Switch 2 coming late 2024

I feel almost guilty saying it, but I'm not sure I will be day 1 this time around. Will be the first Nintendo console I haven't bought at launch. I think the Switch has transformed gaming, but I stopped playing it after a year or so tbh.

Steam is so good now that the Deck covers portable gaming and I have a PC behind my telly which is effectively Docked mode. And, more than 1000 games available.

The pull of the Nintendo exclusives isn't so great for me anymore either. Wasn't a massive fan of BotW or Mario Odyssey :/

I hope a March announcement is accurate. I don't even care that much if it isn't out until the end of the year, I just want to get some facts about what it will actually be instead of all the speculation.

With backwards compatibility and a good launch title or two it will likely be day 1 for me, assuming it sticks to a similar price point as the OG Switch. Without bc I'll probably hold off, although I will get it eventually either way. It seems Nintendo is the only one putting out exclusives I can't get on PC nowadays and I always love their games. The portability was a draw prior to Steam Deck, but not so much now. Still a nice to have though.

I actually think they will play it safe and and just go for a more powerful Switch.

Yeah that's the 'problem' for me. I used to play a lot of indie games on Switch, but they run better on the Steam Deck. I've played all the first party Nintendo titles I wanted to play, so it really comes down to what they announce on that front too. 

It is an interesting point about the growing portable PC space. You do wonder if Switch 2 is a year late. As those alternatives become more accessible and accepted, it might affect sales of the Switch 2. How significant that is is up for debate I think though. The average consumer might be put off by the price point of portable PC's and the need for knowledge and tinkering occasionally. A dedicated family friendly Nintendo console will always have that in its favour. Then there's brand recognition with parents and casuals. Nintendo's brand has arguably never been more visible and relevant. On the other hand, If Switch 2 comes in at a high price point with little to differentiate it from something like a Steam Deck or even Switch 1. I don't think it's D.O.A but it will definitely shrink its potential market I reckon. Little Johnny's mam might not plumb for a steam Deck instead but his dad might find the idea of a vast steam library and a multipurpose device an interesting alternative in that scenario

Only thing I want is a design that takes into consideration the shape of actual human hands. If it doesn't leave your hands feeling like a mangled deformed witches claw after 30mins(in portable mode at least) I'm game.

I am curious to see if Nintendo just go for a more powerful version of very similar hardware.

6 years in, most kids I see (in my extended family at least) seem to have moved onto the iPad and the likes of Roblox. So I do wonder if Nintendo's tried and tested method of creating more of the same on more powerful hardware will be enough to capture the imagination again.

Kids especially don't seem to be drawn to ipads for their graphical power specifically, more that's where the next big thing is.

So I don't think more of the same will cut it. Happy to be proven wrong, but either way I'm fascinated to see what they've been working on.

Around the time of the WiiU I thought nintendo was screwed because Smartphone and Tablet gaming would basically take over from mobile gaming (Gameboy, 3DS etc..) and they'd gambled on making a system that was basically a tablet. Shows what I know.

I'm in the land of Nintendo/Sony, so I don't know if it's fully representative, but basically all the kids in elementary school seem to have Switches, as do my nephews of the same age in the UK. Middle school is when smartphones and social media kick in, so I dunno how much that'll change things... though the ones I know still seem to be using their switches.

I'd be really interested to know how sales of all the small indie games stack up on Switch though.

Until we actually got a Switch and I looked at the online store, I was totally unaware how many indie/smaller PC games were actually also on Switch, with their frequent sales and pricing much closer to Steam than I expected. Plus quite a lot of mobile games as well I guess.

But the conversation around Switch seems to be pretty dominated by the big Nintendo Franchises, so I wonder how many users are even aware of a lot of them, and how many users basically only buy the big nintendo franchises. (Which was an issue on their previous consoles, like Wii and Gamecube, but they seem to have done a much better job of pumping out content for the Switch)

You basically have like one big franchise a month for, what, 70 quid, and then you have dozens of indie games for under a fiver. It's almost 2 entirely different markets.

Interesting. I'm kinda surprised given it just seems a bit under the radar, but it's good to hear.

Switch sales for indies aren't actually that far off Steam discounts tbh, with loads of them getting discounted like 80%+ every couple of weeks. I've ended up rebuying a bunch of games I already owned on steam, just because they were so cheap.

It does make me wonder about Switch1/Switch2 compatibility though. It'll be rather annoying if I can't play any of them on the Switch2, and would be a major factor for me in whether I'd want to pick one up. (Though the main factor will probably be how much the kids beg) 

Do they get a spot on the store? Been a while since I checked it out but just remember a recently released tab and that was a mess of mobile looking games.

I feel they are just going to go down the iterative route. Past experience may suggest otherwise, but they do have a new president in place and I would expect he won't want to rock the boat too much, at least with his first big hardware release since taking over.

Edit - also, are we due a Nintendo Direct soon? Not had one since September and seems February is when it normally takes place.

Mario 4K

Yeah backwards compatible would make me buy this straight away. Otherwise I'll finish my backlog before starting on the new machine.

Especially as I still haven't bought a ps5 due to the lack of games I want to play. So that console money burning a hole in my pocket.

Maybe Metroid Prime 4?

Some Square Enix recent titles too. SE can't afford to ignore the likely biggest console in Japan. They will be fully on the Nintendo bus this time.