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Do you see the next Nintendo being as successful as the Switch?

I think Nintendo has a big hill to climb as far as their next iteration of gaming systems. With the wild success of the Switch they have to be thinking when and what they can possibly do to keep the gravy train flowing. Nintendo has had a history of having a major successful console followed by a underperforming console ever since the Super Nintendo.

The challenges I think Nintendo will face -

  • How to keep 3rd party publishers interested in releasing games on their consoles. The last console nintendo had that was on par graphically with the others was the GameCube. Since then it seems a lot of 3rd party support has vanished. They either get their own tailor made, smaller games like MHR or Triangle Strategy from square and capcom or cloud ports. There next system being a Hybrid will have similar challenges, it most likely won’t be on the level of even a Series S, most likely a pro model console from last gen. So, by next year will 3rd party want to scale down, still?
  • Does Nintendo keep their hybrid console set up working for them now? Realistically Nintendos primary market has always been handhelds. The switch is pretty much their new handheld, that can be played on a tv. It’s what they’ve always dominated in. It just makes me wonder if this will be what the stick to from this point on, how much longer do purely physical gaming devices have left? Maybe not next gen or the gen after but I wonder if Nintendo if thinking about a future where software is king and the physical device becomes a novelty?
  • Re-releases and Backwards compatibility - This is the big one for me. How does Nintendo honor digital libraries going forward? It seems almost insane to think they could move to next gen hardware while not addressing backwards compatibly to the Switch. That creates two separate Problems. Nintendos over-reliance on ports to fill release gaps (I think they have released at least two ports every year since the Switch launched) and running out of games to remaster. Now with nintendo online they are offering their back catalogue though the service. It’s almost like they’ve painted themselves into a corner. Now they are cutting off their ability to port anything from nintendo to n64, they’ve already done all of Wii-U, which i guess leaves GameCube and Wii. Will Nintendo choose to re-master those two generations of games moving forward or will they use their libraries as a way to make nintendo online more attractive over time?
As of right now, for me, I kind of just want a new console already and I’m crossing my fingers for that being the reason BOTW2 was delayed. It just makes me wonder if Nintendo will even bother considering all of the above. Why kill the sales of the switch that is still selling more than the PS5 and Series X/S with chip shortages to venture into uncharted waters but also, wouldn’t it be detrimental to wait until the switch loses momentum completely to release a new console?

It’ll be very interesting to see what happens in the new couple of years.
 
Don't think so.

It will be an iteration on Switch.

All casuals will be like, wtf, we have to buy another hardware for $299?

It will be a repeat of wiiU. Nobody will understand why they have to buy a new system for 299 when their current system works fine.

Sadly it's the Nintendo market and Nintendo knows this. They need to innovate to bring in casuals back.
 

The Skull

Member
Don't think so.

It will be an iteration on Switch.

All casuals will be like, wtf, we have to buy another hardware for $299?

It will be a repeat of wiiU. Nobody will understand why they have to buy a new system for 299 when their current system works fine.

Sadly it's the Nintendo market and Nintendo knows this. They need to innovate to bring in casuals back.
I doubt it. Nintendo learned from the shit show that was the Wii u branding confusion. They'll be clear on how it's a new system or a dramatic upgrade over the current.
 
I doubt it. Nintendo learned from the shit show that was the Wii u branding confusion. They'll be clear on how it's a new system or a dramatic upgrade over the current.

just call it the Switch 2. Which for some reason is the hardest shit for Nintendo to do. Look at all the iterations of the Nintendo DS lol

I also wonder whether Nintendo will go and do some quirky nonsensical hardware iteration also.
 

jufonuk

not tag worthy
I Hope the next switch is as if not more successful than the switch. But Nintendo gonna Nintendo. A successful Nintendo is usually a lazy one.
 

Azelover

Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
I don't, actually. Let's see what they do.

I hope so, but to be honest I don't take a single day for granted. Let alone the success or failure of a console.
 

jufonuk

not tag worthy
I feel like you guys don’t know what “lazy” actually is and just throw that word to whatever things you don’t like.
Ok let me rephrase a successful Nintendo rests on its laurels. It just doesn’t go all out look at the changes made each time Nintendo is on the back foot compared to a successful Nintendo.

Other console devs. Machine machine two. More of the same plus more power. Nintendo.
Either more but something different or completely out of left field. GameCube to Wii to WiiU.

GBA to DS insane numbers for the DS.
Follow up 3DS so more powerful with little different. The 3D not as successful as before.

Then switch now it’s doing good. So I’m guessing successor will be the switch more powerful with something different.
 
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Woopah

Member
I'll be very interested if the next hardware is marketed as a prevision or successor. Only time will tell. However it is marketed, I am expecting the same form factor with a noticeable jump in power and DLSS support. Possibly some other Nintendo-like USP that no one else has thought of yet.

In regards to your particular points:

Third party - The third party situation has been getting better year on year, though there is still work to be done. Indies are in all the way, but in the West Nintendo needs to work on better support from EA and some others. In Japan almost everyone mid-tier and below is getting onboard with Switch, but there are noticeable holdouts in the form of Bandai Namco Studios and some parts of Atlus. For getting the more high-end games on the next system, that is something that DLSS could potentially help with a lot.

Form factor - Yes I expect the next Switch to be a hybird.

Backwards compatibility - Highly likely, Nintendo wants more and more people to subscribe to their online accounts and have publicly stated they want these accounts to carry over to thejr next hardware

Re-releases - Ports were a fair chunk of Nintendo's output in 2017 and 2018 but not since, so not being able to do Wii U ports on the next hardware will not really impact them in any meaningful way. All of Nintendo's teams and partners can now focus on one system, so they should be able to keep up a steady output (as we've seen since the start of last year). Of course we can still expect some remakes of GameCube, Wii, GameBoy, GBA, DS or 3DS games to appear.
 

blacktout

Member
I think there are two major obstacles to even attempting to answer the question in the title:

1. We know little to nothing about Nintendo's next significant piece of hardware. Will it be a Switch Pro that's essentially just a Switch with a minor performance boost and 4k support via upscaling? Will it be a true generational leap? Will it be something in between, with a modest graphical leap and some exclusive software but still technically part of the Switch family of systems (think Game Boy Color)? Will it release this holiday? (Unlikely.) Spring 2023? Holiday 2023? 2024? We know it'll have a Nvidia chip, since Nintendo has an ongoing contractual agreement with the company and we can guess that it'll probably support DLSS, but we know essentially nothing else, so we'd really just be making wild guesses based on nothing but very vague historical priors.

2. Even when we do have lots of information, the "enthusiast" community is hilariously bad at predicting what hardware will succeed and fail and this has been doubly true of Nintendo. There's too much personal investment in and resentment towards specific brands and that breeds a lot of motivated reasoning. Also, we're a tiny sliver of the market that likes to believe it's the whole, when actually we often have tastes that are hilariously far from the average gaming consumer's.

Nintendo has had a history of having a major successful console followed by a underperforming console ever since the Super Nintendo.

This makes for a compelling narrative, but it's not really true. Instead, what you see is a gradual decline in market share from the NES to the SNES, a larger decline from the SNES to the N64, continued decline from the N64 to the GameCube, and a dramatic rise from the GameCube to the Wii, followed by an even more dramatic decline from the Wii to the Wii U and a monumental rise from the Wii U to the Switch. There's no discernable pattern except "Nintendo incrementally lost ground from the SNES to the GameCube and it's been a fucking rollercoaster since then." The handheld side is more stable, but the narrative there is basically, "Nintendo has dominated the handheld market since the Game Boy, with some ungodly successes (Game Boy, DS) and some more modest ones (GBA, 3DS)." You probably shouldn't draw any inferences at all from this, but I guess if you had to, your safest bet would be: "If the Switch's successor is a handheld/hybrid and Nintendo is willing to price it reasonably, it'll probably be at least moderately successful. If, for some reason, it's just a home console, I dunno, roll a die and hope for the best."

  • How to keep 3rd party publishers interested in releasing games on their consoles.

Historically, this has been a trailing indicator, rather than a leading one. IE, if a Nintendo system is successful (or if the last Nintendo system was successful), third parties will support it (eventually). If it's a failure, they'll bail. See: the substantial increase in third party Switch support over the last few years and also how the Wii U had some early third party support that vanished as soon as it was clear the system was a flop. There's obviously more to it than that, and, like, the Switch, I wouldn't expect the next system to get date-and-date versions of major third party releases, unless it's somehow magically on par with current gen systems (which seems hugely unlikely since it'll probably be another hybrid) or DLSS really does work miracles. That said, the Switch has shown that it's possible for third parties to substantially support a platform even if that support doesn't include all (or even most) of the major third party releases, and that a Nintendo system can be a huge success even without those big AAA third party games.

  • It just makes me wonder if this will be what the stick to from this point on, how much longer do purely physical gaming devices have left? Maybe not next gen or the gen after but I wonder if Nintendo if thinking about a future where software is king and the physical device becomes a novelty?

This is definitely an interesting question, but it's not one that's likely to be a major deciding factor in Nintendo's next piece of hardware unless it's very, very far off. Even Microsoft, the most aggressive of the big three in planning for a post-console future, clearly plans to keep manufacturing boxes for the remainder of this gen, at least. So we're 5+ years away from the days when the cloud replaces dedicated hardware, if that day ever arrives. And Nintendo is the most invested of the three in in closed hardware/software ecosystems, so you'd imagine they'd be the least willing to abandon that model.

This is the big one for me. How does Nintendo honor digital libraries going forward?

Didn't Nintendo release an infographic at one of their investor briefings showing Nintendo accounts (and presumably the purchases tied to them) continuing onward beyond the Switch's lifecycle? I think that provides a partial answer to this question.

It seems almost insane to think they could move to next gen hardware while not addressing backwards compatibly to the Switch. That creates two separate Problems. Nintendos over-reliance on ports to fill release gaps (I think they have released at least two ports every year since the Switch launched) and running out of games to remaster. Now with nintendo online they are offering their back catalogue though the service. It’s almost like they’ve painted themselves into a corner. Now they are cutting off their ability to port anything from nintendo to n64, they’ve already done all of Wii-U, which i guess leaves GameCube and Wii. Will Nintendo choose to re-master those two generations of games moving forward or will they use their libraries as a way to make nintendo online more attractive over time?

I don't think Nintendo will run out of games to remake and remaster anytime soon. They've almost exhausted the Wii U, yes, but they've already remastered Wii (Xenoblade Chronicles, Skyward Sword) and 3DS (Miitopia) games and have remade a Game Boy game (Link's Awakening). Yes, anything pre-Wii U will require some extra polish and anything pre-GameCube will probably have to be a remake rather than a remaster, but there's still plenty of material left.

I get what you're saying about Switch Online though. Nintendo is going to have a tricky cost/benefit question to answer when deciding whether to bring GameCube and Will games to the service, when those games could potentially be remastered and sold for sixty-fucking-bucks a pop. Though I'm guessing that decision is still a few years off, since we haven't gotten Game Boy or Game Boy Advance yet. And there's always ... Virtual Boy.


As of right now, for me, I kind of just want a new console already and I’m crossing my fingers for that being the reason BOTW2 was delayed. It just makes me wonder if Nintendo will even bother considering all of the above. Why kill the sales of the switch that is still selling more than the PS5 and Series X/S with chip shortages to venture into uncharted waters but also, wouldn’t it be detrimental to wait until the switch loses momentum completely to release a new console?

Yeah, this is a tricky question. Nintendo played out the Wii a little too long and then bungled the launch of its successor, so they probably don't want to do that again, but they also don't want to dampen the Switch's insane sales. It's a strategic puzzle, for sure.

All casuals will be like, wtf, we have to buy another hardware for $299?

It will be a repeat of wiiU. Nobody will understand why they have to buy a new system for 299 when their current system works fine.

I think you misunderstand the Switch's market. This isn't the Wii. You don't have many truly "casual" Switch owners, because it isn't being sold off the back of a single hardware gimmick or piece of "blue ocean" software. There are no news stories about Switches in nursing homes. Instead, you have a lot of gamers who use it as a supplemental handheld and a lot of people who are invested in Nintendo's first party software and a lot of families. Some of the latter already have multiple Switches or an OG Switch in the living room and Switch Lites for the kids. Hell, a number of people are currently buying a marginal upgrade for $350.
 
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reksveks

Member
Yes.

1. Ultimately hw sales numbers makes it harder for devs to ignore it, i do expect some devs to be lazy and rely on cloud sku's
2. Yes, it will be a hybrid but with the focus on handheld mode
3. Dlc like the Mario Kart tracks actually gives me confident that Nintendo will make sure that the software library cross over also the Switch store I think is the biggest console one (yes, it's cause of the indies)
 

CS Lurker

Member
I believe in a switch 2 in 2024 with cross-gen games and maybe one exclusive.

I'm not a 100% confident, but I think they will come with at least a 99% retro.

images

The only reason I can see to focus on the Nintendo account is to provide customers with the possibility to access the same services AND content on their next platform.

The switch is basically what Iwata said in 2014 [about what Nintendo would next].

He also said he wanted to end the game shortage for those who have the current gen console [but the teams were already working on games for the next console]. A switch 2 with the same architecture will do it (cross-gen games).

Another desire Iwata had was nintendo to be like apple or Google. He pointed out that if you buy a new smartphone, you don't need to buy again everything you had before. Your account will bring all your stuff to the new hardware. That's possible because they share the same architecture and software. So this way, Iwata wanted to be able to launch a new console and already have a huge library on it,

This way you shouldn't have a software shortage in both current gen and next gen hardwares.

Like I said, considering that the switch is clearly the first step of what Iwata said in 2014 (about merging their home and portable consoles), and with the focus on the Nintendo account, I think the chances of having retro day one (for games and services) is really big.

About success, I see cloud gaming as a big shadow, yes. It's an amazing technology (which I use everyday btw). But I think the next switch will be OK. After that... We need to wait and see what the damage is gonna be (and there will be damage [for all platforms], I'm pretty sure). I think switch 2 will have 75% to 80% of the total sales of the current platform.
 

SSfox

Member
I don't care about this, i just want them to make a solid hard that match PS5 or Xbox Series X, it can be 15 or 20% weaker but not more, Nintendo need to stop to make consoles with Jurassic harware, also Sony would finally have a real console competitor that scares them, specially nowadays where Sony are doing a lot of bullshit moves.
 
I don't care about this, i just want them to make a solid hard that match PS5 or Xbox Series X, it can be 15 or 20% weaker but not more, Nintendo need to stop to make consoles with Jurassic harware, also Sony would finally have a real console competitor that scares them, specially nowadays where Sony are doing a lot of bullshit moves.

In order for nintendo to do that they would have to be willing to lose money up front on their consoles. They won’t do that again
 

Knightime_X

Member
My expectations for nintendo are pretty low in terms of graphics, image quality and performance next gen.
$20 says no chance 4k 60fps will ever see the light of day on a nintendo console.

Hope i'm wrong.
I'll even HAPPILY accept 1440p 60fps.
 
I don't see why it wouldn't be but you never know with Nintendo. Instead of a Switch 2 they could show up with something that doesn't make any sense.

For all the success of the Switch to me they massively under delivered when it comes to games this gen even after a great launch.
 
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RoboFu

One of the green rats
Yes because as default what ever tech they have will be able to to run any game.
These tiny low power consumption arm chips are putting out crazy numbers and the main area the switch is packing is ram which should be at the lowest 8-16 gigs for most devices coming out these days.
 

Amin_Parker

Member
I think there are two major obstacles to even attempting to answer the question in the title:

1. We know little to nothing about Nintendo's next significant piece of hardware. Will it be a Switch Pro that's essentially just a Switch with a minor performance boost and 4k support via upscaling? Will it be a true generational leap? Will it be something in between, with a modest graphical leap and some exclusive software but still technically part of the Switch family of systems (think Game Boy Color)? Will it release this holiday? (Unlikely.) Spring 2023? Holiday 2023? 2024? We know it'll have a Nvidia chip, since Nintendo has an ongoing contractual agreement with the company and we can guess that it'll probably support DLSS, but we know essentially nothing else, so we'd really just be making wild guesses based on nothing but very vague historical priors.

2. Even when we do have lots of information, the "enthusiast" community is hilariously bad at predicting what hardware will succeed and fail and this has been doubly true of Nintendo. There's too much personal investment in and resentment towards specific brands and that breeds a lot of motivated reasoning. Also, we're a tiny sliver of the market that likes to believe it's the whole, when actually we often have tastes that are hilariously far from the average gaming consumer's.



This makes for a compelling narrative, but it's not really true. Instead, what you see is a gradual decline in market share from the NES to the SNES, a larger decline from the SNES to the N64, continued decline from the N64 to the GameCube, and a dramatic rise from the GameCube to the Wii, followed by an even more dramatic decline from the Wii to the Wii U and a monumental rise from the Wii U to the Switch. There's no discernable pattern except "Nintendo incrementally lost ground from the SNES to the GameCube and it's been a fucking rollercoaster since then." The handheld side is more stable, but the narrative there is basically, "Nintendo has dominated the handheld market since the Game Boy, with some ungodly successes (Game Boy, DS) and some more modest ones (GBA, 3DS)." You probably shouldn't draw any inferences at all from this, but I guess if you had to, your safest bet would be: "If the Switch's successor is a handheld/hybrid and Nintendo is willing to price it reasonably, it'll probably be at least moderately successful. If, for some reason, it's just a home console, I dunno, roll a die and hope for the best."



Historically, this has been a trailing indicator, rather than a leading one. IE, if a Nintendo system is successful (or if the last Nintendo system was successful), third parties will support it (eventually). If it's a failure, they'll bail. See: the substantial increase in third party Switch support over the last few years and also how the Wii U had some early third party support that vanished as soon as it was clear the system was a flop. There's obviously more to it than that, and, like, the Switch, I wouldn't expect the next system to get date-and-date versions of major third party releases, unless it's somehow magically on par with current gen systems (which seems hugely unlikely since it'll probably be another hybrid) or DLSS really does work miracles. That said, the Switch has shown that it's possible for third parties to substantially support a platform even if that support doesn't include all (or even most) of the major third party releases, and that a Nintendo system can be a huge success even without those big AAA third party games.



This is definitely an interesting question, but it's not one that's likely to be a major deciding factor in Nintendo's next piece of hardware unless it's very, very far off. Even Microsoft, the most aggressive of the big three in planning for a post-console future, clearly plans to keep manufacturing boxes for the remainder of this gen, at least. So we're 5+ years away from the days when the cloud replaces dedicated hardware, if that day ever arrives. And Nintendo is the most invested of the three in in closed hardware/software ecosystems, so you'd imagine they'd be the least willing to abandon that model.



Didn't Nintendo release an infographic at one of their investor briefings showing Nintendo accounts (and presumably the purchases tied to them) continuing onward beyond the Switch's lifecycle? I think that provides a partial answer to this question.



I don't think Nintendo will run out of games to remake and remaster anytime soon. They've almost exhausted the Wii U, yes, but they've already remastered Wii (Xenoblade Chronicles, Skyward Sword) and 3DS (Miitopia) games and have remade a Game Boy game (Link's Awakening). Yes, anything pre-Wii U will require some extra polish and anything pre-GameCube will probably have to be a remake rather than a remaster, but there's still plenty of material left.

I get what you're saying about Switch Online though. Nintendo is going to have a tricky cost/benefit question to answer when deciding whether to bring GameCube and Will games to the service, when those games could potentially be remastered and sold for sixty-fucking-bucks a pop. Though I'm guessing that decision is still a few years off, since we haven't gotten Game Boy or Game Boy Advance yet. And there's always ... Virtual Boy.




Yeah, this is a tricky question. Nintendo played out the Wii a little too long and then bungled the launch of its successor, so they probably don't want to do that again, but they also don't want to dampen the Switch's insane sales. It's a strategic puzzle, for sure.



I think you misunderstand the Switch's market. This isn't the Wii. You don't have many truly "casual" Switch owners, because it isn't being sold off the back of a single hardware gimmick or piece of "blue ocean" software. There are no news stories about Switches in nursing homes. Instead, you have a lot of gamers who use it as a supplemental handheld and a lot of people who are invested in Nintendo's first party software and a lot of families. Some of the latter already have multiple Switches or an OG Switch in the living room and Switch Lites for the kids. Hell, a number of people are currently buying a marginal upgrade for $350.
I just want to thank you for your very deep detail reply to this post. I actually wish that I could copy and paste your reply on every website that I visit when reading a post like the OP presented, but I won't 😂. I just love your reply, I completely agree with everything that you said. This is not really difficult, it is very easy to imagine how Nintendo will successfully release their next system and still be able to dominate like they currently are. I can't really understand why people find it hard to believe that this time things will be very different because this is clearly the only true handheld on the market. They don't have competition in that handheld console Department, so it makes no sense for them to fail, everything is in their favor this time. Their main competitors will not be releasing a portable handheld. They have basically have a monopoly in the handheld Department with the Japanese customers 100% on board with their Hardware. They have never lost a handheld generation. They've already mentioned that they want their Digital Library to carry over to the next system and they made that very clear and the proof is very easy to find because it was just spoken about in their latest investor briefing. For those who might not completely understand the reason why they don't have to release a successor yet it is because they are still outselling the competition unlike the Wii, it was basically dropping like a hot potato at this time in its lifespan. Anyone can clearly see that the switch has about 2 or quite possibly 3 years left in the tank. As I told other people from other areas of the gaming websites, if they want to play a new console with better graphics, then there's nothing wrong with buying a console from the competition or even a PC. However Nintendo is doing great right now they don't have to make a jump to Next Generation just yet. So I say let's let Nintendo enjoy this generation with this level of sales. Let them go ahead and cruise pass the Game Boy unit record as well as the PS4 unit record and let's see where they land at the end of their Journey with the Switch generation. Everything is going smooth for the company, games are selling phenomenal and the system is still selling at a very high rate.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
For all the success of the Switch to me they massively under delivered when it comes to games this gen even after a great launch.
Are you kidding me!!? I playing more Switch games that I eve did with PS5, this year alone I got bunch of great games.
 
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Astral Dog

Member
Honestly, i have no idea, just hope so since the Switch is a really convenient system to have around as well as a handheld device with high quality games, wich is very healthy for this industry.
 
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Belthazar

Member
Nintendo hasn't had two successful home consoles back to back since the 90s, so there's a chance they'll flop. But it's a híbrid, so it's also a portable... Which is a market they basically have for themselves, so it'll probably succeed at least to the same level as the 3DS.
 

EDMIX

Member
I doubt it. Nintendo learned from the shit show that was the Wii u branding confusion. They'll be clear on how it's a new system or a dramatic upgrade over the current.

Agreed.

I believe it needs to be Switch 2 and they need to just continue what they have going. This will build trust with consumers long term as I don't believe Switch needs to be a one off type thing, it makes sense for both install bases.

Portable for those who go out and about, an HDMI out for gamers who want to play at home on a screen. tbh they should have fucking been doing this from the jump as I still question why we never got a DS or 3DS player or something like that and its not as if outing to a TV source is some brand new idea lol So i think its best they continue this concept and add on to it.
 

cyberheater

PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
I've stopped second guessing Nintendo. They are are very clever company with a strong user base and they make incredible games. They are clearly not interesting in the technology war and their approach has been a huge success.
 

yurinka

Member
I think Switch was a great concept: to unify gamedevs, library of games and overal efforts of their home consoles and portables on a single device, and got highly benefited from having the monopoly of the portable market. At the same time, got the successor of PSP and Vita on the conceptt of bringing home console games to portables, specially the smaller ones, becoming the current portable indie machine.

I think in the next generation they will have a thougher competittion: in the portables side I think PC portables like future versions of Steam Deck and Chinese PC portables will get an important part of the market. And in the home consoles side Sony has been growing during many years, and if (or when) they get rid of chips shortages PS5 would set new historical records.

So I think this next generation Nintendo will grow their market with a next gen hybrid: more horsepower to feature also modern big AAA 3rd party multiplatform games like the ones in other consoles and PC, and at the same time also grow in the casual area by including mobile games and being the best place to play them using physical buttons or analogs. They have the opportunity the best way to play home console AAA and indie games on a portable and also feature the best portable games and to be the best place to play mobile games.

I think it would be also a good opportunity to add an optional VR headset and lead this growing market thanks to their great game design and super popular IPs, with something on it to make it unique like smells emission. I also think it would be an opportunity to grow to start porting their games to PC and mobile via cloud gaming and via native games, starting a shift to become a digital, full multiplatform, platform before it's too late and Microsoft (and specially Sony) dominate these areas. At the same time, I think they should push harder their "merchardising" side with movies/tv shows/theme parks/plushies/comics or mangas/t-shirts and so on.

It also would be nice to see them acquiring studios to increase their output of exclusive games, specially in genres where their platform and exclusives lineup is weaker. At the same time I'd make the digital games and dlc of their platform NFT (not the same than using NFTs for in-game items or in-game currency) to allow a 2nd hand market of digital games, something that would make their platform more appealing to those who prefer retail games because they allow 2nd hand.

I tihnk that if they do these things, they would increase their market share. But I think they won't and will simply will release a slightly more powerful Siwtch, not capable of running at decent quality and prformance the next gen only modern AAA games, and with many multiplatform AAA games, indie and mobile games not available on their platform. I also think they won't bet on cloud gaming, VR or NFT, and will only make a couple of movies and maybe will only open a third theme park in Europe.

As a result I think Nintendo will lose market share: mobile will continue being the biggest and fastest growing market, in portables PC handhelds will eat more market share and in home consoles, VR, cloud gaming, game subscriptions and game inspired movies Sony will continue leading the market while growing in areas like PC, GaaS and mobile. And well, in the area of game exclusives I also expect Sony to continue growing their internal teams and acquiring more, so will have way more exclusives every year than Nintendo. To the point Nintendo not only won't be as successful in terms of sales with their next gen device compared to Switch, but also Sony will continue growing their revenue and profits to the point it will pass Nintendo.
 
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Arthimura

Member
My only expectation for Nintendo next console is a iteration from Nintendo Switch. Keep the hybrid approach, make it more powerful and release new games.

Backwards compatibility and maintenance of digital goods is expected, imo. Switch has a big playerbase and I believe Nintendo is going to have some rejection if they try to erase the legacy of Switch and start from zero on their next console .
 

Marvel14

Banned
I think Nintendo has a big hill to climb as far as their next iteration of gaming systems. With the wild success of the Switch they have to be thinking when and what they can possibly do to keep the gravy train flowing. Nintendo has had a history of having a major successful console followed by a underperforming console ever since the Super Nintendo.

The challenges I think Nintendo will face -

  • How to keep 3rd party publishers interested in releasing games on their consoles. The last console nintendo had that was on par graphically with the others was the GameCube. Since then it seems a lot of 3rd party support has vanished. They either get their own tailor made, smaller games like MHR or Triangle Strategy from square and capcom or cloud ports. There next system being a Hybrid will have similar challenges, it most likely won’t be on the level of even a Series S, most likely a pro model console from last gen. So, by next year will 3rd party want to scale down, still?
  • Does Nintendo keep their hybrid console set up working for them now? Realistically Nintendos primary market has always been handhelds. The switch is pretty much their new handheld, that can be played on a tv. It’s what they’ve always dominated in. It just makes me wonder if this will be what the stick to from this point on, how much longer do purely physical gaming devices have left? Maybe not next gen or the gen after but I wonder if Nintendo if thinking about a future where software is king and the physical device becomes a novelty?
  • Re-releases and Backwards compatibility - This is the big one for me. How does Nintendo honor digital libraries going forward? It seems almost insane to think they could move to next gen hardware while not addressing backwards compatibly to the Switch. That creates two separate Problems. Nintendos over-reliance on ports to fill release gaps (I think they have released at least two ports every year since the Switch launched) and running out of games to remaster. Now with nintendo online they are offering their back catalogue though the service. It’s almost like they’ve painted themselves into a corner. Now they are cutting off their ability to port anything from nintendo to n64, they’ve already done all of Wii-U, which i guess leaves GameCube and Wii. Will Nintendo choose to re-master those two generations of games moving forward or will they use their libraries as a way to make nintendo online more attractive over time?
As of right now, for me, I kind of just want a new console already and I’m crossing my fingers for that being the reason BOTW2 was delayed. It just makes me wonder if Nintendo will even bother considering all of the above. Why kill the sales of the switch that is still selling more than the PS5 and Series X/S with chip shortages to venture into uncharted waters but also, wouldn’t it be detrimental to wait until the switch loses momentum completely to release a new console?

It’ll be very interesting to see what happens in the new couple of years.

Nintendo have probably realised by now that keeping their install base and online subscription numbers is a priority so I would be facepalming hard if they don't sort that out. But Nintendo being Nintendo it's not completely out of the question that they could screw that up.

There will be some new innovation with the next gen console to be a differentiator- but who knows what that will be. If it's an ambitious one we may get a half step with the next system like with WII U - kess likely the longer we're waiting. But even if it is base PS4 power it will be absolutely fine for third parties for several years. We are still in full crossgen territory 2 years into the next gen.
 
Nintendo will just stick with switch concept for the next few generations , and they will keep selling like hot cakes, as there is no competition in the handheld space.
 
I don't think it will do quite as well as the original switch numbers just due to the fact that it won't be as fresh of a concept.

But unlike the original switch I am there day 1 or asap.
 

TLZ

Banned
Going by history, most probably a Switch successor, Switch 2 (or whatever they call it) with more power, probably sell less than the previous Switch, then Nintendo does something different/new after the Switch 2 again.
 
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