Pre-Release Backward compatibility won a recent IGN poll for most requested/demanded feature on Switch 2. Do you agree?

[GenOneCam]

I get wanting backwards compatibility but how is hybrid design not destroying everything else

Can't speak for anyone else, but for me personally I don't use the Switch as a hybrid system, I use it as a portable one. If the next Switch is portable I don't really care if it can be played on a TV. But like I said before, if the next system is not bc then I will probably never buy anything from Nintendo again.

 

[Sheldon]

If backwards compatibility includes motion controls, I agree.

Keeping a hybrid sensibility is more important overall, but personally I've made do with only playing on a home console and only playing on handheld before so will be able to cope again.

 

[Lord Azrael]

Most people take the existence of the hybrid design as a given.

Most people do not think the same for BC.

...But the framing would imply that people would rather have backwards compatibility than hybrid? I mean, Nintendo has more of a history of backwards compatibility than hybrid consoles lol

 

[Catsylvania]

Most people take the existence of the hybrid design as a given.

Most people do not think the same for BC.

While that may be true, people who voted may not have thought about how upset they would be should Nintendo nix the side of the hybrid design they actually use more often. I suspect this is what @Lord Azrael meant. Admittedly, I didn’t even think about it that way until just now.

Anecdotally, I play Switch docked 99.9% of the time. If the successor was portable only, I’d buy it like I bought other Nintendo handhelds, but I wouldn’t be happy about it. Backwards compatibility is coolio and all. However, I buy next generation hardware to play new games.

 

[Thunder84]

Hybrid and Backwards Compatibility are far and away the two most important features. If Nintendo is somehow dumb enough to not include both, their next console is going to be a flop, at least relative to the competition.

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

...But the framing would imply that people would rather have backwards compatibility than hybrid? I mean, Nintendo has more of a history of backwards compatibility than hybrid consoles lol

I think people are invested in the massive libraries they have built up for themselves on the Switch (of course, that library was built up because of how frictionless the Switch's hybrid design makes wanting to play stuff on it)

While that may be true, people who voted may not have thought about how upset they would be should Nintendo nix the side of the hybrid design they actually use more often. I suspect this is what @Lord Azrael meant. Admittedly, I didn’t even think about it that way until just now.

Anecdotally, I play Switch docked 99.9% of the time. If the successor was portable only, I’d buy it like I bought other Nintendo handhelds, but I wouldn’t be happy about it. Backwards compatibility is coolio and all. However, I buy next generation hardware to play new games.

I think the hybrid design is integral to my enjoyment of the Switch, but I will be honest, if the choice is between a new hybrid that doesn't respect the roughly thousands of dollars I have spent on the Switch, or a new non hybrid that maintains my library, I will pick the latter choice every single time.

I have spent far too much money to be okay with that spend not being respected across generations. And of course, Nintendo doesn't have to "respect" my purchases, but I don't have to be okay with them not doing that either

 

[TomNookYankees]

I get wanting backwards compatibility but how is hybrid design not destroying everything else

I think the assumption is that if it's a "Switch Successor" then hyrbid design is assumed while Backwards Compatibility is more of a concern because it's not as assumed.

 

[Armoured_Bear]

Don't care about handheld, I'm a TV gamer so 4K all the way, I want Powah.

 

[RennanNT]

I get wanting backwards compatibility but how is hybrid design not destroying everything else

"keep hybrid" doesn't specify what happens if it's not hybrid, people are probably assuming their preferred mode will still be there.

If it was "keep portability" and "keep TV out" instead, I believe they would get significantly higher when combined.

For example, to me portability > BC > TV out, so BC takes priority over "hybrid" and "TV out" but not "portability" to me and I'm inclined to vote BC given the options.

 

[Soul Skater]

This question is sort of difficult to answer because not having any one of the three of 4K, BC, Hybrid etc., it would be so deflating to not have any of them that I don't know if I care which was the most important. Not having all 3 is a complete failure. Like asking which wheel on a tricycle is the most important one. Idk we ain't getting anywhere without them all being there.

 

[Rooster]

The fact that you'll get notable contingents both from "well I mostly play console so I'd rather have x/well I mostly play handheld so I'd rather have x" shows that obviously it's being a hybrid, because you're assuming you'll get to maintain your preferred form, and proceeding with the question from there.

How about the Switch 2 becomes your unfavored form exclusively but you get bc? Would you trade the bc to get your preferred form back?

 

[lexony]

Yeah I think so. Though I hope that people don‘t expect that Switch Games automatically will run way better on the new hardware, otherwise they are setting themselves up for a huge disappointment.

 

[GenOneCam]

The fact that you'll get notable contingents both from "well I mostly play console so I'd rather have x/well I mostly play handheld so I'd rather have x" shows that obviously it's being a hybrid, because you're assuming you'll get to maintain your preferred form, and proceeding with the question from there.

How about the Switch 2 becomes your unfavored form exclusively but you get bc? Would you trade the bc to get your preferred form back?

I will expand on my answer a bit because the way the poll is shaped seems to be causing some confusion in this regard.

I play Switch handheld almost exclusively. There have been a few instances in the 6+ years that I have owned it that it has ever been docked. In fact for like three years of that time I didn't even know where my dock was. I would not care at all if the next Switch did not have any TV compatibility.

However, if the next Switch ditched portability altogether, had backwards compatibility but became a TV only console I would still end up buying one. I bought a GC, Wii, and Wii U despite them being TV only consoles.

However if the next Switch is portable (or TV only) and does not have backwards compatibility then I will not buy it.

So to me backwards compatibility > hybrid design

 

[GamerJM]

I simultaneously don't agree and also think it deserves to win.

I'm a weirdo who keeps an assload of old hardware around and available. I also buy most games physically. So no BC doesn't bother me that much. That being said, most people are not me, and BC should absolutely become a standardized feature for a Switch successor.

 

[Lovecatt]

I'm still gna keep my switch & I almost never replay games so idc

 

[Rooster]

I will expand on my answer a bit because the way the poll is shaped seems to be causing some confusion in this regard.

I play Switch handheld almost exclusively. There have been a few instances in the 6+ years that I have owned it that it has ever been docked. In fact for like three years of that time I didn't even know where my dock was. I would not care at all if the next Switch did not have any TV compatibility.

However, if the next Switch ditched portability altogether, had backwards compatibility but became a TV only console I would still end up buying one. I bought a GC, Wii, and Wii U despite them being TV only consoles.

However if the next Switch is portable (or TV only) and does not have backwards compatibility then I will not buy it.

So to me backwards compatibility > hybrid design

Fair enough but if you're not going to buy the next system because it doesn't play the games of a system you also already own, I think you might be in the minority. Around launch, less so, but once the catalogue begins to build...

Most people want and often expect bc (understandably so), but three, four, five years down the road when there's a whole ass library of Switch 2 games, I'm not sure how many people are still gonna be passing it up because it doesn't play og Switch games.

Ultimately I think not being a home console or portable would box out more sales than not being backwards compatible. I think more people will grumble and buy a system without bc than buy the kind of system they rarely play. That's not to say that's reflective of every single person's priorities.

 

[Magic-Man]

I'd be so pissed if it wasn't backwards compatible. I'm not losing access to my favorite games.

 

[Metroid]

I think hybrid is a given, so I voted for BC. And because I think hybrid is a given and because Nintendo has historically not leaned in this direction, 4k is for sure dead in the water. I'm happy to be wrong, but at this point in time...

 

[Síriocaz]

The evergreens have potential of keeping making money until the late 2020s. I mean, why would they give up on that chance?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

4K is important, but... it's a new device in the 2020s, not supporting it really isn't even an option, so I'm not voting for that.

Being a hybrid is important but the only way that's not happening is if Furukawa was replaced with an alien hybrid so I'm not voting for that.

I love VR but I also don't think any add-on to a Nintendo hybrid would work half as well as a standalone device, so I'm not voting for that.

Backward compatibility I'm 99% sure is there, but yeah I'll vote for that because it would absolutely suck to have to carry around multiple devices or choose which to take for which part of my library to have available.

 

[Vito]

I want BC but good BC.

Completely offline and working off the cart well unlike PS5's BC which has games flat out not working off the disc.

 

[Zellia]

Losing either hybrid or BC would be a huge disappointment for me. Struggled to choose, but I think hybrid pips it here just because no BC would just mean I'd have to stick to Switch 1 for older games, but no hybrid would be for me a serious issue with the Switch 2 itself.

 

[Shadow]

I don't expect them to kill the feature, but I am curious how they're going to be working about making larger cartridges available. The amount of 32GB games can still be counted on just two hands, and I'm genuinely scared for another round of huge downloads because devs aren't up to spend those few bucks extra for a 16GB cartridge, let alone 32GB...

 

[FeiFongWong]

I'm genuinely scared for another round of huge downloads because devs aren't up to spend those few bucks extra for a 16GB cartridge, let alone 32GB...

I'm skipping games that are only partially on cart. Why even bother with physical release if they are going to do such a thing.

 

[balgajo]

I think that hybrid design isn't winning because it would be a top priority only for people who have a good balance of portable/tv playstyle.

People who only plays on handheld won't care about tv
People who only plays on tv won't care about portabilty.
People who likes the hybrid design but don't use it that much may have other priorities.

 

[Galgavias]

The world has changed from the days where a new console meant an all new library and people just shrugged and accepted it. In this new digital world people place huge value in being able to transfer all their data and purchases from one device to the next when they upgrade, be it to a new phone or laptop or what have you. Game consoles are the same now. Without a significant hardware change which makes it impossible for games to be ported (such as a shift to a new kind of physical gamecard) there's no real reason why games from a previous console can't also be played on the new one.

Sony and Microsoft both realised this and now have a huge and comprehensive library of past gen games available on their consoles with data you can transfer across if you desire. Nintendo have generally been better about BC than them in the past, and have always accomodated it in their consoles where possible. I can't see them stopping with the move from Switch 1 to Switch 2. And if they do, consumers will be right to be narked at them.

 

[Giancarlo]

it would be a suicide if Switch sucessor dont include backward compatibly,imagine the 120+milions Switch user base furious they are unable to play Tears of the Kingdom, on Nintendo next hardware

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

I think that hybrid design isn't winning because it would be a top priority only for people who have a good balance of portable/tv playstyle.

People who only plays on handheld won't care about tv
People who only plays on tv won't care about portabilty.
People who likes the hybrid design but don't use it that much may have other priorities.

I think it's not winning because it's kind of like having "Made with physical matter" on the list.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

it would be a suicide if Switch sucessor dont include backward compatibly,imagine the 120+milions Switch user base furious they are unable to play Tears of the Kingdom, on Nintendo next hardware

It would be even more suicidal if it's not a hybrid system.

Imagine for a second how people would react to the news that Nintendo is abandoning the home/on TV experience entirely (because that's what not a hybrid means)

 

[Giancarlo]

It would be even more suicidal if it's not a hybrid system.

Imagine for a second how people would react to the news that Nintendo is abandoning the home/on TV experience entirely (because that's what not a hybrid means)

both lack of backward comparbilty and the Switch sucessor not be a hybrid console would be suicidal, one fact we already know( is a hybrid thank to the VGC report yesterday), BC is still unclear.

 

[Selarmor]

Is 4K supposed to be analogous to performance? Because that's the most important thing. I don't care about anything else if all we're getting is a GCN -> Wii type of bump.

Modern performance >>> BC > Hybrid >>> everything else

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

if all we're getting is a GCN -> Wii type of bump.

No, by all accounts this will be a far more ambitious leap

 

[Selarmor]

No, by all accounts this will be a far more ambitious leap

Yeah I'm well aware of the capabilities of Drake, I'm just pointing out that 4K is kind of a useless poll option unless it's supposed to be representative of performance. You could have a Wii style bump in specs that could do 4K output and no one wants that.

 

[Pineapple]

The next Switch being a hybrid is the most important thing to me. Not having BC wouldn't really impact me, but I think it should have BC.