah, that could work too. I don't really expect a SwitchTV, I'd just like one.

@rjejr Haha. "Switch: The fusion of 32x, WiiU, and PS Vita. Now with Blast Processing."

Nah, I never expected an actual powered dock at this point in time with tech. Like Thanos and I were talking about in the other thread, that costs mega bucks at least for now. Maybe in a few years it'll be feasible (if they built the required bus into the USB-C port's controlling hardware) but for now the cheapest eGPU docks for PC run $400, and that doesn't actually include the video card. The only mobile tech I can think of that does something like that, docks with an external dedicated GPU, is the Surface Book, starting at a low, low $2,400. Much as I'd love a $1000 Nintendo, I think I'll stick with the "tablet" for now

A few years down the line though, IF the dock port supports the speeds needed, sure I can see a SwitchPower. That would keep it relevant for third parties, but they'd probably require that the game runs in handheld mode too (much like PS Pro requires PS4 to run.) Shouldn't be a big deal with modern games, though.

That would fragment the market, but so did the expansion pak for N64, and N64DD would have as well. N3DS too. So they're not firmly against that idea.

But I think that would be a late-life cycle addon.

@NEStalgia Companies always say they won't fragment the market, until they do.

5 years from now I'd be truly amazed if there isn't a Switch offshoot. Bigger, smaller, TV only, handheld only, faster, I don't know which, but something. It was really supposed to be the plan all along if you go back and read Iwata lavishing praise all over Apple and its way of doing things.

Only 3 years ago yesterday.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/3/5374252/nintendo-next-console-handheld-integrated-development-platform-satoru-iwata

Not to be confused w/ 4 years before that when Iwata said Apple was the enemy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/07/satoru-iwata-nintendo-ceo_n_568045.html

Hah, Nintendos one of the oldest offenders of fragmenting the market, or trying to, at least in Japan (they managed to fragment even the Famicom....with the floppy drive.) SNES almost did it, N64 did it and almost did it more, GCN didn't but they toyed with a VR thing for it, Wii had so many accessories it was born fragmented, WiiU was fragmented into those who wanted a tablet controller for their Wii and those who don't.

Yeah, The 2010 issue with Apple....actually, that one isn't a back track. The climate in 2010 was that consoles were done. Handheld consoles were REALLY done. Apple was the future. In 2017 that seems absolutely laughable but everybody thought that's where it was going....honestly, I credit the 3DS almost exclusively for preventing that reality. Iwata's war was a success.

But yeah the Apple hardware cycle. And his thinking was spot on for where the industry was headed. Not sure if others followed his words or he already knew the buzz, but PS4->PSPro, X1->X1S->Scorpio....that's the model of the console industry now, and Switch is perfectly suited to that. So sure, 5 years from now? We'll surely have at least our mini Switch of some sort. Will there be a power booster or Switch 2 or Switch + or something...5-8 years. Good bet!

@Mogster they can't give you an honest answer because they don't know.

If the Switch takes off and finds its way into 100+ million homes, it will be the 3DS' successor.

If it bombs and sells fewer units than the Wii U, you'll see a 3DS successor that is closer in form factor to that console.

Nintendo makes games: they don't predict the future.