Can Nintendo ACTUALLY Repeat the Switch's Success?

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The Nintendo Flip. It's a TV console, It's a handheld console, It's a skateboard! How radical?!

Literally all they have to do is follow the PS1 -> PS2 model: - Full backwards compatibility with Switch 1 (digital/physical games + Switch Online). - Make it noticeably more powerful (a given) - Improve multiplayer experience (like, come on Nintendo, this is a pretty low bar) - Add non-gaming functionality that dramatically increases its value (i.e., add all the popular streaming services to the Nintendo store). That's it. I'm sure it'll be improved in other ways as well, but if these four items are addressed, Nintendo will have an easy slam dunk. That being said, this IS Nintendo we're talking about here, and sometimes things go a tad... sideways. Anyway, thanks Arlo, hope you're doing well!

i gotta admit. over 7 or 8 years being on track to outsell the PS2 is pretty incredible. i looked it up and saw that to my surprise, the ps2 was beng sold all the way up until 2013. twelve years. no wonder it did so many numbers. the fact that the switch is already on its way to overtaking it's throne in under 8 years is pretty wild. credit to nintendo.

They literally only have to do 3 things to guarantee another huge success: 1. Full switch backwards compatibility 2. Powerful enough for 3rd parties to work with for modern games 3. Continue to release great games at a steady pace They have all the momentum in the world going for them, so if they fail they only have their own incompetence to blame

Pokemon that looks like a PS3 game?! Damn, you are reaching high today, Arlo.

As long as they don't call the Switch 2 something stupid like the Wii U, they should be fine.

They need to do exactly five things. 1. Make it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR, FROM THE GET-GO that it’s a new system. We all remember the confusion surrounding the Wii-U, especially among parents and casuals. I don’t know if slapping “Switch 2” on it is necessary, but they can’t leave it vague. 2. Backwards compatibility, and no nickel and diming people on the transfer of digital copies. If they want to charge a buck or two for each one, fine, but keep the price low and don’t lock any features behind paywalls. This transition needs to be as smooth as possible. 3. Don’t do anything heroically stupid. Keep it a handheld/console hybrid, and if they must add any goofy shit to it like experimental control schemes, make it optional. 4. Quality control! Keep the studios they own in check so that we don’t see as many bugs and slowdown issues, iron out any known hardware problems and do as much shakedown testing as possible BEFORE the drop, and don’t gaslight people when they inevitably find problems with the hardware or software. Own up to them, and fix them. 5. Keep software development sustainable. Remember how ACNL got delayed for a few months to give the people working on it time to live their lives and not cut corners trying to meet the old deadline? Remember how it resulted in a great game that didn’t have a shitload of bugs? Do that, Nintendo. Do that any time it seems like it might be necessary, because it probably will be. It may not always pay off in the short term, but it absolutely will in the long term.

Honestly, Nintendo engineered itself into a corner with the Switch. They merged a hendheld and a home console successfully, with like half a dozen controller setups. How are they supposed to back out of this without disappointing the customer expectations that have adapted to that? The Switch is basically a borderline solved format, and anything trying to beat it can only be detail improvements. But the general format will prevail. I would be very surprised if the next console will deviate significantly from the Switch.

I hope whatever Nintendo's next console is doesn't completely reinvent the wheel. If all they do is a more powerful Switch, that's all I want. The Switch is too fun to leave behind already

I love my switch-but I don’t see how Nintendo can reach these heights again. The Switch was the perfect storm. Relatively easy to get near launch… lower cost than its competitors… a pandemic that launched sales again… the first major hybrid console… I don’t see all of this happening again.

"Or a Pokemon that looks like a... PS3 game?" Gonna need a burn heal for that critical hit.

Knowing Nintendo, the next console is equally like to... 1. Be everything we've ever wanted 2. Be good, I guess, it's alright but not great 3. Require you to receive a solid punch to the face in order to play it

Arlo's the only monster I'm willing to listen talk about business for almost half an hour

I agree. I think it will be like the transition from DS to 3DS. A decent successor but still not the same success.

A graphical jump is by far the easiest way to show consumers a console is genuinely new and plays new games anyhow

1. Don't bork up the branding. "Switch 2" or "Super Switch", just something clear and obviously new hardware. 2. Give the top 10+ games (and Xenoblade!) an update to run nicer on the new hardware. 3. Make sure third parties have dev kits in advance. Make it easy on the big sellers. This system should be a slam dunk.

the reason for the switch 2 delay really could be as simple as Nintendo wanting Switch to the best selling console of all time

Games. That’s the key. We need a new Zelda, 3D Mario, DK, Etc. This is why the Switch hit the ground running. I didn’t buy a Wii U because all it seemingly had was ports for the longest time.

In 2022 there were over 72 million kids in America alone. Since the launch of the Switch, children went from age 5 to 12, age 3 to 10, from birth to age 7... I wonder how many new Switch sales are going to kids who became old enough for their first game console? Just feel like it's an interesting thing to think about. The long lifespan of the Switch made it accessible to three of my nieces/nephews, when at launch, they were too young (or not even born!).