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

[Thraktor]

Atmos support isn't ruled out. The APE is just a mixer, from the point of view of the mixer, 5.1.2 and 7.1 are the same number of audio channels. Both Lucid Motors and NIO offer in-cabin Dolby Atmos, and it's using Orin to do so, with the same APE as Drake.

I doubt it will show up, just because of license costs, but the hardware doesn't rule it out.

I've wondered whether Nintendo could effectively just roll their own spatial audio solution instead of using Atmos or DTS:X. The main point of Atmos in a home setup (aside from just being a way to up-sell people to new AV gear) is that it allows audio to be transmitted in a way which is agnostic to any specific speaker setup, and can be downmixed to whatever setup the end-user has.

From the point of view of a games console, though, where you're already creating the audio mix in real time, you could skip the Atmos step and just mix directly to whatever speaker setup the user has configured. They could create an API for Atmos-like spatial audio for developers, and then downmix to a fixed-channel LPCM signal before sending to the AV receiver or other audio hardware. From both a developer and user point of view it would be no different to Atmos, but would arguably be more flexible and allow for higher quality (as the audio would be uncompressed through the entire signal path).

One issue is that I'm not sure how good the support is for higher channel count LPCM audio on AV receivers. HDMI 2.0 added support for 32 audio channels (up from 8 on previous versions), but I don't know if any AV receivers actually support more than 7.1 audio via LPCM. Of course AVRs capable of driving more than 7 speakers are a relatively niche part of the market in the first place, but they're also the only part of the market than meaningfully benefits from Atmos anyway.

Also, I'm not sure if the APE in Drake is the same as the one in Orin. It has changed in one respect, supporting the new CBB error-reporting fabric. It's possible that's the only thing they've changed, and functionality is identical, but it's also possible this was added alongside other changes to the hardware.

 

[Codename_Steam]

I wouldn't have been able to brainstorm motion controls, any of the variations of a second screen, cartless-multiplayer, streetpass, naked-eye 3D, rumble, shoulder buttons, the cross D-pad, thumbsticks.

Things I could have easily brainstormed - every element of the GameCube.

"There was an era when Nintendo was going in the direction of doing the same things other companies did. The more we competed with new companies entering the market, the more we started acting similar to them." - Shigeru Miyamoto, on the GameCube era.

Analysis is something that a loosely organized fan community is very good at. Synthesis is something that we are, collectively, very poor at. Turning random bits and pieces of technology into a compelling experience requires vision, usually in cooperation between the hardware and software development.

I'll be honest, when the Switch's combination of features - cartridges, hybrid, detachable controllers - started to leak out, I could not see the forest for the trees. I couldn't put the package together into something I would want. Because what I want are games, and what matters more than whether the abstract feature set is compelling, is whether or not Nintendo is creatively jazzed by the package they're putting together.

Dolby Atmos(tm) is a checklist feature for enthusiasts. A game with no visuals, played entirely by 3D audio and haptics is a wild-ass idea that has no substance. Metroid Prime 5 with a "sonic visor," implemented by tiny speakers in the Joy-Cons? Well, that's a game.

The sort of innovation we're talking about when "gimmicks" come up is going to come around because, while the hardware team is doing their experiments, someone comes up with a cool game idea. And then another team comes up with a different game idea. And then around the third game idea someone says "this might be something." And then hardware figures out they can deliver it with X dollars a unit. Then Koizumi and Aonuma get in a room, and ask each other "can you see this in the next Mario" and the other one says "well, can you see it in the next Zelda" and they both say yes, and now it's in the hardware.

Or that doesn't happen and it isn't.

Whether or not we think it's a "gimmick" will depend on Nintendo's marketing. Remember three months of raging about how Nintendo should have cut HD Rumble from Joy-Cons and given us a sub $250 unit - totally misunderstanding both the technology, and Nintendo's intent with it? Now it's just the de-facto standard in haptics, nothing special at all.

Maybe a fun exercise, in fact: Let's stop talking about technology, and start talking about game experiences you want to have with Nintendo franchises that don't seem possible with a normal console. That includes things like "interactive Mario Kart theme park ride."

Accumulate enough of these wild things, maybe that will open up some ideas for technological avenues that can unify some of those experiences. Take my Metroid Example Above. I want that scary sensation of playing hide and seek in a completely black building at night, going by hearing and the movement of the air, and I want it with plasma cannons.

I wonder if something like the Wii Vitally Sensor could be built into the next JoyCons. A game can dynamically change its difficulty according to the players stress level. Do we know what happened to Nintendo’s Quality of Life Project? I wonder if that might be the focus of the Nintendo Switch 2?

​

 

[TheMindOfThomas]

just predictions but hey maybe there's a chance lil bro well respected 'heavy hitter' journalist knows something

Swap out Mario Kart for Metroid Prime 4 and I'd say this feels likely.

??? Did you read what I posted or did you just jump the gun? I never said i was annoyed by people enjoying wii sports. I have switch sports myself and Labo.

All I said was this:

1. They are
2. NOT
3. making the
4. Gimmicks
5. MANDATORY

That's it. Most of their games will be normal games you can play and they will have the special gimmick game every once in a while.

Fair enough. I apologize for making that assumption.

However, I think you're wrong about your appraisal of the Wii, Wii U, and DS/3DS having "mandatory" gimmicks. None of those consoles required developers to use their respective "gimmicks" in games. Wii didn't require that every game use motion controls. Wii U didn't require that every game make full use of the GamePad. DS/3DS didn't require touch controls or 3D. The gimmicks were never mandatory to begin with. So nothing has really changed except for the ways certain developers have chosen to go about making their software.

 

[darthdiablo]

As "safe" as September seems to some people, I've yet to see any counter to the argument posed here and in an individual thread, that investors are buying in, and in, and in, based on intel or the expectation of a reveal soon and a launch soon after. This remains quite compelling to me, and indeed, Nintendo's stock behaviour as of late is unusual. It is however precedented; as pointed out this behaviour was around prior to previous hardware reveals.

As it stands I still believe a reveal is sooner than later - much sooner than March, as March is my expectation for a presentation post-reveal.

Next week or early February are both possibilities; next week gives them time between Another Code and a possible early February Nintendo Direct, while the two games slated after it, DK and Peach, are not titles that appeal to the same demographic as a new console, broadly speaking, with the exception of hardcore fans, myself for instance, who will likely buy Peach regardless of the hardware situation. Early February means pleasing investors, if they want to do that, and publicly traded companies tend to like to do that. Reveal it, tell their investors stop worrying, and the "Twitter Direct" continues through February, so they can promote their Switch titles without taking eyes off their next system.

Do I think either of these are strictly more likely than March? I'm not sure about that at all, but I do think, based on what we know, they are real possibilities.

* Hidden text: cannot be quoted. *

 

[bmfrosty]

On the subject of gimmicks, they are not mandatory, and we see them when they design around what they view to be what went wrong the previous generation, or trying to get ahead of their competitors on making the system not just a dumb box with a controller that plays some games.

Gamecube was trying to solve the deficiencies of not having a CD Drive, and make the controller more interesting than a snes controller with two sticks and a couple extra buttons. They didn't guess that DVD playback was important in the first two years. They couldn't break Sony's momentum.

Wii was cheap and had very interesting controller in an attempt to break the momentum. They did because Sony put out an $600 machine and everyone balked at the price.

Wii U was a problem from the start. Sales of Wii made it difficult to see where sales were going to drop off. The technical direction they took made it too expensive to manufacture. The tablet was the distinction that they though they needed, but they were flat wrong. If they could have put it out in 2009 as Wii HD (no tablet), it may have done better, but that was probably not possible due to design and manufacturing realities.

Switch hit all cylinders running. Sony and Microsoft aren't running full speed into trying to make a portable.

I think the only deficiency that they have is that cartridges have a manufacturing cost, but they've solved that with the eShop well enough that it's on the publishers to make use of it. It's a matter of shifting habits and willingness to trust Nintendo (and publishers) not to take games away from them. For that reason I think Nintendo made a mistake with the closure of the 3DS, WiiU, Wii, and DSi eShops. They should have found a way to make that part of the current eShop, even if it would have meant a bunch of additional costs in updating those systems to support newer.

My hope is that they stay conservative for the Switch 2. Incremental improvements to the Switch 1 and price increases at inflation at most.

 

[cw_sasuke]

just predictions but hey maybe there's a chance lil bro well respected 'heavy hitter' journalist knows something

Remove the MK9 part and it makes sense.
Nintendo is a platform holder that needs to let 3rdParty projects breathe as well during the launch. They are not gonna drop multiple +10m lifetime sellers in a span of 2 months.

If new 3D Mario is at launch I don't see Kart 9 or whatever next heavy hitter they have releasing in the same fiscal year. So maybe a April 25 launch at the earliest.

 

[theguy]

andy robinson did agree with the dring prediction

 

[bayonetta]

All you Nintendo fans know puzzles.

Tick tock.

Tick tock clock

 

[eye0h]

If Nintendo manage to upstage their 2017 launch I think I'd have a full blown meltdown

 

[Serif]

I wouldn't have been able to brainstorm motion controls, any of the variations of a second screen, cartless-multiplayer, streetpass, naked-eye 3D, rumble, shoulder buttons, the cross D-pad, thumbsticks.

Many of these elements were developed early in the medium of gaming and so were outside of a possible field of view, or have been experimented with in some form by Nintendo or third-parties prior to their more 'formal' implementation (rumble / gyro sensor in dedicated cartridges, motion pointing via lightgun games, Game & Watch, download play, Famicom 3D games / Virtual Boy, IR sensor on the GBC). In my (short) lifetime I did indeed read predictions of a second screen 'Game Boy', a 3D screen handheld, and cartless multiplayer via wireless. Now that we're 4+ decades in we have a larger assortment of possible features that could theoretically be implemented so yes, we can more readily predict what sorts of features could exist based on existing tech. But it's not just the 'predictability' of tech but also the feasibility and possible reception - folding screens exist, but I don't anticipate the next Switch having one, or it working well with the existing joy-con form factor.

The only reason I bring up predictability is a common sentiment I read that Nintendo will do something completely different, and will come up with an innovative concept for a device out of thin air that is different from the Switch and will make them markedly different from competitors, since that is their "pattern". Which I disagree with, since the Switch is innovative but not something out of thin air. It is a synthesis of past ideas, and has a lineage in Nintendo's previous efforts. While we could predict the technical bits, we may not be able to predict how they come together.

Predictability is not really a factor in what I believe Nintendo should do and not really my point. The point of my statement is not 'if it can't be brainstormed readily by fans, then it is not worth implementing". It's that the Switch is both the type of experience that people wanted (the ability to play handheld games on a television / console games on the go) and something that can be reasonably anticipated based on Nintendo's trajectory and past experiments, which makes it both a compelling and likely idea. And still, few were able to predict the modularity of the Switch. That is the kind of innovation that is interesting to me. This is how I am approaching such ideas like 'detachable dual screens'. How compelling is this idea really, after the reception the Wii U's dual screen experience had in contrast to the DS? Are people just saying this because they anticipate Nintendo make the Switch more complex, or is this something that would really benefit a hybrid console in all modes and lead to novel play experiences? I contrast this with something like the IR sensor on the joy con, which saw its share of derision that I never agreed with, since I anticipated Nintendo would get some fun use out of it just as they had with touch and motion input, but the sensor itself was never disruptive to the typical gameplay experience of the Switch.

Don't mistake my post for some 'anti-gimmick' sentiment or a desire for predictability. As I said in the first sentence of my post - I am open to a novel innovation if someone can brainstorm an interesting idea. My belief is not "I don't like cool new ideas". My belief is that the ones that have been persistently presented feel like cumbersome retreads or are something that the Switch can already do. I think LABO is cool, I think Mario Kart Live is cute, and Ring Fit is amazing. I've already made multiple posts in this thread clamoring for some interesting touch surface, haptic, and motion features on the Switch controllers and I would gleefully accept Nintendo shoving them in their first-party games so I can poke Mario's nose again.

My posts don't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, people can dream up a dual screen wireless streaming Switch 2 all they want, I'm just expressing my opinion on these ideas and not demanding anyone cease their imaginative streak.

 

[bmfrosty]

If Nintendo manage to upstage their 2017 launch I think I'd have a full blown meltdown

I doubt they could. I'm running with the idea that they're not going to mess with whats working well. I think the best they could do is extend the Switch for as long as they can by updating the hardware so that publishers can put out higher spec titles. If most releases that don't need the power of Switch 2 are Switch 1 w/Switch 2 enhancements that's the best thing for them.

Continuing with what works doesn't upstage what works.

Edit: I envision a logo program where there are 3-4 different logos

Switch 1/Switch 2 compatible (Switch 1 games that don't fail to work on Switch 2)
Switch 1/Switch 2 enhanced (there won't need to be much enhancement)
Switch 2 Exclusive (Requires Switch 2)

Maybe there's an updated logo for Switch 1 games that just won't work on Switch 2.

 

[Darknut85]

One thing to remember is that Switch is using many features of prior consoles, which Nintendo specifically mentioned in the January presentation. So I think Switch 2‘s featureset will be made out of 3 categories.
1. Features from prior consoles (everything from analog triggers to dual screen and VR)
2. Refinements of Switch features (HD Rumble, Joy-Cons…)
3. Completly new features (Scrollwheel Shoulder Buttons, …)
Nintendo will choose out of those three categories and every single one of us can only hope they‘ll include the features we‘re individualy seeking for (maybe they‘ll include no features at all…).

May the innovation be with us!

 

[Concernt]

Wolf Link Amiibo Rerun, March 8th.

I doubt it has much impact on the console but it's something to keep in mind, it kind of implies TPHD is coming before the end of the FY. Which would be... Interesting. Feels like making way, getting everything they can out before the end of the FY.

 

[Darknut85]

Wolf Link Amiibo Rerun, March 8th.

I doubt it has much impact on the console but it's something to keep in mind, it kind of implies TPHD is coming before the end of the FY. Which would be... Interesting.

TPHD shadowdrop confirmed./s

 

[Kartina]

While I don’t think we’ll get mario kart 10 this year (too close to the mario kart 8 deluxe booster pack) Nintendo usually tries to have 2 heavy hitters at launch/launch window like botw and mk8deluxe for switch or new super mario bros u and Nintendoland for wiiu, and even if not at launch the 3ds got both mario 3d land and mario kart 7 in the same holiday period so it could still happen.
I expect for the switch 2 launch period something like this:
3d mario for the September launch, metroid prime 4 in october, pokemon in november with metroid and pokemon crossgen and mario 3d exclusive.
2025 should be the year for animal crossing, mario kart and smash and some other single player games like xenoblade, astral chain 2 and Luigi’s mansion 4 and who knows what else.

 

[Serif]

While it would face much complaint, I would be ok with separate releases of WW and TP HD if they got boosts to 60 FPS.

 

[eye0h]

I doubt they could. I'm running with the idea that they're not going to mess with whats working well. I think the best they could do is extend the Switch for as long as they can by updating the hardware so that publishers can put out higher spec titles. If most releases that don't need the power of Switch 2 are Switch 1 w/Switch 2 enhancements that's the best thing for them.

Continuing with what works doesn't upstage what works.

Edit: I envision a logo program where there are 3-4 different logos

Switch 1/Switch 2 compatible (Switch 1 games that don't fail to work on Switch 2)
Switch 1/Switch 2 enhanced (there won't need to be much enhancement)
Switch 2 Exclusive (Requires Switch 2)

Maybe there's an updated logo for Switch 1 games that just won't work on Switch 2.

I was talking in context of the current hot topic due to Dring's predictions not the actual hardware

 

[bmfrosty]

While it would face much complaint, I would be ok with separate releases of WW and TP HD if they got boosts to 60 FPS.

That works. They're both about 20 years old. Put them out for $40 each though. Use it as a way to boost the price of both to $80 by splitting them.

Honestly the biggest gimmick that I want for the Switch 2 is optional Wiimote/nunchuck though. I want to play Skyward Sword just as intended. Biggest problem is that sensor bar has no place on modern flat panel.

I was talking in context of the current hot topic due to Dring's predictions not the actual hardware

I'd like that to happen.

 

[Evil Lucario]

I think adding haptics to buttons could be the next form of HD Rumble/DualSense haptics that could be really cool. If you've used the Steam Deck, you would know that the trackpad doesn't actually feel like anything when you click down on them when the Deck is turned off. I feel like general responses with buttons using haptics would be enhanced.

This could also act as the solution to having too much mass required for physical scroll wheel buttons. You could just use haptics on shoulder buttons to simulate the feeling of scrolling through a wheel, and Nintendo is no stranger to making built-in videos of showing off how to actually use this new input of control (see: Super Mario Odyssey and its video tutorials on motion controls). The main issue is how small the existing L and R buttons are on the Joy-Con, but given we are speculating a 1080p screen for Switch 2, I think that will be bumped up a slight bit in size so it could be better.

Finally, I feel like the industry has largely forgotten that because games are an interactive medium, the way you interface with a game is also very important and should also be challenged. We see this with VR games in the modern day, and how something like Half-Life Alyx blew minds because of how you interacted with it. Games are more than just the DualShock layout for all eternity. Even Nintendo has largely acquiesced to this, with only a fraction of games breaking out of that mold like Ring Fit Adventure, Switch Sports, and Labo, although unfortunately multiplatform development and the like shuns such unique features for the sake of fitting them in the square hole of the DualShock layout.

 

[omniryu]

Swap out Mario Kart for Metroid Prime 4 and I'd say this feels likely.



Fair enough. I apologize for making that assumption.

However, I think you're wrong about your appraisal of the Wii, Wii U, and DS/3DS having "mandatory" gimmicks. None of those consoles required developers to use their respective "gimmicks" in games. Wii didn't require that every game use motion controls. Wii U didn't require that every game make full use of the GamePad. DS/3DS didn't require touch controls or 3D. The gimmicks were never mandatory to begin with. So nothing has really changed except for the ways certain developers have chosen to go about making their software.

Thank you for the apology.

But for the Wii you more had to go out of your way to buy a normal controller for stuff like a fighting game. Then not only that, the gimmick cost money. The 3D screen was expensive at the time and there were people who just didn't care for 3D. So wouldn't it be better to go back to normal. Where the gimmick is either the side focus or a separate hardware?

I mean Labo and Ringfit sold very well.

Honestly the biggest gimmick that I want for the Switch 2 is optional Wiimote/nunchuck though. I want to play Skyward Sword just as intended. Biggest problem is that sensor bar has no place on modern flat panel.

Wasn't there an option to have it at the bottom of the TV?

 

[Serif]

Switch homebrew supports the Wiimote and Nunchuk via MissionControl. Should work in theory.

Made sense to me they never officially supported them on Switch 1 as a way of distancing themselves from the Wii U branding. And probably because to them, the joy cons were the true successor and effectively a replacement. They would rather retain GCN controller support for that button layout and Smash Bros.

But I do feel the burgeoning nostalgia of my generation for the Wii. Nintendo may be responsive to this and add support while advertising Wii remasters.

My personal reason for wanting support is that I find a sideways Wii remote comfortable for NES games, lol

I think adding haptics to buttons could be the next form of HD Rumble/DualSense haptics that could be really cool. If you've used the Steam Deck, you would know that the trackpad doesn't actually feel like anything when you click down on them when the Deck is turned off. I feel like general responses with buttons using haptics would be enhanced.

That blew my mind, honestly. The click is really convincing.

I also played some Mario Galaxy on the Deck and using the trackpad as a cursor is miles better than the 3D All-Stars touchscreen implementation and better than using an analog stick.

Also it can be used as an iPod style scroll wheel in menus which is ... so cute.

 

[chocolate_supra]

That's Mr. Miyamoto to you.

Can't believe the meme went from "this is Miyamoto" to "this is Miyamoto??"

andy robinson did agree with the dring prediction

He also agreed with Dring that Nintendo had "no games" after TotK so

 

[theguy]

He also agreed with Dring that Nintendo had "no games" after TotK so

indeedillydoodilly

 

[bmfrosty]

Wasn't there an option to have it at the bottom of the TV?

Yes. TVs are now much bigger and the bottom of the TV often has controls in the center. My fancy-ass 65-inch TV is a thin glass panel except for a block at the bottom about the size of a 32-inch TV. No place for controls on the sides.

It's not insurmountable, but it feels like a wall-mount for the sensor bar would be in order, and that's a bit of an obstacle. Maybe not for the types of people who post here, but if I weren't a huge game nerd, I certainly wouldn't mount a sensor bar to my wall.

 

[Eclissi]

 

[Switcharoo]

Still believing this guy? Where's that Nintendo Collection he was talking about back in 2021? Lol

 

[bmfrosty]

Switch homebrew supports the Wiimote and Nunchuk via MissionControl. Should work in theory.

Made sense to me they never officially supported them on Switch 1 as a way of distancing themselves from the Wii U branding. And probably because to them, the joy cons were the true successor and effectively a replacement. They would rather retain GCN controller support for that button layout and Smash Bros.

But I do feel the burgeoning nostalgia of my generation for the Wii. Nintendo may be responsive to this and add support while advertising Wii remasters.

My personal reason for wanting support is that I find a sideways Wii remote comfortable for NES games, lol



That blew my mind, honestly. The click is really convincing.

I also played some Mario Galaxy on the Deck and using the trackpad as a cursor is miles better than the 3D All-Stars touchscreen implementation and better than using an analog stick.

Also it can be used as an iPod style scroll wheel in menus which is ... so cute.

I never doubted that the lack of Wiimote/Nunchuck support was a non-technical limitation.

Maybe putting a real camera in a revised wii-mote could track dots on the screen instead. Put a small pseudo-qr-code in each corner of the display or something that it could be tracked. Or just two corners. That would probably work. Shouldn't even need a full code. Just enough to track. Minimal QR codes are surprisingly large.

Maybe something like strobing dots (not actual strobing, but something that would be subtle to a person, but easily visible to computer vision) Make it a recognizable pattern, and the system could even track lag.

 

[Eclissi]

Still believing this guy? Where's that Nintendo Collection he was talking about back in 2021? Lol

Well, here we expect predictions from users who have made dozens of mistakes in the past, why not?

 

[ziggyrivers]

Wolf Link Amiibo Rerun, March 8th.

I doubt it has much impact on the console but it's something to keep in mind, it kind of implies TPHD is coming before the end of the FY. Which would be... Interesting. Feels like making way, getting everything they can out before the end of the FY.

The Zelda for 2024. Wonder if WW will be 2025 then

 

[Serif]

Maybe putting a real camera in a revised wii-mote could track dots on the screen instead. Put a small pseudo-qr-code in each corner of the display or something that it could be tracked. Or just two corners. That would probably work. Shouldn't even need a full code. Just enough to track. Minimal QR codes are surprisingly large.

Maybe something like strobing dots (not actual strobing, but something that would be subtle to a person, but easily visible to computer vision) Make it a recognizable pattern, and the system could even track lag.

Kind of like how light guns work

 

[bmfrosty]

Kind of like how light guns work

I honestly have no idea how modern light guns work. I sort of know how they worked on CRTs, but modern implementation is a mystery to me with HDMI lag being a factor.

 

[Serif]

So Lies of P can produce a pretty convincing upscale to 1080p with FSR2, but the GPU usage is 99%. GPU resources that could be used elsewhere like better shading or shadows.

One of the advantages of DLSS is freeing up the GPU by offloading upscaling to the tensor cores. I assume the GPU is still involved in DLSS but less so than with FSR2.

I would be interested in a DLSS/FSR comparison where they're targeting the same output but using up equivalent GPU resources. So in theory if a game is being rendered at 540p internally and upscaled to 1080p, the one running with DLSS should in theory produce a prettier 540p picture resulting in a better looking overall image. Right?

Right now I have everything on Low settings with texture detail set to High. Perhaps with GPU resources saved, a Switch 2 port of Lies of P could have everything on Medium settings and still manage an upscale to 1080p.

 

[Hosermess]

Wolf Link Amiibo Rerun, March 8th.

I doubt it has much impact on the console but it's something to keep in mind, it kind of implies TPHD is coming before the end of the FY. Which would be... Interesting. Feels like making way, getting everything they can out before the end of the FY.

patching together amiibo dates into a new theory like

i'm usually all for...creative theories but the amiibo one is out there (how did the past few months of these guesses turn out anyway?)

 

[darthdiablo]

patching together amiibo dates into a new theory like

i'm usually all for...creative theories but the amiibo one is out there (how did the past few months of these guesses turn out anyway?)

As far as I know, past few months haven't exactly disproven the amiibo theory? What did you think happened to disprove the amiibo theory?

Should make it clear amiibos restock dates doesn't necessarily mean they tie to anything exciting. If you think amiibo restock dates means a new Switch successor announced every time, that's sort of on you, not us.

 

[frog]

I'd entertain a 'new innovation' if someone could brainstorm some interesting ideas. All the non-controller ideas I've heard are VR / AR / adding more screens / reverse Wii U. The former two the Switch has already done in some fashion and don't require overhauling the entire form factor, the latter two sounding cumbersome and a regression from the delightful simple Switch. I gleefully welcome additional input, sensor, and OS enhancements, however. Enhancements that do not exist in the current device, and therefore the Switch 2 would not just be a 'beefed up current Switch'.

It's not like the Switch came out of thin air. It felt like a logical progression from earlier ideas like the Super Game Boy, GCN/GBA link connectivity, and off-TV play. People predicted and hoped for that day where the entire console could be 'in the gamepad'.

I haven't heard any convincing ideas of replacing the hybrid concept. I find it an inherently appealing idea that will only grow more appealing as mobile chips advance. They can 'Ship of Theseus' the Switch and redesign the joy-con and tablet (the latter already done with the OLED), pack more features into each. The Switch itself is a synthesis of Nintendo's past ideas and a future-proofed modular concept that can accommodate a number of play styles. To me, future innovations would be centered on how far they can stretch this concept. There is a chance that Nintendo releases a dedicated VR device, but I would expect that to be a third-pillar to the Switch or an accessory (one less cardboardy than LABO).

Well that's Nintendo's job not ours. I don't have to know exactly what I want to hope for some surprise and delight from the next Nintendo console

 

[ohlawd]

patching together amiibo dates into a new theory like

i'm usually all for...creative theories but the amiibo one is out there (how did the past few months of these guesses turn out anyway?)

I'm only yeah'ing this for Dennis Rodman talking about trajectories of basketballs off the basket to grab rebounds

 

[Brofield]

patching together amiibo dates into a new theory like

i'm usually all for...creative theories but the amiibo one is out there (how did the past few months of these guesses turn out anyway?)

That's the thing, @Paraspikey would likely need to clarify better than I could, but since the formation of amiibo theory in September based on years of evidence in the Switch era, the first time amiibos that had a fixed restock date and were quietly delayed happened this past November.

Something is fishy regardless, and a pattern disrupted is usually the result of a seismic shift.

 

[aus89]

just predictions but hey maybe there's a chance lil bro well respected 'heavy hitter' journalist knows something

Doubt they reveal it til after March, but it's possible they reveal it in March. June/September with 3D Mario makes sense otherwise

Mario Kart is 2025 - big MP game for the platform early on like Smash in 2018 (hopefully the rest of the year won't be as dry as 2018 was though (imo)

Ppl expecting Game Freak of all studios to have anything cross gen/cross platform happening is hilarious to me - it will be Switch 1 and it will run via BC. They didn't do Ultra Sun/Moon for Switch in 2018 & there's no way they're doing anything for Switch 2 in 2024 beyond it just running on the hardware like all Switch games will.

 

[Serif]

Well that's Nintendo's job not ours. I don't have to know exactly what I want to hope for some surprise and delight from the next Nintendo console

My post is specifically in the context of this pre-release speculation and discussion and me responding to ideas that have been brought up already. I'm open to Nintendo surprising us. People did not know exactly that they would desire split controls for a handheld device but Nintendo synthesized the concept in a compelling way.

I know for sure what I don't want is some complete upending of the Switch idea where the hybrid no longer exists i.e. I don't want a world where I cannot play games portably and on a TV with the same device. I'm game for whatever they do in this framework. If they can actually make what I think is a cumbersome idea like dual screens work, then I welcome it. But at the moment, I think I am being fair in responding to ideas that have already been circulating and expressing how I feel about them. And I think it's a more interesting discussion to try to guess what Nintendo might do, then just to say that it's their job to provide something innovative. Yes, obviously.

If the impression you get from my post is that I'm dictating what people should want to hope for, then I'm sorry.

 

[MP!]

I don't understand the point of a "tease." The initial reveal is going to be a full reveal. Maybe they leave some non-hardware details like price to a later drop? Seems like a prediction that just gets stated with no real thought behind it.

I was just going to say this
I don’t think there will be a teaser trailer without a blowout

It will be one and the same … and I’m expecting 3 months from announce to release

 

[omniryu]

Don't we need more context? Like what cpu is he running. What level of graphics quality is he using?

 

[Herb Alpert]

I can see them early february telling their shareholders that the new system will release during the next fiscal year and that more informations will be shared soon.

That would be a tease likely to happen.

 

[VagrantValmar]

I know analogue triggers are basically a given for a lot of people, and I know it would probably be for the best, but man I love my digital triggers.
Playing taiko and theatrhythm with them is super comfortable and those digital triggers are one of the top reasons I prefer the Switch version of those games.
Plus, disassembling and repairing controllers with analogue triggers is a pain in the ass.

 

[VagrantValmar]

Don't we need more context? Like what cpu is he running. What level of graphics quality is he using?

All that stuff is mentioned in the video he's citing but the video didn't mention TDP so it's really not of much value.
It is surprising what the guy in the video managed to run with those parts though

 

[SoldierDelta]

I can see them early february telling their shareholders that the new system will release during the next fiscal year and that more informations will be shared soon.

That would be a tease likely to happen.

Ngl, Nintendo would absolutely just say "stay tuned" instead of being upfront about their next system plans. They've done so in the past, they'll absolutely do it again.

 

[Hosermess]

As far as I know, past few months haven't exactly disproven the amiibo theory? What did you think happened to disprove the amiibo theory?

Should make it clear amiibos restock dates doesn't necessarily mean they tie to anything exciting. If you think amiibo restock dates means a new Switch successor announced every time, that's sort of on you, not us.

well, nothing happened, and it's kind of my point lol I was trying to imply the opposite. That they sort of mean nothing.

So using them to predict anything (apart from, something's fishy...even then, ok?) is, respectfully, baffling to me.

Buy hey, I've been wrong dozens of times in this thread already. Would be happy to throw another one on to the pile.

 

[omniryu]

All that stuff is mentioned in the video he's citing but the video didn't mention TDP so it's really not of much value.
It is surprising what the guy in the video managed to run with those parts though

It was pretty nice

 

[darthdiablo]

well, nothing happened, and it's kind of my point lol I was trying to imply the opposite. That they sort of mean nothing.

So using them to predict anything (apart from, something's fishy...even then, ok?) is, respectfully, baffling to me.

Buy hey, I've been wrong dozens of times in this thread already. Would be happy to throw another one on to the pile.

As far as I recall (I might be misremembering), but the last amiibo restock was in November. There was a bunch of comments saying "oh so this was what amiibo restock was for" - a realization that it's tie to an event more mundane than Switch 2 announcement.

Again, that's on whoever is expecting Switch 2 announcement to be tied to amiibo restock dates. Nobody said it means the next amiibo restock date will be when Switch 2 is announced.

That does not mean "nothing happened' either.

The comment you replied to did not imply the March 8 amiibo restock would have anything to do with new console either. Merely that it might be suggesting something to do with TPHD.

Don't make other people's comments more than what they are saying.

 

[Giancarlo]

Swap out Mario Kart for Metroid Prime 4 and I'd say this feels likely.



Fair enough. I apologize for making that assumption.

However, I think you're wrong about your appraisal of the Wii, Wii U, and DS/3DS having "mandatory" gimmicks. None of those consoles required developers to use their respective "gimmicks" in games. Wii didn't require that every game use motion controls. Wii U didn't require that every game make full use of the GamePad. DS/3DS didn't require touch controls or 3D. The gimmicks were never mandatory to begin with. So nothing has really changed except for the ways certain developers have chosen to go about making their software.

Metroid is not a system seller, just the fact Metroid is non existant in japan, further complicate it sucess.

 

[Concernt]

patching together amiibo dates into a new theory like

i'm usually all for...creative theories but the amiibo one is out there (how did the past few months of these guesses turn out anyway?)

Excuse me?

I'd welcome an explanation as to why "Twilight Princess Wolf Link" would be reprinted when Twilight Princess is not being sold, and the only games it's compatible with are Twilight Princess HD and Breath of the Wild... And in Breath of the Wild, it only has 3 hearts, unless you use it in Twilight Princess HD, so, really, it has no use, marketing or in game, unless Twilight Princess HD is available.

Calling this "patching", making a joke out of it, it feels disrespectful - it's not pie in the sky, they're rerunning a Twilight Princess HD exclusive Amiibo, why on earth would they do that without Twilight Princess HD?

And "the Amiibo theory"? This isn't part of some broader conspiracy, again, it's literally the most basic assumption- they are rerunning Twilight Princess series Amiibo because they intend to make Twilight Princess available.

If you want to make a point, make it, mocking someone for pointing out that an Amiibo is attached to a game is not a productive use of your time.