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Does Nintendo's next iteration have to be equally as powerful as the Steam Deck?

cormack12

Gold Member
Just thinking out loud really. I was bummed the only bump for the Switch is the OLED and it's really not worth buying the new model. I haven't bit on a Deck but I've been looking at the specs, price point and wondering how this will effect whatever NIntendo do next. The Switch was basically detaching the gamepad from the Wii U and providing a dock for power boost. Obviously the current Switch obviously has the upper hand on battery, weight while the Deck has the upper hand in raw power.

ADRw2gi.png


Base deck is about £50 dearer than Switch launch I think.

If Nintendo launch at around the same price point do they have to get closer to these specs or can they be happy just delivering something that sits at the power of the original Xbox One and the Deck being more representative of the original PS4? Do people actually care if they are getting a new Mario/Zelda etc.?

I'll be honest I find some Switch games really needing more power, not necessarily for the art or game but certainly for some of that post processing that makes some games a lot uglier than they should be. If they retail something that's still a clear way behind the Deck, surely they have to make it cheaper? Whci is great for us. Or will they just price at the point they want and let the games validate the expense/power shortfall?
 

JumpMan1981

Banned
Just thinking out loud really. I was bummed the only bump for the Switch is the OLED and it's really not worth buying the new model. I haven't bit on a Deck but I've been looking at the specs, price point and wondering how this will effect whatever NIntendo do next. The Switch was basically detaching the gamepad from the Wii U and providing a dock for power boost. Obviously the current Switch obviously has the upper hand on battery, weight while the Deck has the upper hand in raw power.

ADRw2gi.png


Base deck is about £50 dearer than Switch launch I think.

If Nintendo launch at around the same price point do they have to get closer to these specs or can they be happy just delivering something that sits at the power of the original Xbox One and the Deck being more representative of the original PS4? Do people actually care if they are getting a new Mario/Zelda etc.?

I'll be honest I find some Switch games really needing more power, not necessarily for the art or game but certainly for some of that post processing that makes some games a lot uglier than they should be. If they retail something that's still a clear way behind the Deck, surely they have to make it cheaper? Whci is great for us. Or will they just price at the point they want and let the games validate the expense/power shortfall?

I think it would absolutely need to be significantly more powerful than the current version.

I'm interested to see how Nintendo will even market a new Switch.
The 2DS and 3DS were big sellers but the 3DS seems to have sold half as much as 2DS and had a difficult launch.

Switch 2 will struggle because everyone who is interested in that kind of thing probably already owns a Switch.
3DS to Switch will be a lot easier that Switch to Switch 2.
I could see them going for some kind of different concept again.

The problem with Steam Deck is that is targeting Gamers where I think Nintendo seems to target families.
I can see Nintendo going for something a bit different next time but I have no idea.
 

Fredrik

Member
It’ll come out in 2024 if rumors are to be believed, by then I think it could easily surpass the Deck, but I don’t think it needs to.
 

Mithos

Member
Lets assume that by the time Nintendo has to be finished with the hardware choice for the "Switch 2", there is a chip that rivals Xbox One X, at the same power-envelop as the current Switch do on battery, and it has the same battery life of 4-9 hours...

Nintendo would not be using that. they'd go weaker. But charge premium for it.
 
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Amin_Parker

Member
I think it would absolutely need to be significantly more powerful than the current version.

I'm interested to see how Nintendo will even market a new Switch.
The 2DS and 3DS were big sellers but the 3DS seems to have sold half as much as 2DS and had a difficult launch.

Switch 2 will struggle because everyone who is interested in that kind of thing probably already owns a Switch.
3DS to Switch will be a lot easier that Switch to Switch 2.
I could see them going for some kind of different concept again.

The problem with Steam Deck is that is targeting Gamers where I think Nintendo seems to target families.
I can see Nintendo going for something a bit different next time but I have no idea.
Honestly you make very good points on this site so I can see where you are coming from and that makes perfect sense to me. Nintendo might try a totally brand new concept Next Generation. However if they did make a direct successor to the Switch I (PERSONALLY) would like for it to be on par with the steam deck or quite possibly way more powerful. But it should not be less powerful than the deck unless there's going to be a very enticing hook to the system that is going to attract millions of gamers. But I want the successor to be a more powerful Switch than the steam deck. Most Nintendo gamers really don't care about frame rates or resolution like I said in a different comment thread but for me personally, I would love for it to be more powerful than the steam deck.
 
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JumpMan1981

Banned
Honestly you make very good points on this site so I can see where you are coming from and that makes perfect sense to me. Nintendo might try a totally brand new concept Next Generation. However if they did make a direct successor to the Switch I (PERSONALLY) would like for it to be on par with the steam deck or quite possibly way more powerful. But it should not be less powerful than the deck unless there's going to be a very enticing hook to the system that is going to attract millions of gamers. But I want the successor to be a more powerful Switch than the steam deck. Most Nintendo gamers really don't care about frame rates or resolution like I said in a different comment thread but for me personally, I would love for it to be more powerful than the steam deck.
I would love a more powerful successor.
If Switch can run PS3 ports at a decent level then I would be wanting the next Switch to be PS4 Pro levels.

Obviously when I sit down to play Age of Calamity I see that game chopping and it just looks and feels awful. So I would personally want something better.

I think Nintendo as a company really depends on "lifestyle" marketing to sell their products.
I think for the other consoles the focus is more on the technical specs of the products.
For me personally I'd rather play Mario Odyssey than The Last of Us 2 but out in the wider marketplace I think both games have very different target demographics.

Honestly, I believe that it will be very difficult for them to sell a "Switch 2" at the same level as the Switch.
It might be a bit ironic in the end if Switch 2 targets Gamers with an interest in performance and everyone raves about BotW2 graphics and performance but the console doesn't quite land with the general public.
 

kiphalfton

Member
If Nintendo wants to pad out their library with multiplatform games, it better be. When support for PS4 and X1 drop off, it's not going to be particularly easy to port PS5 or XS games over. Switch already struggled with some PS4 and X1 games.
 
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Ritsumei2020

Report me for console warring
Yes they do,

It should be more powerful, especially if it comes out in 2024. The next Deck of course will be even more powerful.

But Nvidia should be able to put out a chip that is more powerful than current Deck.

NVIDIA_GeForce_RTX_3090.jpg


Maybe a bit smaller
 
it doesn't need to but i'd be surprised if it isn't more powerful. the steam deck isn't anything that impressive.

The next Deck
bold of you to assume Valve will make a 2nd one. of course they could but they aren't exactly known for sticking by their hardware lol.
 
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tusharngf

Member
Yes they do,

It should be more powerful, especially if it comes out in 2024. The next Deck of course will be even more powerful.

But Nvidia should be able to put out a chip that is more powerful than current Deck.

NVIDIA_GeForce_RTX_3090.jpg


Maybe a bit smaller


neogaf will go down if next switch comes close to 30 series cards. the amount of crazyness will exceed everything.
 

GuinGuin

Banned
No, Nintendo doesn't care about graphical fidelity and neither do the majority of their fans. I think they will bring something new to the table with their next handheld. The question remains if it is a gimmick or real innovation but they definitely won't just make a new console for the sake of upgrading the graphics.
 

Roufianos

Member
Nah it doesn't need to, I can't see the Deck achieving any mainstream success. Most people won't see it as a point of comparison.

And I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it isn't knowing Nintendo.
 

TLZ

Banned
I hope so. If it can be done now at 399, surely Nintendo can do it in 2 years time at 349.
 

Quasicat

Member
They and Nvidia know that they have a great thing going when it comes to a partnership. I would imagine that they will just drop whatever current iteration of chip that Nvidia has for their Shield into their next console and be done with it.
 

Mister Wolf

Member
I wouldn't be surprised. Nvidia is simply better than AMD. For all we know they could be designing a custom APU right now.
 

Rikkori

Member
Nintendo buyers proved they will put up with shit hardware & high prices, so why would Nintendo nuke their own margins? Steam Deck addresses a different audience altogether.
 

Holammer

Member
I don't think the Deck itself will change the strategy much, BUT it needs to be on PS4+ level, otherwise it won't be possible to port anything old-gen or scale down PS5/XsX games.
 

MrA

Banned
They and Nvidia know that they have a great thing going when it comes to a partnership. I would imagine that they will just drop whatever current iteration of chip that Nvidia has for their Shield into their next console and be done with it.
Tegra orin has 8x the core count as tegra x1, so if nintendo can use that as the next chip with clocks similar to the switch it will have. No problem exceeding ps4 docked, cpu should be better too, memory bandwidth is where trouble might exist
 

JimboJones

Member
Has to be within spitting distance, but it's interesting to see Valve get that price point with the tech available now, I don't think it would be unreasonable for Nintendo to get something like that in 2 or 3 years time.

I do wonder what they will do with storage though, I hope they go a bit faster than the eMMC but then that my might mean we will need to install card games to an nvme drive which I don't think Nintendo will go down that route.
 
For it to be a raging success like the Switch? Probably, but not likely. It will need to be more powerful though. I think that we need to know how people like the Steam Deck, tbh.
 

99Luffy

Banned
Much more so and it has nothing to do with the deck existing. The switch was the biggest graphics upgrade between two Nintendo handheld generations, and it still has to target console gaming. Meaning the next switch has to target 4K aswell.
And for handheld mode the switch 2 needs to go 1080p at least imo.
 

Silver Wattle

Gold Member
I could imagine seeing a switch successor using a 5nm AMD APU, 4c/8t + 10CU on 5nm @10-20W(higher draw only in docked mode), 2023ish.
Fun to think about, but this is Nintendo, the kings of underdelivering.
 

Coolwhhip

Neophyte
Kids wont be able to hold up the steam deck, only half kidding. It needs to stay light weight, so not happening.
 

FStubbs

Member
Has to be within spitting distance, but it's interesting to see Valve get that price point with the tech available now, I don't think it would be unreasonable for Nintendo to get something like that in 2 or 3 years time.

I do wonder what they will do with storage though, I hope they go a bit faster than the eMMC but then that my might mean we will need to install card games to an nvme drive which I don't think Nintendo will go down that route.
Do we know if Valve is making a profit on the Deck or taking a slight hit?

Also, I think the odds increase the longer the Switch lasts. Right now it would be nowhere near the Deck. I think non-Apple ARM chips aren't even PS4 level yet.
 

FStubbs

Member
I could imagine seeing a switch successor using a 5nm AMD APU, 4c/8t + 10CU on 5nm @10-20W(higher draw only in docked mode), 2023ish.
Fun to think about, but this is Nintendo, the kings of underdelivering.
Nintendo is pretty much dependent on what nVidia provides them, barring nVidia getting price greedy - but I doubt it since one of the reasons nVidia wanted the Nintendo partnership was to have an entry in the console space. From nVidia's standpoint, Steamdeck going AMD is just a little more motivation for them to maintain that relationship with Nintendo.
 

rnlval

Member
Just thinking out loud really. I was bummed the only bump for the Switch is the OLED and it's really not worth buying the new model. I haven't bit on a Deck but I've been looking at the specs, price point and wondering how this will effect whatever NIntendo do next. The Switch was basically detaching the gamepad from the Wii U and providing a dock for power boost. Obviously the current Switch obviously has the upper hand on battery, weight while the Deck has the upper hand in raw power.

ADRw2gi.png


Base deck is about £50 dearer than Switch launch I think.

If Nintendo launch at around the same price point do they have to get closer to these specs or can they be happy just delivering something that sits at the power of the original Xbox One and the Deck being more representative of the original PS4? Do people actually care if they are getting a new Mario/Zelda etc.?

I'll be honest I find some Switch games really needing more power, not necessarily for the art or game but certainly for some of that post processing that makes some games a lot uglier than they should be. If they retail something that's still a clear way behind the Deck, surely they have to make it cheaper? Whci is great for us. Or will they just price at the point they want and let the games validate the expense/power shortfall?
Memory bandwidth

Switch: 25.6 GB/s

Deck: 88 GB/s
 

Astral Dog

Member
No guess how it will compare to Deck tech wise, what im sure is that Nintendo and Nvidia will release a much more powerful next gen Switch with some neat tricks and games should look amazing on it 👌

Keep in mind Nintendo has other priorities as well, such as mass market friendly price, smaller size (than Deck) and battery life(if og Switch was bad enough at 3 hour minimum Deck is gonna look even worse at 2)as long as you don't expect something stupid like a handheld PS5 you will be fine

I also don't expect many configurations at launch, Nintendo keep it simple with one base model at launch and that worked well
 
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cireza

Banned
Of course not. It doesn't need anything as it is a Nintendo console.

It simply needs to run a sequel of every single of their key franchises, even if it is as powerful as the N64. That's all there is to it.
 

NahaNago

Member
It seems about as powerful as I expected the next switch to be but simply 2 years early. I was hoping the switch 2 would be at least powerful as the ps4 but would have preferred slightly weaker than the xbox one series s so it could get ports of everything.
 

spons

Gold Member
I don't know whether it should be, all I know is that it won't be. They'll stick to ARM even if it would cost them $$$ as they try to get Nvidia to make a new mobile SoC. Right now AMD's solution is vastly superior, regardless of what benchmark numbers appear on your latest smartphone. It's all hogwash.
 

WellSheet

Member
This may sound stupid to just be realizing now…

but

The more I I think about Ninty and their cost choices the more I realize they basically ask people to pay a premium for access to their catalog - and that extends beyond keeping mostly all of their 1st party
games at top-shelf pricing for longer than everyone else - they price access to their console as such for the same reason. Sony has a similar approach, though not nearly as ridiculous.

nintendo gets away with it because…it’s facking Nintendo. So, they could make something less powerful charge the same or more and people will still clamber to it.

that being said, I hope the Steam Deck really disrupts things
 

ZywyPL

Banned
No. The thing is, people who want a portabke PS4/XB1 handheld aren't interested in Nintendo to begin with, and vice versa, Nintendo doesn't target that audience. A better looking, 60FPS Nintendo games would've been nice, but Nintendo has absolutely zero reasons to deliver it, especially financial ones. And after Steam Deck reveal, people should already give Nintendo a rest, you want aportable AAA machine, Steam has you covered.
 

Dream-Knife

Banned
No. But I do think that the steam deck will take some steam (no pun intended) from the switch successor. That is assuming it doesn't do anything new, but I think the next switch will be a vr hybrid.

Switch 2 will likely not be as popular as the switch. I also think Xbox will win this gen in the second half.
 
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