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Should Nintendo make a portable console like a successor to the 3DS next to the Switch?

Would you buy a successor to the DS?

  • I would love a new smaller proper handheld, bring back the past!

    Votes: 22 12.0%
  • Making a portable system when the Switch is portable is really fucking stupid

    Votes: 155 84.7%
  • I would be interested, depends on the games

    Votes: 6 3.3%

  • Total voters
    183

Bragr

Banned
I know some of you are thinking "this makes no sense, what's the point when the Switch is a portable hybrid? that's why they made the Switch Lite, and why eat into your own market?"

Well, the truth is, the Switch feels like a TV console you can play portable rather than a handheld console in the style of the old handheld consoles. The Switch brought both styles of consoles together but in the process killed old-school portable console gaming.

A new better $200 DS-like system, would you buy it? Some sort of new DS-ish console that was a lot smaller and cheaper than the Switch would probably still be very desirable for a lot of people.

Gameboy-advance-20-800x400.jpg


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Amin_Parker

Member
If they come out with a handheld that is nothing more but a handheld it's going to Bomb faster than any system that was ever created. The switch has completely totally changed the game once and for all. No company in their right mind is going to just release a handheld anymore. From here on out all Portables are going to be hybrid. Nintendo completely change the game
 

Unk Adams

Banned
Nope. I wouldn't mind seeing a Vita successor but it would make no sense for the same company to have two portable systems out at the same time. Plus, can you imagine how confused the normies would be? They didn't even know the Wii U was a whole new console and it was released years after the original Wii ran its course.
 

Aenima

Member
I dont own an Switch, but its the most appealing Nintendo console to me ever. And the reason is they dont have to split they resorces by choosing to make games for a portable or for a home console. They just put all devs working on switch than can work as a portable or home console.
 
A pet peeve of mine are handhelds that have terrible build quality. I remember the hinges on all my ds and 3ds systems becoming loose and pathetic, I also remember the stupid 3ds joycon coming off multiple 3ds systems. I would love a new handheld if its at least switch level quality. Kinda redundant tho...
 

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
I think Nintendo is completely stupid if they don't make iterations on the current design of the Switch for the next 10 years - and by this I mean releasing a single console that can be used as a portable and also be plugged into a TV to please both camps. I'd obviously love for them to step up their technology and their build quality quite a bit, but the idea itself is golden.
 
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6502

Member
How about a series of gameboy remakes? A full size classic and a full size gba sp etc.. have a multi game cart, perhaps online market to last as a buget line. £79 a pop.
 

Quasicat

Member
Honestly, I don’t know how Nintendo could ever go back. I would play games on my 3DS and then would go home wanting to continue my progress. The Vita and the PS3 did this, but it did not work all of the time depending on the title (Final Fantasy X threw out errors all of time). That being said, the Switch just works. Even going from a standard home console that is almost always docked to a Lite which sits in my desk at work, with Nintendo’s cloud and most titles being supported, I don’t think I could ever go back to two standalone systems.
 
I think Nintendo is completely stupid if they don't make iterations on the current design of the Switch for the next 10 years - and by this I mean releasing a single console that can be used as a portable and also be plugged into a TV to please both camps. I'd obviously love for them to step up their technology and their build quality quite a bit, but the idea itself is golden.

The "hybrid" Switch is less portable than the 3DS.

I want something that's pocket friendly - and the Switch Lite barely satisfies the need.
 

Jeeves

Member
If I actually had a use for portables, then yes, because I don't consider the Switch (or Lite) to be reasonably portable and usually still opt to just bring the 3DS with me on trips. But I don't even go on trips very often, so I'm not tired of the 3DS for that purpose. Especially not at the cost of having another system to "steal" games from Nintendo's home console where I'd much rather be playing them.
 

Regginator

Member
Good thing you already covered the "that would be fucking stupid" option in the poll. Seems like most agree with that statement.

The Switch is primarily designed as a portable console, even if I use it as a home console 99% of the time, so making another one would be fucking stupid since Nintendo would cannibalize sales.

However, the other way around, a dedicated home console, now that would be more interesting.
 

xBlueStonex

Member
The whole 'hybrid' nature of the Switch is misleading, and all that it really means is it doesn't do any one particularly well. Since real portable games designed from the ground up are no longer being developed, all we will be getting is horribly down-scaled console ports that look awful in 2021 and can hardly hit 30fps. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on my 75" 4K television looks and runs like a PS2 game at times - not exaggerating.

The Switch reminds me of the Wii. It was a breath of fresh air at launch, but a few years down the road gamers realized what an under-powered gimmick it really was. Combine that with the fact the software is still missing features that the 3DS had in spades: themes, web browser, spotpass, mii-verse, download play, a camera, etc. - and you will quickly realize how half-baked it all is. Give me a dedicated handheld and a dedicated home console over the 'hybrid' garbage we have now, hands down. I mean, just imagine BOTW2 at 720p 30fps in 2022. Yikes.
 
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The whole 'hybrid' nature of the Switch is misleading, and all that it really means is it doesn't do any one particularly well. Since real portable games designed from the ground up are no longer being developed, all we will be getting is horribly down-scaled console ports that look awful in 2021 and can hardly hit 30fps. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on my 75" 4K television looks and runs like a PS2 game at times - not exaggerating.

The Switch reminds me of the Wii. It was a breath of fresh air at launch, but a few years down the road gamers realized what an under-powered gimmick it really was. Combine that with the fact the software is still missing features that the 3DS had in spades: themes, web browser, spotpass, mii-verse, download play, a camera, etc. - and you will quickly realize half-baked it all is. Give me a dedicated handheld and a dedicated home console over the 'hybrid' garbage we have now, hands down. I mean, just imagine BOTW2 at 720p 30fps in 2022. Yikes.
Wrong.
 

Artistic

Member
The Switch is a handheld as is. I wonder where Nintendo goes from here though. I know Switch sales are great, but making it a hybrid might have been a mistake long term wise if they want to continue making home consoles.
 
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I do want them to make an actual portable system, but I want it to be a revision of the Switch. Getting rid of the platform split was one of Nintendos best decisions.

The Switch Mini was such a huge disappointment for me. It's smaller, but still not small enough to pocket or carry around. Plus they gutted its ability to dock and do TV out, which was the dealbreaker for me. Both it and the original Switch are too big to be considered portable like previous handhelds. In my mind they are "portable" just like a laptop is, yes you can travel with it but you aren't going to casually lug it around everywhere you go and it's typically going to require a carrying case.

My dream would be a Switch no bigger than a PSP or Vita. Replace the analogs with 3DS circle pads, because I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of precision to have a flat pocketable device without two snagging prongs extending out. And most importantly, let it still dock. I'd sell my current Switch in a heartbeat for a model like that. Sadly, the Mini's release made it highly unlikely we will ever see a smaller revision.
 

Kdad

Member
They sell one game Game & Watch replicas for 50 fucking dollars so why the hell not...lets go...$250 Switch Lite + ... all the Switch goodness, 1/4 the size, but only one game on it...you'll even have to buy an extra one to get the DLC for the one game.
 
I think that this makes no sense. What’s the point when the Switch is a portable hybrid? That’s why they made the switch lite. Why eat into your own market?
Why eat into your own market? That's what Nintendo should have thought when they made the Switch. They essentially killed their own console business. The switch is not a console at all, it's a portable, that's why people are buying it. And by being a portable they killed their handheld market.

So whichever point of view you choose, it's pretty clear Nintendo killed one or another. Nintendo can't release a console or handheld anymore, it would bomb so hard.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
A smaller Switch would do.

Anything smaller and weaker would just split there developers to make seperate games for a hybrid portable and a weaker portable.


Why would they make less technical/weaker games than the Switch, no point going backwards at this point.
Phones can play better graphics than a 3DS and probably Wii so the next level up would be a Switch.
 
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I don't know about that my man.
What's your reasoning on that?

It's hard for me to think of any advantages in splitting resources between two platforms, for both publisher and consumer. Consumers don't have to buy two different devices, or miss out on the next Mario game because they own just a 3DS or Wii U. As a developer/publisher Nintendo doesn't have to split its resources to develop for only portion of their total user base, limiting potential sales.
 

Sleepwalker

Gold Member
No shade, but you are part of the problem why Nintendo is the way they are with customers. Nintendo will never get better when people are ok with scraps.


I would jump at a portable device that allowed me to play the GB/GBA/DS/3DS stuff because I lost those consoles long ago and I don't like the switch for portability. That's probably not what the OP has in mind tho.

As for "enabling" nintendo, I mostly emulate my switch games nowadays and haven't bought their stuff in a long minute. To quote myself from another thread

I would have liked a performance upgrade because I don't really want to buy more games for the switch if I'm basically going to be playing cyberpunk on a launch PS4 when I do. But I am also not too bothered really, Nintendo can do whatever the fuck they want, they'll get my money when they release something I actually care about.
 
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Artistic

Member
What's your reasoning on that?

It's hard for me to think of any advantages in splitting resources between two platforms, for both publisher and consumer. Consumers don't have to buy two different devices, or miss out on the next Mario game because they own just a 3DS or Wii U. As a developer/publisher Nintendo doesn't have to split its resources to develop for only portion of their total user base, limiting potential sales.
Unless they're completing exiting the console business, I don't see how continuing down the hybrid route is a good thing long term. There's always going to be hardware limitations with portables and I don't see how anyone is going want a $400-500 Nintendo handheld console.
 

Tschumi

Member
I hate how big the switch is, it's the single greatest reason why i haven't got one, it's humiliating as a portable game thing.

Anyway, that's beside the point.. no, they've already got a portable console that's a successor to the 3ds and it's called the Nintendo Switch.
 
If you had asked me this just six months ago, I'd have said no. Right now I say great idea. I'm tired of this thing. Both underpowered AND too big. I want a cute little handheld. Do it, Nintendo!
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
I know some of you are thinking "this makes no sense, what's the point when the Switch is a portable hybrid? that's why they made the Switch Lite, and why eat into your own market?"
Yep, that’s exactly what I’m thinking.


Well, the truth is, the Switch feels like a TV console you can play portable rather than a handheld console in the style of the old handheld consoles.
Huh. People usually write the polar opposite, ie the Switch is a handheld you can connect to your TV.


Anyway... now that Pokémon is on Switch and commands a $60 price tag while essentially keeping the same production values of its 3DS iterations, like hell Nintendo is gonna release a separate machine.
 

Robb

Gold Member
I think it's a bad idea, but I would buy it if they started releasing their first party games on it.
 

GeekyDad

Member
Easiest vote in the world for me. YES!

I love the clamshell design of DS/3DS. Love handheld gaming. I think the Switch Lite comes close, and that's great, but it's not enough for me, personally.
 
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