• @pjwestin
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    93 hours ago

    Honestly, I’m a little concerned. Nintendo almost always tries something new and innovative. This just looks like a hardware upgrade, which is good, but not what keeps them ahead of their competitors. The Steam Deck is already encroaching on the Switch’s territory, and it’s only a matter of time before Playstation and Xbox try something similar (assuming Microsoft doesn’t just give up on consoles and just make PCs). I was expecting something no one else would try, like a duel-screen that could function like a Wii U and a DS.

    • @[email protected]
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      58 minutes ago

      It doesn’t help that the rumored price is $450. If it ends up being that high, I’ll definitely go for a Steam Deck instead. Con: can’t play Switch 2 games. Pro: everything else. I know electronics are super expensive now, but without the advantage of a lower price, a competitor’s portable console that’s not a walled garden is a very tempting alternative.

      • @pjwestin
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        230 minutes ago

        Oof, yeah, that’s pretty steep for Nintendo. Honestly, I always wait at least a year for the library to build up and the price to drop a bit. I’ve heen thinking that a Steam Deck would be my next purchase as well, and if the Switch 2 turns out OK I’ll get it in a couple of years.

        • @[email protected]
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          117 minutes ago

          I think price drops are a thing of the past for consoles nowadays, unless you’re getting something used. Neither the Switch nor PS5 ever dropped in price. The PS5 even RAISED in price in some markets.

    • Tarquinn2049
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      137 minutes ago

      I was really hoping for the hand-held virtual portal they had planned a few years ago. Assuming it got scrapped when 3DS didn’t do as well as they hoped. But yeah, basically the tech from the *new 3DS, upgraded to a bigger single screen with an imu so you could use the portal to control the in-game camera. And it would basically feel like you are looking through and holding an actual portal into the videogame world you are playing.

      It’s possible to just do more easily/cheaply in VR now. But I still think a physical device doing it would surprise alot of people.

    • @[email protected]
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      203 hours ago

      When the DS became the best selling gaming handheld we got

      • DS OG 2004
      • DS Lite 2006
      • DSi 2009 (removed Gameboy slot)
      • DSi XL 2010

      They then went on to make the 3DS in multiple iterations including one where they just removed the 3D functionality and sold it again as a DS and the most recent model in 2017 was…

      • New Nintendo 2DS XL

      When they have a successful and well selling portable console they slow down on the innovation and go full into embrace the ecosystem as long as possible with minor improvements and if we use the DS as an indicator we have a decade of this.

      • @[email protected]
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        110 minutes ago

        The difference here is the entire DS line played the same games and provided the same core hardware. The 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS all played the same games.

        The Switch comparison here would be:

        • OG Switch
        • Switch Lite
        • OLED Switch

        The closest comparison for Switch 2 would be the “New 3DS” which had a handful of games that weren’t backwards compatible. Or maybe the Wii U, although that tried to be innovative enough to be its own thing.

      • @pjwestin
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        2 hours ago

        Yeah, but those are just different models, not different systems. Those DSs were all running the same operating system and playing the same games. We’re not talking about a new generation of console (except from DS to 3DS, which I would say is a pretty big graphical shake-up).

        • @[email protected]
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          32 hours ago

          Eh, I had the Gameboy, then the Gameboy pocket, then the Gameboy color, then the Gameboy advance, then the Gameboy advance SP, then the DS, and so on. Sure, some were just different models of the same base console, but several were real upgrades with exclusive game libraries. This upgrade feels par for the course when it comes to Nintendo handhelds, and honestly, I like that. The switch was a great idea, and jumping to a new thing just because there’s some competition would be lame. Pretty much the only benefit of capitalism is supposed to be the whole “competition breeds innovation” thing. Maybe we’ll get a bit of that in the handheld market for once.

          • @pjwestin
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            11 hour ago

            You’re actually skipping one of their handhelds: the Virtual Boy, Nintendo’s attempt at a 3D console in 1995. It was such a huge flop that its designer, Gunpei Yokoi, delayed his retirement in order to help develop the Gameboy Pocket, which was meant to hold the company over until the Gameboy Color was ready for launch.

            I get what about not jumping to a new thing just because, but that’s kinda Nintendo’s whole thing (well, that and abusive IP lawsuits). Sometimes it’s a huge hit, like the Wii, and sometimes it’s a train wreck, like the Wii U, but it’s always different and, either way, it usually causes them to innovate.

            That’s what I like about Nintendo; unlike their competitors, they’re not releasing the same product every few years with a graphical update, but that seems like what they’re doing here. I’m used to seeing them keep the same system alive for a decade, like the Gameboy or DS, and I’m used to them coming to market late with a relatively underpowered system, but I’m not used to seeing them say, “That was successful, let’s just make another one of those.”

        • @[email protected]
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          12 hours ago

          Ok. That’s great buddy. (⁠☞⁠ ⁠ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ⁠)⁠☞

          I’m gonna exit this conversation now.

          • @pjwestin
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            12 hours ago

            LOL, weird reaction, but OK.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    • @Lumisal
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      42 hours ago

      The controllers are also mice

      • @pjwestin
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        22 hours ago

        Well, that’s not nothing. It’s almost nothing, but not nothing.