The Nintendo Thread of Jumping, Slashing, and Home Decorating

The Predaking

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If the New Switch, or whatever, is going to be backward compatible, we'll probably see another year or two of titles that support both. Maybe not from Nintendo themselves but from somebody. Expect to see "Nindies" hang on even longer unless Nintendo cuts off certification. This is the single most popular console Nintendo has ever released, putting it almost on par with the PS2;


Well, the switch has been out for 7 years now, 8 come spring time, so its had a great long run, up there with the Xbox 360's run of 8 years. However, despite the age of the console, I don't think Nintendo needs to rush out and make a Switch 2 next year. The Switch, doesn't really need the power that the other game consoles require.

it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo took a similar approach to its end-of-life. Even the Wii got a cheap mini version released after the WiiU.

How about this for a budget system. A Switch Jr that is built-in to the dock? Kind of like the opposite of the Switch Lite. No portability, no screen, no joycons. Just a Brick with the cartridge slot, a few USB slots for wired controllers, an HDMI Out, and a power in.
 

Pocket

jumbled pile of person
Citizen
I'm not sure what the appeal of such a thing would be. The Switch Lite is already cheap enough to make that they can charge $100 less for it, and a Switch without Joy-Cons would have to either be bundled with a pair anyway (or a Pro Controller) or be priced so low that you'd still be saving money by buying them separately. Which, considering they're like $80, would have to be super cheap.
 

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Broke the Matrix
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The Switch, doesn't really need the power that the other game consoles require.
Eh, considering some developers are having more and more trouble downsizing their games for it as time goes on...

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They probably shouldn't wait too long on it, if only so they can maintain third-party support.
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
Well, the switch has been out for 7 years now, 8 come spring time, so its had a great long run, up there with the Xbox 360's run of 8 years. However, despite the age of the console, I don't think Nintendo needs to rush out and make a Switch 2 next year. The Switch, doesn't really need the power that the other game consoles require.



How about this for a budget system. A Switch Jr that is built-in to the dock? Kind of like the opposite of the Switch Lite. No portability, no screen, no joycons. Just a Brick with the cartridge slot, a few USB slots for wired controllers, an HDMI Out, and a power in.
Nintendo has always “done their own thing”, especially post-GameCube. That said, I think it is becoming increasingly noticeable that developers are hitting the limits of the hardware, making already lower power hardware look even weaker. There have even been a number of recent Nintendo titles (Super Mario Bowser’s Fury, Pokémon Scarlett/Violet, come to mind) that look to be suffering from hitting the hardware limits. Further, we’ve reached a point where more and more third party games (Marvel Midnight Suns, Robocop) get cancelled due to issues porting the games to the existing Switch hardware. And while a talented studio, given resources, can do good work (Panic Button’s ports are astounding), we are also reaching a point where the investment isn’t worth the return, so we get more compromised 3rd Party offerings (see MK1 and the N64-esque Stray).
I firmly believe that Nintendo had a Switch successor/update in the works years ago, but scrapped it as not to impact the astounding success they saw with the primary Switch system. Nintendo doesn’t need the power of the current consoles, but what they have is certainly aging to the point of impacting Nintendo’s own ability to develop on the platform.


Pocket covered some of my reservations about a “non-portable” Switch. I think mine is (and I say this as a PlayStation TV fan) that…the time is past. A console-ized Switch with better cooling and maybe a built in upscaler (like those external HDMI upscalers you find) would have been wonderful 5 years ago. But at this point…I just think the timing is gone. Plus, I think such a device would NEED JOycons for the multiplayer aspect (a big reason most would want to connect this to a large TV) which would bump the price. The game fidelity is, generally, not up to par with current consoles and there are no other media consumption features on the device.
At this stage, I just don’t think the Switch platform offers enough to justify removing its biggest gimmick, not when you have ready availability of newer consoles which are generally more capable in the living room setting.
 

Caldwin

Eorzean Idiot
Citizen
While I do agree that the Switch is showing its age and Nintendo may well need to get something new out to keep up, I have 2 concerns.

1: With the economy being what it is, how many people can afford to drop several hundred dollars on a new console? Is now really a good time for asking for that kind of commitment?

2. Will they be keeping with the console/portable hybrid or just going with a console. Nintendo has dominated the portable market for as long as there's been a portable market. So what ever they do next generation, I hope they have it covered in some way.
 

The Predaking

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I'm not sure what the appeal of such a thing would be. The Switch Lite is already cheap enough to make that they can charge $100 less for it, and a Switch without Joy-Cons would have to either be bundled with a pair anyway (or a Pro Controller) or be priced so low that you'd still be saving money by buying them separately. Which, considering they're like $80, would have to be super cheap.
Well, the idea is to make a stripped down version of the console that you could sell for $149. So whichever is cheaper,

Option 1: You can have joycons on the little controller dock.
Option 2: Wired Controller
Option 3: Pro-controller.

Looking at that, then Option 1 does sound the cheapest.
 

The Predaking

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Eh, considering some developers are having more and more trouble downsizing their games for it as time goes on...

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They probably shouldn't wait too long on it, if only so they can maintain third-party support.

Yeah I do agree with what you are saying, but no one really gets a Nintendo for its third party multi-platform games anymore. I know that they need the third party support, but most of the Nintendo fans are just getting the console for the first party games.
 

The Predaking

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Pocket covered some of my reservations about a “non-portable” Switch. I think mine is (and I say this as a PlayStation TV fan) that…the time is past. A console-ized Switch with better cooling and maybe a built in upscaler (like those external HDMI upscalers you find) would have been wonderful 5 years ago. But at this point…I just think the timing is gone. Plus, I think such a device would NEED JOycons for the multiplayer aspect (a big reason most would want to connect this to a large TV) which would bump the price. The game fidelity is, generally, not up to par with current consoles and there are no other media consumption features on the device.
At this stage, I just don’t think the Switch platform offers enough to justify removing its biggest gimmick, not when you have ready availability of newer consoles which are generally more capable in the living room setting.


Well, when I said no Joycons, I meant that it wouldn't have that integration like the switch does. You could still use them as controllers if you had them or if they included with the system. I am just trying to design a $149.99 Nintendo Switch Jr/mini that could be offered at the end of the console's life cycle to keep the system moving units and games. We already have the Switch Lite that takes away the television output option and gives you a powerful handheld, so why not the opposite? Heck, offer it with some built in first party games, and you will make a killing with it.
 

The Predaking

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While I do agree that the Switch is showing its age and Nintendo may well need to get something new out to keep up, I have 2 concerns.

1: With the economy being what it is, how many people can afford to drop several hundred dollars on a new console? Is now really a good time for asking for that kind of commitment?

2. Will they be keeping with the console/portable hybrid or just going with a console. Nintendo has dominated the portable market for as long as there's been a portable market. So what ever they do next generation, I hope they have it covered in some way.

1. That was the same reason that the 360/PS3 life cycle was so long. With inflation being nuts on everything and wages stagnating, we might not be ready for a new console drop next spring.

2. I hope that they follow the Switch's lead and make it another hybrid system. However, they might just release a new console only system and keep the Switch around to use a as portable. for a few years before debut the new portable.
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
1. That was the same reason that the 360/PS3 life cycle was so long. With inflation being nuts on everything and wages stagnating, we might not be ready for a new console drop next spring.

2. I hope that they follow the Switch's lead and make it another hybrid system. However, they might just release a new console only system and keep the Switch around to use a as portable. for a few years before debut the new portable.
1. Granted, but it feels like Nintendo has already pushed back an update/revision/new iteration of the hardware for some time now. I legit feel that the OLED update was supposed to be part of a broader update that got scrapped due to continued strong sales and issues related to the pandemic and crypto (leading to getting new generation chips impractical). Perhaps the better question is...if not soon, then when? Many of the concerns raised, while valid, aren't going to just "go away" in a year. And it's not going to stop Microsoft or Sony from revealing new iterations and updates top their own 4 year old console hardware. And as stated already, the existing Switch hardware, while proving exceptionally capable even at this age, it still reaching a point where more and more "major games" are getting increasingly difficult to port to the console in presentable way. Yes, developers can still cram games to the system, but Stray and MK1 and Hogwart's Legacy show the limitations of the platform.
And then you got titles like Robocop, Midnight Suns and Pillars of Eternity 2 where the ports were cancelled due to lack of time or resources or extreme difficulty in getting the titles onto the aging Switch hardware. (Remember, the Tegra X1 powering the Switch dates from 2015).
As is, a LOT of the remakes/remasters from Nintendo feel like they were put into production to compensate for the fact the internal teams were working with next gen concepts and Nintendo didn't expect to support the platform AS LONG as they are doing.

2. I see no reason for Nintendo to even TRY to release a stand alone console in that manner. Regardless of the technical updates, the next Nintendo console will remain a solid generation behind in raw power to the current crop of consoles (which have been building market share for 4 years, now). Further, the success of the Steam Deck has likely eaten into the "console quality on the go" market the original Switch managed to tap into. They don't have the tech or resources to compete in the console race against Microsoft and Sony, and they have a host of "handheld PC" devices starting to nudge into their handheld dominance.
The Switch's hybrid gimmick is what sold it. A big part of the success was that Nintendo didn't have to split their resources between different platforms. While I think the original Switch will remain as a budget option, I don't see the "Next Switch" abandoning the key fundamentals that made the first so successful.
 

Tm_Silverclaw

Active member
Citizen
The steam deck hasn't eaten into the market nearly as much as you think it has.

And while the steam deck is a good portable computer... still a shitty portable game console.
 

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Broke the Matrix
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Yeah I do agree with what you are saying, but no one really gets a Nintendo for its third party multi-platform games anymore. I know that they need the third party support, but most of the Nintendo fans are just getting the console for the first party games.
I am not so sure about that...

For one thing, that's been the common refrain for previous platforms, but with Switch, it's like EVERYBODY is lining up to put something on there. I don't think there would be this fervor to put even nigh-impossible games on it if third-parties were still "yeah, whatever" for consumers.

For another -- granted, this is just me, but if something... say, a Marvel vs. Capcom Collection... were for some reason to pass on Xbox? Well, it's coming to Switch, I have a Switch, boom. There's your sale.
 

Glitch

Well-known member
Citizen
I got the N64 expansion, Perfect Dark (and Goldeneye) could have used a Switch controller option.
 

Caldwin

Eorzean Idiot
Citizen
That's my issue with the N64 app in general. It's got some good games, but they just don't work well with a Switch controller.
 

Haze Arquebus

Cursed Punweaver
Citizen
Yeah, the hoodoo of mucking with finding the most viable scheme in Perfect Dark + doing a considerable amount of remapping in the Switch settings itself to make it play like I'm used to having modern shooters be is thankfully possible, but sure was a pain in the ass.
 

Pocket

jumbled pile of person
Citizen
With Nintendo having total control, you'd think they could just, like... romhack the games they're putting on the service to automatically have a natural control scheme out of the box. This isn't like Steam, where the games are what they are and all you can do is hope Steam's own app can trick them into thinking your gyro is actually a mouse somehow.
 

Glitch

Well-known member
Citizen
Well I made the controls more acceptable by changing the Switch button layout.

I wonder if Timesplitters Trilogy HD/4K could ever happen,
 

Tm_Silverclaw

Active member
Citizen
With Nintendo having total control, you'd think they could just, like... romhack the games they're putting on the service to automatically have a natural control scheme out of the box. This isn't like Steam, where the games are what they are and all you can do is hope Steam's own app can trick them into thinking your gyro is actually a mouse somehow.
Pretty sure they don't have total control, they probably have contracts with Rare/MS that say what can and can't be done.

Honestly they probably have contracts with ALL the NSO publishers.
 


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