Games Inbox: How powerful is the Nintendo Switch 2?
There’s still a lot of questions to answer (Nintendo)
Undefined power
Even with leaks of the motherboard and some expert analysis I don’t feel we really know anything very definitive about the Switch 2’s power levels. So, it’s basically similar to a PlayStation 4, except publishers will probably end up porting PlayStation 5 games to it anyway? That doesn’t really lock anything down.
At the end of the day, all that matters is what the games look like and I’m already at the point where I barely recognise things like ray-tracing or 60fps, so I’m not sure it really matters. I think that’s always been Nintendo’s approach too and they’re probably only really trying at all in order to get more third party support. I agree we’ll probably see a lot of PlayStation 4 era ports, and probably tons of Xbox stuff, but I’m not sure that’s why anyone buys a Nintendo console.
At the end of the day, it sounds like it’s going to be a souped-up PlayStation 4 and that’s fine. There’s plenty of games being released now that barely look any better than a PlayStation 4 game and if the Switch 2 can run those as a handheld, then that is going to be very good thing.
Lemmy
Undead adaptation
It is really hard for me to understand what Sony is playing at the moment. The fact that they have so many movie and TV projects is one thing but why Gravity Rush and Days Gone, when they’re basically dead franchises? If you think these games are such a good idea, why don’t you make more of them?
It’s the same thing with Twisted Metal and Uncharted. Do these even count as adaptations if they’ve stopped making the games? Even The Last Of Us is in that situation, where we’ve got no guarantee of getting a third entry.
Sony has had its priorities backwards for years now. Between this and the constant stream of new hardware it seems they’d do anything to avoid making new games.
Chorlton
Intellectual property
It makes me laugh that we’ve got these constant leaks about the Switch 2 console and yet we still know exactly nothing about any of the games. Like you said, there’s got to be at least one new IP at launch and that’s what I’m most interested in.
It’s my one complaint about the Switch, which has barely had any new IP at all and nothing big budget. What was the biggest? ARMS? And that wasn’t very big at all. You could say that the waters were muddied a bit with Splatoon being on Wii U, but I really want to see better on the Switch 2 – and not just some throwaway thing like 1-2-Switch.
You talk about how it’s hard to make a new Super Smash Bros., but what really makes it hard is that there’s no new characters to add. Nintendo really need to invest in more new games.
Zeffo
Vegetable evolution
A tale of four Pikmins…
Number 1 on the GameCube I liked but didn’t get that far because I seem to remember the calendar was limited and it all seemed too much of a rush.
Number 2 on the GameCube removed the limited calendar but, again, I didn’t get far. I think I gave up because I reached an impasse (I probably missed something obvious) and didn’t know where to go. It seemed quite difficult as well, if memory serves correct.
Number 3 on the Wii U and then the Switch. Yes, I bought it twice. Brilliant game that I’ve finished on both formats which brings me to…
Number 4 on the Switch. I’ve put about 12 hours into it so far, but it just might be better than Number 3.
Yes, it’s quite sedate and calm (and the massively improved targeting is more than welcome) but that’s just right for a game where you’re ordering carrots about to explore and fight.
TL;DR. Much like the Pikmin themselves the series has evolved for the better, in my opinion, and I’ll be buying Pikmin 5 day one.
Chevy Malibu (PSN ID)
GC: Pikmin 4 was much more successful than any of the previous entries, so a fifth is all but guaranteed.
Billionaires club
Incredible to think how much modern video games take to make, with Call Of Duty probably up to $1 billion a throw now – for a game that has built-in obsolescence after a year. At least GTA 5 lasted a decade or more before its replaced.
I wonder whether other publishers know how much each of them are spending on games though? Maybe the reason they can’t seem to bring themselves to cut back on budgets is that they’re convinced that it’s only the most expensive-to-make games that are the biggest hits.
I’m not sure that’s true, because as I understand Fortnite was just a minor experiment when it started, but I bet the machinery to keep it going must be a billion or more a year as well.
Klondike
Pocket monster backlog
Say what you want about traditional Pokémon games but once you pays your monies, you certainly get your pounds worth.
I paid about £40 off eBay for Pokémon Sword in mid-2021 and started playing it daily in November of that year.
I liked it enough to complete the story mode and even buy and complete both DLC packs.
It’s even been with me on various holidays over the years, with the last one it’ll ever go on with me to Aiya Napa back in August 2024!
And, as of 31st December 2024, I have finally completed all three pokédexes and levelled-up all Galar region Pokémon and post-Gen IV Pokémon.
Being British-born and living in England, I do like the references as seen in-game to this country.
Sword is now my favourite traditional Pokémon game, even beating Game Boy Advance Sapphire, which was my first Pokémon game back in 2004.
In 2005, a faulty GAME GameCube Memory Card deleted my save file from Sapphire/Box and I didn’t have the heart to start again after having lost 999:59+ hours of gameplay.
After that anguish and heartache, I got into Custom Robo: Arena but sadly, there were no further games for me to play.
Apart from Pokémon Go! it took me years for me to pick up another Pokémon game and after getting a hard-to-find V2 Switch during the July 2020 lockdown, decided to try Let’s Go, Eevee!, which I liked and helped ease me back.
Even though I completed Pokémon Violet weeks after its release, I never really went back to it as I wanted to really focus on completing Sword proper.
As of 1st January 2025, I’ll be focused on levelling-up all the Paldea region Pokémon only.
After Sword, I have decided to only level-up a games’ regional Pokémon and no more due to the time it takes as I really want to get though my backlog!
LeighDappa
Fortnite Deluxe
I agree that a Deluxe version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the only thing that makes sense for the Switch 2. But even that’s just delaying the problem, because what are they going to do after that? Just keep remastering the same game and adding a couple of new characters each time?
It’s not the worst idea, in theory, but the balancing alone is going to be a nightmare with that. If Nintendo had the nerve to make it free though, they could try pushing it as their take on a Fortnite style live service game.
Zeiss
Cautious pessimism
Like many I’m looking forward to the Switch 2 reveal over the next few months and, also like many, will be picking one up as soon as the initial scramble tails off and we know of any potential hardware faults (my first out-the-factory Switch was plagued with the old dead pixel screen issue).
However, I would like to sound a note of caution over one aspect of Nintendo’s next generation device, that being third party support. There are reasons to be sceptical over the levels of support we will see… pr at least ask why we expect it to be any better than the original Switch.
Looking at Switch software sales most gamers pick up Nintendo titles mixed with a few zeitgeisty indie games like Stardew Valley or Hollow Knight; third party triple-A games just didn’t sell well on the system. If it’s the case EA or Ubisoft can’t shift millions of units of Need For Speed or Assassin’s Creed on a machine that has an install base of 150 million then putting the resources in to convert larger and more complex PlayStation 4 titles has limited appeal.
Sure, they were older Xbox 360 third party games, likely to have been played before on other formats, but that is the equivalent of porting PlayStation 4 games to the Switch 2. Especially as in the early years they’ll only be relatively low numbers of Switch 2s out there, to sell to as it builds market share.
Good news though, Japanese publishers and developers will likely rush their older titles to the platform, given Nintendo’s status as the main player over there. I’m holding off on Metaphor: ReFantazio and Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree for this very reason, so I can play them portably in the future, even if it’s some years out. I should be ready for a second run at Elden Ring by 2026.
Marc
GC: We’d be shocked if Elden Ring wasn’t ported across, and probably Metaphor: ReFantazio too.
Inbox also-rans
Tencent is on a Pentagon blacklist? Is it me or did the world just get really weird and stupid all of a sudden? Seems like we switched timelines to an even worse one after the new year.
Len
So, the day after Julian displays his Transformers collection, including the legendary Optimus Prime, the codename for the new Xbox is the Xbox Prime. Does this count as unintentional inbox magic? I really feel like the gaming world could have put the magic to better use!
NatorDom
GC: A decent Transformers game would be a good start.