'Switch 2' Is Projected To Be The "Clear Winner" In The Next Console Generation

Blabla, show us the switch 2 already. All this speculation isn't worth a thing unless we know what the system actually brings to the table.

I feel like this is a bit of a rush to judgment on a console we have not even officially seen. Of course I'd rather the Switch 2 not fail, but there's so many ways Nintendo can f*ck this up. Looks at the 3DS

That's a fairly bold prediction seeing as we're not sure yet if the average consumer feels like the Switch 2 will offer enough to justify an upgrade. Yes, software sells consoles, but the Switch 2 doesn't have Wii U's library to fall back on this time around, so the first year or two might seem a bit barren in comparison to the Switch's first 24 months.

Blah Blah Blah.......

This is more speculative and boring than all the leaks, I trust Sandrev's and Anti Matter's guesses more than this.

A fairly safe prediction, if current trends hold.

The western AAA gaming market is already in the opening stages of a crash, which is going to severely hurt Sony and Microsoft. Might even be a 1983-style collapse in the worst case scenario. Nintendo is somewhat insulated from this threat because their development costs are so low, they'll come out of it okay so long as the crash doesn't kill interest in gaming altogether.

I love Nintendo, and my interest in PlayStation has been waning as they really aren’t making much for my appetite, but I think the ‘Next Gen’ is so uncertain at this point there is no guarantees anyone will succeed, or even by competing with a black box that connects to the telly.

Besides, Nintendo has been syncopated with the other two on its releases for a while now, would it in Gen 9 or 10 anyway?

Each generation is completely different, not just for Nintendo, so I give zero credibility to this prediction, even more now with the boundaries between consoles and PC blurred thanks to handheld PCs.

@Jack_Goetz another thing is can Nintendo market the switch 2 different enough to folks who don’t follow gaming news. Nintendo don’t want another Wii U scenario.

@Jack_Goetz Indeed. The Wii U library and the lack of handheld competition made Switch find more potential customers than usual. Add to that the extremely low development costs during the Switch era with fully priced ports and many outsourced and smaller games like Metroid Dread and Echoes of Wisdom. Switch found the most favourable circumstances in Nintendo's history. Oh, and the Switch craze during the pandemic. Animal Crossing became a worldwide phenomenon in spite of being the most boring at launch.

@MrGawain Switch and Wii U belong to the last generation, so Switch 2 would belong to the current generation (Series X|S and PS5), but like you said, Nintendo is syncopated and out of the power race.

Since when Collin Moriarty become a Nintendo player?

Well, that is unless the SuperSega gets released within the next year. Then it is bye bye Nintendo.

I strongly doubt that statement 💯
The world has changed..... If their first party games aren't strong then they are toast.

PC handhelds will threaten that circle big time.

https://www.techradar.com/gaming/nintendo-switch/if-the-switch-2-cant-perform-at-the-same-level-as-the-z1-extreme-asus-rog-ally-even-with-nvidias-dlss-then-nintendo-is-in-trouble

I think this is a fairly easy prediction to make, if you just project current trends. AAA games are not financially sustainable. Sony and Microsoft cannot survive on indie titles and retro rereleases. They trapped, and are clearly planning to double down on expensive machines that play AAA games, because that’s their only option. Nintendo meanwhile, due to their strong brand and first party IP has a bit of a floor. Yeah there could be a Wii-U situation, but I doubt it. The precondition to that was the last years of the Wii had already turned off a lot of gamers. The Switch on the other hand is ending on a strong note. I think that Nintendo will likely do well even if the product is underwhelming or the branding is confusing.

Edit: Meant to add that, of course, straight line projections are usually wrong, so…

I mean there's almost no doubt this thing will absolutely crush the next xbox in terms of sales, but I could see it being a little closer with PS6. sony pretty much only relies on power, and you can only get so powerful. PS6 could certainly be a small/expensive upgrade and many consumers may not find it worth getting (especially if it doesn't have many exclusives similar to PS5). I think Switch 2 will beat the other consoles on the market fairly easily, but not sure by how much.

The console do not even exist yet.

I remember a lot of people and companies saying that the Wii U would be the winner...

@WiiWouldLikeToPlay 3DS? That console that sold 75 million units? A failure?

After the return of Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe's 90s old self, when they censored and rejected third-party games...
I hope that Nintendo's next console will be a commercial failure. Or...
Can Japanese companies start care about their non-Japanese fans and users, huh?! Why they're letting NoA and NoE do everything what they want to, huh?!

@kevinm360 The 3DS launched with an insanely high price which drove away customers. Even if it was a very good product and successor to the 3DS. Even if it partially recovered, Nintendo's pricing shot the console in the foot. The same goes for the Wii U which at least partially failed due to its terrible marketing.

Talking about terrible marketing, Switch name should have been Wii U They, and Switch 2 name should be Wii U They It.

These all seem like pretty open doors, if you ask me. To quote the slide's most important sentence:

"Consumers are EAGER!"

Yes, we are. We're also TIRED of Nintendo not showing us anything regarding the Switch successor.

Be interesting to see if Switch players go for what seems like such a straight upgrade.

The Switch was marvellous as a novelty but what makes those customers come back a second time around?

At least the library will carry across but will that also mean that many new games will be cross-gen and so Nintendo just keep selling software without expecting the same huge numbers of hardware units sold?

More just expanding the Switch family than a new generation???

@WiiWouldLikeToPlay 3DS is a bad example as the endpoint is more important than the start of the console lifecycle (e.g. PS3 outselling Xbox 360). Wii U is fair though as that was just a fail and couldn't really have been corrected, but Nintendo can make mistakes with Switch 2 at launch and still come out on top at the end.

I mean, I know for sure that the next Nintendo console will likely do very well like the Switch, but I feel like it’s too early to predict this given that we don’t really know anything about it besides the fact that it’ll have backwards compatibility with OG Switch software and NSO functionality. I feel like the prediction would be far more accurate if it was being made after the console is released, rather than before its reveal and release.

I feel that “struggle mightily” claim is slightly true, but I feel like that it would apply more to Microsoft than Sony, given that PlayStation and its games sell very well, and I’d say that the sales on those are more on par with Nintendo’s game and console sales, and at the moment Microsoft is doing an awful job at managing Xbox, so that prediction is far more believable in my opinion. Of course things could look different and change in the future, but it’s too early to tell since current trends are subject to change.

@Rpg-lover
Give me a ballpark figure of what percentage you think of the Switch’s total user base is in the market for a pc handheld or already has one. That article is a joke; what it’s suggesting isn’t going to shift sales in any significant way towards those things. The way it brings up Unreal Engine 5 is hilarious too, considering it’s where good image quality and performance go to die even on much beefier hardware but uh oh, Switch 2 is in trouble if it suffers the same as the rest!

@Banjo- I mean, I know this ultimately doesn't matter but it seems pretty crazy to me just by proximity to categorize the gens that way. Wii U was just 1 year before the PS4/XBO and the Switch was 3 years before the PS5/Xbox Series. Switch 2 will most likely being launching closer to the PS6 then it will the PS5 and rumor indicate that Xbox is planning their next system even earlier this time. It seems pretty obvious which gens they would fall under, if the concept of consoles gens even matters anymore that is.

Well right now the Super Nintendo Switch is going to be the ONLY console of the 10th generation. Xbox is quitting after the 9th because Microsoft can't stand being in third place in anything, and the PS5 didn't start getting good games until just this year, so Sony will literally be a full generation behind Nintendo

I love Nintendo consoles, but let's not forget that this is the same company that launched the Wii U to absolute failure after the massive success of the Wii.

I don't think history will repeat itself, but projecting them to be the winner is just speculation.

Anyone of us could have speculated and made this prediction.

@Zeebor15 I don't think it's a "third place" thing with Xbox. I think their strategy has changed. They see the long term writing on wall and are trying to build that before the other two realize it too. I believe they're more interested in becoming the Netflix of gaming.

Predicting 17m sales in 2025 for a system that hasn't even been announced to release in 2025...

@Steve6cupcakes It's not just the difference in time but power. If you ask me, it was Nintendo that broke the generations with Switch because of the timing and because it was the first time that Nintendo didn't have a proper home console and was already dated in 2017, with Digital Foundry predicting wrongly that it would have Tegra X2 instead of Tegra X1. Steam Deck was the first handheld PC and blurred the boundaries between consoles and PCs. I think that generations are over.

@dkxcalibur I agree, Microsoft can't be considered third when they are multiplatform since Xbox One and they will be the biggest publisher in the world in 2025 after Tencent. Their multiplatform approach includes consoles because of software sales and subscribers there that mean billions of dollar per year, but consoles aren't the only Xbox to be reckoned.

so you can predict the future? this is BS

No ***** Sherlock!

Who cares who wins? We as consumers should only care about the products they want to sell us. So long as we get good, fun games, I couldn't care less. These console wars are tiring. I just want to play my games with funny wahoo man, all inhaling pink puffball, sword wielding elf, etc.

xbox will fail. relies too heavily on western gaming, which is failing hard saleswise

@kevinm360 I wouldn't compare 3DS with PS3. Besides, PS3 barely surpassed Xbox 360 and it was after the generation had ended with cheap PS3 revisions that probably replaced broken PS3 units. Xbox was quicker to move on. You know how much Sony likes to manipulate records with shipped PS5 units instead of sold units and with their recent statements reassuring that PS2 was more successful than Switch, just in case anyone dares to compare both consoles' sales (like NL does).

İ hope this will be true. İ still want to see Nintendo Switch 2. When will Nintendo show us? İ am still excited about the console. Nintendo can show us any moment but İ think it will be in January. Not this month. İt is not the great time for it. There is cross to new year on the side.

Switch U better bring something really special or imo a lot of the Switch base will just save their money and stick to their backlogs, if they even realize the new console exists. People happily playing switch don't necessarily need an upgrade, despite the vocal minority clamoring for it. ✌️

That's a lot of tasseography, but at least they get credit for not following the literal "Switch 2" trend (which the recent PS2-inspired logo mockups and unironic accessory placeholders made look rather contagious). As for generation winners, it is technically early to sum up even the current one due to Sony and Microsoft's later start and the former continuing its midgen upgrade trend which means that PS6 launch is anything but a given circa 2028, and its respective discontinuation (aka the cue to compare lifetime sales) will likewise happen well into Gen 11.

@Pillowpants and our abstinence syndrome is our problem.

What did ye call your man who confidently predicted the Switch would flop? Lol

@Banjo- Definitionally, just like with when we say generation in regard to humans, generation is defined by a time period.

@Rpg-lover I'm not sure if that portable PC market is going to gain a big enough foothold to threaten Nintendo sales, especially seeing as Nvidia's next focus is AI software across a variety of markets to ensure long term growth and stability. Year on year revisions for high-end expensive GPUs is not sustainable and they've not made any significant leaps in high end tech since 2022 with their 4090 model.
For the most part, people buy a Nintendo console for the 1st party content and as a prime entertainment device in their home. Sales are anyones guess and will vary depending on so many factors, but content and marketing are key.
Certainly will be an interesting few years for tech growth!

@Steve6cupcakes Okay but the timing is also different and we're taking about short cycles compared to a man's life.

@sikthvash Agreed. I'm excited to see what the Switch 2 will offer when released, However, the hype posted here feels little too much.

@dkxcalibur People keep saying that and it doesn't become any dumber every time. Microsoft wants to be a monopoly, or at least as much as however much they can get away with based on how corrupt the FTC is at any given time. Netflix created created a gold rush with a model with multiple imitators but no long term stability. No streaming service operates at a profit; their all playing chicken with each other. Insert that one comic of everyone on the train thinking "I can't wait for society to collapse so that MY ideology can rise up from the ashes." Literally the California business equivalent of that, and the only one that will actually survive that is Amazon; because Bezos has already won. Both streaming and the last true bastion of physical media; Amazon are the ones with the servers to do both.

Phil Spencer has said so himself. It's not Netflix he's trying to beat. It's not even Sony. The way he sees the war going is that everything will eventually be absorbed by either Amazon, Google, or even Apple. That's the War he's preparing for: the war where no matter who wins the consumer loses.

@Banjo- Sorry Banjo. I was only trying to use it as an example of a console that had a shanner of a launch but ended up not being doomed. Switch 2 doesn't need to be another Switch 1, Wii or DS to be a success.

@Rpg-lover I'm worried the successor wont meet the ridiculous hype that people are expecting too.... 4K 60FPS is no way going to happen. A modest improvment to CPU & GPU sure, but it's going to be more of the same with some hopefully minor improvements to Joy-Cons / analog sticks, dock and UI. I'm excited none the less; I'll be buying it regardless of pros & cons, but I'm tempering expectations.

So long as Nintendo stocks Switch 2 as well as they can, it offers a compelling reason to upgrade than just better specs, and there are games, games, games, then it’ll do alright even if not to the same lofty heights of Switch. We’ll see if Sony gets serious or whatever Microsoft does. More gaming handhelds might be the more pressing challenge but I just don’t get the impression they’re nearly mainstream yet.

@kevinm360 I also apologise 😁. I'm tired of Sony's manipulation, not your fault. 3DS had a troubled launch because of the price and launch lineup, but they cut its price 33%, got Mario Kart and Super Mario ready and it ended being successful. It's my favourite handheld, Switch included. Like you said, a console doesn't need to break records to be successful.

@Zeebor15 I think the dumbest thing said today is that Netflix doesn't make a profit.

I think it’s laughable (and really dated) to even call it a war. It’s just a term used for some groups of people arguing with each other over which company they like better.

How bout we wait till the dang thing actually comes out, yes?

Switch 2 already had the biggest (free) commercial ever. Rumors 🤣. When it comes out everyone already knows what it is and does.

Riiiiiight. Just like Switch was supposed to be the death knell for Nintendo. Predictions, schmedictions.

i already smell what thrid party game will come to switch.. ( thats alot )

since its far in the past i wonder how people speculated about nintendos future during the wii u era. any console can turn the tide, but i feel sony and microsoft are definitely having their wii u moment right now of realizing they need to turn things around

@sikthvash A modest improvement to the CPU and GPU does seem more realistic, especially if they want to maintain the Switch’s balance between performance and portability. Enhancements to the Joy-Cons, dock, and user interface would be great, but ultimately, it will likely retain the core experience that makes the Switch unique.

I share your excitement, though! It's hard not to be eager for new hardware, and even if it has its limitations, it’s still likely to bring some exciting features and improvements(We all shall see when released).

I hope it's going to be a huge success, I really don't want to go back to the Wii U times.

Pretty pointless article until we actually know what price the new switch will be.

Totally agree, Nintendo's strategy is slowly winning. The other two just keep chasing tech gen after gen. Tech means nothing anymore, also the industry can't sustain the forever growing costs of tech & software. Nintendo play there own game with forever amazing games. Put "gameplay" ahead of anything else.

@dkxcalibur I'm not dragging out that argument again. You cite your claim. Netflix does not make enough money on subscriptions (or DVD sales) to offset the spending on originals. They delisted a bunch of cartoons to get out of union payments. Same as Discovery

i am still in shock at Xbox announcing no more console exclusives 😮 IMO that is platform suicide 😵 R.I.P. Xbox consoles 🪦

@Zeebor15 They made like 6 billion in profits last year, despite delisting some cartoons........

Just because a corporation makes cuts, doesn't mean they're not making a profit.

@NeoGee
This. Nintendo has proven time and time again that they're perfectly capable of dropping a grand opportunity on the ground. Not caring to pick it back up and taking it to the doctor.

We'll see with this one. The more I hear, the more skeptical I grow, but I'd of course love to be proven wrong.

@Steel76 I prefer that Nintendo that worked harder, offered customers better value and made (in my opinion) better games.

Hope the switch 2 gets its own donkey kong. Definetely its own Mario kart

@1UP_MARIO Maybe they do a Sony and start remastering every game, after having ported all Wii U games to Switch. 😜

@dkxcalibur no, they make cuts TOO make a profit. Same logic as "fire to get middle management bonus"

I hope their slide is purposely designed to look like a Windows 95 PowerPoint slide… otherwise that’s not a good look

Serious question: are you required to post a certain number of articles a day/week?

@Zeebor15 Yep! They cut some cartoons to hit that 6 billion!

I'm not arguing their business ethics. I'm arguing that they make money, lots of money.

Just to circle back, I was comparing what Xbox wants to do with their Game Pass to what Netflix has done for streaming media.

If any argument is dragged out and tired, it's the console war argument. Who cares who's 1st, 2nd, or 3rd?

Also, I wouldn't call what Xbox has done a monopoly. I would say the company has definitely made some big purchases, it's not even close to cornering the market.

Nintendo still needs a combination of factors to go their way to get a 100M selling console. I think there are still few things considered a given with their successive product lines. Early and late they can pick up sales with their big games, but they can falter in the middle years with momentum. They’re not out of the woods with a Switch 2 just yet

What a completely useless thing to speculate about right now. We know nothing so it might as well become a SwitchU!

@dkxcalibur this entire drafted out argument is because you're focusing on the wrong thing. I never said Xbox, I said Microsoft, and Microsoft is very much a monopoly chaser. They aren't after the games. The games are just filler, distractions. Amazon controls the servers, Apple and Google control the phones. What Microsoft wants is to control all the software going through both. They aren't Netflix because an all in one operation. Microsoft wants to be the one in all; a virus you pay $49.99 a month for. For everything.

Just look at Word

@MrGawain The Switch is part of the current ninth generation of video games so a Switch successor will be the first to enter the tenth generation. The most important thing to remember is that generations are not based on system power, but the release schedule for the company.

@Zeebor15 Snarf! "Just look at Word"

....but ya' did say Xbox. Maybe you're the one focusing on the wrong thing????

I get predicting the Switch 2's success. If Nintendo does at least the bare minimum (decent jump in hardware specs, an affordable price point, similar hardware form factor and a release schedule cadence mirroring the first year of the Switch), there's a good chance they'll hit the ground running.

What I don't get as much is how you can predict Sony and Microsoft's fortunes. With PS6, I think everyone's biggest concern should be how much will that thing cost? PS5 Pro, their mid-gen refresh, is $700. The PS5 hasn't seen a price cut since launch and it's been 4 years! They've increased the price of their services and accessories and hardware in non-US territories. I don't see how the PS6 will be affordable for the average consumer. Sony has basically triple-doubled down on AAA games and they're passing those costs right on down to the rest of us.

In Xbox's case, we don't even know what approach they're going to take with their next hardware. Possible handheld aside, the idea Microsoft would make another traditional console is questionable. The last two generations have not been kind to them so doing the same thing thrice is insane. Maybe some kind of box that is more akin to a PC that specializes in cloud and streaming, is more moddable in terms of accessories, and even allows for upgradeable parts. Instead of spending $700 on a pro console a few years later, how about just swap out for a new CPU? Maybe Microsoft can provide plug-and-play style parts like how they currently do with their expansion cards. Basically, a consolized PC experience.

Point is, it's too early to even try to predict where Sony and Microsoft will end up given how things are right now.

The successor to the Switch performing well? What a crazy thought. Then again, I never put it past Nintendo to zig when you expect them to zag, for better or worse. As for the others, Sony can only really mess up by putting their next console out at an equal or greater price to the PS5 Pro, though releasing something more powerful at a lower price means waiting a while or selling at a big loss. Xbox seems to be pivoting more toward a digital platform over physical hardware, so I don't even know how long they'll keep putting out an actual box. Microsoft has enough money that they could probably "win" the console war just by severely undercutting Sony for a decade or so and promoting themselves as equal quality at a better price. After all they've spent on aquisitions though, I'm not sure how much more they're willing to put into getting ahead in what's ultimately just one of the many markets they're invested in. I'm also not exactly sure where the line is there for being brought to court over hostile business practices.

I'd like Nintendo to do well as much as the next guy, but aren't such bold predictions just a tad premature when we don't even know what the specs and price of Switch 2 will be?

@dkxcalibur Don't you have vigilant justice to do instead of trying to gaslight people over stuff that will screw us both over in the end?

It’ll be unlikely the Switch 2 will “fail,” in the traditional sense since I think those days are now gone. If Nintendo can position this similar to how smartphone manufacturers push out upgrades, it will sell very well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo uses the term “devices” over “consoles” in the next generation as to create more separation between them and the traditional gaming market they helped to create. They can live on with the smart devices crowd, which has over 4 billion active users between Android and iOS.

Welp the nintendoomed articles are gonna be extra spicy next year huh.

@Jack_Goetz it has the ability to play Switch games, plus Nintendo is sitting on so many completed projects. I think the Switch 2 will be fine. Also, the Wii U didn’t help the Switch all that much. Yes, those titles sold well, but the people who bought Switch units either dwarfed the Wii U or didn’t have one. Nintendo was able to retap the market of the casual gamer who just wants to play their games without hoops to jump through. Smartphones took that audience away, now Nintendo was able to join it.

If you’re hoping to play Zelda on your PC, you might want to look toward your Android or iOS devices before that’ll ever happen. Nintendo has hinted they’d move their business over to those devices if they should fail, which would take A LONG time.

ps5 and xbox x are clearly superior to anything switch 2 will be capable of.from a technical standpoint.. and considering switch 2 will last 7 or 8 years when the ps6 comes out in 3 years the switch will once again be left far behind..then again it has never been about power for nintendo it is the games that matter.. yet some demanding games i doubt switch 2 will be able to play without massive compromises like gta 6..

Would be kind of funny if barely anyone upgrades. "Works fine for me!"

Xbox and Playstation are not the Switch's biggest concerns. It's PC and mobile. Xbox and Playstation both look like they're dying, but PC and mobile are stiff competition that are never going away (except maybe to be replaced by a new form factor that is even more convenient). I'm not sure that many people will be interested in a Switch 2 when PC and mobile are attempting to move closer to being hybrid consoles and there are multiple direct competitors to the Switch popping up.

@Zeebor15 Continue to judge people you don't know, it makes you sound intelligent.

@dkxcalibur this is the internet. Intelligence is d coded by who gets the last word

It's very hard to predict before we have seen it. This all looks certainly hopeful, although I can't see it selling as well as Switch. If it's more of the same while excellent and exactly what I'm after, I still think sales will be less. I predict sales near to the original Wii numbers, perhaps a little less, so 85 - 95 million for Switch 2.

@Banjo- Exactly, It's very hard to predict before we have seen it.
It looks like it will be more of the same with increased performance. Time will tell.

Let’s be honest, that’s what they would have said (probably did say) about „Wii 2“ up until its unveiling as „Wii U“. Analysts‘ imagination is very limited.

@Banjo- I doubt anyone has solid numbers on how many PS3s were purchased as replacements, but if you're suggesting that the PS3 had a bigger problem with defective units than the XB360 then you don't know what you're talking about.

I agree with this, and I think the Switch 2 will be another success. Lots of fear mongering going on with the Switch 2, some of it valid concerns, but a lot it seems like people want it to fail.....

@BANJO 85-95 seems wildly optimistic, especially if the Switch 2 is a disappointingly samey followup like the rumors seem to be indicating. There's growing competition from PC, mobile, and numerous companies wanting their own handheld/hybrid device similar to the Switch, those are going to chip away at Switch's niche. I can't see the rumored concept for the Switch cracking 50 million. Just too much going against it for more power and first party games to make it super successful.

@Bolt_Strike I agree about what you say about chipping away at Switch's niche. That's why I think 85 to 95m and not 145+.
I think that Nintendo is aware of this and will perhaps have a couple of idea's up their sleeve to push sales forward for the Switch 2. I think they hopefully have learnt their lesson with the Wii U.

@BANJO Ehh, unless there's some major software innovation that we can't see in the design, it doesn't look like they have truly learned their lesson with the Wii U. The design looks more like the Switch Pro we should've gotten in 2020/2021 rather than the Switch 2 we're getting now. Based on what we've seen so far, I don't think many Switch owners will be enthusiastic about upgrading. That's why I see a much larger decrease than just to 85 million.

@KryptoniteKrunch It's like the Switch buildup all over again...pretty much word for word in some cases.

@Bolt_Strike Time will tell, I'm optimistic like the report. I believe they are aware of their past failures and have been planning accordingly. I think it should be a success, while not as successful as the Switch, a solid success nonetheless.

@BANJO I mean it's definitely too soon to reserve final judgment when it hasn't even been officially revealed. But the leaks and rumors do not look promising. I do not think the concept the leaks and rumors are showing us is going to be much of a success. I'm more hoping that there's something the leaks and rumors got wrong or are missing, I'm not optimistic about what we're seeing.

@Dev1024 Where will PlayStation and Xbox even go with their handhelds if they choose to move forward in developing them

@Bolt_Strike I prefere to be more optimistic, time will tell. We will have to agree to disagree here.

In what should no longer be surprising news to read, fresh US data from analyst firm Circana has revealed that Xbox Series X|S console sales are down almost 30% year-on-year.

This latest set of figures looks at November 2024 hardware sales in comparison to November 2023, where Xbox Series X and S sales have dropped by 29%. In comparison, Nintendo Switch is down 3%, while PS5 consoles are up by 15% on the same time last year.

@BANJO switch 2 price will be between 400-450 us dollars which is considerably higher then what switch 1 was when it first came out that will cause a lot of casual gamers to think about purchasing the console..

@WiltonRoots

Yup, I'm definitely getting pre-Switch flashbacks lol.

@johnedwin They could well have a handheld only version like the Switch Lite again, that would cater to the casual price/market nicely.

@johnedwin I've kind of said this before, but Sony/Microsoft are not competition with Nintendo given their audiences are quit different.

Someone who wants to play GTA6 isn't picking up a Switch. Probably an Xbox or a PlayStation and its been like this since the Wii I would say. I don't think Nintendo has anything to worry about as long as they don't flub it up like the Wii U.

I'M worried about Xbox, they need to be competitive with PlayStation so that they don't have other side of the market to themselves. The guys that only play call of duty, sports games and stuff like that.

I don't want the only option for games that don't come to Nintendo's platform to be just PlayStation or PC.

Anyone in this comment section downplaying Switch 2 because “muh specs” and “portable PCs will take over” are up for a rude awakening like it’s the Switch launch all over again.

@glennthefrog Nintendo has been extremely intelligent. While their games are gorgeous they don't seem to break the bank. Even more ambitious games like Xenoblade 3 can be modest successes selling about two million copies and still be profitable. And even when their games do crack into the tens of millions of unit sales Nintendo hits record breaking profits again and again which seems to be funding their more experimental whacky titles.

It is really impressive how their development philosophies don't just protect their profit margins, but also their staffing as Nintendo has been pretty anti-crunch. This is in comparison to other publishers where crunch is common and a few million units sold is a financial disappointment. It really makes you wonder what Nintendo is doing internally that other publishers have not figured out yet.

@FirstEmperor I didn't say that. You surely understand what probably means, right? Of course, there were faulty Xbox 360 as well. Do you think I live under a rock? What I said is that Xbox just moved on and that PS3 only surpassed Xbox 360 after the generation had ended with super cheap models that I found even in supermarkets and that look like Fischer Price toys, but that gave Sony that final boost they are desperate about to break every possible record, not to mention that software-wise Xbox 360 also won, which is another value that confirms this. Moreover, Sony reports shipped units instead of sales to boost their hardware numbers. They still do it with PS5. You focused on the anecdote/joke when replying.

@Bolt_Strike @BANJO I always wonder how many unconditional Nintendo fans are there that would buy any Nintendo hardware because of Nintendo's games? If I look at the Wii U numbers, there are 13m unconditional Nintendo fans worldwide (or were one decade ago). The success of Switch is not because of Nintendo fans, but many circumstances that others and I have posted above. Like BANJO says, time will tell, but I think it's almost impossible for Nintendo to repeat that success with Switch 2, not even close. Nintendo is too restrictive and there's so much more similar competition now. We'll see.

@Medic_alert how do you figure that the Switch was a "novelty"?

Is that because you think portability is a gimmick?

Genuinely interested to know how you believe the Switch was nothing more than a "Novelty"?...

The Switch is probably going to end it's lifespan as the best selling console of all time, it also now is statically, has the highest rated games of any console ever, if you go by metacritic.

Not sure how that's a "novelty" 😂

I actually can kind of see this being a thing but not because Nintendo are so good, but because the competition isn't in a good period currently.

Personally I don't see Sony and Microsoft carrying on down the same path anymore, making high end consoles with the latest graphics is not cost effective anymore in a litany of ways.

Look how little games the PS5 has actually got, 4 years into it's lifespan, development time for AAA games are 5-8 years nowadays, which is simply not sustainable long term anymore, not even if console lifespans were 8-10 years.

The current system with home consoles and game development time/cost isn't sustainable so I don't believe the competition will be the same in the next few years, it could actually be that Sony decide to ditch the high end home console market and join Nintendo in the handheld market. Which is why Sony announced they are making a handheld console again. If Sony really does decide to ditch the home console market and focus exclusively on handhelds, it could potentially work for them, especially given the success of the Switch and actually getting games, I can see Sony potentially looking to do this. Unfortunately I don't fancy Sony's chances though, even outside of gaming, they've always been kinda hit and miss when it came to portability.

Microsoft may decide to actually lean more heavily into the fact that every single PC gamer in the world actually uses Microsoft's operating system to play their video games and may decide to cater exclusively to that market. Or Microsoft may continue to try and be the Netflix of gaming, I'm not entirely sure, I genuinely don't see Microsoft making a new home console, or at least not physically bringing one to market. Not for a good while if at all.

If Nintendo just make a traditional console with their first party games, some solid last gen ports and some great Indie games, basically exactly what they did this Gen, they'll win again, it might not work a 3rd time, it'll depend on the landscape at that time, but essentially Nintendo are lucky here, they really won't need to do a lot to succeed, just more of the same and that's only because the rest of the industry is in such bad shape as of now. This probably won't change for a good few years at least too, until Sony either goes handheld or whatever and Microsoft does what they gotta do, the current system with home consoles as they are just isn't sustainable anymore. So Nintendo has a pretty solid window of opportunity to do another hit.

@Reztobi the market itself has dramatically changed. Traditional gaming as it's called has been nosediving toward a crash for the last 2-3 years. It would take a successful Switch 2 to keep it alive since consoles and PC are suffering from AAA studios kind of putting out the same thing over and over again. Indie developers and other smaller studios are keeping things interesting, but there isn't anything break out. Aside from GTAVI, there isn't a whole lot of buzz around some of these newer games. Nintendo is in a good/bad spot, it's great for them but terrible if their competitors fall. The best thing is continuing to go down this road, but start to separate themselves away from consoles and PCs, go themselves in line with the smart device market instead. Once Apple enters the space with a M-powered Apple TV, it'll be lights out for Playstation, Xbox and PC. It'll be a bomb when Android gets there too.

Hope its called Switch It....even if it sounds like a boardgame

@Reztobi that's because you are using the wrong definition of novelty.

The Switch at launch was pretty much the first and only machine to do this hybrid design where you could pick up and take your home console games with you. That is the novelty - as in new, different, unusual.

For the first 4 years or so of the lifetime of the Switch there was an obsession with the miracle port and could it run on the decade old tablet hardware and this felt novel too.

This novelty was exciting and pulled people in but now it is part of a larger crowd and for those that already have a Switch, what is the reason to upgrade? The enthusiasts won't need convincing but the Switch has done well precisely because its reach is wider than that.

@Rpg-lover hahahahahaha, how on Earth, can glorified PCs turned into tablets, affect the successor of the Switch in any manner? Have any of those affected the Switch already?

@Reztobi Sony has not announced anything, it has been rumored they're working on a new handled, but it's just that, a rumor. Phil Spencer has said that, Microsoft is already testing prototypes of a portable console, but that they're not ready to make it official yet.

@kevinm360 by your 3DS numbers thats a 50% drop off from the DS's 154 million. That's not good. Considering 3DS launched at $350 and they had to slash the price to $160 within months. They never recovered. They did well, but that huge drop off from the DS to 3DS along with Wii U's failure is literally why they consolidated there console & handheld divisions. That's how we got the Switch.

@Arawn93 exactly. “But the successor needs to be able to get those big AAA bangers!!!!”. I’ve seen for years how impatient this crowd in here are. I seriously doubt they’ll wait that long for these games while Nintendo keeps churning out titles. They don’t dance to the beat of the third party drum like the other two.

I’ll be honest. Switch was my main console up til last year then I bought a Steam Deck and that has raised the bar so high for me now.
If Switch2 is worse than Steam Deck it’s going to be a tough sell.
Nintendo waited a year too long.

@Banjo- We will certainly see. I believe although Switch will have increased competition most casuals still will still go for the Switch 2.
Also Nintendo only has one platform to push, it's a case of all their eggs being in one basket. They need it to be a success, because of this, I think it will succeed one way or another.
They will have no second platform like they had with the 3DS to bring in the monies while the Wii U was floundering.
Although, I still admit sales will decline for the device to 85 to 95 million, a steep decline from the 150+ from what the Switch will end on.

Everything about Switch 2, or Super Switch as I still like to call it, sounds super promising except for the lack of OLED. I’ve been spoilt rotten by the gorgeousness of Switch OLED display. It’s going to be a real shock to go back to LCD and it’ll take some adjusting for sure. Problem is that I know OLED model is inevitably coming a couple years down the line so it’s tempting to hold off until then, but the allure of generational better performance in all games will likely be too great to resist. I am going to mourn the tragic loss of OLED for sure.

@Banjo- XB360 had one of the highest (if not the highest) failure rates of any console ever, so the idea that PS3s were "probably" purchased as replacements more often than XB360s is utterly laughable.

Also, PS3 was never "super cheap" throughout any of its revisions; on the contrary, PS3 was always more expensive than XB360 and your attempt to claim otherwise just proves once again that you have no idea what you're talking about.

Your claim about XB360 moving on first is also false. PS4 actually launched a few weeks before XB1, so the PS3 technically moved on first.

@FirstEmperor PS3 only surpassed Xbox 360 after the generation had ended. Cheap PS3 revisions launched after the generation had ended, while Xbox was only manufacturing Xbox One, so Xbox moved on earlier. Launching the successor one week earlier (not a few like you say which is false) doesn't mean anything and PS4 didn't have new games for a long while, something that even Sony admitted. At that time, Sony was focused on boosting PS3's numbers with crippled PS3 models that got rid of features and ports and were made of cheaper plastic, because PS3 wasn't as successful as previous PS consoles and had a terrible start on the market.

@BANJO I think that Switch 2 will be fine, too, so no need to worry. You are right about them having only one platform instead of two. I only used Wii U as an example because it had exclusive home console Nintendo games that unconditional Nintendo fans would not miss. The Switch 2 being portable (hybrid) and the popularity of Nintendo will be enough to drive the console on the market successfully. 😉 I'm more intrigued by their "next-gen" games than their "next-gen" hardware that has been more or less leaked.

@Banjo- It should be fine, although it won't be plain sailing like it was with the Switch, I'm aware Nintendo has a fight on their hands this time..

Yes, their next gen games are intriguing. I have a feeling they will aim to do what they did with the Switch.
By that I mean at least plan the first party schedule first the first 18 months out with a few must have titles. (Mario Kart, Mario Odyssey 2, Splatoon 4, a Zelda title of sorts)
Basically a big title every 3 months, so 5/6 big hitters out within 18 months to get sales going.
Then, after this aim to release a lite version of the console within a year to keep them going thereafter. (Tap into that casual market)

It's going to be pushing their dev teams to the limits with the increased development times/costs to produce the next gen games..
I think they will manage, just...

I think alot of PS4 ports a la Street Fighter, Resident Evil 4 will help to pad out the third party side of things. Bandai Namco might be allowed the keys to some different Nintendo Ip's, to keep the titles rolling out the gate..
Other developers too will need to be called upon.

Interesting times lie ahead.... 😃

Man NintenDoomed fandom seems scared already of a under powered Switch beating something so massive in GPU? What are you so afraid of a little competition that a Portable console can outsell your Coffee table console. I doubt Nintendo is shaking in their boots because they don't play with the big boys. They seem to be doing just fine getting where they are going.

Anybody got lottery numbers? I’ll take those predictions over this.

I am all for monitoring market trend but unless you are a dev, retailer, manufacturer or Nintendo themselves it doesn’t really matter. The market will do what it wants.

@Banjo- Alright, it was 1 week. My claim was still closer to the truth than your completely false claim that XB360 moved on before PS3 did, and the rest of your post about Sony's motivations is nothing more than baseless speculation with not a shred of evidence to back it up.

Furthermore the final XB360 revision was the Xbox 360 E, which came out after the final PS3 revision, the "super slim." So you're just making stuff up at this point.

M$ and Sony have lost the plot. This speculation comes as zero surprise to me.

As with many analyses, this seems very short sighted without even seeing the next console from any of the major manufacturers.

@FirstEmperor

As of March 2017, the PS3 had moved 87.4 million units, surpassing the final recorded Xbox 360 tally of 84 million in 2014.

PS3 surpassed Xbox 360 2014 numbers in 2017, three years later and three years after the generation had ended, not counting the amount of Xbox 360 units sold between 2014 and 2017 that would make the difference narrower. Moreover, like I explained above, Sony reports shipped units to boost their numbers and get the projected figures earlier, which explains why they unloaded and reported the shipped cheap models when the generation was ending for the photo finish, shipping one million more (77 versus 76) than what Microsoft had shipped when the generation was ending. Shipped units that weren't sold right away and could be found in stores for years.

propaganda brought you by nintendo...

Switch 2 aka switch pro will have quite a slow adoption rate if the tech spec doesn’t have the wow factor.
I think that if the similarities of tech spec to current model taking in to consideration that the console will probable be the same as the switch in looks and functionality.
Might find that people decide to stick to their current switch model than to upgrade.
Launch line up will be key to success, but if the first few launch tiles are dual format eg pokemon, Metroid, Mario then this would be more of a reason not to jump onboard the next gen hype train.
With early adopters being fans rather than families.

@Lord Tech specs only matter to a very small crowd, the likes of whom frequent comment sections like this, and even then half the comment section disagrees. The opinions in comment sections like this rarely if ever reflect the real world. Otherwise the Switch would have already been crushed by the Deckbeard, Xbox and the PS5. Hasn’t happened. Or the rip roaring success of the PS5 Pro. Or how Harry Potter on Switch is completely trouncing sales on other consoles regardless of tech prowess. Niche bubbles. Digital Foundry has literally 1/100th or less of the Switch user base.

@Vyacheslav333 Wait. What would even happen if Nintendo Co. Ltd. chose to just operate NoA and NoE themselves instead of just letting them do what they want?

@MrCarlos46 People would get uncensored Nintendo games. Famicom Detective Club remakes were censored outside of Japan, for example.
People would get anime games without censorship and bans. Just look at Hyperdimension Neptunia games. Their worldwide releases on Switch were outright cancelled. Death End Re;Quest Z was outright cancelled in all regions, Japan including.

@Vyacheslav333 What if it ends up being game release-related stuff Nintendo Co. Ltd. starts taking over for both Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe (also including Nintendo Australia) while they both still get to make their own decisions for other things?

@MrCarlos46 Erm, I don't know, lol.

@Vyacheslav333 Well, you might be right there

@Vyacheslav333 Although NoA and NoE are already just subsidiaries of Nintendo Co. Ltd, so IDK how it would go through with Nintendo Co. Ltd. choosing to operate them themselves?