The Nintendo Switch: time for a successor!? – Inside.Gamer
Written by Luck Wilson on November 5, 2022
During the new generation of consoles, gamers are more than ever beaten with technical terms. Since the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have been released, we often have to make choices whether we want nicer graphics or smoother movements on your screen. Terms like ‘frames per second’ and ‘ray tracing’ have been heard a lot. With the Nintendo Switch you don’t have that much of a problem, but for a while you’ve been hearing more and more sounds that the Switch can no longer keep up. The release of Bayonetta 3 amplifies these sounds quite a bit. “Such a spectacular action game should come out much better on the two aforementioned consoles, right?” “It really is about time Nintendo released a new console!” Is that so and what can we expect?
PlayStation 360 Pro
The people who deny that the Nintendo Switch is not hugely behind in terms of graphics can probably be counted on one hand. Nintendo has deliberately chosen to give us a good gameplay experience in a different way. A hybrid console with games that anyone can play anywhere. We have to take for granted that the console was already a big generation behind when it was released in 2017 and now even two, if you look purely at the technical aspect. Here and there an outlier, such as Super Mario Odyssey, but otherwise it remains a bit stuck in the PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 era.
Nintendo knows that just a new console with better graphics is not enough to beat the competition. They last did that during the GameCube generation. That console conjured up exactly the same on the screen as the competition, but fell short in terms of sales. Purely because of the too small range of games, although many Nintendo fans, including the undersigned, will easily be able to present a long list of top titles. Nintendo is focusing on something else, did a great job with the Wii and has repeated this trick with the Nintendo Switch. They offer something different from the competition, keep the sales prices of the consoles lower and thus appeal to a large and partly different target group than Microsoft and Sony and they can’t go back.
Two consoles
Not only is Nintendo a bit behind in terms of graphics performance, but also in terms of online gaming things don’t run as smoothly as the competition. Besides the fact that online gaming works better in itself, Sony and Microsoft are fully engaged in various subscription services, such as the Gamepass and Nintendo is left with only the extension subscription to the regular Nintendo Online.
Both the technical and online backlog means that many gamers have a Switch next to their Xbox or PlayStation, or vice versa. And there you can put your finger on the sore spot and understand why Bayonetta fans are disappointed that the third part was not just released on the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5. You would prefer to play such an action-packed game on the console that performs best. That also applies to all other third party games that also come out at the competition. At least, at least the 3D games. For the Metroidvania-like and other cool two-dimensional games, the undersigned prefers to reach for the Switch, because those games can be played excellently in handheld mode, but a Call of Duty? 100% on any of the other consoles.
The same problem’
The Switch owners who have nothing wrong with it will mainly be the real Nintendo fans, or families with children. The Switch is for everyone and that’s why the prices are the same. Metroid Prime 4 and Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are games that have yet to be released. The latter will come for the current Nintendo Switch anyway. The former, which is hopefully still in development, is a ceiling star file for anyone with a great love for the Metroid franchise. The game could easily come out on the current Nintendo Switch and probably do well, but wouldn’t we rather wait until the new Nintendo console is out?
That actually applies to many more Nintendo games. They all play beautifully and the competition makes hardly any comparable titles that match the quality of gameplay of these Nintendo titles, such as Zelda and Super Mario. will give way to the more recent characters of the competition. Especially with Pokemon, the company has gold in their hands and they don’t have to worry that someone will come up with similar critters that are even more fun. They can also somewhat afford to lag behind in terms of technical performance. But let’s face it: if Tears of the Kingdom had graphics a la Horizon: Forbidden West, then wouldn’t you work like a silly forty kilos of nuts and go into hibernation until May 12, 2023? Wouldn’t you go crazy then?
However, it’s not going to happen. When the PlayStation 6 comes out soon, we will get a Nintendo console with graphics from the PlayStation 5. Nintendo will not let go of this strategy. They conjure up something nice from the top hat, which makes everyone want the new console again and they make the device a little more powerful. Of course they want a large selection of games and that will require the necessary ports and remakes from the PlayStation 4/Xbox One era and of course a number of the current generation of consoles.
Was nice, or…
Nintendo will never lose its die hard fans. If you imagine that during a new Direct they would announce a new Donkey Kong Country, a Mario & Luigi RPG, a Metroid Prime Trilogy remake, Super Mario Odyssey 2 and a 2D Zelda and say that they have exclusive rights to a new Celeste and Death’s Door, then you will even think that it is fine on the current console and that we are far from ready for anything new. Indie developers can also release more than enough for the Switch, but the source of games from which third party developers can draw, is getting a bit exhausted. In addition, people simply already have consoles at home that conjure up much nicer things on the screen, so Nintendo is forced to find the connection.
Whether that will happen quickly in the current situation, with the energy crisis, the deficits and inflation, remains to be seen. Nintendo announced the Switch in mid-October 2016 with a release in March 2017. A new Switch on May 12, 2023 is therefore not entirely unthinkable, but more realistically is next year Christmas or spring 2024, or even later… time will tell.
