Switch 2 Reveal Trailer
Nintendo have finally officially revealed the Switch 2, making them the last people on planet Earth to reveal it.
It is confirmed at the end of the trailer that Switch 1 games, digital and physical, will be compatible with the new machine.
That is always a good move I love to see from hardware manufacturers. It makes their new game box an easier purchase to justify and means more space under my television. Plus it means older games can still be supported and playable for longer, without the developer being forced to pump out a port for the new system.
I wonder whether existing Pokémon games will benefit from the improved specs of the new hardware and run better. They might be locked in some kind of "Original Switch" mode or even emulated.
Whatever the case, better hardware will be a band aid for the performance problems in the Pokémon series, and no amount of processing power can fix poor game design.
Anyway, I am not rushing out to buy a Switch 2 unless they announce some must-play exclusive, and Z-A is presumably going to be compatible with both.
The Switch 1 has such a large install base, they would be foolish to throw that away and limit games to the new hardware so quickly. I predict about a year or two of everything being "Switch 1 compatible, Switch 2 improved" before they transition to exclusive games being the norm.
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It's literally a switch 2, I don't expect much more innovation. This may be the laziest next gen modern console ever made, somehow lazier than the xbox series s/x just being a heavily upgraded version of the old consoles, but at least xbox made new designs. I think Nintendo will just cease to make switch games and make switch 2 games once it releases because they don't care, they never really made versions for the old and new, just buy the new console lol.
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If it ain't broke…
Nintendo has a long history of releasing a revolutionary new console, then making an improved/updated version, before coming out with something more innovative again.
The Famicon/NES was followed by the Super Famicon/SNES. The Wii was followed by the Wii U. The Game Boy was followed by the Game Boy Color. The DS was followed by the DSi.
The N64 to Gamecube might be viewed as an exception to this, but there was a disc-drive attachment version of the N64 between them that was never released in the west. And were it not for the waggle the Wii was essentially an upgraded Gamecube with a DVD drive.
My point being, not every Nintendo console has to revolutionise the gaming market. Simply releasing better hardware is the standard practice for most of the tech industry. They clearly have a good thing going and their own niché in the market with the Switch. Why abandon that for innovation's own sake?
I would rather that they make a new gimmick when they actually have a new gimmick worth making. Trying to force it is how you get the Virtual Boy or the Wii U gamepad.
I have pleanty of criticism for Nintendo, their hardware and their business practices. But making a better version of an existing console that still works with the old library is not something that upsets me.
Maybe if they release a new numbered Switch every year. That might annoy me, especially if new games always required the latest version.
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It will be annoying that you have to plug in the controllers to the side of it instead of just sliding them on. Also, will there be a lite version of this?
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Not all of the Switch 1 games will be compatible with the Switch 2, such as Ring Fit Adventure, 1, 2, Switch (if you even count that as a game), and Nintendo Labo, thanks to the removal of the IR sensor on the right Joy-Con used in all of 3 games or the accessories required not being compatible with the new Joy-Cons.
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i want to talk about this. Is there a locking mechanism? Or are the controllers on the side just magnetic because from the advert I foresee there will be common issues with the part sticking out on the device breaking. I'm curious if I'm going to have to buy a specific case just to carefully carry it around. How durable? Did they test it?
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Funny. I find the slide on the Switch 1 awkward and finicky.
Then again, I use the joycons maybe once a year, so I don't have much experience with them. The Switch is a home console for me.
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I don't know
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I dunno I feel like at least nearly all of their next consoles tried something new, the SNES tried 16 bit graphics and a new controller, the gamecube tried better graphics and mini discs and memory cards, the wii u tried adding a touchscreen addition, and the 3DS tried 3D graphics. At least with every new console they tried something brand new, the switch 2 was supposed to be like the what the 3DS was to the DS, not what the DSi was to the DS. The improved/updated version of the switch already exists, it's the Switch Lite and the Switch OLED, so this is just lazy for Nintendo cause Nintendo was always known to be innovative and a risk taker.
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@MonstaDash Agree to disagree, I suppose. But even in your own examples you cited better tech as an innovation.
Also, you are happy to mention all the examples where you feel these gimmicks and experiments worked (and 3D for some reason), but what about the Virtual Boys of the line-up?
The 3DS was considered a failure at first, to the point that Iwata officially apologised for it and took a paycut, the price was slashed, and no console has used 3D since. I can count the number of times I have used 3D on a 3DS on one hand, and that is having used it for over a decade, owning two of them and still playing games on the system to this day.
I adore the Gamecube. But it was the lowest selling console of its generation, in part due to using mini-discs and excluding a DVD player. At first this was touted as a benefit, preventing piracy and allowing for smaller storage cases, but the very next console used DVDs. The DVD player was a major selling point for the PS2 in an era when standalone DVD players were new and expensive.
Memory cards were a similar backtrack, but it is also worth pointing out that the N64 did have memory cards. The cartridges did have save memory built in (so they were onlynecessary for a few games), in addition to faster loading times, but the PS1 succeeded due to larger storage capacity on CD Roms. The PS1 as a whole was born from Nintendo's refusal to innovate, leading Sony to develop the concept themselves.
So I fundamentally disagree with you. Nintendo has not always been the innovator and its innovations have not always been successful.
If anything, looking at consoles like the Game Boy, Nintendo's strengths came from using cheaper, proven, more reliable technology to sell a better quality product cheaper than its competitors.
Sega had a full colour handheld in the Game Gear, but it was an expensive, bulky, battery gobbling monster. The Game Boy lacked colour and power, but it was cheap and used a third of the batteries, which also lasted much longer.
Nintendo became the name in handheld gaming, to the point that my mum still calls handhelds "Game Boys". Sega doesn't even make hardware anymore.
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we saw a small sample. and based on the looks of it. At the very least we might get to see a Nintendo Switch 2 Console coming out this Holiday season.
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