The Nintendo Thread of Jumping, Slashing, and Home Decorating

[Fero McPigletron]

(not sure if this is the right thread to put in a general game topic but... )

I'm late to the party and just saw HBO's 8-Bit Christmas, with Neil Patrick Harris telling his daughter a story about how he and his friends went crazy for a Nintendo game system when it first came out.

It felt like such a throwback movie. I laughed at every kid screaming, haha. There were only two NES games I recognized (Paperboy and Rampage. What the hex was that fighting game?!? Was that a fake game?) but they name dropped a few titles.

Anyway, how much as a Nintendo game system during... whenever it first came out? The kids said something like 100 dollars wasn't enough.

 

[Caldwin]

I wasn't a day-1 buy in, but it was $100 + tax and I got two controllers, orange zapper and the SMB/Duck Hunt duo-pack.

 

[Haze Arquebus]

Per the Gaming Historian's video on R.O.B., the system launched at an MSRP of $159.95, with R.O.B., Zapper, Gyromite, Duck Hunt, and two controllers.

 

[Blot]

Made up game. The color depth is far more in-line with a Neo Geo game than anything the NES could muster, and the green gi wearing character is visibly a woman (which would make Chun-Li's "first woman of fighting games" title pointless if the NES had one three years prior).

 

[Glitch]

1984 NES
1991 SNES
1996 N64
2002 - Gamecube
2006 - Wii
2012 - Wii U
2017 - Switch
So it's time to start talking Nintendo's 'next gen'? I'd wager it's a portable PS4 or slightly more powerful.

 

[Fero McPigletron]

I just got my Switch two months ago. Let me enjoyed it some more before it becomes obsolete, c'mooooon.

 

[Ungnome]

Almost 6 years since launch and NVidia does have a new tegra chip in the works, so it's possible, but probably not before next spring at the earliest. Hopefully it will be backwards compatible if it does come out

 

[Shadewing]

Well, Nintendo's consoles since Wii have been BC with at the very least the previous generation, Switch being an outlier due to a format change. Wii could play Gamecube Games and use its accessories, Wii U could do the same with Wii; GBA could play regular GB games, DS could play GBA games, 3DS could play DS games. So the next system is almost certain to be BC with the Switch.

 

[Pocket]

Watch Nintendo's next system be another lateral move that discards everything that made the Switch special in favor of chasing some shiny new toy that's gotten their attention.

 

[Shadewing]

Which Nintendo doesn't do. Wii, first time you could claim them 'chasing some shiny new toy' could use almost all of NGC accessories, Wii U could use Wii's. Considering Wii U is one of their big failures? And Switch is basically 'Wii U done right', its not surprising that it isn't BC with its predacessor. And the lack of a Dual Screen, means that yeah those games likely won't work either. But even in Handheld, they kept the BC between generations even when the new console had a 'shiny new' gimmick they were chasing.

Switch right now is an outlier, Wii U failed hard so Nintendo decided to do something vastly different. by combining Handheld and a Home Consoles taking what elements of the Wii U worked and refining them. The portable nature meant CDs couldn't be used, and as said the lack of two screens in handheld mode meant that unless 3/DS games were dock only games, they couldn't be BC with the Switch.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

I'm not sure if the next console will try chasing a gimmick or not. Nintendo is notoriously hard to predict. And I'm not sure what new gimmick they could even try. But, they do come up with some interesting stuff. Voice-activation?

But, one thing to keep in mind...Furukawa is the CEO of Nintendo now. Most of the more "gimmicky" consoles came out under Iwata's watch. And Furukawa isn't a game or toy designer. He's just a businessman. And I can see a businessman seeing how successful the Switch was and basically deciding to just do that again....just with more power.

Miyamoto MIGHT be pushing for a gimmick, but I think Furukawa would be hesitant to change too much of what was successful.

Now...will the Switch 2 be as powerful as the Steam Deck? The Switch is basically a high-end phone....and the Steam Deck is a low-end computer. Nintendo's got a hard time finding the right balance between power, portability/weight, and price. Hopefully, they keep it around $300. I think most people just want a more powerful Switch. Something that's easier to port modern games to. I'm not sure how powerful they can make it right now, while still keeping it portable and at a affordable price.

And, the most important thing of all...if this IS just the Switch 2...just CALL it the Switch 2. Don't get cute with the name like they did with the Wii-U. PLEASE!

And, honestly...I think with everything going on in the world right now, the next console will probably come out later rather than sooner. Nintendo's struck gold with the Switch, they're going to hesitate to move away from it. We might get a OLED 2 before a Switch 2.

 

[Shadewing]

And, the most important thing of all...if this IS just the Switch 2...just CALL it the Switch 2. Don't get cute with the name like they did with the Wii-U. PLEASE!

It will be the Switch, but better. The Switcher!

 

[Ungnome]

Could always call it the Super Switch

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

1984 NES
1991 SNES
1996 N64
2002 - Gamecube
2006 - Wii
2012 - Wii U
2017 - Switch
So it's time to start talking Nintendo's 'next gen'? I'd wager it's a portable PS4 or slightly more powerful.

Alternatively:

1989: Game Boy
2001: Game Boy Advance

 

[Glitch]

Alternatively:

1989: Game Boy
2001: Game Boy Advance

1989 Gameboy
1996 Gamboy Pocket
1998 Gameboy Color
2001 Gameboy Advance
2005 Nintendo DS
2009 Nintendo DSi
2011 Nintendo 3DS
2014 New 3DS/XL
2017 Nintendo Switch
2019 Switch Lite

I didn't include one: VIRTUAL BOY. For good reason.

Edit: but thinking about it, maybe that will be their next move: Virtual Switch. Showcased with Metroid Prime VR on the headset, 1620p Pikmin 4, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Odyssey on the docked mode.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

1989 Gameboy
1995 Virtual Boy
1996 Gameboy Pocket
1998 Gameboy Color
2001 Gameboy Advance
2005 Nintendo DS
2009 Nintendo DSi
2011 Nintendo 3DS
2014 New 3DS/XL
2017 Nintendo Switch
2019 Switch Lite

But I didn't listen.

 

[Ironbite4]

I think the main problem with the Wii-U is that they didn't capitlize on the marketing they had established with the Wii.

Ironbite-"Wii would like to play with U". See? Perfect.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I don't think the Wii U could have been marketed that simply. The Wii's marketing worked because even non gamers could easily understand what they could do with a Wii and why they would want to do it. It wasn't always easy for gamers to understand what to do with the Wii U controller and why we were supposed to want to do it, let alone that non gamer audience.

 

[Shadewing]

Which is why all the early Switch commercials were showing off its gimmicks and how simple and easy it was.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

If you're including the Game Boy Pocket (GB Color is arguable, but I'm not sure anyone considers it the next gen from GB), then you should probably also have the GBA SP, Game Boy Micro, and Switch Lite and Switch OLED in there as well.

In which case, it only came out about a year ago, so why talk about next gen yet?