Nintendo Switch 2

[December_W_Wolf]

Well, looks like things are about to change. The Switch 2, the long-awaited successor to the Nintendo Switch, will be releasing on the 5th of June for $450 (USD), with mouse functionality on both Joy-Con 2's, GameShare (updated Download Play by the looks of it), Discord-like voice calls with screensharing even if different games are being played, Virtual Game Cards... I can't remember all of it, I'd suggest watching the recent Direct if you want more information.

How are we feeling? Are people going to buy the Switch 2 ASAP? Are others going to wait and see? Or maybe some people might choose to not buy it altogether?

I think personally a gripe I've had with the Switch 2 since its first official video leak is that it's bigger - a problem that seems to be fairly prevalent with a lot of modern handhelds. The point of a handheld is that it can be, well, held in your hand, and brought about with you, and if it's too large and heavy then that's just not going to work. At least it doesn't look like it'll be the size of the Steam Deck.

Because of budget limitations there's no way I'll be able to afford the Switch 2, at least for now; I'll definitely be looking at reviews and experiences of other people who might camp out to buy it, though.

[MikeGs]

To be honest it's been a while since I've actively played videogames in a regular manner, and by that I mean that I probably play once or twice every couple of weeks, so my perception of this launch might be off.

Handheld consoles aren't "portable" anymore. I get it, everyone has a smartphone nowadays, so that gap that the original Gameboy - Gameboy Advance used to fill, is no longer there. Console makers need to adapt to market expectations, people want bigger screens and bigger games, so that's their way of compromising and filling that gap. I really don't like that.

A whole genre of games, like the original Pokémon, Sims Urbz in the City, Super Mario Bros, Tetris... were developed/enhanced thanks to these consoles existing. Now there's no handheld games anymore outside of Nintendo, limiting variation dramatically. Mobile/smartphone gaming doesn't count, there's some gems, I guess, but everyone knows 99% of mobile games are cash grabs.

From my perspective, the Switch 2 is a pretty bad deal. It's expensive. Some people try to argue that inflation is pushing prices up, but a handheld shouldn't have a price tag above $400, let alone $80-$90 dollar games, $100 controllers + online (two tier) subscriptions. There's no way to justify it, and it clearly shows that corporate only cares about milking their fanbase to their last cent. By buying a Switch, you're locking yourself to the Nintendo ecosystem, so expect release games to still be $80 5 years down the line.

I expect that this console's release will meet sales expectations, however, long-term, their sales are going to suffer heavily. Hell, most Switch 1 games are still $45-$60 dollars everywhere, including second hand stores. I can't see a lot of parents buying this console for their kids, to them it's going to look the same, but more expensive.

I'll check out the reviews when it comes out. I'm done with console gaming anyway.

Edit: Spelling.

[QueriesNTheories]

I am very very excited for some of the games, but seeing the price tag for them, let alone the console’s, put me off right away. The games I want are coming out on the Switch 1 next year so that’s good enough for me.
I really don’t think games should be $80 either. This kind of thing just makes me yearn for another console like the 3DS, and for Nintendo to put some personality back into their consoles darn it! We never got any new themes or customisation for the system software beyond the icons from NSO and the Miis

[Stefen_Maxwell]

I see little reason to buy this device for myself personally. I have a Steam Deck and a huge collection of PC games to play. I think for the price of the Switch 2, the Steam Deck is a better value. The amount of games one can play on the Steam Deck is almost endless, already give mouse support with the trackpads, and also has cheaper games. The only reason I can think of for getting a Switch 2 is because you like Nintendo and have already bought into the ecosystem, but even then, you already have a Switch 1 to play on.

TLDR: Get a Steam Deck instead of a Switch 2.

[SergioEduP]

I see little reason to buy this device for myself personally. I have a Steam Deck and a huge collection of PC games to play. I think for the price of the Switch 2, the Steam Deck is a better value. The amount of games one can play on the Steam Deck is almost endless, already give mouse support with the trackpads, and also has cheaper games. The only reason I can think of for getting a Switch 2 is because you like Nintendo and have already bought into the ecosystem, but even then, you already have a Switch 1 to play on.

TLDR: Get a Steam Deck instead of a Switch 2.

The only reason to buy any Nintendo console is to play Nintendo games the way that they were meant to be played, nothing else. Yeah you can play most of them really well (and often times even better) in emulators but it just doesn't feel the same, and I say that as an owner of a modded release day Switch and a beefy PC, I've tried emulation and yet I always go back to the real hardware (even if the experience is "worse" it just feels right). And (for me) the same thing goes for other platforms, I don't like playing PC games on the go, I prefer to be chilling in my gaming area to do that instead (but that's just my preference).

Personally I also don't really care about the portability, the few times that I know I will have some time to kill waiting for something when not home I have my backpack with me so I could easily bring a laptop if I wanted to, but again I prefer to play PC games at home on my main PC so I just bring my switch instead.

Both the console and games are pretty expensive, and I would definitely have bought the Switch 2 quicker if they were cheaper, but for me (after a couple of days thinking and doing some maths) I determined that it is worth it for the time that I will likely spend playing games on it and the simple fact that it will be a nicer experience to play some games that pushed the Switch 1 to its limits, and that's definitely not the case for everyone, like I said before the only reason I see for buying a Nintendo console is to play Nintendo games, and not everyone likes those games.