switch surpasses PS4

[koralis]

https://www.darkhorizons.com/nintend...n-total-sales/

The Nintendo Switch has now passed both the PlayStation 4 and the company’s own Game Boy to become the third highest-selling gaming console of all time.

122.55 million Switches have reportedly sold as of the end of 2022, the number surpassing the Game Boy Color at 118.69 million, the PlayStation 4 at 117.2 million, and well past the Wii at 101.63 million.

Only two other pieces of gaming hardware sit higher – the reigning champ the PlayStation 2 with 155 million units sold, and the Nintendo DS with 154 million units sold.

[Sasquach]

I don't think anyone really saw this level of success with the Switch. I for one thought it'd at best just be successful enough to keep Nintendo in the game, not work its way to 3rd place all time (and climbing),
At this stage in the game though it hard to see them push another 30 million more units to catch the DS and PS2..but never know.

[Trunks0]

I'm not shocked. Nintendo has rolled their Console and Handheld market into one with the Switch. And it seems like Nintendo is playing a long game with it as well. Which imho means it is almost certainly going to keep climbing that sorta chart.

[Sasquach]

I'm not shocked. Nintendo has rolled their Console and Handheld market into one with the Switch. And it seems like Nintendo is playing a long game with it as well. Which imho means it is almost certainly going to keep climbing that sorta chart.

I kind of wonder what they're going to do with the eventual switch sucessor.....
-If its more of the same, then they're likely putting in another mobile chip (rumored to be a variant of the Tegra Orin). Same limitations but far more powerful to better compete with Sony/MS.
-If they chase MS/Sony then they may have to re-separate the handheld and desktop portion....not sure this would even make sense for them anymore.
-I think they can really gain a foothold in the power console space if they're able to utilize the dock as a power upgrade/external GPU of sorts. kind of like the surface book. I suppose the challenge still remains...you'd need the two processors to be not too far off in terms of pwer levels from each other. (unlike the surface book where you had to deal with intels crap GPU in the tablet, but would use the nvidia GPU in the base). Would be far more expensive...but then they could sell the dock and the tablet separately.....

[Trunks0]

I kind of wonder what they're going to do with the eventual switch sucessor.....
-If its more of the same, then they're likely putting in another mobile chip (rumored to be a variant of the Tegra Orin). Same limitations but far more powerful to better compete with Sony/MS.
-If they chase MS/Sony then they may have to re-separate the handheld and desktop portion....not sure this would even make sense for them anymore.
-I think they can really gain a foothold in the power console space if they're able to utilize the dock as a power upgrade/external GPU of sorts. kind of like the surface book. I suppose the challenge still remains...you'd need the two processors to be not too far off in terms of pwer levels from each other. (unlike the surface book where you had to deal with intels crap GPU in the tablet, but would use the nvidia GPU in the base). Would be far more expensive...but then they could sell the dock and the tablet separately.....

From my understanding they scrapped the last Switch Pro/2 plans in favour of the OLED switch upgrade. So we are not going to see a successor for a very long time imho

[Mangler]

Nintendo scrapping the pro is a shame, as the current hw isn't powerful enough to run the games coming out for it at a decent frame rate.

And what makes it even sadder is that just putting faster memory in the thing would have resulted in a massive performance boost, so it's not like they had to spend much dev time on it.

[Sasquach]

I kind of wonder if the suspected switch pro/2 was just gonna be a slightly faster Switch with 4k support or some other thing....and it wasn't deemed a big enough upgrade nor anywhere near powerful enough to make any kind difference beyond what the Switch could do right now. If Nintendo thought that then a midcycle "Switch OLED" upgrade made sense as you gained a largely superior handheld screen but with the same processing capability as the rest of the Switch Lineup. Plus Nintendo outright said they were in the middle of the Switch's lifecycle last year....which kind of contradicted every switch pro/2 rumor out there (not to mention sales hasn't REALLY slowed down a whole lot since launch). With that timeframe (10ish year lifespan) we're realistically looking at a Switch successor in or around 2027. If the Tegra Orin is the supposedly rumored chip variant, it should at least be able to keep u with Sony/Xbox enough to gain multiplatforms. The Tegra X1 was already way too outdated to compete directly against PS4/Xbone when Switch launched.. I think we've reached a saturation point in graphics where it can't really look all that much better than the "last generation" anymore, and thats where RT and DLSS and all that jazz comes in, helps with details and performance.

[Trunks0]

Nintendo scrapping the pro is a shame, as the current hw isn't powerful enough to run the games coming out for it at a decent frame rate.

And what makes it even sadder is that just putting faster memory in the thing would have resulted in a massive performance boost, so it's not like they had to spend much dev time on it.

I think they can ride it out longer still. As it is starting to be looked at as a mobile platform, not a console platform. Whats going to happen is the same thing as happened with Game-Boy. Different versions or just entirely different games just for the platform. Which is can carve itself a niche for just like the Gameboy.

Apparently what drove them away from making a full fledged successor console is WiiU failure. Apparently the ripples from that are still being felt inside Nintendo.

[Sasquach]

I think they can ride it out longer still. As it is starting to be looked at as a mobile platform, not a console platform. Whats going to happen is the same thing as happened with Game-Boy. Different versions or just entirely different games just for the platform. Which is can carve itself a niche for just like the Gameboy.

Apparently what drove them away from making a full fledged successor console is WiiU failure. Apparently the ripples from that are still being felt inside Nintendo.

Alot of people clamoring for a switch successor really only want a more powerful switch....and thats all it really needs to be. Its the safest bet to succeed, but it needs to be a big enough power upgrade.
They also need to stop finding gimmicks to make gameplay "new and fun" all the time. Sometimes all people want are just a better version of what they like. Its why we dont have a new F-Zero....they cant figure out what they can do to make it "new" and different..... Look at Starfox Zero....the gamepad controls made it super awkward and weird.

The Wii-U had flaws, and they just needed to avoid it..and that's pretty easy to do i think.

Timing = It was released somewhere close to the tail end of the PS3/Xbox360 era i think...or midway through it.
Hardware = Just like switch they have some kind of odd limitations (storage space was probably the biggest reason) that made them not quite as capable as they could have been for PS360 ports.
Is it new or an expansion? = I think this confused a ton of people at launch. Why did they need to get it? I have a wii already..whats the point of the Wii-U?...and it costs as much as a new console for not much benefit.
The gamepad = The gimmick...wasnt really used all that well. It was mostly just used as a second screen for inventory-like purposes. Didnt really add anything to gameplay at all.

[KAC]

I just need the next Bayonetta game. **** everything else.

[koralis]

Yeah, doesn't seem like they're planning on swapping soon. Announced the new Zelda, pikmen, etc. Also

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/...nce-emulation/

Nintendo has finally made those emulators available to Switch Online subscribers. All subscribers can download the Game Boy emulator, which includes a combination of classic Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Game Boy Advance emulation, like Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis emulation, is exclusive to the more expensive "expansion pack" tier of the service.
..
the emulators for older and less-taxing-to-emulate 2D systems have generally been pretty good, and both Game Boy emulators fall into that group.
...
There are two other display modes you can experiment with, too. "Reproduce classic feel" turns on screen filters that simulate the visible pixel grid from a Game Boy's LCD screen and enable a light LCD ghosting effect to simulate the higher response time these old screens had. They also make the Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket viewing modes look significantly darker. Unfortunately, there's no way to separate these three visual effects—if you want any of them, you need to enable all of them.

The other display option, "Display with small screen," shows the game at its native resolution with no stretching. Actually playing in this mode is a bit awkward since the game becomes a tiny square patch on the Switch's large screen, but if you want to experience these games as you would have on the original hardware, it's definitely more accurate.

Seems like they're hoping to pull in new buyers via nostalgia.

[SubCog]

I kind of wonder what they're going to do with the eventual switch sucessor.....
-If its more of the same, then they're likely putting in another mobile chip (rumored to be a variant of the Tegra Orin). Same limitations but far more powerful to better compete with Sony/MS.
-If they chase MS/Sony then they may have to re-separate the handheld and desktop portion....not sure this would even make sense for them anymore.
-I think they can really gain a foothold in the power console space if they're able to utilize the dock as a power upgrade/external GPU of sorts. kind of like the surface book. I suppose the challenge still remains...you'd need the two processors to be not too far off in terms of pwer levels from each other. (unlike the surface book where you had to deal with intels crap GPU in the tablet, but would use the nvidia GPU in the base). Would be far more expensive...but then they could sell the dock and the tablet separately.....

The next Nintendo console should simply be a "Super Switch"... no gimmicks please! Just make the Switch more powerful!

But lets face it, Nintendo can't help themselves. Nintendo's gonna go with a screenless concept where you play by smell, and control everything with your tongue. It'll be the first console that fits entirely in your mouth, and it will be a gigantic embarrassing failure. This is Nintendo's vision of the future, after every successful console they release.

There are ways that they could potentially release multiple systems that target different performance. The xbox series consoles are a stellar example of that. Nintendo could release a portable unit that's a bit less powerful, and a stationary console that's got alot more power. Or maybe they could have a solution where you have a portable console that plugs into a dock, where the dock has a much more robust cooling solution and lets the unit run at full power. There's definitely things Nintendo could potentially do... but lets face it, Nintendo sucks at that kind of stuff. They're prolly better off keeping it simple, with a single SKU.

[Sasquach]

Yeah, doesn't seem like they're planning on swapping soon. Announced the new Zelda, pikmen, etc. Also

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/...nce-emulation/




Seems like they're hoping to pull in new buyers via nostalgia.

Nostalgia sells, it seems to be a growing trend nowadays with all the remasters and remakes coming out. Its probably because current gen AAA titles are getting stupidly expensive to make and need a ton of sales to make a profit...and really the only ones that can do it are the REALLY established IPs. New IP's are becoming huge risks due to development costs and reception unknowns. Established IP's are almost guaranteed to sell good but they need to reach a certain level otherwise its still a money loser. Theres also the fact its a more "cinematic" experience and very short with not much replay value which they need to find balance with (or they're stuck with those limitations due to costs). Just remaking or remastering an old well received title just wouldn't cost nearly as much because half the work is already done. And alot of new titles just dont have the same enjoyability as the older ones. Nintendo's lucky they have a gigantic back catalog of well received quality old first party games they're able to utilize as a fallback or filler.