Reject Convenience Forum

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.

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.