Nintendo unveils Switch 2 ahead of June 5 launch
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
So they're trying to circumvent retailers, while "rewarding" people for allowing telemetry and having a long running credit card subscription, by offering them a time-limited fomo pre-release.
I think I won tech-MBA bingo, why do I still feel so empty inside?
At least you are getting "something" for having telemetry turned on, usually you get zilch.
Anybody talking about how much they like (or dislike) Nintendo's plan needs to compare it to the alternative which is "insane levels of scalping" and not some kind of mythical ideal zero-scalping world where supply precisely meets demand on day 1.
I suppose scalping hadn't been as severe globally or in US until recent NVIDIA GPU launches? But it's been a major problem for past ~15 years in Japan for all sorts of hyped products.
But no, any scarcity is a must in modern times, so people don't think twice before buying if they see it in stock somewhere.
The gray market price under presence of organized scalpers just isn't the natural point of equilibrium on supply-demand curve.
I suppose scalping hadn't been as severe globally
or in US until recent NVIDIA GPU launches?
It was amusing, if not a little frustrating. News coverage would always show it as evidence of fanatical Apple fans. But (especially after the first year or two) it was pretty clearly mostly flippers/scalpers.
I think the camera is also good. I actually really look forward to playing mario games with my nieces. And for those who don't want it, it's no extra cost.
120fps and 1080p w/ upscaling to 4k look good but ambitious. I wonder how much AI is used. The fans inside the dock are a clever way to maintain performance.
Also, I have a lot of friends who casually stream games in discord, so the chat/sharing functionality seems aptly timed.
Given the hardware architecture it's probably safe to assume it supports a variant of DLSS. When that big Nvidia leak happened a few years ago there were even references to the Switches NVN API in the DLSS code.
Speaking of 120hz, it's going to be embarrassing if Apple keeps making new 60hz devices even after Nintendo's famously conservative hardware moves to 120hz.
The trailer for GameChat shows audio background noise removal and image segmentation with the camera. I suspect modern AI is used everywhere even outside of games.
For games, DLSS and other upscaling techniques are widely used and accepted, despite gamers' anonimosity for generative AI.
I'd been counting on buying this this year, like, nearly sure I would be, it was my one planned splurge in a year of uncertainty and belt-tightening, and still would be if we got the Japanese-version pricing, but this is gonna be a no.
I hate that port, because they removed the USB-A ports from the dock in favour of this. This means their flagship camera needs to be plugged in every time you dock. It's classic Nintendo ridiculousness of one step forward, two steps back.
As always, it's the software pricing that makes everything absurd. They jumped straight to $80 in a mere 2-3 years for them after Tears of the Kingdom's $70. And Mario Kart hits further beyond with $90. I wonder how that will fare in this economy. Will consumers still take upon that because Mario?
my point being: due to the risks assumed (someone can click a button and rob the product from you), the rights lost (cannot exchange games with your cousin), and the general lack of consumer protections on digital rentals aka. licenses, I'm a firm believer that their price should be 20 to 50% of what a proper physical copy costs; starting from the fact that you cannot spend $80 on a game, enjoy it, then resell it for $60 or so as we all ought to be able to do in all cases no matter what.
The 3DS homebrew community has built some tools to attempt to recover failing carts, but for long term ownership your best bet is digital copies that can be backed up. Homebrew that enables dumping carts is also good, but who knows when that'll happen for new consoles.
Switch 2 JP Only: 49,980 Yen (~333 USD)
Switch 2 Global: 69,980 Yen (~466 USD)
https://www.nintendo.com/jp/hardware/switch2/lineup/index.ht...
And the JP only version's launch price is still almost double of the Switch 1's (30,000 Yen)
But I'm actually glad that they look after the local market!
All the console manufacturers are also software developers, so I fear pushing too hard will simply mean the end of dedicated game consoles instead of the freedom of them
I guess the benefit for Nintendo is that outside of the reduced price, there are zero benefits for players to having a Japanese version. It used to be that a Japanese 3DS was cool to have.
I hope there's a way to disable the chat button entirely, so I'm not accidentally triggering a function that I never want to use and my kids certainly won't be using, like the damned "share" button on the PS5. Talk about an anti-feature.
If the camera were built-in, I'd pay a little extra for a version without that and without the chat button. This is the opposite of an upgrade, for this shopper. At least I can just not-buy the camera.
The spec bump looks mediocre, if durability's not a lot better I'll just be replacing my half-broken switch with a used model of same. I'd been assuming this'd be my first-ever near-launch console purchase, I'm usually like 2-3 years behind on these things, but IDK, this is underwhelming. If there's also a more-than-tiny price hike, I'll be delaying.
[EDIT] Oh snap, pricing's on there? I'd read elsewhere they'd delayed announcing that. Shiiiiit, at that price maybe we'll get a family Steam Deck and put pirated versions of all the Switch games we already own (... and all the games we have on prior consoles) on there, instead. I can wait for used or discounted console prices to play the new Zelda or whatever, we still have hardly touched half the games we have on the current Switch. How's the Deck with multiple Switch Pro controller support? Anyone tried to use it as an actual multiplayer-friendly TV-attached console?
The kickstand and controllers at least look so much higher quality.
Nintendo is very concious about parental features, so I'm sure there's some way to disable the chat button. I'm honestly surprised to begin with they took the step to work with live chat.
>How's the Deck with multiple Switch Pro controller support?
I've had no issues connecting a variety of console controllers all at once to the Deck. PS5, PS4, XSX, and Switch Pros worked fine.
People been speculating for years and years now and that could lead to a lot of unrealistic expectations.
One thing I do respect Rockstar for though is they never caved to pressure to release the sequel fast
You respect them for taking 12+ years to make a sequel?
The Playstation 2 had five GTA's whereas GTA V has three console generations.
Not only that, but one thing that really bothers me with Nintendo as apposed to Steam for example is, those prices basically never change. There never seems to be a sale or special offers.
Sure, I’d be happy to spend less money on games, but there’s a certain honesty and transparency with buying Nintendo games that’s missing on the other platforms. No FOMO, no preorder bonuses, no pressure tactics, no nothing. You know the value proposition, and either you’re happy with it, or you’re not.
I've always respected Nintendo for this. They know they're offering a quality product, and the price will be the same if you buy now or in a year, so buy it if you want it.
It also means if you want to resell your game, you'll get a fair price for it.
I mean, just go watch The Godfather, and think how would you sell him a product, or worse yet, manufacture mass-market products that isn't intended for his acquaintances but he would be extremely interested with purchasing and using in substantial numbers. Lots of Nintendo behaviors and customer horror stories start making total sense.
(and Valve behaviors too. they have their own, no less adamant than Nintendo policies that you start noticing after a while)
(In their defense, games have been unusually cheap for a while. SNES games were $160 after inflation. N64? $120. GameCube titles? $90. Wii? $75. Nintendo Switch Games back in 2017? $78!)
Needless to say, 80 USD is too high for me, personally. 70 is pushing it, honestly. Most of the time you can use sites like isthereanydeal and even get new releases under 60, but that's a no-go with Nintendo.
It further says “In times of high inflation…real wages go down, meaning that workers see (and feel) the purchasing power of their income decline.”
Sounds like parent poster and your link are in agreement.
Im arguing about your dismissal of "purchasing power". But you seem to not realize that and rely on charts and not the world aroind you.
Given recent news, it's not like data from November matters anyway.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/...
(Although, of that $45, 15% went to distributors and another 15% went to retailers).
But in fairness, so were development costs.
I think it definitely contributed to the PS1 outselling the N64. There were many reasons, of course, but seeing those Toys R' Us flyers where the PS1 games were marked $40-50 and the N64 games at $60-70...I'm sure it gave some parents pause about which systems they were buying their children.
With the Steam Deck coming out in the meantime, I'll likely pick that up soon instead of a Switch 2. Around the same price, much better specs (and also Bluetooth support, which the Switch 2 will supposedly be missing again), and access to a much bigger library of games.
Their games were always incredibly expensive. 30 years ago, I remember being stunned to hear that my friend's SNES copy of Mortal Kombat II was GBP 70. From this Reddit post, I'm seeing Canadian prices were equally absurd. CAD 95 for Batman Forever on SNES.
https://www.reddit.com/r/snes/comments/12aq8zu/snes_games_pr...
[1] https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/...
Coupled with those confusing cartridges, Nintendo sells cards that could be redeemed for a copy of a game. They're shaped like credit cards, and I always thought they made for horrible gifts. They just don't look good as a gift. These cartridges solve that problem.
This is a clean interface in terms of the software and the sales experience, is as cheap as possible for the devs, and preserves the resale value (so long as Nintendo keeps their store open). This, my friends, is the future of physical games.
If I were Microsoft or Sony, I would pay attention to the reception of these cards. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony's next console has a cheap card reader to allow physical copies with a similar system.
Modern games often require a day one patch. Functionally it's not much different; you need to download a bunch of stuff to play the game on the disc. There have been a few instances where the publisher didn't even ship anything playable on the disc.
A physical ticket of a digital game makes sense in a different way than a disc. Complaints about day one patches would subside.
The second part is the cost. Those disc drives are getting more and more expensive, and less and less used. Every game on current consoles installs from the disc on the drive and does nothing else but validate the disc afterward. Why spend so much on an old technology that isn't used efficiently? Sony and Microsoft should look to add physical keycards to their next console to validate ownership.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1868814-REG/sandisk_s...
Curious if that could become a future attack vector to get homebrew running.
I do wonder how the upgrades for BOTW/TOTK will be though. I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't seem to add anything (especially a DLC expansion for TOTK).
Yeah, it has been 8 years since the last new 3D Mario game.
Kirby Air Ride was one of the best and most unique Gamecube games. A sequel to do the original justice would be a big deal.
Sadly, Nintendo has made a reputation for itself as a copyright troll, most notoriously their legal takedowns of YouTube lets plays. As a result, I have boycotted Nintendo for over ten years now. While the new releases are tempting, Nintendo's recent legal actions against Palworld sour that proposition. Although I admittedly only can have so much respect for a Windows-only game with anti-cheat.
Huh? Palworld is available on Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and macOS.
All 3 major gaming companies are horrible in their own ways. Just like both major smartphone platforms. The times we live in…
At the end of the day, I boycott not just from an ethical standpoint, but from the perspective of a customer. Nintendo is a first-party game publisher. They are uniquely litigious toward their own customers and community, and they don't innovate. Money toward Nintendo directly encourages that.
Any sufficiently large company does lots of unethical things, so boycotting the entire company is harder and sends a less clear message economically. But YMMV.
This is... a weird departure from that.
P.S. $450 vs $550 for US
It seems pretty much a software update as one can already connect any BT device to a patched switch.
It won't bomb.
The 3DS had it even worse than the Wii U, since the DS line had several versions with very-similar names some of which were variants of existing ones, and a couple of which were actually totally new platforms (was it the DSi that was the other one? I can't even fully remember and I'm way farther down the console-nerd path than the vast majority of people)
At least they just put a number after this one, so folks will get it this time.
That hardcore Switch gamers have been asking for.
Most people I know that own a Switch use it rarely and casually. For them a mere hardware iteration isn't enough of a reason to get the new one. I would suspect that a good 60% of Switch owners fall into that category. However, even if it only gets half of the sales that the switch had, that would make it the most successful current generation console.
But then again, consumers can be surprisingly loyal despite such economic factors. So it may still end up running off like a bandit.
I would do horrible, horrible things to get keyboard + mouse controls for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on Wii.
Chat Button ? Camera ? are they intentionally driving away parents who buy Switch for their kids ?