Scoopz

@Anachronism Youre overlooking he pertinent point that Wii U was Nintendos 1st foray into HD development and not only was there a learning curve with that, but it takes up more staffing resourcing and financial resource. So you cant discount that significant factor by saying "they'd been supporting two platforms for decades." Apples to oranges comparison. No two platforms or gens are the same. Switch 2 games are going to involve substantially more detailed textures and more robust simulation so games development times for its software will be even longer.

So again id say Wii U's failure wasnt solely down to an over reliance on 3rd party, it was a far more nuanced situation. It was poor marketing, poor hardware design choices (3 core CPU based on 2000 era tech a year before 8 core CPUs from the competition) which affected the quality of ports and the challenges of the shift to HD development which were exacerbated by having to support two platforms, both of which werent catching on like their predecessors.

The Switch 1s 1st party launch window line up was good, Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, Splatoon 2 to name the key ones. Its 1st year also included Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Mario Odyssey. So two GOTY contenders as well as multiple highly rated titles. Nintendo have been able to pump out titles on a yearly basis 1) Because of their consolidated resources and 2) the failure of Wii U meant titles that were in development could be held for Switch and released Wii U titles didnt reach their sales potential so could be repurposed.

Its a hybrid system. Gotta manage expectations. Youre not getting performance and quality options unless its a previous gen port (i.e 360/PS3 or Switch 1 level ) bearing in mind the raw power will be around PS4 level.

For current gen games its just not a realistic expectation to have. Its a possibility on 1st party titles designed from the outset to have these modes in mind, but doing so would mean the simulation and visuals couldnt be too demanding in either mode so the vision could be compromised for the sake of their inclusion.

@Anachronism You've gotta remember in the Wii and Wii U era Nintendos development resources were split between supporting two hardware platforms. Wii and DS and Wii U and 3DS. 3DS launched the year before Wii U and its pricing gave it a rocky start meaning Nintendo had to turn its fortunes around with killer software whilst also simultaneously preparing for the launch of Wii U.

The fact that after that experience Nintendo consolidated their development resource behind one platform shows us that internally they viewed the split resources as a significant factor in their previous misfortune.

Switch showed their thinking was right and was the 1st sign of a Nintendo willing to restructure and reallocate development resource in order to support a successful generation. So they're not as rigid as they were in the past.

Another sign of that is that by all accounts the next console is an iterative update instead of them throwing everything out and starting again centred around a USP. Their new CEO whilst less quirky and endearing than Iwata is more grounded and sensible in terms of business acumen.

It's not more powerful hardware and a sole reliance on 1st party that'll see them find success. Switch their most successful era ever proved that. It's a combination of presenting a great value proposition, (and marketing that effectively) having great exclusives, whilst also garnering a great level of 3rd party support.

@Anachronism It's clear from their communications that they realise how they've managed the transition to new generations in the past has failed them so they understand the need to change what they've traditionally done before and proactively secure success. The hiring of an ex Sony 3rd party relations guy and a porting studio that will still take commissions from 3rd parties? It's a clear indicator of a new Nintendo that wants this next gen to be another winner.

@Anachronism Nah. It's more likely a move to get more 3rd party ports on Switch 2 by offering Shivers development resource to take on the porting work for companies who otherwise might not have considered a Switch port.

That's where Gio Corsis (Ex Playstation exec who was in charge of 3rd party relations) hiring fits in as he could use his connections to facilitate this arrangement.

@nessisonett Not random. It's a great strategy when you remember Nintendos hiring of Gio Corsi who was a PlayStation exec responsible for 3rd party relations. This acquisition goes hand in hand with that.

The statement about this acquisition reveals Shiver will still be able to do porting work for companies other than Nintendo.

So it wouldn't surprise me if this acquisition was to facilitate greater amounts of 3rd party ports to Switch 2 with Shiver on hand to offer to do the porting work on 3rd parties behalf making porting to Switch 2 less resource intensive and therefore more appealing for 3rd parties

Good. We can hardly complain about the technical state of Scarlet and Violet and then want a Pokemon released annually. A 2026 release for Gen 10 sounds great. We didnt get Gen 8 until 2 years after Switch 1 released so that adds up. I hope theyve been working on Gen 10 for a while and that it comes in a polished technical state with beautiful visuals for once.

@Anti-Matter Just 2 to 3 months after your planned purchase date the price of the base machine will drop as the PRO launches, so thats a separate issue from not being fussed about the graphical improvements. But i get that youve waited a while and cant bring yourself to wait any longer.

@Anti-Matter PS5 Pro is rumoured to launch in Autumn this year. So if you care about the improved graphics thatll bring it might be an idea to wait till its launch. Or if you dont care about the graphical improvements, then im sure you'll care about the reduced price its launch will bring to the base PS5 model. So if youve waited this long to get a PS5, another few months wont do you any harm 😄

@TenEighty @Anti-Matter I preferred the Gamecube. Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker, Rogue Leader, Skies of Arcadia. Better controller to lol

@KBuckley27 Ridiculous take. 30fps will always be a thing on consoles. Why? Because theyre a static spec platform. As a generation progresses more advanced graphical features become the norm in the industry, consumers expect machines to be pushed more and for graphics to improve. This coupled with the fact that consoles specs are not also improving, means something has to give. Thats why even on the much more powerful PS5 and XSX now theyre over the cross gen period (where they could simply upscale last gen based titles) and are having to render far more demanding current gen exclusives, youre now seeing many 1080p to 2k and 30fps titles. This is demonstrative of why it isnt simply an issue of hardware. The very nature of console development is an exercise in compromise.

@Steel76 Good satire requires nuance. Its the thought that counts I guess.

@Steel76 Don't be so melodramatic. We didn't get a new entry on Switch as Wii US failure meant so few people bought MK8 so it was recycled and bolstered as the Switchs entry. We'll get a new entry on Switch 2 as it'll similarly be a system seller.

@Grail_Quest A remake of the 1st 2 Breath of Fire titles followed by a reboot is what i requested. Doesn't seem like many others are that interested in the series 😩

Absolutely not. GameFreak are under enough pressure as it is. With the imminent move to 2k and 4k development, assets will take longer to construct, so a 3rd SKU would not be feasible. The performance would be even more shambolic. They need to slow down the release of titles and focus on quality

@Matl Good job! 😄

Awesome game that i played last year on my Xbox. I was sad when I finished it 😩

@Dang_69 No ones acting like that. You just made a comment and I responded giving my two cents. Sorry I hurt your feelings.

@Dang_69 It's a 7 Yr old handheld based on a 9 yr old mobile chipset. What do you expect? Of course compromises have to be made when it comes to playing titles also designed to run on current gen level hardware. Even XSX and PS5 are more increasingly having 30fps capped games as then generation goes on. 30fps will always be a feature of console gaming as game engines and graphical ambitions and expectations continually evolve in a gen whilst the console hardware stays static. It's only in the PC space with its upgradable and customisable nature can you forever avoid 30 fps. You gotta manage those expectations.

@Overzeal This statement doesn't confirm or even suggest that. It simply says the original Switch will be their MAIN business HEADING into 2024. Not that it'll be their only console business throughout 2024. Plus if Switch 2 was to launch end of 2024 Switch 1 would've still been Nintendos main business heading into 2024.

At the very least we'll get an announcement this year. Sales are declining too much and there'll be too much pressure from shareholders.

@Serpenterror Fair enough. I thought you were trying to assert the achievement had to be done by the end of 2024 or it wouldn't count for some arbitrary reason. Well the Switch is 100% not going to sell 20 million in one calendar year. That'd be pandemic level sales performance so just isn't realistic at this stage in its life cycle. By the end of the year I think an additional 10 to 12 million is realistic and the following year probably 5 to 7 million as sales will plummet come Switch 2. It'll beat the DS and with a little luck and decent software support beating PS2 by the end of December 2025 is feasible

@Serpenterror Why do these sales have to occur by the end of 2024 to equal a win over the DS and PS2?

@Haruki_NLI Precisely. That's why people shouldn't be down on the lack of a Switch 2 acknowledgement as the wording doesn't mean or even suggest a successor isn't at least being announced this year.

@Grumblevolcano Not really. We've gotta pay attention to the wording. It's very intentional. Nintendo said Switch is their main business heading into 2024. Not that it's their only business in 2024. Just that it's their main one at the start of 2024. The wording allows the rumours of new hardware in the 2nd half of 2024 to be true.

@Fyrus92 The marketplace has completely changed since the near 20 years that the DS and Wii launched. Thats like comparing album sales now to pre streaming or pre mp3s. It's just not a meaningful exercise. Nintendos last hardware releases under the most similar market conditions were Wii U and 3DS and Switch has outsold both combined by a substantial margin. That's a greater sign of success. As is how the Switch is doing in comparison to its current gen competitors who have faced the same market conditions I.e the PS5 and XSX.

@dartmonkey Also the content of this article makes it sound like the Switch sold just over 7 million from November to 31st December. But that's wrong. November was when the last financial data came out which reported sales up till September 30th 2023. Just like today's data released in Feb reports up till December 31st. So it should read 139.36 million up from 132.46 million sold by end of Sept 23 (as reported in November's financial report)

@UltimateOtaku91 The issue isnt the Switch hardware. The 360 was host to open worlds more attractive than the latest open world Pokemon games. The problems lies more with GameFreaks development practices combined with the deadlines enforced.

There was an article either on here or Kotaku a couple years back which highlighted how GameFreak likes to develop junior workers with a passion for progression by giving them a trial by fire and giving them leading/supervisory roles in development teams. This in experience can understandably affect development and when combined with the flurry of new Pokemon games developed by Game Freak in the past 4 and a half years (Sword and Shield Nov 2019, S and S DLC 2020, Arceus Jan 2022, Scarlet AND Violet Nov 2022, S and V DLC 2023) it becomes understandable why the optimisation and therefore performance and image quality have shortcomings

My fave announcement of the night!

@Darknyht Thats not a bad shout. I generally grab Nintendos latest system and stick with pc gaming. This gen I got caught up in the hype and bought an XSX and a PS5 and they haven't lived up to expectations so far partly due to the impact of the pandemic. Now with key console exclusives coming to pc more and more and me not playing the latest games till long after release (because of my backlog) I'm just gonna return to my Nintendo/gaming pc combo and play the latest sony/ms exclusives on pc somewhere down the line at a reduced price.

@X68000 Why would that be more glorious than a hybrid design that can be enjoyed as a dedicated handheld if the consuner wishes?

Great game. Really enjoyed playing through this last year.

@JONOFTHEJONS It doesnt show that at all. But it does show commitment to supporting Switch 1 with software for the next 12 months

@AmplifyMJ I guarantee you'd still buy Switch 2 regardless.

@nessisonett Theyve already confirmed there wont be a new hardware release this financial year, so any new hardware would be released between April and December.

Im guessing an E3 reveal with a November release date.

@Nathendo It was. Heres a great roundup of leaked Switch 2 info:

https://telegra.ph/Everything-about-the-ol-Switch-2-07-21

@Nathendo T239 the Switch 2's SOC uses A78C in a single 8 core cluster as well as 1536 CUDA cores for the GPU side of things.

This is coupled with 12 GB of system RAM.

@vyseofhr Not really. Comparable doesn't mean a 1 to 1 match. It just means they hold up well in comparison. Given Nvidia hardware has far superior raytracing plus the bonus of the DLSS upscale that PS5/XSX don't have, that means comparably attractive visuals despite cutbacks are very achievable. In the same way an RTX 4080 GPU smokes current gen consoles, yet the same game running on said consoles contrasted against an RTX 4080 equipped PC can be said to have "comparable" visuals.

Also what you need to remember is the consoles, pcs and handheld pcs all use power hungry desktop oriented x86 architecture. The ARM architecture phones and Switch use is designed specifically for mobiles so it's substantially more efficient and can is more performant clock for clock. So an ARM architecture could achieve great visuals at a substantially lower clockspeed and power usage than a x86 equivalent

@MeloMan Switch Pro isnt happening at this stage. You been hiding under a rock? Lol. Its just the successor now, Switch 2 or whatever they end up calling it.

So with that in mind, the Switchs best chance of overtaking the DS is for Nintendo to hold back from announcing the successor until after this Xmas, so that Switch 1 is still in high demand over this years festive period.

Switch is projected to be on 140 to 143 million by March 2024. That'll leave it with just 11 to 13 million to reach DS sales from March 2024. So its very achievable. Even likely. The struggle will be getting an extra 3 mill on top of that to reach PS2 sales.

Id love to see Switch 2 launch with Metroid Prime 4, a new 3D Mario, ARMS 2 and a party game. 4K and 60fps patches for BOTW and TOTK would be great as well.

@michaelf Thats not Nintendos way, especially not these days. Switch was announced in Oct 2016 and launched just 5 months later. That's a better way of doing things instead of drip feeding info way before launch and losing mystique, momentum and anticipation.

@Stamina_Wheel Thanks for sharing. That was a great read!

@GrailUK I hope that was a joke? Hes clearly a true gamer and not a brand loyalist.

@Magician The art direction was a mess though. This game with the HD-2D finesse of Octopath or Live a Live wouldve been amazing 😫

Id love a hand drawn Zelda animation. Not CGI.

2002 for me. Metroid Prime, Rogue Leader, Eternal Darkness, Pikmin, Res Evil remake, Timesplitters 2, GTA: Vice City, Soul Calibur 2 and Super Mario Sunshine. What a year!

@PinderSchloss Majoras Mask recycled a lot of Ocarina of Times assets whilst introducing its own and proving to be a very unique Zelda title in its own right. One of the best in fact.

@SpaceboyScreams Depressing? A touch melodramatic no? We'll get a new Mario Kart where its best placed to be a significant update...on the Switchs successor. Im happy about that. MK8Ds track DLC is more than enough to tide us over.