Nintendo Switch 2: Thread 01

[Neon Ignition]

It's absolutely gutting that none of the speculation so far mentions the Joycons being meaningfully changed. Worst Nintendo console controllers ever and it'd be ironic if they aren't overhauled considering how much Nintendo usually changes controllers up each gen.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Would put the WiiU Gamepad as a worse controller than Joy-Cons but yeah, Joy-Cons are trash and they need serious improvement if Nintendo are sticking with them for Switch 2.

[egparadigm]

I would like dual screens although I accept it’s a niche concern. Mario Maker is better with 2 screen for example. What would be good is if it’s optional rather than built into the pad, as heavy controls hurt wrists with extended use.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I'm going to keep saying it: Nobody is asking for Switch 2 to have dual screens, and people pretending that this is somehow wanted is crazy. Third-party and indie devs sure as hell are not asking for dual screens.

Make the Switch again but this time with better quality hardware, massively improved dock and Joy-Cons and more power. That is literally all Nintendo have to do.

Nintendo's track record with hardware gimmickry is poor. DS was an exception to the rule and even then it had GBA BC as a fallback option because Nintendo knew there was a chance of it failing.

[hudson]

Maybe the "dual" screen is one screen folded in half so we can enjoy TATE mode and rotate console for widescreen.

[Neon Ignition]

I'd hate that, folding screens on phones are horrid

[dataDave]

Two 16:9 screens would be cool. Especially if they can be independently detached.

[wakka]

I'm going to keep saying it: Nobody is asking for Switch 2 to have dual screens, and people pretending that this is somehow wanted is crazy. Third-party and indie devs sure as hell are not asking for dual screens.

Make the Switch again but this time with better quality hardware, massively improved dock and Joy-Cons and more power. That is literally all Nintendo have to do.

Nintendo's track record with hardware gimmickry is poor. DS was an exception to the rule and even then it had GBA BC as a fallback option because Nintendo knew there was a chance of it failing.

Nintendo's track record with innovative hardware designs/'gimmicks' is rock solid.

DS = smash hit
Wii = smash hit
Switch = smash hit

Their more straightforward follow ups, where they mostly just released the same design as last time with a bit of a glaze on it, less so:

Gamecube = washed its face but overall a poor seller
3DS = half the sales of DS
WiiU = abysmal failure

Nintendo are really good at turning unique hardware designs into mega sellers. When they've tried to play it safer is when they've struggled.

With that said, I think a very straightforward Switch 2 would probably buck this trend and do fine. I still think it will eventually sell less overall than Switch 1, though.

On a separate note, I'm continuing my baseless prediction from a few years ago that the Switch 2 will include wireless docking and dual-screen play on the TV as a result I have no grounds for this though!

[Nu-Eclipse]

Nintendo's track record with innovative hardware designs/'gimmicks' is rock solid.

DS = smash hit
Wii = smash hit
Switch = smash hit

Their more straightforward follow ups, where they mostly just released the same design as last time with a bit of a glaze on it, less so:

Gamecube = washed its face but overall a poor seller
3DS = half the sales of DS
WiiU = abysmal failure

Nintendo are really good at turning unique hardware designs into mega sellers. When they've tried to play it safer is when they've struggled.

With that said, I think a very straightforward Switch 2 would probably buck this trend and do fine. I still think it will eventually sell less overall than Switch 1, though.

On a separate note, I'm continuing my baseless prediction from a few years ago that the Switch 2 will include wireless docking and dual-screen play on the TV as a result I have no grounds for this though!

Don't really agree re: the DS. Again, the DS could've easily failed (and it might've had Sony not absolutely f'd it with PSP) and Nintendo knew that hence GBA BC being a failsafe in the original hardware.

Obviously the Wii and Switch have the numbers on their side but Wii did stagnate hard mid-cycle, and wasn't the Wii essentially repurposed GameCube concept tech in the first place?

GC and 3DS are much of a muchness IMO - I think it speaks for itself that Nintendo haven't ventured into making another true dedicated handheld like that because they knew the writing was on the wall with the awful start that the 3DS had (and no, I don't consider Switch Lite as a true dedicated handheld in classic Nintendo fashion).

WiiU awful as we all know.

For me, Nintendo's gimmick record is patchy at best. Lots of questionmark blocks there.

[fishbowlhead]

Don't really agree re: the DS. Again, the DS could've easily failed (and it might've had Sony not absolutely f'd it with PSP) and Nintendo knew that hence GBA BC being a failsafe in the original hardware.

Obviously the Wii and Switch have the numbers on their side but Wii did stagnate hard mid-cycle, and wasn't the Wii essentially repurposed GameCube concept tech in the first place?

GC and 3DS are much of a muchness IMO - I think it speaks for itself that Nintendo haven't ventured into making another true dedicated handheld like that because they knew the writing was on the wall with the awful start that the 3DS had (and no, I don't consider Switch Lite as a true dedicated handheld in classic Nintendo fashion).

WiiU awful as we all know.

For me, Nintendo's gimmick record is patchy at best. Lots of questionmark blocks there.

Every one of those consoles was hugely profitable for Nintendo (bar the WiiU), but even the WiiU games went on to make an absolutely CRAP ton of profit with next to no effort put in on Switch, so even then it was a win for Nintendo.

Nintendo are really the model example of a correctly functioning business.

[wakka]

Don't really agree re: the DS. Again, the DS could've easily failed (and it might've had Sony not absolutely f'd it with PSP) and Nintendo knew that hence GBA BC being a failsafe in the original hardware.

Obviously the Wii and Switch have the numbers on their side but Wii did stagnate hard mid-cycle, and wasn't the Wii essentially repurposed GameCube concept tech in the first place?

The DS sold 155m though. That's as well as any console in the history of consoles. So it's kind of undeniably a smash. As you point out, we can be pretty sure there was some nervousness from Nintendo about the boldness of the design - they included the GBA BC as you mention, and they also publicly stated the DS was part of a 'three pillar' strategy with a more traditional Gameboy still to come - but they still took the plunge and it paid off big time. That the planned GBA 2 never came says it all.

Honestly, I think what you highlight here - that DS dominated PSP and that Wii was essentially a re-packaged Cube - kind of prove the point that when Nintendo push the boat out on playful designs, it's those designs that sell the machine. DS, Wii and Switch were all greatly underpowered compared to competitors, but sold tons because the hardware design captured people's imaginations.

I'm just pointing this out because I see it bandied around a lot online here and elsewhere that the wackier and more unorthodox Nintendo's designs, the poorer their consoles sell, and I personally think that history so far has shown that the reverse is true

[Nu-Eclipse]

Every one of those consoles was hugely profitable for Nintendo (bar the WiiU), but even the WiiU games went on to make an absolutely CRAP ton of profit with next to no effort put in on Switch, so even then it was a win for Nintendo.

Nintendo are really the model example of a correctly functioning business.

WiiU software being profitable is highly questionable. Nintendo were literally giving games away during the system's lifetime and I know that because I "benefitted" from the Mario Kart 8 promo that gave you two free games for registering your machine. Amiibo was propping up Nintendo profits during a good chunk of the WiiU and 3DS era.

That aside, I never said that the other Nintendo software didn't make profit, nor did I say that didn't know how to do business - they literally have more money than they know what to do with.

I stand by what I said. They are not great with gimmicks at all. You could argue that they fluked incredibly with the Wii and DS era considering the sh1tshow that WiiU was and given how the 3DS significantly struggled early on.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The DS sold 155m though. That's as well as any console in the history of consoles. So it's kind of undeniably a smash. As you point out, we can be pretty sure there was some nervousness from Nintendo about the boldness of the design - they included the GBA BC as you mention, and they also publicly stated the DS was part of a 'three pillar' strategy with a more traditional Gameboy still to come - but they still took the plunge and it paid off big time. That the planned GBA 2 never came says it all.

Honestly, I think what you highlight here - that DS dominated PSP and that Wii was essentially a re-packaged Cube - kind of prove the point that when Nintendo push the boat on playful designs, it's those designs that sell the machine. DS, Wii and Switch were all greatly underpowered compared to competitors, but sold tons because the hardware design captured people's imaginations.

I'm just pointing this out because I see it bandied around a lot online here and elsewhere that the wackier and more unorthodox Nintendo's designs, the poorer their consoles sell, and I personally think that history so far has shown that the reverse is true

Even broken clocks get it right twice a day. Like I said, I think if we're honest, the whole Touch! Generations era of DS & Wii looks like a bit of a fluke. A fantastic success story but a fluke.

The fact that Nintendo won't attempt a follow-up to what is still the second-best selling console hardware of all-time (DS) says it all for me. A DS/3DS follow-up today would bomb without question.

Giving Switch 2 dual screens that neither consumer nor developer wants (despite some on here trying to be deliberately contrary about it ) is Nintendo begging for another WiiU failure.

[wakka]

I honestly think that's pretty uncharitable to Nintendo. I think they've done some amazing work with their hardware design over the years which has helped uplift and shape the whole industry.

I'm glad we have them in the mix making interesting toys when the rest of the console race has descended into framerate/resolution/ray tracing hell (*cough* PS5 Pro *cough*), and I love when those toys sell gangbusters!

Unpopular opinion alert: I'd love Switch 2 to have at least one very wacky quirk.

[dataDave]

Didn't they sell something like 130M first-party WiiU titles from 2012-2016, not including digital? Those numbers are crap compared to the Switch of course, but I can't think of a single publisher that wouldn't sacrifice their first-born for those kind of sales. The hardware certainly flopped hard, but the games didn't.