>That transparency can only go so far, though, and the challenge for Nintendo Direct’s format right now is the same as the challenge for Nintendo more broadly – how do you communicate with players about the software pipeline when, behind the scenes, more and more of that pipeline is being diverted towards a console you haven’t started talking about yet?
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>To be clear, Nintendo finds itself with a very high-quality problem here. It’s just launched Tears of the Kingdom to commercial success and rave reviews – the game is selling gangbusters and will be one of the most-played and most-discussed games of 2023. The company couldn’t have hoped for a bigger exclusive title to keep the Switch afloat through what is likely its last major year on the market.
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>But at the same time, the launch of TotK raises the next question, which is the far thornier matter of how the transition to the company’s next hardware platform is to be managed.
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>If there’s any company that could plug its ears to the resulting developer outcry and push ahead with such a demand, it’s Nintendo, but it still seems much more likely that whatever hardware is announced next will be a full generational leap rather than anything like a “Switch Pro” upgrade.
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>Beyond that, the shape of what’s to come is largely unknown. A significant upgrade that maintained the Switch form factor and basic concept is certainly possible, and with any other company, that’s exactly what you’d expect. This being Nintendo, though, a fairly significant departure that introduces major innovations over the existing Switch concept is also very much on the cards.
[https://www.gamesindustry.biz/nintendo-direct-introduces-the-switchs-sunset-slate-opinion](https://www.gamesindustry.biz/nintendo-direct-introduces-the-switchs-sunset-slate-opinion)
I thought this was an interesting article. Given the sheer amount of remakes/remasters this year, I am very curious where we think the Switch is going.
by MamaDeloris
35 Comments
I don’t see a world where Nintendo gets away from the physical traits of the switch, mainly the portable/dock layout.
At least from the excerpt, it seems like a lot of words to say ‘we don’t know, we don’t know, and in case you were wondering, we don’t know.’
I would be surprised if all future Nintendo hardware isn’t in the switch family. Like a Switch 2 with backwards compat. But Nintendo has surprised me with bad decisions before.
Let me tell you, you heard it here first, the next console is gonna be another DS. DUAL SWITCH. Think about it
Game companies make game decisions years before they launch. And by decisions, I mean not just art style, music, and plot, but engine to build it on and what device it is made for.
The 3d Mario and 3d Zelda teams take 4-5 years to make their next big iteration. Other AAA games they make are similar. Botw launching day 1 for Switch made TOTK possible for Switch, and Nintendo had no idea to expect the Switch to sell so much in 2020 and beyond. Covid + Animal Crossing was an absolutely insane combination no one could anticipate. The decisions were already made.
So the sequels to almost all of their AAA games, probably day one after they started developmemt, were using projected tech for the next system. You can’t just tell a team utilizing dlss 3.0 and unreal engine 5 to go back to Unity with the game they’ve been working on for a year or two because the Switch is selling so well. That would be an entire rebuild from the ground up, wasting a lot of time and money, and Nintendo is extremely frugal and wouldn’t want to waste a dime.
While I kinda agree with the article, this is the same outlet whose head literally tweeted that [Nintendo has no major games this Holiday after Nintendo Direct](https://twitter.com/Chris_Dring/status/1671533464498184197?s=20).
I’s interesting that this has basically being said since the September 2022 Direct and then again in Feb 2023 Direct and now June 2023 Direct. Yes something is on the horizon but that also doesn’t mean they’ve completely stopped on the Switch and the system slowing down is nowhere near the same as when the Wii U slowed down.
So the question is, will Nintendos next console be an upgrade to the Switch, or will they shoot themselves in the foot by doing literally anything else.
We’ll know Nintendo is done with the switch when they announce a new Rhythm Heaven game…
What exactly is different between the Xbox 360 and the Xbox Series S & X other than case differences and internals?
When’s the last time you saw a DS on shelves? Even back in 2016 they were plentiful.
Nintendo took a huge gamble and shuttered the Game Boy/DS division for the Switch. It’s not going back. And they don’t need to.
Slap in some new internals into the switch. Maybe redesign it a tad. 4K. Better battery life. That’s it.
There is no next thing. Switch is the future, and has been since 2017.
After the most recent direct I feel like the Switch easily has a good 2 years before we see or hear anything from Nintendo on a new console.
At least a year until we see something new, I’m banking on two years. 2023 has seen the release of a whole SLEW of games hat could have been EXCELLENT launch titles for the next Switch. Pair that with all the remaster plans they have I think we should take Nintendo at their word and sit tight for a bit.
They’ve given so many explicit indications that they don’t want to move on just yet in spite of the gaming medias apparent insistence that they do so.
I just hope there’s a switch 2 that’s backwards compatible
I don’t care what happens next as long as I can play my switch library on it
Really hope at the very least they keep the portable/dockable concept. Game changer.
I think we’re stuck with Switch for another year. Into 2024, I could see a successor launching, but support will still come given then install base. It will slow down, but especially if there’s backwards compatibility for all software, no reason to stop supporting Switch as a platform. Same thing happened with DS/3DS.
The question is, if Nintendo is planning to announce a new system for launch next year, what do you think the killer launch title is going to be? It can’t be Zelda like the Switch, since we just got that. I was thinking Metroid Prime 4, since it seems to be spending a really long time in development. Alternately, it could be a new 3D Mario title, or they could shock everyone by reviving Star Fox or Kid Icarus.
Whatever it’s going to be, the launch title has to be well along in development by now if a new system is launching next year. We know about Prime 4. But we haven’t heard anything about a new 3D Mario since Odyssey.
Maybe it’s just me, but the switch feels perfectly adequate still. I use it to play Nintendo games and indies, performance for the most part is good enough.
Sure it could be more powerful, but would that enable transformative new games that the current switch couldn’t handle? Or just more pixels? Because that has never motivated Nintendo afaik
Outside of performance, the Switch OLED perfected virtually everything else about the hardware. If joy-cons got a few improvements in ergonomics and reliability, it’d be pretty much perfect.
(Don’t get me wrong, I truly hope their next console is just a “Super Switch” and not a whole new thing. But that hasn’t been the case for a while with them)
This guy seeing a console go on for more than six years clearly broke his brain. This is nothing unusual for consoles as their shelf life is longer than a lot of people want to believe.
I cannot imagine them veering even slightly away from what the Switch is. The switch is so insanely established in nearly every household that if whatever they release doesn’t offer **full** backwards compatibility (games, accessories, everything) then most people will be uninterested. Building onto what the switch family already is just seems like the smarter move.
They should just stick to the Switch format and just go on from there like PlayStation does. Switch 2, Switch 3, etc
The Switch is perfect IMO. Handheld and docked, can use joycons for motion games if needed. Split screen can be set up easily with another person, sleek design, great games.
This format is pretty close to perfect. Going radically different would be a big risk. Personally I’m too attached to the Switch to see it go and hope it remains or gets an upgrade.
Sheer amount of remakes/remasters? most titles are new lmao do you people even look at the actual releases before making arguments like these?
there won’t be a new console for around two years i think. not with all the new stuff announced, the stuff that just came out etc.
and i’d guess that nintendo, considering the switch will likely be the most successful console ever at the end of its lifecycle and the insane size of its library, is going to be smart enough to implement backwards compatibility.
I think people are just expecting Nintendo to announce a new console just because Sony and Microsoft have had their new ones out for years now. I don’t believe Nintendo has any intention of releasing a new console still.
The article’s title has major #NINTENDOOMED vibes.
Nothing about this Direct screamed “welp, this is the last hurrah for the console” to me – major first-party releases are still happening, major third-party releases are still happening, the sky continues to not be falling.
The only reason for Nintendo to even be thinking about a next-generation console at this point is that you basically have to start planning that kind of thing *years* in advance. I give it at least another year before we even hear them talking about *plans* to release a completely new console, and then it’ll be in a cagey “no idea when it’ll be done” kind of way.
I’m just assuming full backwards compatibility since it’s been done so many times before (GC to Wii, Wii to Wii U, GBA to DS, DS to 3DS, etc.). Personally, my biggest hope is that Switch 1 games will not only be playable but play better on the new system similar to current PS and Xbox backwards compatibility.
At the very least, I’m hoping for smoother framerates and a consistently better image for games with variable resolution.
I will say this. If there is NO backwards compatibility to ALL switch software, it will be a big mistake
My takeaway was kind of the opposite, that they might be extending its life past the normal life of a console since it’s been so successful.
Launching a new 2D Mario series does not say to me the end of the Switch is imminent.
I think Nintendo finally found their stable console concept. This is far from the old Nintendo that was more willing to experiment with gimmicks and ideas that could fall flat on its face or completely revolutionize gaming, seeing as how they quickly dropped the model controls and other experimental tech on the joycons after a few years when the Switch’s main strength was clearly the hybrid model over anything and there was no need for gimmicks. I can see Nintendo making the Switch their Playstation with numbered sequels and hardware improvements along with some unique technology on the controls but nothing too radical or extreme, that could be pushed aside on add-ons for weirder games.
I’m over 40. I started with an Atari 2600 and NES. I lived through the 90s console wars and the last console I bought was a PS2 20 years ago.
With all that experience I can say without exaggeration that the Switch is my favorite console of all time. It’s perfect. I love everything about it. Nintendo created the perfect game console.
Please please please don’t iterate the next console with some stupid gimmick. You nailed it. Just make a better faster switch!
literally the only thing I care about is it being backwards compatible
also the subscription service applying to both consoles would be cool
As long as their next console has backwards compatibility and still has the handheld/docked option I think it will be fine.
In my opinion, if the Switch doesn’t fix it’s online platform, it will suffer going forward.
The reason I buy is Switch is only to play Nintendo specific games, or something that I plan to play while mobile. If a game is multi-system, 9 out of 10 times I’m going to buy it on PS5. Only if I plan to play at work or on vacation would I buy it on Switch.
Switch isn’t always online. Pokemon asks me if I want to go online. Yes, always. Just like my PS3/4/5 were always online.
Build in voice chat (the app doesn’t count and is a pain.) Make it easy to be in a party, invite friends to games. Get rid of friends codes (this isn’t 2010). Just making a friend on Switch is hard, getting them into my game is harder.
It’s 2023. Playing together online should be super simple. COVID taught us that games bring people together. I enjoy playing with friends. But playing with friends on Switch is hard. So we just load up Steam and Discord, or the PS5, join a party and play together.
I don’t care about specs. As long as the game runs well I don’t care.
Edit: and for the love of GOD, don’t mess up the marketing. Don’t call it Switch 2 (the Wii U was really confusing for the public). Don’t call it Switch Pro (unless it’s a .5 step in generation). Or New Switch or Switch anything. Give it a new brand name.
I know Nintendo feels the need to reinvent the wheel with every console, but I hope they just make a more powerful Switch honestly.