Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#121

Post by jjice » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:14 PM UTC

darkwizard42 wrote: post #65

jjice wrote: post #27

I’m glad to see Nintendo found a form factor that’s kind of gimmicky that actually worked. The Wii and Wii U were too gimmicky, but portability was a great choice. I’m also glad to see backwards compatibility. I’m excited to see what kind of hardware improvements have been made. The switch came out in March 2017, just about 8 years ago. Just due to the way Nintendo games have their animated charm, they’re able to mak…

The Wii was on the of the best selling consoles of all time? I believe only surpassed by the PS2. Is the gimmicky a personal opinion or something you believe didn’t resonate with customers?

"Gimmicky" in the sense that they used movement controls and that's non-standard in the industry and went away mostly afterwards. I'm considering anything that isn't a traditional stationary control (keyboard + mouse or controller) as "gimmicky" or out of the ordinary.

In terms of sales, you're absolutely right - the Wii crushed it. I'd be curious to know about usage and software sales though. Maybe I'm wrong (very possible), but almost everyone I knew had a Wii at some point, but they didn't use it outside of a family toy with a few games when they first got it. I'd still consider that a win for Nintendo compared to less sales, but I'd imagine the average Xbox 360 or PS3 had a lot more software sales per console.

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#122

Post by Macha » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:14 PM UTC

mschuster91 wrote: post #76

yapyap wrote: post #37

Sad they’re keeping at the same thing, I was personally hoping for a NEW thing like innovation but it seems like theyre just keeping steady at the same pace. Of course looking back at the past this shouldn’t have been a huge surprise with their ds to 3ds to new3ds shenanigans

> Sad they’re keeping at the same thing, I was personally hoping for a NEW thing like innovation but it seems like theyre just keeping steady at the same pace. Why risk it though? The original Switch is a money printer but it became obvious that it's ... lacking brawns and brains after eight years of service. Fix that by upgrading the SoC to something with more power and remove a few other annoyances (the flimsy stan…

Though the OLED Switch had a much better stand than the launch switch and the stand on this one actually kind of looks like a regression.

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#123

Post by sigmoid10 » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:15 PM UTC

Huh. I guess updated ergonomics / QoL stuff and confirmation of backwards compatibility counts as enough of an update over the last hardware refresh. But zero info on anything that could actually make this worth a buy. Granted, this feels like Nintendo who will do anything to not get dragged into PS/XBOX flops discussions. But without any real upgrade or even games announcements, I suppose most people will keep holding off their purchase decisions for now.

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#124

Post by bogwog » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:16 PM UTC

xnx wrote: post #64

jjice wrote: post #27

I’m glad to see Nintendo found a form factor that’s kind of gimmicky that actually worked. The Wii and Wii U were too gimmicky, but portability was a great choice. I’m also glad to see backwards compatibility. I’m excited to see what kind of hardware improvements have been made. The switch came out in March 2017, just about 8 years ago. Just due to the way Nintendo games have their animated charm, they’re able to mak…

The Wii was a huge success and the Wii U was a step toward the Switch, which combines the best of both of those consoles.

> which combines the best of both of those consoles.

Minus the dual screen of the Wii U, which was awesome. It'd be cool if the Switch 2's dock could work independently of the console, so that you could have a reverse Wii U- experience with it. The dual screen setup can be a neat gimmick for gameplay, but it's biggest strength is the convenience that comes from having a second screen closer to your face. You can have less visual clutter on the main screen, and reduce the amount of menus players need to click through.

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#125

Post by 3pt14159 » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:16 PM UTC

wat10000 wrote: post #118

It seems like the days of revolutionary consumer electronics are over. This looks nice, for sure. But it’s really more of the same. Not surprising. It does surprise me that there’s such emphasis on it, though. There’s the name, of course, and then the entire video is based around “it’s the same thing but a little better.” Game console updates used to be big deals. The SNES was a revolution. PS2 was huge. Now… PS5? Wh…

I've found more incredible improvements in AI than in consumer electronics these days. I'm still daily surprised at just how good ChatGPT is at understanding my pretty complex queries.

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#126

Post by ChocolateGod » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:16 PM UTC

Procat wrote: post #63

xnx wrote: post #26

Bravo on them making the video 2:22 for Switch 2. Edit: the mobile web version of the same video shows as 2:21. Interesting YouTube bug!

3 2's? Are you saying Half-Life 3 will be a launch title?

Switch 2

Switch is 6 characters long, 6 divided by 2 is 3

Half Life 3 confirmed.

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#127

Post by VyseofArcadia » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:16 PM UTC

bayindirh wrote: post #80

VyseofArcadia wrote: post #58

I don't like the aesthetic as much as the Switch 1. Looks a little too sleek, too monochrome, not Nintendo-y enough. Other than the splash of color around the thumbsticks it looks like any number of those handheld Steam Deck-alikes that have been coming out. That said I always wait for the special Zelda editions of Nintendo's consoles, so I don't know that I have standing to complain.

I personally like the new color scheme. It says "I'm mature now, but still playful". Also, all black is less distracting when you're trying to concentrate on a bigger screen which needs you to move your eyeballs. Also, the new controllers look more "freedom friendly", if you pardon the pun. IOW, they iterated them so that they're more useful when they are detached.

I prefer just "playful" to "mature but still playful". Something about the straightforwardness of "this is a toy for people of all ages, but it is still a toy" speaks to me.

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#128

Post by oneeyedpigeon » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:17 PM UTC

wat10000 wrote: post #118

It seems like the days of revolutionary consumer electronics are over. This looks nice, for sure. But it’s really more of the same. Not surprising. It does surprise me that there’s such emphasis on it, though. There’s the name, of course, and then the entire video is based around “it’s the same thing but a little better.” Game console updates used to be big deals. The SNES was a revolution. PS2 was huge. Now… PS5? Wh…

> But it’s still a little shocking to see a company lean so far into the theme of “we made incremental improvements to this thing we released 8 years ago.”

It's certainly more 'shocking' to see Nintendo do it than, say, Microsoft or Sony. But Nintendo hasn't always introduced huge new changes with a console bump — NES->SNES wasn't particularly revolutionary, and there were certainly no gimmicks there. I think it's a very understandable reaction to a) the Wii U b) the enormous success of the Switch

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#129

Post by nkjoep » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:17 PM UTC

sigmoid10 wrote: post #123

Huh. I guess updated ergonomics / QoL stuff and confirmation of backwards compatibility counts as enough of an update over the last hardware refresh. But zero info on anything that could actually make this worth a buy. Granted, this feels like Nintendo who will do anything to not get dragged into PS/XBOX flops discussions. But without any real upgrade or even games announcements, I suppose most people will keep holdi…

on the other side, it could be a big plus for new comers into the Nintendo Switch platform

Re: Nintendo announces the Switch 2 [video]

#130

Post by Q6T46nT668w6i3m » Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 2:17 PM UTC

sigmoid10 wrote: post #123

Huh. I guess updated ergonomics / QoL stuff and confirmation of backwards compatibility counts as enough of an update over the last hardware refresh. But zero info on anything that could actually make this worth a buy. Granted, this feels like Nintendo who will do anything to not get dragged into PS/XBOX flops discussions. But without any real upgrade or even games announcements, I suppose most people will keep holdi…

New Mario Kart