A couple years back I began to pick up my New 3DS and play around with it again. I realized just how many great games there are on that system! I feel like I took for granted how amazing that generation was. I will admit, when the 3DS first came out I had concerns about the specs, for example 240p screens seemed like they’d be quickly out of date. However, [Fire Emblem Awakening’s cut scenes](https://youtu.be/5NpJ_afFukQ) made me realize screen resolution doesn’t tell the full story because WOW that game looks so good on the 3DS. I think Kirby’s best 2D game is still trapped on that console: Kirby Planet Robobot, and you can play so many great 2D Zelda games despite it being played on aged hardware. In other words I never really wished the 3DS was more powerful because the games were great. Not to mention all the backwards compatibility with it being able to play DS, GBA (CFW), GBC, SNES (N3DS), NES, etc. Even the new 3DS which boasted having 50% more processing speed didn’t really make the biggest difference in the grand scheme of things.
Don’t get me wrong, a Switch 2 or Super Nintendo Switch would be nice, but find myself caring less about the hardware and more about the software the more time goes on. I used to want Zelda ToTK to be released alongside a Switch Pro or Switch 2, but I no longer care, I just want to play the game and for the game to be fun (which I’m sure it will be). And to be honest, the longer Nintendo stays with the original Switch and pumps out amazing games the more affordable it is for us, we don’t have to go out and buy another console. And I have the 3DS to thank for this change in mindset. What do you all think?
by blindguyMcSqueezy007
32 Comments
I don’t disagree with anything you said. I’m not the type of gamer who cares about specs and frame-rates etc, just give me a bunch of good games.
If you think the 3DS is impressive with its low specs, check out the specs for the original DS: 67+33 Mhz CPUs and 4 MB RAM. For reference, there were Pentium 1’s with 100 MHz as early as 1994 (again for reference, Doom released in 1993) and PCs around that time had twice or four times as much RAM. Now consider the 3D games you could play on the original DS.
Modern computers are absurdly fast, and they’re capable of far more than developers do with them. The extra power is instead leveraged (some argue wasted) to ease and speed up development as the games themselves have become far more complicated and larger in scale than they used to be in the past.
I’ve been playing my 3DS a lot in the past 2 years alongside my Switch(which I still use more often by eons) and the tech specs also have not bothered me as much anymore as they once did. I finally beat Fire Emblem: Awakening last year on my New 3DS and it still looks great on the larger screen size with a resolution not much better than that the original, smaller DS had back in 2004. Only recently have I gotten around to playing the final game in my 3DS backlog(Fire Emblem Fates) and I still have a few more smaller games that gonna buy before the eshop shuts down in March. I’ll still be playing them likely for years to come ignoring the tech’s age.
The library really did help it succeed regardless of any limitations and the Switch has an even healthier library(last I heard it has 40,000 games now) that is also on hardware really being hammered lately about it’s age. Yeah, I myself have wanted a 4K Switch or Switch Pro for the last 3-4 years but at this point I’m actually not really interested in it because the consoles library is so damn strong, it’s arguably the best Nintendo has ever had.
Nintendo has always understood this. Gaming doesn’t need to be about specs. For them, it’s all about the games. They hold tight onto their IP and work hard to perfect their biggest releases.
This is why people continue to pay full price for Nintendo games that came out years ago. They’re high-quality games that don’t rely on bleeding-edge graphics.
Part of the issue is what matters most is pixel density NOT pixel resolution. 640×480 looks like crap on 22in screen, but if that 640×480 where the size of a postage stamp it would actually look BETTER than if you cut out a postage stamp size of a 22in screen running 4k res. Unfortunately everyone only advertises resolution, and not pixel density. That makes it very difficult for your average gamer to actually understand what is and isn’t good on a smaller handheld device. They just know bigger res is better and get confused and assume something sucks when it advertises a small res.
With pixel density in mind, i think the switch looks great in hand held at 720. Where it lacks is on my 42in screen at 1080. The loss of pixel density is just enormous and it shows its age compared to 4k gaming.
I’m feeling the opposite with the switch lately. Because the hardware is such a leap from the 3DS, developers took a great leap themselves in terms of the scope and depth of their games. However as the switch ages it feels more and more like that the leap the developers took is greater than the switch can handle. I find myself missing the the 3DS era of games, which felt more complete and packed with carefully made content, whereas many switch games with a large scope end up feeling very empty.
I’ve come to this realization as well, ironically after I built a gaming PC. My most played games are still indie stuff like Stardew Valley and Slay the Spire, or easier to run games like Minecraft or Civ (slightly more demanding, but frame rate doesn’t matter much). I could play all those on my old laptop.
And I still play my Switch more.
That being said, I’m still in favor of Nintendo iterating and improving the hardware and specs. That’s just a lower priority.
Basically, I want another handheld hybrid that has the best specs possible without sacrificing anything else too heavily, such as price, portability, battery, etc.
I agree, with the caveat that Nintendo’s own games need to run well on the hardware, and that’s not always the case.
I understand what you’re saying and it obviously more important to have a game that is fun, but hardware isn’t just to make games look prettier. The better the hardware, the more developers are able to do and that can translate to a better performing game, better load times, etc. As long as the next console has hardware comparable to current gen and is backwards compatible, then I’ll be happy.
Nintendo gon’ Nintendo.
They’re always going to be a step or two behind graphically and I am absolutely fine with that.
I’d just like them to be able to run all their first party titles flawlessly
I liked my 3ds (never as much as the DS though) but at the end it really was showing it’s age. I think I sold mine three years ago now. The switch is showing it’s age now too. The oled screen is great but the hardware runs worse than I think it should. If Nintendo games were on Xbox I would only use Xbox. The first party games are really the only reason to have a switch (and the portability for some people)
I really don’t need the Switch 2 to be anything too crazy technical. But it would be nice to have the big f2p games like fortnite, overwatch, Apex, etc be playable at a steady framerate without feeling like the machine is gonna die from overwork.
Wow it’s only 240p? I wouldn’t have guessed that after having recently replayed Mario 3D Land and Luigi’s Mansion 2. They look fantastic. I assumed 480p. Just goes to show it’s not about specs it’s about optimization.
It’s about the software, yes. But Nintendo doesn’t exist in a vacuum. In a world where the vast majority of software is multiplatform, better hardware is a key unlocking more software.
Hot take ahead: I actually like it when developers have some form of restriction. Be it budgetary or technological, but not creatively.
It requires more imagination on their part to put something out. A lower budget often leads to more freedom because the project is of decreased risk to the publisher. Limited tech can result in games changing direction for the better in some way, like fixed cameras in the PS1 Resident Evil games or the fog in Silent Hill.
I feel like third-party software with huge budgets tends to almost always play it too safe unless the brand is strong enough to endure a risk here and there (like Resident Evil 4 shifting gears as much as it did).
Chrono Trigger for DS is the best version so far.
I generally agree but major nintendo titles like pokemon should never be released like how scarlet/violet were. The devs wanted a more ambitious game and were severely limited by the hardware. Sure if the pokemon games didn’t have such a quick turnover they would’ve had more time to polish it, but ideally they aren’t fighting multiple problems at once.
Idk if others are like this (I can only speak personally) but playing games with lower frame rates that constantly fluctuate gives me a giant headache. At that point its more of an accessibility issue for me.
If I buy a hardware for gaming, I want it to meet industry standards, and 30FPS definitelly isn’t the standard anymore, despite some low end gamers may think it is enough or “totally playable”.
While we accept Nintendo giving us their worst, they will never worry about providing better hardware.
In the near future a lot of games will drop support from Switch earlier than they should and we will miss more and more 3rd Parties. I mean, developers don’t want to develop even for Xbox Series S because it prevents progress for next gens, imagine the Switch, that is weaker than most phones nowadays. Nintendo have amazing 1st parties, but I don’t want to miss amazing 3rd parties because my console is a potato.
I’m really thinking about getting a Steam Deck, or even better, an Ayaneo Air Pro.
I grew up on NES and SNES, so I’m not averse to lower resolutions and such.
However, playing Zelda BOTW or Xenoblade chronicles for example, I really feel like the hardware is holding back the experience and the creative output.
I will validate other posters here by saying I wish Nintendo releases a successor to the Switch that has backwards compatibility.
Looking at YouTube videos of current Switch games running on powerful PC hardware using emulators has me salivating.
For real, go look up Zelda BOTW CEMU 4K on YouTube.
I did spend hundreds of hours in BOTW even with the limitations, but would the experience be even better with more powerful hardware? You bet it would!
I think a new Switch with improved performance would be nice but I don’t need it to keep up with PS5/XsX visually.
I think Nintendo should adopt a similar strategy to Microsoft and keep the current Switch for the more casual audience and have a more powerful model for the more serious gamer.
Games like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Metroid Prime 4 and Pikmin 4 will all play fine on the current Switch and can match up to current gen games quality wise but they would also definitely benefit massively from a performance upgrade.
Nintendo has had this kind of thinking for a long time. And in general it has positives: they’re still able to push amazing first party titles with lower specs and it doesn’t affect the experience, while keeping overall cost/complexity down which is good for consumers.
However, this starts to fall apart when talking about third party publishers. A game developed for PS4 or ps5 is not going to be a straight copy on the switch. There will be cuts. In some cases this is done very well. In others it’s a mess and the game suffers. Which isn’t ideal.
I’d like to see a kind of middle ground. I don’t need top of the range specs, but I do want to be able to play most third party titles without having to do detailed research on how it compares to the playstation version.
I think we need stronger hardware sooner rather than later because even Nintendo games or third party exclusives struggle to run sometimes.
I’d rather play a great Nintendo game without it looking blurry most of the time or having the framerate dip below 30fps all the time when there’s more than 2 things on screen.
Stuff like BOTW, Xenoblade, Astral Chain, Warriors series, SMT 5, Bayonetta 3, etc would be a lot better on stronger hardware and that list only grows as time goes by.
My three thoughts are:
1. The Switch would get more ports/third party AAA games if it was more inline with modern gaming specs
2. I find indie games every bit as fun or better than most AAA games nowadays, Nintendo included, and those cost like $20, sometimes <$10 on a good sale. If a AAA game is retailing at 3x that price there ought to be a good reason, and really the only major difference is graphics. So if the graphics are just ‘ok’, why not just stick to indie games?
3. Unlike 3DS the Switch isn’t always played on a standardized screen size. Switch graphics often look their best in handheld mode but can look ugly on a large TV.
I agree. I have a steam deck, a ps5, still have my old ps4, my 2dsxl and of course my switch. I find myself playing my Nintendo handhelds the most cause the games are just great. They’re my weakest consoles and yet I have the most fun on them. Something about Nintendo has always made me appreciate their game lineup more then higher frame rates, higher resolutions, the best hardware etc. I personally hope Nintendo focuses more on improving the next Switchs OS experience rather then just having focusing on specs alone. Better social features, better entertainment features and apps, more themes, etc.
My issue with the Switch is how many games have FPS drops and are unstable. I don’t care much if the graphics are not as good as on another console but I want my games to be smooth and my controls to be very responsive.
The last Pokemon game is a good example : I cannot care about the graphics being shit because the game is really fun but the constant FPS drops, the shit menus and the game being slow and unstable all the time made me stop playing at some point.
I completely agree and feel that anyone who is performance mad probably has the switch as their second or third string console.
I find that when it comes to third parties, hardware can make or break a game. Although third parties aren’t the target here, they are just as important. Witcher 3 looks absolutely incredible on better hardware, yet on the Switch it looks incredibly dated, like it came out during 360 era. Another game I can name is Warframe, they recently released cross-play and us Switch players get left in the dust due to how slow the Switch itself loads assets. There are games that look good on Switch, but they mostly are either first party titles or indie titles that are simplistic and look good no matter the hardware. Better hardware generally means a better experience point blank. For example, storing a game on a mechanical hard drive on your pc will make it load significantly slower than if you stored it on a solid state drive. As for downloading games, your CPU can actually be a bottleneck as well. That does explain how games usually download slower on Switch as well, even with something like 50 MB/s.
Sure the Switch is portable, but so is Steam Deck, and that offers a far better experience overall. The Switch showed me just how important hardware truly is when it comes to gaming. I hope Nintendo does FAR better making their next console though in terms of hardware and build quality. Switch aged like milk over the nearly 6 years it has been out.
TL;DR: hardware can directly impact your experience depending on how well it performs or how badly it performs, and there are better options available for handheld gaming.
The thing with Nintendo is they don’t have ‘the best’ graphics. They never have.
Do you know what they do have?
Great games. Nintendo make some of the best exclusive games on the market. Great graphics doesn’t automatically make for a great game.
The big difference is the Switch, precisely because it is more powerful (relative to the 3DS I think), and because it is Nintendo’s only hardware console, requires developers to put AAA titles on it. These titles are a **lot** beefier and strain the improved hardware to its limits.
Don’t get me wrong, the 3DS was a superb portable console for its time. And has awesome games. But developers were not trying to also target basically a non-portable console. Nobody was trying to put Skyrim on the 3DS, for example.
While the software is key, I think an improved Switch would be essential. Not because we need 4K video games (which are impractical and pointless on a portable console). But we want skilled developers to be able to port ambitious games to it and have them work superbly.
Granted, ports like No Man’s Sky show it’s possible to make an AAA game run well on the Switch.
So I think an upgraded Switch would require Wifi 6 (i.e. really upgrade the network stack and hardware), the most updated nVidia graphics chip, more RAM and a beefier portable CPU. Enough to give headroom so developers can make their AAA games run well on it.
When you have companies like Game Freak who only focus on the Switch and put out games like Pokemon Scarlet/Violet that both look like butt and run like butt, it’s probably time to upgrade the hardware. There’s almost no textures to anything in that game. It is cell shaded which pretty much is always less demanding than other styles, and yet it still runs at horrible frame rate.
Game devs found the ceiling of this console within the first year of the console being out and that’s not good when you compare it to other system where it usually takes 4-5 years before that happens. It’s outdated, slow, and needs updated.
Compare the loading times of a switch to any current console or PC and you’ll notice just how slow it runs. Fast travel isn’t fast on it that’s for sure lol.
Couldn’t agree more. I’ve been playing a lot of 3DS recently (MH 4U, SMT IV, Zelda titles) and the power/resolution doesn’t matter at all because the games are fantastic. Unfortunately Nintendo will be forced to move on from the current Switch at some point so that they can continue to support 3rd party games, but I’m skeptical the experience will be any better. Sure games may look better, but visuals often feel like a mask for shallow gameplay and lackluster stories that many AAA games offer.
I have felt this way for a while. I never had a 3DS, but I did have a nice gaming PC. When I switched from my PC to my switch, I had way more fun and was rarely bothered by poor graphics or frame rates or whatever. It’s just a fun console. And I get flamed all the time on different forums for saying stuff like this, which is just ridiculous. I love the switch the way it is. If they don’t release a new console for 5 more years, I won’t be bothered.