[Grisham]

The Nintendo Switch's lousy performance is as enduring as the console itself. Grainy, stuttery graphics are synonymous with playing games on the 2017 system, which hasn't gotten a spec upgrade to boost how games look and run. And in the five-plus years since the Switch was released, remarking on disappointing visuals has been a fixture in our reviews of the console's best games.

The Switch's hardware is pulling in the opposite direction of Nintendo's modern software, which is bigger, better, and more ambitious in scope than ever before. And yet, its strategy of supporting a low-powered device that gets slowly updated is no different for the Switch than it was for Nintendo's previous consoles. This long-tail strategy has been successful for Nintendo financially, especially so for the Switch, which is one of its best-selling consoles ever. But we're past due for an updated model.

After five years, it's time for a more powerful Switch that can erase some of these past and future issues with a faster chipset capable of displaying games in 4K. There have been rumors of such a device, and its launch was reportedly postponed due to the chip shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. All that we've gotten is an underwhelming Switch OLED that has a better, slightly bigger OLED screen with similar internal specs and little else to tempt current owners.

Continuing to sell the Nintendo Switch with its current specs is one of the biggest tech blunders of 2022 — not least because Nintendo's inaction let other devices steal a sliver of the spotlight.

If there was ever a perfect time to launch a meaningful hardware update to the Switch (aside from any time in the last two years), it'd be on May 12th, 2023, the day when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will release. It's the follow-up to the 2017 launch title The Breath of the Wild, a brilliant Zelda game that revealed all that the Switch was capable of — and not capable of — out of the gate.

Nintendo has some work to do in reversing the stigma that its Switch equates to not-great performance in many games. I hope that the next iteration leans on Nvidia's DLSS AI or AMD's FSR upscaling techniques to make graphics look better while relieving some stress on the hardware. Regardless, I don't think Nintendo can afford to stay still with hardware during 2023.

Fails of 2022: the Nintendo Switch really showed its age

Continuing to sell sluggish 2017 hardware is a blunder.

www.theverge.com

 

[Neil Young]

I agree. Not that it's a blunder though. I think it's a wonderful business decision. If people will still pay full price for this underpowered shit and half assed games….who can blame them. Think of how much money Pokémon makes. They put ZILCH into the development of that game and rake in millions. That's Nintendo's entire business model. "How can we put in the least amount of effort while still charging a premium."

I have not turned on my Switch since I got a Steam Deck. Probably done for good.

 

[JORMBO]

Other then Xenoblade 3 I haven't used mine much this year. Ever since getting the Steamdeck I don't see much reason to. Other then a rare Nintendo exclusive here and there I'd rather play on something more powerful. They really need a Switch 2.

 

[Bolivar]

Almost hard to believe it's been that long.

 

[TaySan]

Yeah, it's about time we get a new system. And a new 3D Mario and Pikmin 4 to go along with it.

 

[Cravis]

I can't remember the last time I turned my switch on. I most definitely won't be getting the new Zelda. I'll just wait for the Switch's successor because you know Nintendo will be bringing the newest Zelda to that with much better performance

 

[Optimus]

And what some seem to not understand is that people who have put their Switch down and aren't playing it for upwards of a year or more are Nintendo consumers who no longer think about Nintendo or think about them favorably.

 

[brap]

And what some seem to not understand is that people who have put their Switch down and aren't playing it for upwards of a year or more are Nintendo consumers who no longer think about Nintendo or think about them favorably.

Yeah only the fanboys are still playing that dogshit

 

[Chozofication]

Bayonetta 3 is piss poor in technical terms. I will be legitimately pissed if Metroid prime 4 is stuck on this old ass hardware. It's really starting to bother me how poor switch hardware is.

 

[Arkam]

Yeah only the fanboys are still playing that dogshit

Fanboy reporting for duty!

 

[Snes nes]

And what some seem to not understand is that people who have put their Switch down and aren't playing it for upwards of a year or more are Nintendo consumers who no longer think about Nintendo or think about them favorably.

man outside of their exclusive games there I have no reason to buy stuff for it at least to me. Its all so poor feeling outside of that since the 3rd party devs just don't want to develop for it. I haven't played much of any of the 3rd party stuff on it since most of it seems to run too hot. Besides the fact I have a pc its controllers just cannot work properly the first pro controller I have is already drifting and the system always runs way too hot even for their exclusive stuff like fire emblem 3 houses but I guess that means they have a reason to port it over to the next system lol. Also doesn't help that their allowing a bunch of low quality bait gaymes to go on their eshop.

 

[Zefah]

The numbers clearly show that most people just do not care. The vast, vast majority of people playing games out there are not enthusiasts. They don't care.

Nintendo is in an excellent position right now in which the Switch still sells really well despite never having had a price cut. It's hard to blame them for wanting to keep the Switch going for as long as possible after the disaster that was the Wii U.

 

[Optimus]

The numbers clearly show that most people just do not care. The vast, vast majority of people playing games out there are not enthusiasts. They don't care.

Nintendo is in an excellent position right now in which the Switch still sells really well despite never having had a price cut. It's hard to blame them for wanting to keep the Switch going for as long as possible after the disaster that was the Wii U.

They may not care, and at the same time they will stop paying attention to Nintendo if long enough time passes. They need to keep their audience dialed in and paying attention.

 

[Zefah]

They may not care, and at the same time they will stop paying attention to Nintendo if long enough time passes. They need to keep their audience dialed in and paying attention.

When has this ever been true in the past? No one gave a shit about the Wii for the last two or three years of its existence. Almost no one bought the Wii U.

Nintendo has an incredible ability to bring people back when they release good products.

 

[Ferdinand the Cowfish]

The numbers clearly show that most people just do not care. The vast, vast majority of people playing games out there are not enthusiasts. They don't care.

Not to mention the fact that the majority of the top 10 games in Japan from week to week are Switch games. The system, as is, still prints money.

But you're right, the majority of people just don't care. Nintendo could probably get another 2-3 years out of the existing Switch before introducing a new version if they really wanted to.

 

[Zefah]

Not to mention the fact that the majority of the top 10 games in Japan from week to week are Switch games. The system, as is, still prints money.

Having been to Japan recently... the other consoles barely even exist.

Of course, Japan's market is way too small today to support a business like Nintendo on its own, so they need to be successful in the US and Europe, too, but they're having no problems in that regard right now.

 

[FactsAreDead]

Other then Xenoblade 3 I haven't used mine much this year. Ever since getting the Steamdeck I don't see much reason to. Other then a rare Nintendo exclusive here and there I'd rather play on something more powerful. They really need a Switch 2.

I only rarely use it, too, but Steamdeck/PC's advantage is games, not hw power imo.

Switch software lineup has been shit for the past 2-3 years, unless you're into small-scale, unambitious cartoon-games. Japanese developers can announce 1000 more generic jrpgs, I still won't buy them.

Meanwhile I'm playing Forza 5, Days Gone, Halo, Psychonauts 2, Assassin's Creed and so on, on my PC.

And when an ambitious Switch-game releases I'll be there, but there's only 2 franchises that fit that bill for me on Switch, Zelda and Xenoblade, and it takes 5 years in-between 2 entries :/

Until Nintendo sorts out how they can get more big-scale, ambitious games on their platform, even my Switch 2 will be rarely used - which is fine by me personally, but probably not what Nintendo wants.

 

[Nobody]

When your hardware can be emulated by another portable that isn't even that much more expensive than what your are charging for yours you need to rethink what you are doing.

I wonder how Nintendo will do once they move to more complex games and more advanced hardware, seems like the weak hardware of their previous portable hardware was hiding some shortcomings they have as developers (or that at least some of their partners have).

 

[Zeta Dragoon]

Yeah Switch is long in the tooth, though its lineup is carrying it. Rumors seem to indicate successor will be minimum around as powerful as a PS4 Pro. Keeping in mind PS4 had some absolutly incredible looking games and I really want to see what Zelda/Monolith teams could do with that.

Spoiler: Possible Switch 2 lineup?

Safe bets-
Animal Crossing
Fire Emblem Engage and a mainline non anniversary title
Mario
Mario Kart 9
Muramasa: The Demon Blade Remaster after GrimGrimoire Once More and probably Odin Sphere Dragon's/ Crown Ports.
Pokemon Gen 11
Pokemon Ivory White/Ebony Black Remakes?
Pokemon Legends Mew?
Pokemon Spinoffs A, B, C
Kirby
Splatoon 4/5
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is a given when looking at past Zelda releases
New Zelda

MIA
Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp
Dragon Quest XII: Flames of Fate
Dragon Quest III HD-2D
Metroid Prime IV
New Etrian Odyssey

Rumored
Bravely Default 1 Remaster
Fire Emblem 4 Remake was mentioned alongside confirmed Engage leaks.
New Donkey Kong in vein of Mario Odyssey, Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Kid Icarus Uprising Remaster

Possible
Astral Chain 2 - Nintendo did go out of their way to get the rights.
Luigi's Mansion 4 or spinoff
Metroid Prime Trilogy Remaster
Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition
Xenoblade Chronicles X-2
If Xenoblade X Definitive Edition and a X sequel are off the table then very likely a spiritual successor to Xenoblade Trilogy though can only speculate more on what that would look like.
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

 

[zebraStraw]

Other then Xenoblade 3 I haven't used mine much this year.

Same. Switch is for just playing one or two games a year for me. I don't even have a Deck, I have really no reason for a portable.

IIRC Nvidia released or announced the chip that will be the next switch. It's Ampere based (30-series) so that's neat. Big step up from the 9-series the switch is based on.

That being said, I'm probably skipping the next Nintendo.

 

[cryptoadam]

Switch is lasting until MK DLC is done. Zelda 2 is most likely the swan song of the system. I figure Pikimin 4 will be next years big holiday game along with a Lets Go game. Probably another Mario sports title. Some sort of "casual" game like Ring Fit/Sports style. Maybe another Mario Party.

Then they launch Switch 2. I was thinking it would launch with MK 9 which they would redub MK 4K. But now I am rethinking. With them working on the MK DLC and knowing Nintendo, I am leaning towards MK 4K being MK 8 deluxe + all DLC upscaled to "4K". What I would do, not what Nintendo would do, is make it a F2P game that came along with a sub to the Nintendo Online service. But no way Nintendo would give it away, so I 100% see them charging a full 60$ for a 4K version of MK 8 + DLC (oh and you also have to pay for you Nintendo sub). No way they are not launching with some sort of MK on the system.

I also could see BOTW2 port, Bayo port, and Splatoon 3 + DLC + expansion uprez port as well. Mario game is a lock since they won't launch another one on the Switch.

 

[Hinedorf]

It ultimately depends how the next Zelda game actually plays on the switch. If it's as flawless as BotW then all of these comments will be washed away. The reality is though we were expecting Zelda in 2022 until another delay, how much of that delay is due to hardware performance?

If the next Zelda has performance issues like Pokemon, it's a pass for me.

 

[Optimus]

When has this ever been true in the past? No one gave a shit about the Wii for the last two or three years of its existence. Almost no one bought the Wii U.

Nintendo has an incredible ability to bring people back when they release good products.

You answered your own question. Nintendo rode the Wii too long, and by the time they got around to releasing new hardware their audience had long since moved on. Switch has a vastly better library of games that people are still interested in, but if they continue to ride this thing until 2025 they're going to witness something like Wii U all over again... I feel like the Switch concept is still a winner, but there are already a growing number of people saying that Nintendo's days with a hybrid console are done and that the market now has stiff competition from the Steamdeck. This could have already been sidestepped with a more iterative Switch successor, but now here we are.... a growing number of people now think Nintendo has to go weird again with their hardware in order to sell.

They simply wait too long when it comes to hardware. Less traditional gamers have probably been looking for Nintendo's newest hardware. When it does finally arrive, they won't know what in the hell they're even looking at (ie. "Is this stand-alone or add-on? Meh. I'll just use my TV's streaming to play games. It's good enough. But man, I wish Nintendo made this easier!").

 

[Optimus]

It ultimately depends how the next Zelda game actually plays on the switch. If it's as flawless as BotW then all of these comments will be washed away. The reality is though we were expecting Zelda in 2022 until another delay, how much of that delay is due to hardware performance?

If the next Zelda has performance issues like Pokemon, it's a pass for me.

This is true, and I really doubt that there will be significant performance issues, because at the end of the day they will just make enemies and objects vanish in order to mask those performance problems. Frankly, the islands in the sky thing sort of strikes me as a means of reducing the amount of long distance rendering required in heavier areas. They could really push the envelope some like that. It will just be a matter of how much of the game is handcuffed to floating islands and how much of it remains free light-hearted exploring.

 

[DonDonDonPata]

I mean.... they're not wrong. Switch games all suffer from last-gen woes. It's not as bad as PS3/360 era but it's close. The saving grace is that Switch is now the de facto heir to Vita and 3DS. It can handle all the low to mid-range indie games just fine and half of the worthwhile games are appearing in the "indie scene" (whatever that term means nowadays).

But the first-party games that are supposed to be showing off the hardware... highly disappointing after the first few years of the Switch's lifespan. Is there a Switch game that looks better than ARMS or Super Mario Odyssey? I feel like those two are still at or near the top of the list and they're ~5 years old.

 

[QuantumZebra]

I agree. Not that it's a blunder though. I think it's a wonderful business decision. If people will still pay full price for this underpowered shit and half assed games….who can blame them. Think of how much money Pokémon makes. They put ZILCH into the development of that game and rake in millions. That's Nintendo's entire business model. "How can we put in the least amount of effort while still charging a premium."

I have not turned on my Switch since I got a Steam Deck. Probably done for good.

You're not wrong... but at the end of the day (no matter what our in-house weeb crew says), Nintendo is for kids.

Whenever my daughters are playing games/have friends over/or my son wants to play "CARS!" as he calls them (he's only 2) we immediately go to Mario Kart or Smash.

 

[WesternBlood]

Yeah, it's about time we get a new system. And a new 3D Mario and Pikmin 4 to go along with it.

You spelled Metroid Prime 4 wrong.

(I do like PIkmin games, however).