Re: OT: Not excited about the imminent launch of Switch 2. Are you?

On Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:29:28 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Wed, 4 Jun 2025 13:10:03 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>

I guess the theory of every other nintendo console being bad continues
(gamecube bad, wii good, wii u bad, switch good, switch 2 bad)

>
I'm not sure your profile holds up:
>
NES good, SNES good, N64 good.
GB good, GBC good, GBA good.
(not familiar enough with the DS line to make comparisons)
>

I think the Internet is conflating this with the "every other Windows" or
"every other Trek movie" curse, which are firmly established patterns.
But there is an emerging pattern which started with perceptions of the
Gamecube and solidified itself with the Wii-U, truly the Windows 8 of
consoles. It may firmly establish itself if Switch 2 is deemed "unclean."

Ngl, "every other" patterns are just hawt. I appreciate the enthusiasm
for them candycane! It's just that I require three iterations before I
would consider it a real pattern.*

And the Gamecube was bad? It might not have sold as well as people
would have liked, but it had good games and good tech.
>

I agree with you. My Gamecube experience was awesome, and the controller
was amazing and critically acclaimed as such.

But it was overshadowed in popularity by the other entries, had a lower
capacity game disc requiring disc swapping for larger titles, and there
was a reasonable expectation of higher-powered graphics. To those
critical of it, it is the start of the pattern (Gamecube: Bad). In
particular, N64 players were pissed that PS1 was a disc system, and the
much anticipated answer to N64 cartridges was miniDVD (ffs).

It's a reasonable argument, given the Moore's Law-based  exponential
trends in console history at the time. Alongside the PS2 and the original
X-box, it had the weakest tech of the three. Nintendo had dared to opt
for lower tech (and thus not selling hardware at a loss).

But it's unfair. The complaints continued with Wii. "You are playing with
an underpowered toy." "After I got over the motion controls gimmick, my
Wii is collecting dust." "The Wii is two Gamecubes strapped together with
duct tape." etc. Hardcore gamers *did not like* a company opting out of
the graphics race. That was the original sin.

The Switch, imo, put the nail in the coffins of "people who don't get
it." Only the most chauvinistic of hardcore gamers still whine about the
Switch's specs, even as they snub its "casual gamers."

So for modern consoles we have GC (bad), Wii (good), Wii-U (bad), Switch
(good), and Switch 2 (???-PROFIT!). It's an evolving pattern. If the
Switch 2 is deemed "bad" then it is /definitely/ a pattern.**

I say that the Nintendo console line has become hybrid, but it's still a
console at its heart. The handheld line has been pruned and subsumed by
the console line. The lower graphics capacity is a deliberate choice
going back to the Gamecube, not a handheld compromise. Nintendo let XBox
and PS2 have that market, and they were right, given their unwillingness
to sell hardware at a loss. The lower specs therefore /enable/ it to be a
handheld, so why make distinct handhelds?***

To get back to the OP, IMO, the Switch 2 is not bad, it's just a very
underwhelming launch, and a system I won't be interested in for a while.
There's no compelling feature I'm hyped about. I'm especially pissed
about them selling "game enhancements" as if they're launch titles. At
the price of the thing, those should be free, imo. I spend $500? Yeah, I
get BoTW in HDR as a perk, not a purchase.

. . .

Epilogue:

I see a lot of reactions here of "I wouldn't buy a handheld." The Switch
really shines in its dock. However, it's cool to be able to play Zelda:
BoTW on a long flight, or while waiting for an oil change. Really cool.

So while others may consider it a portable, mine is almost always in its
dock, with a Pro Controller. Handheld is a perk, not it's purpose.
Joycons are replaceable with a robust, sofa-worthy controller.

In other news: The reaction video did suggest a rumor that you might be
able to use your Switch 1 as a Wii-U style controller for your Switch 2
in a future system update. That might be interesting? Or it might be more
Wii-U that no one wants...

I prefer "wait and see" before I drop a packet on it. I leave the tea
leaves to you.****

--
Zag

What's the point of growing up
if you can't be childish sometimes? ...Terrance Dicks, BBC
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

* Windows: 3.0 suck, 3.1(1) good, 95 suck, 98 good (98SE better), "Me"
suck, XP good, Vista suck, 7 good, 8 WTF?!, 10 good, 11 suck. Now
/that's/ a pattern! I don't agree with "11 suck." I like 11.

** I wouldn't include the handheld lineage in the pattern, Spalls. It's a
different Nintendo track that ended in dual-screen handhelds, and 3d...
again (WHY Nintendo?). It was highly successful in every iteration, with
maybe a little grousing about the Advance not having a much-needed
backlight.

*** Probably to drive docked 4k, the Switch 2 dock has a cooling fan, and
that could be a "very bad" sign if portable mode has heat problems. Keep
your eye on heat dissipation/uncomfortable to the touch/overheat slowdown
when you read about it. There could be a RRoD episode brewing here.

**** Personally, after writing this, I am starting to see "The Grim."