StarTopic Future Nintendo Hardware & Technology Speculation & Discussion |ST| (Read the staff posts before commenting!)

[chocolate_supra]

I appreciate the words of support here & elsewhere in the thread/forum by some folks.

The attacks of being called a scammer (I've scammed people of what? Their time?) or a clout chaser have grown tired. The few dollars a month the podcast brings is far from a "business". It's a side project for fun & has no impact on my day to day life. I have never sought credit or attention with the information I've shared. A year ago, I was called a liar over Fire Emblem Engage because it wasn't in the first Direct of 2022. Then the game was announced and confirmed the details I shared months prior to any leak surfacing. I remained labeled a liar.

With that being said: in the closing days of 2022, I'm going to reevaluate my time & participation on this site. Attempting to answer questions and partaking in the community is becoming an unpleasant affair &, frankly, one I can do without.

You're always welcome to crack a henny and come sass and shitpost with us in General Discussion, dude.

Whatever you decide I hope you'll be well and keep on keeping on.

 

[ILikeFeet]

which of the five stages of grief have you reached?

I tried to skip to acceptance yesterday, but that was just denial. I am now in depression

@Bosintang is in the anger stage. yeouch!

unfortunately I think anyone trying to figure out how there could be another 2023 device is in the bargaining stage. I know most of you are in it for the fun of speculation and don't actually care but that's where it best fits on the chart. maybe denial? idk

lastly, I suspect that natedrake, having known for the longest, is in the acceptance stage. something something hennessy on the beach

how about you don't do this

 

[Raccoon]

A year ago, I was called a liar over Fire Emblem Engage because it wasn't in the first Direct of 2022. Then the game was announced and confirmed the details I shared months prior to any leak surfacing. I remained labeled a liar.

this is kind of mean to say but fire emblem engage was so heavily leaked that anybody who thinks it was a lucky guess or whatever would have to be very, very stupid

edit: more succinctly, I think doubting the veracity of that info now is very foolish

 

[My Tulpa]

I appreciate the words of support here & elsewhere in the thread/forum by some folks.

The attacks of being called a scammer (I've scammed people of what? Their time?) or a clout chaser have grown tired. The few dollars a month the podcast brings is far from a "business". It's a side project for fun & has no impact on my day to day life. I have never sought credit or attention with the information I've shared. A year ago, I was called a liar over Fire Emblem Engage because it wasn't in the first Direct of 2022. Then the game was announced and confirmed the details I shared months prior to any leak surfacing. I remained labeled a liar.

With that being said: in the closing days of 2022, I'm going to reevaluate my time & participation on this site. Attempting to answer questions and partaking in the community is becoming an unpleasant affair &, frankly, one I can do without.

I’ll go on record saying I’ve always enjoyed reading your posts and info over the years. And I don’t hold insiders accountable for things just sometimes just simply change, so I agree it isn’t fair to hold you and others to impossible standards.

Having said that, I don’t blame you if you actually choose to stop participating on social forum discussions.

The ONLY positive to continue to do so is to increase traffic to your commercial platform.

Every other aspect is negative. Every other aspect. (Besides ego boosting which is why people post continuously on forums in the first place…but I’d argue that in a macro sense, that is an overall negative motive as well.)

It’s probably a great idea to post in forums less if the negatives are weighing you. I applaud you if you actually do it.

 

[Awesomegames23]

Page 669 just passed and everyone was too sad to just post "Nice". =(

 

[Raccoon]

how about you don't do this

what about this very silly post upsets you? is it @-ing somebody who's mad? I think a little ribbing is deserved in this case

 

[mariodk18]

So how was everyone's Christmas holiday?

 

[Raccoon]

So how was everyone's Christmas holiday?

I'm gonna be real I'd probably be significantly less bummed about all this if christmas wasn't a complete disaster for me

 

[ILikeFeet]

what about this very silly post upsets you? is it @-ing somebody who's mad? I think a little ribbing is deserved in this case

I'm not upset, but pegging people on some emotional scale is very condescending.

 

[Raccoon]

I'm not upset, but pegging people on some emotional scale is very condescending.

I pegged myself as sad, angry guy as angry, speculators as indifferent, and natedrake as based. what's condescending about that?

 

[John Omaha]

The idea is that nintendo would phase out the old hardware in favor of the new one. Ideally, beginning the process before drake launches.
If done right, in a relatively short timespan, most consumers looking for a "new" nintendo switch would mostly find drake models.

Also, someone who already owns a console buying a new unit within the same gen isn't that common. Most people who owns the v1/v2 switch didn't upgrade to the OLED model.

A lot of people are also accostummed to the "new nintendo <x>" moniker since Nintendo used it multiple times with the hardware upgraded 3DS.

Used v1/v2/lite/OLED units wouldn't have the "new" logo with lines around it on the product box. If Nintendo wanted, they could adopt that on the backplate and dock as well to make it even easier to differentiate.

Why though? Nintendo usually likes to offer older hardware as a cheap entry point into their ecosystem, and several things point to Drake being noticeably more expensive than previous consoles. If you need to do all of the above just to make sure consumers don't get confused about what they're buying, then your product name is not good. You can sidestep most of these issues by simply calling it something else.

The kicker is that the New 3DS product line wasn't even all that successful in the first place. All the 'New' revisions combined for 18 M or so, which is very low compared to other Nintendo handheld revisions. Why bother bringing it back?

Such as?

Does "New Nintendo Switch games" refer to new OG Switch games or Drake games? Taking this further, how would you search for new Drake games? "New New Nintendo Switch games"? What about "New Nintendo Switch price"?

You can see how confusing very simple phrases can get with the 'New' branding. Which is also why virtually no one uses it in the consumer electronics space.

Nintendo isn't Apple. It's totally understandable what Apple did given the fact they release a new iPad nearly every year. The same can't be said about Nintendo. They're not going to release drake followed by an upgrade every 1-2 years. There's no reason to.

The release cadence has nothing to do with it. 'The New iPad' didn't last more than a year because the branding was shit. Even "silent" revisions (year, xth generation) are better from a branding standpoint.

 

[Hidden04]

I still believe the factory uncle. The Switch Pro always seemed too strong to be a mid gen refresh, so the power behind Drake, which is not canceled (too far along) is for a Switch 2 instead. If it is really beginning production in January, then we should wait another week or two before dooming imo.

 

[mariodk18]

I'm gonna be real I'd probably be significantly less bummed about all this if christmas wasn't a complete disaster for me

Sorry to hear that, hope the new year is better for you.

 

[Skittzo]

With that being said: in the closing days of 2022, I'm going to reevaluate my time & participation on this site. Attempting to answer questions and partaking in the community is becoming an unpleasant affair &, frankly, one I can do without.

We'll definitely miss your comments and insight but if I was in your place I would absolutely do the same thing. Frankly I'm not sure how you've willed yourself to stay around as long as you have.

 

[Meelow]

I'm so sorry @NateDrake , In the years that I've known you, I know you are trustworthy, and you are right, you don't have to be an insider for us, nobody is paying you, and you don't deserve to be called a scammer and liar.

Stay strong!

 

[hologram]

which of the five stages of grief have you reached?

I tried to skip to acceptance yesterday, but that was just denial. I am now in depression

@Bosintang is in the anger stage. yeouch!

unfortunately I think anyone trying to figure out how there could be another 2023 device is in the bargaining stage. I know most of you are in it for the fun of speculation and don't actually care but that's where it best fits on the chart. maybe denial? idk

lastly, I suspect that natedrake, having known for the longest, is in the acceptance stage. something something hennessy on the beach

I think the real, boring answer is that the five stages of grief is a load of crap and most of us aren't in any of them lol

 

[Raccoon]

I think the real, boring answer is that the five stages of grief is a load of crap and most of us aren't in any of them lol

I was going to mention this but thought it might be detrimental to the joke lol

yes everyone, this linear model of grief is bollocks and should not be used outside of shitposts

 

[LinkURL]

I think the real, boring answer is that the five stages of grief is a load of crap and most of us aren't in any of them lol

Actually I'm in denial

 

[Raccoon]

Actually I'm in denial

based

 

[My Tulpa]

To be fair... Nintendo forgot about computational power because of a CEO that wanted to push gimmicks down our throats every single time

No…Nintendo stopped caring about computational power in order to keep up with pc gaming of the day long ago. Rightly so. Nintendo systems are to sell Nintendo games, not 3rd party pc type gaming. Xbox and PlayStation need to because THEY are platforms used mostly to play 3rd party AAA pc type gaming of the day.

The “gimmicks” are new ways of gameplay that Nintendo sincerely and earnestly believe can make Nintendo games more “fun/unique” to play.

 

[Deleted member 2]

This is going to sound like I'm attacking Nate Drake again, or at least his approach to all this. And that's because I am. I prefer to be upfront about that.

Using the "plans changed" card and the "more info in the next episode" card back to back feels a lot like what an astrologist would say to a client about to realize they're getting scammed. And thinking of it, that whole insider thing has a lot in common with how astrology works. For instance, making statements hard to verify and vague enough to be interpreted however a client wants it, or cold reading // educated guessing trivial or comparatively minor things and having a positive success rate at that, giving credence to the aforementioned vague statements.

And in both cases, the clients, or in that case, the fans, are very reluctant to any opposing view and can become more than antsy when their constructed reality is being questioned. And yes, I'm a bit petty on the internet and I haven't forgotten how mentioning "2024" as a likely outcome used to be mocked around here, because it went "against everything NateDrake said". (excuse me for paraphrasing)

And to be clear, I do not believe that it makes mr. drake's followers stupid or anything, as I'm of the opinion that being manipulated isn't related to intelligence. So, I'm going to give an unrequested opinion, my opinion*, to Mr. Drake on how to be more credible: stop being cryptic on purpose (it has to be on purpose, at this point). If you really know something and if you're willing to share it, just spill the beans, and tell people how credible you think that is for example. Leaving people hanging and debating sometimes for days about the meaning of "heavy" is really uncool and makes you look like you're just toying with them. I refrained from participating in that debate at the time because people would have thought I was making fun of them if I did; they may have been right but that's another debate.

You're obviously free to conduct your business (which it is) as you please, and it must be profitable enough as you have done it for quite some time, but I certainly won't stop calling you out when I feel like it. Or at least, before I'm being permanently banned, which could now happen at any moment.

*as everything in this message

Lol you take this stuff waaayyyy too seriously.

 

[Deleted member 2]

based

The rare sixth stage

 

[Weebos]

You silly nerds chased poor Nate off the site.

 

[Hocot8]

You silly nerds chased poor Nate off the site.

It's so unfortunate some do not have the capacity to handle speculation.

"This is going to sound like I'm attacking Nate Drake again, or at least his approach to all this. And that's because I am. I prefer to be upfront about that" is one of the most embarrassing and cringiest things ever written on this site lmao.

 

[Deleted member 2]

It's so unfortunate some do not have the capacity to handle speculation.

"This is going to sound like I'm attacking Nate Drake again, or at least his approach to all this. And that's because I am. I prefer to be upfront about that" is one of the most embarrassing and cringiest things ever written on this site lmao.

Honestly I feel ashamed that someone said that on a site I started. About another member no less.

 

[Skittzo]

Honestly I feel ashamed that someone said that on a site I started. About another member no less.

It's because you were never around as a website dad when we were website kids

 

[Serif]

Honestly I feel ashamed that someone said that on a site I started. About another member no less.

Lmaoo ok for real my eyes totally glazed over that opening line, as if my brain couldn't accept that someone would be that open about attacking another member over video game hardware speculation. For real

 

[Hocot8]

Lmaoo ok for real my eyes totally glazed over that opening line, as if my brain couldn't accept that someone would be that open about attacking another member over video game hardware speculation. For real

When I first read it I skipped over the second part because my brain just assumed that he was going to say "because I'm not attacking him. That's not my attention..."

But no.

 

[SiG]

Putting aside that I strongly disagree that the Wii to Wii U was a sensible execution of ‘the same but better’, using it as a comparison to a hypothetical Switch’s transition is a major oversimplification of their relative positions in the market.

Nintendo has, arguably for the first time in decades, created a device that resonates with the a massive chunk of the broader core audience, Nintendo fans or otherwise. Wii was called a Wii Sports machine for good reason - it forewent the core audience in favor of chasing the blue ocean, hoping to catch that casual-focused lightning in a bottle repeatedly, and overall they suffered for that choice. Switch on the other hand is seeing very typical gaming experiences as it’s best sellers, and they are all smashing records in their respective franchises.

Nintendo remains fortunate enough to be uncontested in their hybrid offering, and so long as they can remain in arm’s reach of whatever content is being released elsewhere from a technical standpoint, they can hold this position at least another generation I’d think. They are 130M (?) units strong now, and are only just seeing their perception as a solid piece of tech start to erode. From what we know (or what this thread has told me), the tech on offer from Nvidia’s T239 certainly sounded like it would meet or even exceed that ‘arm’s reach’ requirement for current gen.

So when I say it’s so obvious it’s painful, I’m not looking at Wii to Wii U. The Wii isn’t the Switch, even if lifetime hardware sales aren’t far off. Sony has managed to increment their number and keep pace with technology to much success, and it wouldn’t hurt Nintendo to do that for once. Improve the performance, fix common grievances, ensure it’s backwards compatible, and don’t funk up the marketing.

So what people really want is for Nintendo to be like Sony: Power, and prestige.

 

[Raccoon]

yeah I'm sorry to have offended with that bit, it just came to me when I realized that I had very cartoonishly gone from denial to "acceptance" to depression

like, legit sad today...

shouldn't have put any other viewpoints into it but seeing someone mald about rumors as I came in made me want to turn it into more of a thing

again, sorry to have insinuated anyone was coping/seething/hopium-ing etc. sincerely wasn't my intention

 

[karmitt]

So what people really want is for Nintendo to be like Sony: Power, and prestige.

I’d like Nintendo to allow themselves to take a similar route from the hardware perspective for at least one generation. They don’t need to reinvent themselves or their offering this time around.

 

[fwd-bwd]

The latest from the buyer uncle whose tweets I share a few times in the past:

 

[Raccoon]

I’d like Nintendo to allow themselves to take a similar route from the hardware perspective for at least one generation. They don’t need to reinvent themselves or their offering this time around.

I think @iNess was sort of onto something with the standard of control that Nintendo Switch provides. This thing is so flexible, and I'd love to see more "parts" added to to the same interface system.

I had a full set of ideas I was going to use for a concept but at this point I'd rather just share them by text. What if the grip that came with the system split in three, with the two sides with grips using the same rail system? Then the grips could be attached to the system in handheld mode without sacrificing "sharing the joy." If said grip was a charging grip, the middle connecting part could go on a dummy stand and serve as a little Joy-Con charger when not in use!

...I think about Joy-Cons a lot

 

[Pokemaniac]

The latest from the buyer uncle whose tweets I share a few times in the past:

Like I've said several times in the past few days, the obvious gap for a missing revision is 2019-2020.

 

[Serif]

Nintendo's in a good position to release powerful hybrids forever. They're the only real 'proper' hybrid console maker, with all the UX that entails. I can't see Sony / Microsoft trying to release a competing hybrid device outside of streaming. As for the Steam Deck, it's a portable PC you could try to fenagle into a hybrid. But the nature of PC gaming means that you cannot guarantee games will auto-switch graphics profiles between docked/handheld, removing a lot of the inherent convenience that makes the Switch appealing.

I'd be happy if the idea of the Switch continued ad infinitum and Nintendo just Ship of Theseus'd it. A Switch in 2035 could have an entirely new metallic body with AR cameras, a 1440p QD-OLED HDR screen, hall effect joy con with 'lil butts for grips, wireless streaming, out of box VR, 4K rumble and 3D speakers. I just made those last two up but hey, it's almost the New Year's. Live a little.

 

[MondoMega]

The latest from the buyer uncle whose tweets I share a few times in the past:

That certain title was obviously New Pokemon Snap, the perfect technical showcase.

 

[ezidro3]

That certain title was obviously New Pokemon Snap, the perfect technical showcase.

Or maybe Age of Calamity since it runs like ass lmao

 

[Dakhil]

A Switch in 2035 could have an entirely new metallic body with AR cameras, a 1440p QD-OLED HDR screen, hall effect joy con with 'lil butts for grips, wireless streaming, out of box VR, 4K rumble and 3D speakers. I just made those last two up but hey, it's almost the New Year's. Live a little.

I don't think an all metal housing is a realistic expectation since there are caveats with using an all metal housing due to the property of metals, which I've talked about more than a year ago. (And I think that's evident by how there's practically no smartphones with an all metal housing being sold in the market.)

 

[chocolate_supra]

I'd be happy if the idea of the Switch continued ad infinitum and Nintendo just Ship of Theseus'd it. A Switch in 2035 could have an entirely new metallic body with AR cameras, a 1440p QD-OLED HDR screen, hall effect joy con with 'lil butts for grips, wireless streaming, out of box VR, 4K rumble and 3D speakers. I just made those last two up but hey, it's almost the New Year's. Live a little.

The Switch of Theseus
seriously though this is the approach I've genuinely expected for years

 

[Serif]

I don't think an all metal housing is a realistic expectation since there are caveats with using an all metal housing due to the property of metals, which I've talked about more than a year ago. (And I think that's evident by how there's practically no smartphones with an all metal housing being sold in the market.)

Metallic != All metal

I mean like the current Switch OLED kickstand.

 

[LiC]

Wii was called a Wii Sports machine for good reason - it forewent the core audience in favor of chasing the blue ocean, hoping to catch that casual-focused lightning in a bottle repeatedly, and overall they suffered for that choice.

This is a very odd assessment to me. There were entries on Wii of just about every core Nintendo series that was on GameCube, and most of them matched or eclipsed their GCN predecessors in acclaim and sales. So Mario Galaxy had motion spinning instead of FLUDD, does that make it some kind of casualization that Nintendo suffered for? Third party support doesn't compare unfavorably to GameCube either, with series like CoD, FIFA, and Madden regularly getting releases.

But more than that, I just don't get all the consternation about new hardware positioning or selling points. We already know exactly what Nintendo is doing for the near and medium future, because Furukawa keeps telling us. The "middle of the lifecycle" and "extending beyond a typical generation" quotes are an extremely clear message that they plan to stick with the brand and form factor of the Switch for years to come. And, because what people like Digital Foundry mean when they say "any new hardware will be next-gen" is not the same as what Nintendo means when they talk about next-gen hardware with a new concept or whatever, it entirely fits that a jump ahead in architecture and power like a T239-powered Switch is what Nintendo plans to release next without considering it as needing a new brand or selling point.

 

[kimbo99]

I appreciate the words of support here & elsewhere in the thread/forum by some folks.

The attacks of being called a scammer (I've scammed people of what? Their time?) or a clout chaser have grown tired. The few dollars a month the podcast brings is far from a "business". It's a side project for fun & has no impact on my day to day life. I have never sought credit or attention with the information I've shared. A year ago, I was called a liar over Fire Emblem Engage because it wasn't in the first Direct of 2022. Then the game was announced and confirmed the details I shared months prior to any leak surfacing. I remained labeled a liar.

With that being said: in the closing days of 2022, I'm going to reevaluate my time & participation on this site. Attempting to answer questions and partaking in the community is becoming an unpleasant affair &, frankly, one I can do without.

I will say it once and say it again, people don't understand how big companies work. Plans get discussed, worked on and canned all the time. But alas, you shared true information but became the whipping boy because Nintendo canned the product. Thank goodness people will finally see leaks as they are and not something that is always set in stone.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

You silly nerds chased poor Nate off the site.

Who you calling a nerd???

 

[Raccoon]

here's my take re: the blue ocean and gimmick era

iwata directly contributed to the massive explosion of gaming nintendo now benefits from by creating more gamers

this was always the plan. they identified the declining market and chose to expand it rather than divvying up what was left with their enormous competitors

 

[Serif]

The Switch of Theseus
seriously though this is the approach I've genuinely expected for years

Yup they've already done it with the OLED by keeping the same joy con and SoC and swapping everything else. And still keeping cross-compatibility between docks. It fits with the 'multiple Switch devices per household' idea. Every one can share chargers, docks, joy-cons, accessories, etc.

Part of me wishes they'd sell a 'tablet-only' OLED SKU for those who want to upgrade but don't need all the new accessories.

 

[Dakhil]

Metallic != All metal

I mean like the current Switch OLED kickstand.

The use of "entirely" in that sentence confused me at first. I probably didn't read that sentence carefully.

 

[Ibrahim]

I appreciate the words of support here & elsewhere in the thread/forum by some folks.

The attacks of being called a scammer (I've scammed people of what? Their time?) or a clout chaser have grown tired. The few dollars a month the podcast brings is far from a "business". It's a side project for fun & has no impact on my day to day life. I have never sought credit or attention with the information I've shared. A year ago, I was called a liar over Fire Emblem Engage because it wasn't in the first Direct of 2022. Then the game was announced and confirmed the details I shared months prior to any leak surfacing. I remained labeled a liar.

With that being said: in the closing days of 2022, I'm going to reevaluate my time & participation on this site. Attempting to answer questions and partaking in the community is becoming an unpleasant affair &, frankly, one I can do without.

Devote your time on your show Nate and start to ignore all these haters

 

[karmitt]

Nate’s great. I’m out for a while - have a good new year all.

 

[Terrell]

I get what you're saying, along the lines of "lateral thinking with seasoned technology" that Gunpei Yokoi described as his philosophy for the Game and Watch and Game Boy. And I suppose it applies to their use of a Tegra X1 for a hybrid.

Interestingly it seems Nvidia demo'd DLSS to Nintendo some time ago based on the leak, in 2019-2020. I don't think DLSS was that seasoned by that point. It seems Nintendo hopped on that train earlier than we expected. I guess it's still some form of 'lateral thinking', since DLSS would be a valuable tool to use in a hybrid device rather than just help push raytracing effects with higher frames in a desktop card.

Yes that's why I brought up the DLSS example. It's proven at this point but in 2019 it was new and it has already been incorporated in Drake since then. And Orin came out just this year.

I've talked about this before, so I won't repeat myself and will quote myself from another thread:

I've seen Yokoi's philosophy mis-interpreted quite a few times. Yokoi outlined his definition of this named design philosophy in greater detail in a book from 1997, where "withered technology" is meant to refer to mature (read: not cutting-edge) technologies which can be easily utilized/understood and cheap to produce; this is not strictly about using outdated or outmoded technology, merely firmly-established technology.

Nvidia lives up to this strategy with what we understand Drake to be in a few key ways. DLSS is very much in line with Yokoi's "lateral thinking", using proven and matured AI/neural network tech (even by 2019 standards) in a lateral way to further visual performance by reducing workload to achieve a 4K image. And there's frankly nothing cutting-edge about Tensor cores, they're basically an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) for exclusively solving tensor math equations that happens to be integrated directly into a GPU rather than being its own discrete chip, so as to better pass calculations back and forth. It's all well-understood pre-existing tech used in an incredibly novel way that (under normal circumstances anyways) wouldn't cost Nintendo much more than they likely spent for Erista back in 2017.

In this sense, Nintendo found the perfect partner in Nvidia at precisely the right time.

So what people really want is for Nintendo to be like Sony: Power, and prestige.

You couldn't find a less charitable read of that post if you tried.
I think @karmitt re-affirmed his position adequately, but I'll add (as others have before me): Nintendo doesn't have to completely re-invent the wheel with their hardware platform in order to be innovative, nor do they have to sacrifice better technical performance in order to do it; it's not an either-or scenario, especially not anymore. They may not reach the dizzying highs of a PlayStation or Xbox, but they don't need to, they just need to dazzle the substantial audience they've clearly already built to come back for another round.

 

[bmfrosty]

how about you don't do this

He's pretty right though. Starting in 2004 or 2005 I was way too emotionally invested in GAF and its successors. I've mostly quit the forums, but pop by once in a while when there's news. I suggest that many should do the same if they're checking more than once a day.