Nintendo Switch

But that’s my point! Nintendo has already bifurcated the Switch market with the Switch Lite. If you want to just play undocked, get the Lite. I, and other people like me, were hoping for a Switch Pro that would make the docked experience better, or a more expensive model that beefed up the specs so we could play more games docked and undocked without a reduction in play experience.

I use my switch 90% in handheld mode because I can easily use it in bed, sitting in front of my son’s crib, etc. The dock sits getting dusty because the handheld usage is so much more convenient for my life.

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In your situation, you should just get the Switch Lite then. If Nintendo wants to continue making two versions of the Switch, they should make an upgraded Lite with the wider OLED screen and updated stand, and a Switch Pro with 4K and beefier specs.

Well, there was a handful of exclusive games, yes. But there was also a bunch of non-exclusive games which, while they technically ran on a regular 3ds, just ran like hot garbage.

Clearly they chose this instead for probably very good reasons.

A Switch 4k is a terrible idea. It would be a materially new console that most games wouldn’t bother supporting except at the current resolution. It would be significantly more expensive and have very little to offer.

If it had any “beefier specs” that weren’t just 4k resolution (which is already a significant hurdle at that form factor), then any game that took advantage of those specs either wouldn’t work on existing Switches or wouldn’t actually be materially better on the newer console.

There is just no reason on Earth to make a 4k Switch.

The consoles are basically identical except that the non-Lite version supports TV play. They are just two equal options in the same ecosystem.

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But they’re not identical. The Lite doesn’t have the new wider OLED screen. Nintendo might give new Lite models the improved stand, but we don’t know. Nintendo is already creating differences between the Switch and the Lite, outside of the ability to display on your TV. They should continue doing that.

Again, if someone wants to play their Switch undocked, they should just get the Lite. If you’re only playing your Switch undocked, why pay extra for capabilities you don’t use? For people who pretty much only play their Switch docked, a 4K version would be an upgrade.

What you describe are not material differences. They play the same games.

I’m not really sure what you’re arguing for except “Nintendo should make something that there doesn’t appear to be any real demand for” and maybe “these two nearly-identical things are NOT IN FACT STRICTLY IDENTICAL!”

The Lite and the Switch are functionally identical except for one feature that doesn’t affect game support in any meaningful way.

You also drastically under-estimate the costs and problems of “moving to 4k.” You can’t just “upgrade” a game to magically be in 4k. The console would generate a HUGE amount of heat compared to what it does today. There are significant, material challenges and limited upside even if you succeed.

In what way would 4K be an upgrade? Let’s say I had two Switches. A normal one, and a hypothetical 4K one. Both of them had Breath of the Wild 2 playing on them. Yes, you could easily tell which was which. But if you played the game for 5 hours on each console, would the 4K one be more fun? As soon as you got immersed in the game and stopped focusing on the graphics, would you even remember which Switch you were playing on? If the 4K one isn’t more fun, then why spend more money, parts, time, and energy on that? Considering our climate situation, why spend more literal energy on that?

Secondly.

PS5 and XBox are not for me. I just completely ignore them. I have no fucking idea what is happening on those consoles. I don’t even know what games they have. I didn’t even realize the PS5 had been announced or come out until there was news about people being unable to get them due to low supply.

The fact that you know what 4K even is, let alone want it, suggests that Nintendo Switch is not for you. The company does not consider the desires of people like yourself when making any decisions. You are not the target audience in any way whatsoever.

The person who buys Animal Crossing is their audience. Likely the best selling game of 2020. Animal Crossing fans would not have given one shit if the game was in 480i, let alone 4K. They cared about how many options there were for decorating the island, not how many pixels are on the TV.

If Nintendo doesn’t care about you, why do you care about it? Just ignore it.

Your subjective opinions are not fact, despite your desire to make them otherwise.

To some people, yes, playing a more beautiful version of Breath of the Wild 2 would, in fact be more fun. Just because it’s not for you doesn’t make that true for everyone else.

Considering our climate situation, why have a console at all? Just read a book or have your friend tell you a story. That’s even less of an impact on our climate. This argument is a complete non-sequitur.

The person who buys Animal Crossing doesn’t care about a wider OLED screen. A person who plays their Switch undocked doesn’t need to dock it at all so why is Nintendo still making a “normal” Switch at all, let alone three versions of the Switch now?

Who is the OLED Switch for? The gamer who cares about better graphics. Who is the 4K Switch for? Same answer… the gamer who cares about better graphics.

Again, this is why you have a Switch Pro. They’re already increasing the price of the Switch OLED by $50, how much more could adding 4K be? Another $50? I’d gladly pay that. And again, the person who only wants to play the Switch undocked can still get the much cheaper Lite.

A LOT more.

All they added was a better screen, since most people are probably playing on that screen and not a TV most of the time.

4k and OLED are completely separate topics. They’re not even comparable.

OLED helps address several use cases. Lower battery usage, easier to see with glare, supply chain challenges, etc… It seems like a win. Price-sensitive people will probably indeed buy the regular Switch or the Switch Lite. But all three options are basically the same console and support the same unmodified games. They’re just three market differentiators in the same product.

Why do you keep saying this? I’m sure there are lots of people who occasionally dock their Switch, but primarily play undocked. It’s not all or nothing. Why are you sticking to this point so strongly? It doesn’t seem relevant at all to the conversation.

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This is an older video but gives you an idea of what you need to even PLAY 4k games.

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In what way does it become more fun specifically? The exact same game. Is 800x600 Tetris more fun than 640x480 Tetris? Are you willing to bet your brain releases more endorphins or dopamine or whatever it is when there are more pixels on the screen? I’m willing to bet otherwise.

I already explained this. They are likely changing the screen due to supply chain and manufacturing issues, and simply passing it off as marketing upgrade as a side benefit.

It also helps them do good business pricing wise. They can now clear stock of the old switch at a discount and still get revenues up from selling the newer Switch at a higher price. By refreshing the product cycle in this way they can keep the hardware revenues up. Otherwise Switch prices would just slide downards over time. This gives a little boost.

It also gets more Switches in more hands. Some people might buy the old one at the reduced price. Others might see this at the time to finally jump on. A very few hardcore or wealthy might upgrade. More Switches means more eShop customers, which is where they actually make their money. The hardware itself is traditionally low, no, or negative margin business.

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If the Switch was a TV-only console, we wouldn’t have got one.

If it was a handheld-only console, we wouldn’t have got one.

That it’s been docked 95% of the time doesn’t change that fact at all. If we were to buy a replacement or a Switch II, we would only get one that could be both docked and handheld.

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Because most of the arguments against a Switch Pro come down to either price or the fact that people use their Switch undocked and don’t want to lose that capability. Well, if you’re using your Switch undocked, Nintendo already has a better designed console for that use.

If I primarily used my Switch undocked, I would have gotten the Lite because it’s better for that purpose. I would be willing to sacrifice docking for a better handheld experience. Likewise, the 4K Switch Pro gamers would probably be willing to sacrifice the handheld experience for better graphics on our TVs.

Nintendo has already catered to one group, why not the other?

How is it better for that purpose?

Because Nintendo has never catered to that other group in its entire history?

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No one would make games in 4k. They wouldn’t sell more copies with 4k compared to without. There’s no reason to do it. You’d spend more to sell the same number of copies of your game.

Of course they would. If the Switch was more powerful compared to the PlayStation and Xbox, more third party companies would port over games to it. Hasn’t that traditionally been the major downside of every major Nintendo console going back to the N64? Their consoles are always underpowered compared to the others, and as a result, third party games aren’t ported over, or if they are, they’re compromised in terms of performance.

And those games wouldn’t work on any other Switches. Only this one special 4k TV-only Switch that no one bought. The Switch that is now a massive brick just like the Xbox and Playstation.

The people who care about those games own multiple consoles. Nintendo gains nothing by catering to them.

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Why do you say that? I have Game X for the Playstation 4. I play it on my TV. I don’t have 4K. I take that same game to my friend’s house. He has a Playstation 4 Pro. That same game now displays in 4K. The game works on both systems. There doesn’t need to be a separate version for 4K and non-4K.