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If it is still convertible between handheld and console, and is fully compatible with Switch titles, Nintendo might have finally gotten a transition to a new console right. I don’t need another TV-bound console, but I would gladly take a more capable Switch.
They usually got generational transitions correct with their handhelds, but always flubbed it with the consoles. Hopefully now that they’re one and the same there won’t be a problem.
It seems like a no-brainer to just make a better Switch, so I’m hoping for the same things as you. I really hope they see that the best thing they can do is the most “boring” thing: just make it more powerful. Give it maybe a better screen and more battery life. Maybe update the joycons (but still use the form factor because people have multiple joycons and wouldn’t it be nice to just use the things you already have?). But also let me play all my switch games. And maybe recent releases (uhh Zelda) could easily work on this system with better framerates.
Stuff like that is all I need. We tried the Wii, and it was fun for a time. The Wii U was interesting but obviously not the right choice. But the Switch idea is so excellent it just seems like they’d be fools to try and change it up significantly.
It seems like a no-brainer to just make a better Switch
so Nintendo's next console will be a fishing rod with 3 buttons that uses a smart watch as its display.
Especially when the Steam Deck also exists now, it seems important for nintendo to stay in that area now that they’ve entered it.
This is what scares me the most.
I absolutely agree that they need to "play it safe" this time.
But for their consoles they have had a "it's not worth launching something unless it's really innovative" philosophy for quite some time. And if they decide on some bonkers idea that screws with my simple wish, a better switch, I think I'm going to be disappointed.
And I say this as a guy who has loved Nintendo and their products since I got my NES back in the 90s. I stood in line to get the Wii at launch, heck I even liked my Wii U. (Even if it was under powered and confusingly marketed, I liked that they tried to do something new...)
But this time Nintendo, just stick to a good, solid, backwards compatible , iteration on your original idea.
I loved my Wii U. I was actually skeptical of the Switch initially, and for the first time didn’t buy a day-one Nintendo console. I played BotW on my Wii U and waited for that Splatoon 2 bundle for the Switch before I bought one. Of course, now I love the Switch.
GameCube to Wii was fine.
As for being fully compatible with the Switch, I don't see why it wouldn't be if they are doing another ARM based system. The Switch is not exactly difficult to emulate anymore considering phones have been able to do it for a couple years now.
It says in the article.
Apparently this new next-gen console can be used in portable mode, like the Nintendo Switch, and has an LCD screen as opposed to an OLED screen in order to keep costs down. It also comes with a cartridge slot for physical games, VGC said.
I probably should’ve read the article before commenting, but as a Lemming I have kept some of my worst Redditor tendencies.
Shame about LCD vs OLED (the OLED Switch is seriously beautiful), but understandable I suppose. I just hope they get backwards compatibility and library retention/management right.
If it’s a hit maybe they’ll come out with a very slightly fancier model with oled later, just like the current switch
Going by the pattern this one is gonna suck
All they have to do is make a more powerful Switch and they're golden. But this is Nintendo, so...
Pattern? Are you implying that the GameCube or SNES were bad consoles? That's crazy talk.
I mean the Switch is no masterpiece, it's just the perfect storm of good games and accessibility that people crave. If that continues, it stands to reason the successor to the Switch has a chance to break the curse. And is it really a curse? The Gamecube fucking rocked.
I just hope they don't pull the same bullshit regarding the joy-cons and the drift issue
Or SwitchU or something and it falls flat...knowing nintendo, this is exactly what they will do. They're like the microsoft of consoles, releasing a solid console every other generation.
The Microsoft way would be to build the most powerful console on the market, but forget to make any games for it.
And here I was thinking the Xbox was the Microsoft of consoles. 😅
Jokes aside, you make a good point.
Hopefully switch game prices will go down. Eventually they will turn off internet support and I can finally hack it.
If you have a release switch just do it. The switch is cheap enough that if you get banned and really really really want to play am online game, then you can just buy a used one without a dock or joycons.
I have a fusee exploited switch that I installed atmosphere on like 4-5 years ago. Pirate tons of games and haven't been banned.
All you need to do properly follow the steps, and don't play pirated games on sysnand/online
I even used atmosphere on sysnand for a few years and was fine.
Worst case the console is banned and you just buy a new one with all the money you saved not spending $60 on used Nintendo games, and the banned console is still good for literally everything except playing the few online games.
I have a sneaky suspicion today Nintendo were only driven to make this because of the Steam Deck. If it didn't exist they'd be more than happy to continue with the current Switch for a few more years.
Tears of the Kingdom has shown that the Switch is at it's limits here. It runs and it's playable, but it's perilously close to not being.
7 years is about right for a hardware generation. PS4 and Xbox One had that too, and they had a mid-gen performance refresh to boost the longevity. Base PS4 games were borderline unplayable by the end.
Tears of the Kingdom is a miracle of engineering. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity did a lot more to show that the console isn't keeping up with its own ambitions anymore.
That said I don't think generations need to last the same forever because technological advancement doesn't happen at the same rate forever. The PS4 isn't being obsolesced by insufficiency, but rather by extravagance and marketing interests. Many games still run just fine on the PS4 to this day, even Jedi Survivor is being backported to it.
I don't think that's the case they probably have had at least a small team working on this before the Steam deck was announced. I don't think the audiences overlap that much to be honest and the two devices have different use cases.
The steam deck is just a powerful hand held computer (relative to other gaming hardware is pretty weak though) that runs PC games with all the ups and downs that come with that. I think there are number of steam deck buyer that are not that familiar with the underlying hardware that are going to be disappointed when new games are not going to run acceptably on it. Where as for the switch/switch 2 games will at least run acceptably
I really want them to make a foldable, the Nintendo DS was freaking badass and it's a shame that they've abandoned that unique concept.
Oof, as much as I love the idea of bringing back DS/3DS titles to the eShop, I really don’t trust that Nintendo hardware would withstand a fold.
I think a safer option would be the option to beam to the Switch Dock, like a WiiU, and have the option to have two screens if desired by devs. That would give the option to bring back WiiU and select DS/3DS titles using the NSO model.
I doubt it'll keep up performance wise with x box and playstation, but it can probably do pretty well just updating to newer mobile hardware vs the 7 or 8 year old chips they use right now.
No way it will every reach a current gen console because of the thermal restrictions of how small it is and the battery not being able to power a chip that is capable of modern games with 4/HDR/etc. But I'm sure if they use a modern efficient SoC it can push out some pretty good graphics.
Steam Deck is pretty similar size and weight. I don't see why Nintendo gets a pass on glorified mobile phone specs.
Steam deck is way bulkier and heavier at 1.6 lbs vs .9 lbs and 1.9 inches thick vs .55 inches thick
I'm hoping this means we'll get an Nvidia Shield TV refresh.
This. Totally this.
They'd better keep everything in the NSO store
