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Do we think now that Switch and Wii U are the same generation?

What generation does the Switch belong to?

  • 9th generation

    Votes: 76 54.3%

  • 8th generation (same as Wii U)

    Votes: 64 45.7%
  • Total voters
    140
Chittagong

Chittagong

Gold Member
The early years of Switch were characterised by a general disagreement on which generation the console belongs in. Some said it is the same generation as Wii U, the 8th generation. Others suggested it was a new generation, the 9th.

One and a half years ago the opinion was split half and half on 8th and 9th generation.

But a lot has happened since.

1 - PS5 and Xbox Series X have been revealed and confirmed for 2020
2 - A new, higher powered Switch has been credibly rumoured for 2021
3 - Even more Wii U catalogue has been ported to Switch, 16 of 25 originals

ahxgxj8.jpg


Thus I think it makes sense to rerun the poll. Are Switch and Wii U the same generation?
 
Humdinger

Humdinger

Member
I consider the Switch to be a part of the current generation -- whatever number that is.

Nintendo doesn't align with the other two giants, so it's hard to say they belong to a particular generation, since the latter seem defined by Sony/MS. Whereas Nintendo just releases mid-gen and sort of straddles the generational fence.
 
stranno

stranno

Member
No. They don't share any similarities at all, aside some ports. Completely different tech and approach.

Wii U has more in common with Wii since, well, it's a Tri-core Wii with extra graphics hardware.
 
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Grand Theft Scratchy

Grand Theft Scratchy

Banned
I like to consider them different console generations. Every 5 to 6 years, Nintendo releases a new console unique from its predecessor.

A supposed more powerful Switch in 2021 kind of throws a wrench into this though since the mid-gen refresh for Nintendo would be four years into the Switch's console lifespan, unless it was originally planned to release this year. In any case, it seems Nintendo are the first to release a new console before Sony and Microsoft so I would expect the successor to the Switch to release in 2022/2023.
 
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TeddyShardik

TeddyShardik

Banned
No?

They're not the same genration. They're just not.

We're just getting tons of ports from a console noone owned.
And, as someone who never owned a WiiU, I'm quite content in this. :p
 
Bonfires Down

Bonfires Down

Member
At this point it only makes sense to talk about generations if you separate Nintendo from the other consoles. Switch and Wii U are not the same generation.
 
ZippyTheOtter

ZippyTheOtter

Banned
I know we all like our clearly defined boxes but with PC's always being a sliding scale, half step consoles now a common thing, generations are becoming more and more vague. Add in Nintendo doing whatever they want these days, it gets slightly more blurry.

I will be using my Switch during the same time as my PS4 and PS5, so definitely separate from Wii-U
 
DunDunDunpachi

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Switch is 9th gen and I've been saying it for awhile. It is the first 9th gen system.

Lumping Wiiu and Switch into the same gen actually "breaks" the gen progression, as if it matters.

Wii, DS, PSP, PS3, 360 were 7th gen.

Their successors, the Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PS4, and X1 were 8th gen.

Their successors, the Switch, the PS5, and XsX are 9th gen.
 
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L

LazyParrot

Member
The whole concept of console generations only really works if you limit it to Sony and MS these days. Their consoles do more or less the same thing, are fairly close in terms of power, share almost all of their games, and they release around the same time. None of that really applies to Nintendo, so I don't see much of a point in classifying their consoles that way.
 
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Grand Theft Scratchy

Grand Theft Scratchy

Banned
DunDunDunpachi said:
Switch is 9th gen and I've been saying it for awhile. It is the first 9th gen system.

Lumping Wiiu and Switch into the same gen actually "breaks" the gen progression, as if it matters.

Wii, DS, PSP, PS3, 360 were 7th gen.

Their successors, the Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PS4, and X1 were 8th gen.

Their successors, the Switch, the PS5, and XsX are 9th gen.
Click to expand...
Yeah, this is how I see it too. I think the plan for Nintendo was always to release a new console by 2018 (6 years after the Wii U launched in 2012) but because of the poor performance of the Wii U they basically released the Switch a year earlier, and as we know it ended up being a huge turnaround.
 
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F

FStubbs

Member
The Switch is Nintendo's 9th gen handheld. This is indisputable.

It just so happens that their 8th gen console was such a flop, and mobile technology advancements so rapid, that their handheld was able to double as a console as well, which makes it their 9th gen console as well.
 
Mhmmm 2077

Mhmmm 2077

Member
Generation is a time period, it cannot belong to the past, even if the performance is almost the same. Anyway, I wouldn't say it belong neither to 8th or 9th, it should be 1st generation of hybrid console hardware or something, cus you can't really treat it like a home console, but it's not purely a handheld either.
 
_Spr_Drnk

_Spr_Drnk

Banned
I say, as both a Switch and Wii U owner that there really hasn't been anything the Switch has done that really couldn't have been done on the Wii U, save for a higher resolution. The switch, to me, is an integrated Wii U that does everything right, so I'm putting it in the 8th gen.
 
Cert.in.Death

Cert.in.Death

Member
I side with the claim they are, in effect, the same. Switch simply cut the tether to the living room and reincorporated elements of the Wii. It also represents consolidation of their platforms by shrinking their handheld division and moving it to the same platform as their console development.
 
TLZ

TLZ

Banned
New hardware, new gen. Even though the new hardware is last gen tech, it's still new gen for Nintendo.

It's a portable at the end of the day. It's the best it could do at that price.
 
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ShirAhava

ShirAhava

Plays with kids toys, in the adult gaming world
Nintendo released TWO 8th gen consoles this generation

The Wii U had run its course aka failed so Nintendo released another 8th gen console

The Switch being a 9th gen console is the biggest "Nintendo Fanboy" argument I've heard in a long long time.

It's factually incorrect to the point of being revisionist history

-The Switch is mostly just Wii U ports
-The Switch is pretty damn close to the Wii U in raw power

If the Wii U was a success the Switch would have never been released 9th gen would have been/will be the switch 2/pro
 
RoadHazard

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Nintendo has their own (generally shorter) generations, can't really lump them in with Sony and MS anymore. Which you never could with their handhelds anyway.
 
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Thugnificient

Thugnificient

Banned
Console generations are a thing that was made up to synchronize the competition between different platforms.

Doesn't apply to Nintendo much anymore because they're stuck between two generations.
 
cireza

cireza

Member
Switch is a pointless console that did not add anything meaningful after the Wii U, and this includes its hardware that is only so slightly more powerful.

See you next gen hoping that Nintendo actually try something ambitious again. Which they definitely won't.
 
Hudo

Hudo

Member
Is the Coke that came after the "New Coke" was a failure also considered to be in the same generation as the New Coke? Going by the official definition of generation as defined by Pepsi via the introduction of the Pepsi generation, I mean.
 
gamerguywashere

gamerguywashere

Neophyte
is nobody paying attention to sales?


switch is gaming right now...you should be asking how ps5 or xbox are even relevant anymore


you could make an argument MS is gracefully exiting the console business this gen

you could argue it's because they are being destroyed by a 1TF gameboy

game is already over, man
 
kunonabi

kunonabi

Member
There is 0 reason to lump the Switch in the same generation as the Wii U. It just came out super early for next gen is all.
 
EverydayBeast

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Maybe it's 8th gen maybe it's 9th gen Nintendo is giving their consoles more power over time, and I don't think anyone cares what generation the Switch belongs too, OP you know it's Switch, PS4 and Xbox One.
 
Stilton Disco

Stilton Disco

Member
It released over half a year before the XOX (which is also an 8th gen console), only plays current gen games, won't be able to play next gen games, and should (unless Nintendo milk it well passed the point they would normally before they'd release a successor) already be more than halfway through it's time on the market before a replacement goes on sale.

It's also not the first time 2 systems have been released by the same company in the same generation, since the Atari 2600 and 5200 were both released in 2nd gen.

I get why people get confused, because it is an extremely odd situation, but just releasing a new console doesn't make it the start of a new gen.

It's simply giving far too much power and influence over the entire games industry to Nintendo, and ignoring what actually constitutes a gaming generation.
 
namekuseijin

namekuseijin

Banned
according to Nintendo fans, generation is when the console is released

the NES, SNES and SEGA mini are all the same generation as the switch
 
Kamina

Kamina

Golden Boy
Of course it is was a new generation. It just wasn’t a next generation.

Airola said:
Wii U competed with PS4 and Xbox One.
Switch competes with PS4 and Xbox One.

They are both part of the same generation.
Click to expand...
Wii U released in 2012 and competed with PS360 at first.
It was already dying when PS4/XBone came along.

Switch Released in 2017 and competes with PS4\XBone.

The Nintendo Generations are just shifted a few years is all.
 
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