• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Nintendo Switch still only in the 'middle' of its lifecycle

Given the global shortage of high-end electronics components, Nintendo is right to refrain from tossing the Switch out as long as they can maintain momentum.
 
I love Switch, but come on. Quit buying it, so we can get a modern Nintendo console.

I say that and realize our household has 2 launch Switches, 2 OLEDs and 4 Switch Lites. Guess I have myself to blame.
 
Even if they released a new console, it wouldn't be state of the art and everyone here would be complaining about the same shit in a matter of time.
 
Sure, wanting games to not look like absolute garbage on my 4K TV is "nerdy shit". This console can't even do 1080p most of the time.
Luckily for them they don't sell the Switch with 4k or worse, 8k in their boxes, like MS and/or Sony...
 
4 Switches in my house- 2 OLEDs, one Animal Crossing LE, and one Lite. I have to say my OLED's been getting way less attention since I got a Series S and basically turned it into a gaming laptop.
You guys are animals.

I'll probably get a 2nd pro controller when Splatoon 3 specials come out. My buttons seem a little worn down after 5 years.
 
This might be a good thread for salt mining.

Seriously, people clamoring for a Switch Pro cause they want better graphics...
Angry Harrison Ford GIF


You don't buy a Nintendo hybrid handheld-console for top-tier graphics. Nintendo does not care about competing on the graphics front and making a more powerful model to appease members of a videogame forum is a complete waste of time and money. Nintendo should be focused on developing games in a more timely manner.
 
That's fine with me. It means I won't need a new console to buy MP4, Pokemon, or Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

All that matters are the games are fun as usual.
 
I love Switch, but come on. Quit buying it, so we can get a modern Nintendo console.

I say that and realize our household has 2 launch Switches, 2 OLEDs and 4 Switch Lites. Guess I have myself to blame.
I need to report a misleading tag. :messenger_tongue:

I don't mind a longer cycle for a console. Developers can really pull out miracles from their asses with enough time and familiarity.
 
My favorite thing to do is to walk into a premier steak house and complain to all my fellow steak enthusiasts about how too many people are buying McDonald's and not taking my steak tastes seriously. Then we slather our steaks in the AAA sauce of all sauces, A1, eat two bites, then upgrade to a new cut of fresher, newer steak. The steak must be fresh at all times. Everybody should feel this way and they're dumb for not feeling this way.
 
Last edited:
If that is true then it makes it more likely that we will see a Switch Pro.

But middle of its life cycle seems a little hard to believe. It came out five years ago. The Switch will make it to ten years? LOL. I mean, unless Nintendo continues to support it for a few years after the Switch 2 comes out. If that's the case maybe we're looking at 2024 when the Switch 2 comes out. Oof.....long time to go still!
 
My favorite thing to do is to walk into a premier steak house and complain to all my fellow steak enthusiasts about how too many people are buying McDonald's and not taking my steak tastes seriously. Then we slather our steaks in the AAA sauce of all sauces, A1, eat two bites, then upgrade to a new cute of fresher, newer steak. The steak must be fresh at all times. Everybody should feel this way and they're dumb for not feeling this way.
You are making me hungry....
 
I really care about IQ, like too much, but even I know most don't care, probably helps that I work with the general public (tons of younger couples, in 20s/30s) who really have to be prompted to see the difference in what I would call starkly different images, like one is dull and flat and the other is like an actual light on the screen and the depth of the image is massively different.

I'd say thats a more easily noticed difference than native 1080p vs reconstructed 1080p with everything else the same but they still have to be prompted 8/10 times, like if I just show both without saying anything they will 80% of the time buy the much cheaper and worse looking TV.
 
If that is true then it makes it more likely that we will see a Switch Pro.

But middle of its life cycle seems a little hard to believe. It came out five years ago. The Switch will make it to ten years? LOL. I mean, unless Nintendo continues to support it for a few years after the Switch 2 comes out. If that's the case maybe we're looking at 2024 when the Switch 2 comes out. Oof.....long time to go still!
If Nintendo keeps the Switch around and supports multi platform release for a few years after the next Switch Iteration, what they are saying can be true while still having new hardware out. Instead of Switch Pro like we think of the PS4 pro, the new Switch would be like a PS5. Fully backwards compatible with the previous model but having games that are also exclusive to it.
Analysis have stated for a while that gaming hardware may move to more of a Cell phone release pattern. New hardware every so many years but maintaining the software experience / compatibility with each new iteration.
 
If Nintendo keeps the Switch around and supports multi platform release for a few years after the next Switch Iteration, what they are saying can be true while still having new hardware out. Instead of Switch Pro like we think of the PS4 pro, the new Switch would be like a PS5. Fully backwards compatible with the previous model but having games that are also exclusive to it.
Analysis have stated for a while that gaming hardware may move to more of a Cell phone release pattern. New hardware every so many years but maintaining the software experience / compatibility with each new iteration.
If that is what Nintendo is saying then what comes after Switch in five years? The Switch is lightning in a bottle for them and I would hate for them to try to make some huge change in hardware. Switch is perfect as a hybrid. I don't want them to go back to dedicated handhelds and home consoles.

And if gaming is moving more to mobile I can't see Nintendo making that change in the next 5 years. They are extremely slow to adapt. Maybe 10-15 years.
 
Oh, brother ...

At least launch a "New" Switch like they did with the 3DS, where games runs better + a few exclusives (like they did with Xenoblade)
 
Switch being halfway through its life doesn't really imply we won't be getting a new system to me.

They can keep Switch going after they release a new console.

But I guess they have incentive to just keep going with the Switch for as long as the chip-shortage lasts.

If they're shooting for a 10 year life cycle, I'd bet that Nintendo is going to go the Game Boy Color route with their next piece of hardware: still technically a Switch, plays all Switch games, has the same functionality and form factor as the current Switch, counts as a "Switch" and not a new console for sales aggregation purposes, but modestly more powerful and with its own exclusive software. (I guess this is also the New 3DS strategy, but I bet we'd see more exclusives for this new/not-new platform than the N3DS did.)
 
No it didn't wii had an attach rate of about 10

The fuck are you talking about? The Wii had the lowest attach rate compared to PS3, XB360 and therefor ended making less revenue that those 2 consoles, which sold barely with a 10 million difference. That's one of the reasons the Wii U failed.
 
The fuck are you talking about? The Wii had the lowest attach rate compared to PS3, XB360 and therefor ended making less revenue that those 2 consoles, which sold barely with a 10 million difference. That's one of the reasons the Wii U failed.

Tie ratios
Wii: 9.05
PS3: 8.92
360: 7.5
 
The fuck are you talking about? The Wii had the lowest attach rate compared to PS3, XB360 and therefor ended making less revenue that those 2 consoles, which sold barely with a 10 million difference. That's one of the reasons the Wii U failed.

This seems to be false:
attachrate.png
 

I linked to my source. Every piece of data on that page is sourced, so you can check it against your sources.

I can't do the same with your information, since you just posted screenshots, but Nintendo's own released data about Wii software sales contradicts your sketchy screenshoted number and is actually slightly higher than the number given on the site I linked:
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/

Edit: If you use Nintendo's official data, you end up with a Wii attach rate of 9.07, slightly *higher* than the chart I posted before indicates.
 
Last edited:
I hope that's a big fat lie. I'm already not using my Switch because it's so hopelessly outdated next to my PS5 (sure, I'll dig it out of storage once BotW2 is released, but I'm not buying anything else for it anymore), so still using it in 2027 is just lol.

Same. I have no excitement for any upcoming Nintendo games because the system is hopelessly underpowered.

I can't play Kena and then go play Pokemon. It's felony assault and battery on the eyeballs.
 
The fuck are you talking about? The Wii had the lowest attach rate compared to PS3, XB360 and therefor ended making less revenue that those 2 consoles, which sold barely with a 10 million difference. That's one of the reasons the Wii U failed.
Those 360 and PS3 software numbers are outdated, but the Wii's tie ratio was far from "terrible". It sold a lot of software.
 
Oh, brother ...

At least launch a "New" Switch like they did with the 3DS, where games runs better + a few exclusives (like they did with Xenoblade)
Those were honestly more irritating than anything. We have an OLED Switch now!
 
Those were honestly more irritating than anything. We have an OLED Switch now!
Irritating? New 3DS were the definitive version of the 3DS

It would be exactly what a lot of people are asking for. Being able to run BOTW 2 at 1080p at a stable 30 fps on the go.

The OLED Switch was a dumb, dumb decision. It has a great screen, but expensive and with almost no changes.

Should have been the "New" Switch
 
Irritating? New 3DS were the definitive version of the 3DS

It would be exactly what a lot of people are asking for. Being able to run BOTW 2 at 1080p at a stable 30 fps on the go.

The OLED Switch was a dumb, dumb decision. It has a great screen, but expensive and with almost no changes.

Should have been the "New" Switch
Nintendo's learning the right lessons; don't iterate on a successful model if it's only going to fracture the userbase. I'd be happy to revisit this if their next system is not fully backwards compatible, however. But in the meantime, the Switch is excellent as is.
 
I can't even joke about this.

Hopefully they are lying to surprise everyone with a switch 2 with nvidia hardware, dlss etc.

Stuff like botw2, bayo 3 and MP4 deserve a better hardware.
 
Last edited:
Given the global shortage of high-end electronics components, Nintendo is right to refrain from tossing the Switch out as long as they can maintain momentum.

Yeah, honestly, whatever Sony is doing right now with PS5 kind of sucks. I'd rather prefer Nintendo to just wait out this storm and then go all in completely on the Switch 2.
 
Those 360 and PS3 software numbers are outdated, but the Wii's tie ratio was far from "terrible". It sold a lot of software.

Didn't say it was terrible in terms of number, but in terms of revenue the Wii lagged far behind the PS360 which was one of the problem they tackled with their further strategy, I mean after the Wii U obviously.
 
Software will tell.

Although, they could drop the price of base-Switch. That's still a huge opportunity.
 
As a handheld I could see it being relevant for another 5yrs because big budget games are not common on mobile.
 
Why are they gonna release a new one when morons are buying old ones at full price in record numbers?

Our voices are like farts in the wind.
 
Didn't say it was terrible in terms of number, but in terms of revenue the Wii lagged far behind the PS360 which was one of the problem they tackled with their further strategy, I mean after the Wii U obviously.
Good thing profit is more important than revenue....
 
Top Bottom