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Nintendo takes all of their hardware seriously. Just because they don't subscribe to the MOAR GRAFPHICKQZ design philosophy that you would prefer doesn't mean that there is anything lacking in their hardware design.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Oh it can totally play Nintendo games.

I'm talking legally.

 

[daveonezero]

I don’t understand this. More powerful portables existed at the time of the Switch release.

The thing is now AMD has released some ridiculous mobile chipsets.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I think Nintendo are pretty happy with their strategy and couldn't give less of a fuck what a tiny niche handheld PC product is doing.

 

[Thaedolus]

Nintendo takes all of their hardware seriously. Just because they don't subscribe to the MOAR GRAFPHICKQZ design philosophy that you would prefer doesn't mean that there is anything lacking in their hardware design.

Pretty much. Any design is going to need to balance things and prioritize some things over others. Nintendo bet on affordability and battery life with the Switch, and it’s sold like gang busters. They’re probably not going to completely change that up to some sort of cutting edge, super performant expensive device as the successor. It’ll maybe be as powerful as a Steam Deck, years later. Hopefully they can work some DLSS magic and have backwards compatibility/upscaling with OG Switch titles.

GameCube was their last system that achieved parity with other consoles and that came out 21 years ago

 

[ComputerBlue]

Their.

Where is seriously and why would they take their hardware there?

 

[Lucifers Beard]

No and it also doesn’t need to support 4K, unless that power is built into the dock and doesn’t cost an absolute fortune.

I’d be happy with an 800p - 1080p screen for handheld if it remains the same size. Just give it the extra juice to support titles without them dropping below 30fps.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Nintendo bet on affordability

Zen2 + RDNA2 Steam Deck with 64 GB of Flash and 16 GB of RAM: $399

Switch (OLED) with far inferior HW and produced at massively higher volumes (admittedly better haptic feedback): $349

I think OLED is a big win for the console (if the game is graphically similar, the handheld with OLED wins the playback), own both puppies… calling Nintendo for the affordability while all their consoles keep rising in price despite quite old HW used (the nVIDIA SoC is not ancient, but it is unmodified left over of their tablet line more or less).

 

[AV]

64 GB Zen2 + RDNA2 Steam Deck with 64 GB of Flash: $399

Switch (OLED) with far inferior HW and produced at massively higher volumes: $349

I like how you picked the cheapest model of the Steam Deck and the most expensive model of the Switch.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I like how you picked the cheapest model of the Steam Deck and the most expensive model of the Switch.

Ok, $299 regular Switch with a worse screen than the Deck and half the built-in storage is a much better picture and surely the hallmark of children impulse buy affordability?

Seriously though, I was trying to make the comparison fair to both. Why would you compare the 512 GB of faster SSD and built-in anti glare screen to say the Switch-lite that cannot even hook up to a TV?

 

[AV]

Ok, $299 regular Switch with a worse screen than the Deck and half the built-in storage is a much better picture and surely the hallmark of children impulse buy affordability?

Seriously though, I was trying to make the comparison fair to both. Why would you compare the 512 GB of faster SSD and built-in anti glare screen to say the Switch-lite that cannot even hook up to a TV?

Look at your last few posts. Zen2, RDNA2, OLED, nVIDIA SoC, SSD.

Most of the people buying Nintendo Switches don't know what any of that shit means. I bet most haven't even heard of a Steam Deck. They want to play Mario Kart and Animal Crossing and Pokémon. Hardware value has nothing to do with affordability. One is $199, one isn't, that's all you need to know.

 

[Mohonky]

64 GB Zen2 + RDNA2 Steam Deck with 64 GB of Flash: $399

Switch (OLED) with far inferior HW and produced at massively higher volumes (admittedly better haptic feedback): $349

I think OLED is a big win for the console (if the game is graphically similar, the handheld with OLED wins the playback), own both puppies… calling Nintendo for the affordability while all their consoles keep rising in price despite quite old HW used (the nVIDIA SoC is not ancient, but it is unmodified left over of their tablet line more or less).

How much you reckon it's costing Nintendo to make the Switch hardware vs Steam Deck?

They have a lot of wriggle room on the hardware if they needed it, but they haven't so pricing is what it is.

Quite why anyonone thinks or expects Nintendo is going to chase the highest spec is beyond me. Back in the earlier days up to the GameCube they chased high end visuals then moved away from that.

Given their success with the Wii, DS, 3DS and Switch, don't expect that to change. They are chasing affordable hardware that they can profit off.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Look at your last few posts. Zen2, RDNA2, OLED, nVIDIA SoC, SSD.

Most of the people buying Nintendo Switches don't know what any of that shit means. I bet most haven't even heard of a Steam Deck. They want to play Mario Kart and Animal Crossing and Pokémon. Hardware value has nothing to do with affordability. One is $199, one isn't, that's all you need to know.

$199? That is Switch Lite which is handheld only and removes two of the three modes of play (you know, the bit that gave the Switch its name ?).

People may not know what the HW is but they will know the games on Steam they can play docked and handheld for the first time: Spider-man, God of War, Horizon, and many more.

 

[AV]

$199? That is Switch Lite which is handheld only and removes two of the three modes of play (you know, the bit that gave the Switch its name ?).

People may not know what the HW is but they will know the games on Steam they can play docked and handheld for the first time: Spider-man, God of War, Horizon, and many more.

And? You can still play the games. The argument was singularly affordability, nothing to do with the value of the hardware, nothing to do with adaptability. The cheapest system is the cheapest system, end of.

You don't have to convince me that the Steam Deck is a better proposition, I know it is, I own both. I'm saying that the Switch has always been a more affordable option even if you take the regular docked model, it always will be.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The reality is that the Switch has sold over 115 million units, making it Nintendo's most successful gaming platform of all time. It is on the way to surpassing both the PS2 and PS4 and become the best selling gaming platform of all time from any company. Nintendo takes their hardware very seriously, they have to design and manufacture something that appeals to a massive worldwide audience at a reasonable price point yet still turn a profit because they aren't being carried by some other division of the company. Unlike Sony, Microsoft, and Valve, all Nintendo has is gaming.

I wonder if Valve even manufactured a million Steam Decks for the first run? I can't imagine they made very many since it's such a niche piece of hardware which caters to a very specific subset of PC gamers.

 

[KungFucius]

It is hard to read through this thread. The OP asks if EMULATION on the steam deck will influence Nintendo yet people keep saying the Steam Deck doesn't compete which completely misses the point. It's not as much about how many potential sales are lost, it is about protecting their IP and avoiding emulators running their games with better visuals and having that generate buzz. Of course emulating older games years after release with better visuals than the current gen, reduces the market for remasters on the current gen system. It also plays very poorly with shareholders.

If Switch 2 is an upgraded Switch that is still underpowered it will be emulated relatively quickly. Does this possibility influence Nintendo's strategy? Should it? My guess is that it won't influence the power of the system, but that they will try to come up with some way of combatting it. Obviously they will work hard on securing the system and the carts. They might adopt that Denuvo anti emulation tech or develop something themselves. While other systems have been cracked late in their lifecycle, none have been nearly perfectly emulated like Nintendo's have been. Someone inside the company must be working to make that less likely.

 

[BlackTron]

Fingers crossed.

Nintendo hardware has a real Fisher-Price energy. I know they're games are still designed for children, but that doesn't mean the hardware needs to be weak as a kitten.

Hopefully, they're Switch successor (Super Switch?) with have at least the power of 3080 GPU and 32GB of RAM. This thing needs to not only compete with the Stamdeck, but needs to blow it out of the water.

Is this a joke/troll post?

 

[GymWolf]

No, they are not in competition.

You still need to buy a switch to play N games and some stuff like bayo.

Better hardware also mean bigger budget for games, N is not that stupid.

 

[kuncol02]

And? You can still play the games. The argument was singularly affordability, nothing to do with the value of the hardware, nothing to do with adaptability. The cheapest system is the cheapest system, end of.

You don't have to convince me that the Steam Deck is a better proposition, I know it is, I own both. I'm saying that the Switch has always been a more affordable option even if you take the regular docked model, it always will be.

You can still play the games on 2 dollars 99999999999 in 1 tetris handheld. I'm not sure what this brings to the discussion. Steam Deck can play games from big consoles, Switch not (with few exceptions of games with extreme graphical cuts).
Switch is based on tablet SoC from 2015 and it's not even running it on full speed (even in docked mode). Switch price was acceptable (barely) when it launched. Now it's just sad joke. And that's not even taking into account abysmal plastic screen and quality of sticks that should cause recall of Switch from market if any customer protection laws would actually work.

 

[Ozriel]

Nope. Switch 2 will likely run on the following Steam Deck iteration in no time. It might even work on the older Steam Deck. Nintendo makes garbage hardware that's easy to emulate and good games. Perfect.

Steam deck is barely able to emulate the Switch running 2017 hardware. Absolutely impossible for Switch 2 games to run on the Deck. Very likely the Deck 2 will struggle with Switch 2 emulation.

I think Switch 2 will surprise many people. You’re gonna get a modern NVIDiA SoC with RT support.

 

[AV]

You can still play the games on 2 dollars 99999999999 in 1 tetris handheld. I'm not sure what this brings to the discussion. Steam Deck can play games from big consoles, Switch not (with few exceptions of games with extreme graphical cuts).
Switch is based on tablet SoC from 2015 and it's not even running it on full speed (even in docked mode). Switch price was acceptable (barely) when it launched. Now it's just sad joke. And that's not even taking into account abysmal plastic screen and quality of sticks that should cause recall of Switch from market if any customer protection laws would actually work.

What the fuck are you talking about? I'm saying you can still play ALL Switch games on the Switch Lite. It doesn't matter what features it's missing or not missing. If someone wants to play Mario Kart and Animal Crossing they can do so on the cheapest model of the switch. There is no $199 Steam Deck.

It doesn't matter how much people in the video game forum bubble care about it being a weak device, The Switch sells gangbusters and will continue to do so because weak but cheap Nintendo hardware has always sold well and always has the highest attach rate of its core titles.

 

[Panajev2001a]

And? You can still play the games. The argument was singularly affordability, nothing to do with the value of the hardware, nothing to do with adaptability. The cheapest system is the cheapest system, end of.

You don't have to convince me that the Steam Deck is a better proposition, I know it is, I own both. I'm saying that the Switch has always been a more affordable option even if you take the regular docked model, it always will be.

Almost all the games (like 99.8% or so) but sure. Affordability and value proposition go together and thus removing features and limiting your options should be taken into account. Buying a broken Deck for $200 and repairing it does not mean it is more affordable.

Saying Switch was designed to be affordable is still a statement that I find a bit eh… affordable while keeping Nintendo’s usual margins sure. It is very old HW manufactured at a fairly high volume: $199 for the Switch Lite is not that impressive when you add context to it.

 

[kuncol02]

What the fuck are you talking about? I'm saying you can still play ALL Switch games on the Switch Lite. It doesn't matter what features it's missing or not missing. If someone wants to play Mario Kart and Animal Crossing they can do so on the cheapest model of the switch. There is no $199 Steam Deck.

It doesn't matter how much people in the video game forum bubble care about it being a weak device, The Switch sells gangbusters and will continue to do so because weak but cheap Nintendo hardware has always sold well and always has the highest attach rate of its core titles.

You can't play all switch games on switch lite. Mario Party, 1-2-Switch, Just Dance, Labo...
Switch is also not cheap hardware. It's cheaply made expensive hardware.

I think Switch 2 will surprise many people. You’re gonna get a modern NVIDiA SoC with RT support.

At best you will get something like Orin Nano.

 

[nightmare-slain]

Nah, I hope they keep doing what they're doing.

Switch is a huge success...so why would they want to change anything? All Nintendo need to do is put out a "Switch 2" with:

• Updated CPU/GPU
• 8-12GB RAM
• 128GB Storage
• 4K support for docked gameplay. Not necessarily native 4K. It could be upscaled
• Support for DLSS/FSR
• Switch (1) Backwards Compatability
• Exclusive games for "Switch 2"

Depending on how good the SoC is they could get away with keep the same battery capacity (4310mAh) but of course I'd like to see them stick as much battery in as possible.

If they stick with a 720p screen I'll not be mad but if they can put a 1080p one in without sacrificing battery then that'd be awesome.

Do that and put out exclusive games like Mario Kart 9 and new games from Animal Crossing, Zelda, Smash, Pokemon, and an Odyssey sequel. They'll be golden!

 

[AV]

Almost all the games (like 99.8% or so) but sure. Affordability and value proposition go together and thus removing features and limiting your options should be taken into account. Buying a broken Deck for $200 and repairing it does not mean it is more affordable.

Saying Switch was designed to be affordable is still a statement that I find a bit eh… affordable while keeping Nintendo’s usual margins sure. It is very old HW manufactured at a fairly high volume: $199 for the Switch Lite is not that impressive when you add context to it.

You can't play all switch games on switch lite. Mario Party, 1-2-Switch, Just Dance, Labo...
Switch is also not cheap hardware. It's cheaply made expensive hardware.

Fine, 99% of games then. Importantly, the ones shifting 40 million units like Mario Kart and Animal Crossing.

You still aren't seeing the forest for the trees. Forget the Lite. Forget value proposition. Forget hardware quality. We're talking affordability. The Switch LAUNCHED at $299 which is what the PS4 was reduced to the same year, after being available for 4 years already. Does not matter whatsoever how powerful either was, the Switch has almost outsold the PS4 in half the time. Nintendo have been making affordable, weak gaming platforms since the DS and can do so because their library runs on that weak hardware. The blunder of the Wii U wasn't down to the price, it was that it was marketed so horribly that the average consumer didn't even know what it was, it sounded like an add-on.

It's why the 5 years of "Switch Pro any day now!" threads we've had are so insane. You aren't going to be playing Metroid Prime 4 at 4k60 (legitimately) because it has to run on $199 hardware to even have a hope of selling enough copies to make development worth it. It's not the same market.

 

[deriks]

Only the N64 and the GameCube got a "ultimate hardware" or something, still, was too much effort on a thing they didn't care that much. The other does, and Nintendo still is the bigger company. Better administration of hardware and software made them rich, remember!?

 

[crackajack]

What HW would even be reasonable in near future?

what would be the go to solution in the ARM world right now? Unlike Vita's PowerVR which was at least up to date for a while in a then very fast improving market, Nintendo probably will just stick to already existing parts again.

or
custom + undervolted Ryzen 7400U? or whatever it would be called

something around 10W I guess

 

[kuncol02]

Fine, 99% of games then. Importantly, the ones shifting 40 million units like Mario Kart and Animal Crossing.

You still aren't seeing the forest for the trees. Forget the Lite. Forget value proposition. Forget hardware quality. We're talking affordability. The Switch LAUNCHED at $299 which is what the PS4 was reduced to the same year, after being available for 4 years already. Does not matter whatsoever how powerful either was, the Switch has almost outsold the PS4 in half the time. Nintendo have been making affordable, weak gaming platforms since the DS and can do so because their library runs on that weak hardware. The blunder of the Wii U wasn't down to the price, it was that it was marketed so horribly that the average consumer didn't even know what it was, it sounded like an add-on.

Switch affordability is illusory. You can buy Series S for its price (or even cheaper like latest deal in UK). Switch also has more expensive games than any other hardware that are basically forever sold in launch price. From money point of view, it's one of worst gaming purchases behind gaming PC (especially with current prices).
You can't even watch Netflix on it, so you still need some other device to consume other types of media.

 

[Kadve]

The steam deck isn't competing with the Switch so no. Maybe if Valve actually marketed it to console players, but from what ive seen they have so far just sold it as a handheld PC which is a completely different market.

 

[AV]

Switch affordability is illusory. You can buy Series S for its price (or even cheaper like latest deal in UK). Switch also has more expensive games than any other hardware that are basically forever sold in launch price. From money point of view, it's one of worst gaming purchases behind gaming PC (especially with current prices).
You can't even watch Netflix on it, so you still need some other device to consume other types of media.

The Series S being affordable does not make the Switch unaffordable. You're back to talking about value proposition yet again. Same with the games, it doesn't matter when people are buying Animal Crossing and playing nothing but that for 2 years straight. It's affordable.

We're at the point of nonsense where we're now talking about fucking Netflix as if that isn't already baked into every smart TV made since before the Switch was a thing. As if you can't use Netflix on a PS3 from 2006 if you own one already.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Between this and the "Sony+MS should make handhelds" thread we're in this insane territory all over again.

 

[IDKFA]

Is this a joke/troll post?

No. Just my personal take on what I'd like to see in the next Nintendo console.

 

[justiceiro]

Nah, they rather have more lawyers to give out more DMCA all around.

 

[Evil Calvin]

"So with Steam Deck out, do you think Nintendo will take their hardware seriously."​

Fixed it for you.

 

[asdasdasdbb]

There is some speculation that the Switch 2 is using the mysterious "T239" variant of the Orion Tegra line. They would have to make a custom version because of all the Self Driving stuff that needs to be cut... but it has up to 3 quad core ARM A78 clusters and 2048 Ampere cores. But this T239 has one 8 core CPU cluster. Having that and the full 2048 GPU cores is (I think) reasonable for 2024. Downclocked to hell of course. But being Nintendo...

I will say that people are going to complain about the performance regardless. Especially if it's released around the time of the PS5 Pro and the Series XXX.

 

[Gamerdude123]

two completely different target groups.

Steamdeck is for the Hardcore PC gamer while Switch is for casuals. Casuals don´t care about specs at all.

Nintendo knows this so there is zero chance they will ever make a powerful system and potentially sell their next console at a loss.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Importantly, the ones shifting 40 million units like Mario Kart and Animal Crossing.

How does this kind of flexing relate to the point?

 

[AV]

How does this kind of flexing relate to the point?

It doesn't, but neither was your pedantic point about the Switch Lite "only" playing 99.8% of Switch games. The Switch is affordable and always has been. That's that.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

With one Steam Deck at my bedside table and another at my wife's, I couldn't care less what Nintendo is planning to release in the future.

I will care about the Deck's successors, but never again am I spending big money on a new console with no game library.

 

[Melon Husk]

Switch OLED and the cheapest Deck are uncomfortably close in price point. They'll have to think twice about the price point of Switch 2.

 

[AJUMP23]

Their hardware is successful for what they want. I think they that seriously and make a profit. Just because they don't release the most cutting edge HW doesn't mean they don't take it seriously. It does what they want.

Nintendo has a differentiation business model. They have unique IP and they provide unique hardware for their IP. That is how they maintain market relevance.

 

[lughnasadh123]

About as much chance as TemTem forcing Game Freak to make a game that isn't a technical shit show.

 

[Punished Miku]

I doubt they know the Steam Deck even exists.

 

[Woopah]

Oh, so why did they claim it was going to be "switch 4k" and not "switch not 4k"?
4k switch doesnt make sense anyway, the pixel density would be insanely high, it would be a waste of resources for such a small screen

Because it would be a Switch that could display some games at 4k on a TV using DLSS. People shouldn't be expecting 4k in handheld mode.

Are\you referring to nay specific person here or just the general rumours?

 

[BlackTron]

No. Just my personal take on what I'd like to see in the next Nintendo console.

3080 is even better than Xbox Series X. You expect Nintendo to deliver a system better than Series X, in a portable form factor, at a price they're going to push on casuals to play Mario Kart? "At least"

This is embarrassing and you should feel bad. If it was power of a 1060 I'd be satisfied. The Series S is about a 1060. So imagine how plausible even a portable Series S would be for cost/engineering.

Steam Deck runs games like a base PS4. And you need PS4 Pro to match a GTX 1060. 3080 does not even enter the conversation for a portable device, much less from Nintendo.

 

[Fbh]

Doubt it.
Nintendo doesn't seem interest in getting into some hardware power competition with Valve and random Chinese companies. Power hasn't been their selling point for a long time now and I don't see that changing any time soon,
The focus will probably go towards affordability, portability and some sort of new gimmick (because Nintendo).

 

[analog_future]

Switch OLED and the cheapest Deck are uncomfortably close in price point. They'll have to think twice about the price point of Switch 2.

.... yet the Switch OLED outsells the Deck like 100:1.

The Deck isn't remotely competitive to the Switch. The average consumer couldn't care less about the Steam Deck.

 

[WeAreVenom8659]

No. I wish they would, but they won’t, nor do they need to.

 

[Swift_Star]

They don't even take their major cashcow, Pokémon, seriously.

 

[Kataploom]

You can still play the games on 2 dollars 99999999999 in 1 tetris handheld. I'm not sure what this brings to the discussion. Steam Deck can play games from big consoles, Switch not (with few exceptions of games with extreme graphical cuts).

The problem with this argument is assuming most Switch audience care enough about those games... Most important games are on the Switch, be them Nintendo games or online multiplayer games, save for a handful like COD which are still coming by Phil Spencer words.

People need to understand that AAA third parties lacking on Nintendo consoles have little to do with consoles power and WAAAAAAAY more to do with consoles market and audience... It's much easier to sell a subpar Sonic game on a Nintendo console than it would be to sell the best Assassin's Creed game given both run and play same or better than in Xbox or PS.

Some people care about Steam Deck third parties availability, not many more and certainly no more than those that care about Nintendo and third party games that sell the best on Nintendo consoles. Most Switch owners are happy and even knowing what a Steam Deck is, wouldn't care about it.

 

[Azelover]

You will never get it if you keep looking at things the same way.

I mean, come on! Nintendo has been doing their thing for how long? 37 years? And people are still saying their approach is gimmicky or not serious.

It's hopeless..