Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal felt like a lightning bolt delivered straight from Zeus himself for everyone except, well, most people. In fact, since the console – which fans have spent years clamoring for – looks so much like its predecessor, some analysts predict it’ll have trouble appealing to a general audience.
“I can imagine ‘normies’ being a bit confused,” gaming industry consultant Serkan Toto tells GamesRadar+. “The device is bigger than the original Switch, but not comically large. The form factor, button layout, and overall design are very similar to Switch 1, so I can imagine issues arising when potential mainstream buyers look at the new device.”
I think people are familiar with numbers
Unlike Microsoft’s Xbox division
What’s there not to understand? It’s a better version of the first one. Isn’t this what console makers have been doing since the beginning of time? Wii U was weird with the screen on the controller and everything. None of that with Switch 2. Just more of what made it good in the first place.
If the graphics are a good enough upgrade I might pick one up. My current switch only gets used when a new Zelda game comes out (or I get nostalgic for some bowling)
Bullshit
Some analysts are morons. The reason the Wii U failed was because it wasn’t clear that it was a successor console, and not just a weird add-on.
People have been conditioned to understand numerical console increases for over two decades now thanks to the PlayStation.
The reason the Wii U failed wasn’t because of its name. Sure, it didn’t help the slightest but Nintendo’s console iterations have struggled in the past because they hardly bring anything new. The Wii U brought literally just a gamepad (and stronger hardware, though marketing focused on the gamepad). Why pay so much for an incremental upgrade? The same fate nearly occured to the 3DS:
The Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan on February 26, 2011, and worldwide beginning the next month.[10][11] Less than six months after launch, Nintendo announced a significant price reduction from US$249.99 to US$169.99 amid disappointing launch sales.
After all, why pay money just for a 3D effect? Without continued support and selling at a loss, the 3DS would have bombed.
By the way, the Xbox One - despite its similary stupid name - never faced the same issues as the Wii U because people actually wanted it.
If gamers can navigate Xbox -> Xbox 360 -> Xbox One -> Xbox X -> Xbox S, I think they can figure out Switch 2.
Heh, glad you mentioned Xbox - they’re a perfect example of consistent inconsistency! 🤣
Windows 7 8 9(lol) 10 11
Mac OS X 11 12 13 14 15
People have been conditioned to understand numerical console increases for over two decades now thanks to the PlayStation.
And they even managed to do it while Microsoft counted to potato.
Even if they don’t buy consoles, it’s how most thing works, phones are an obvious example. iPhone 14 comes after iPhone 13, but iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are just versions of 14.
Also the touch component and motion controls were something of a turnoff for adults who bought previous generations.
I can verify that. I am a video game fan, though don’t always follow everything that closely. I remember seeing Wii U for sale and not really understanding what it was. It seemed like just a Wii with a weird controller.
I had a coworker who was convinced that the whole thing was a scam. That it was just an upgraded Wii with a weird controller. So he went out and got a secondhand Wii U console. Just the console. Gave it to his kids for Xmas. Got mad when it didn’t work. Eventually got a gamepad (and maybe the power brick? I don’t remember if it’s cross compatible) and ended up spending more than buying it new.
I’m pretty sure even he can follow Switch -> Switch 2.
I find myself feeling bad for a lot of people’s kids and the ones in this story are no exception.
I can see people buying used without a dock and getting mad the old one won’t work. But then there’s usb-c so you can at least charge I for handheld;)
This bozo thinks it’s just gonna be a picture of the switch on the box instead of a huge mario kart graphic. Kids will ask for switch 2 and parents will buy switch 2. That’s the beginning and end of the decision making on getting it. It’s gonna be wildly sold out no matter how many Nintendo can get to retailers.
I’m interested to see how it lands. My family have zero interest as they’re happy with there switches, but as a techy person I’m really keen for the switch to get some much needed upgrades under the holds for the games progress sake. I suspect the first party launches that aren’t available on OG switch will be the decoded for some.
Here are this guy’s other “predictions”
https://www.serkantoto.com/2025/01/10/global-game-business-2025/
Including stunning prognostications like this
Nintendo will not have enough consoles to sell Despite Nintendo’s pledge and best efforts, the new device will sell out very quickly and not be available for months in 2025. It will be even worse than 2017 when the Switch launched. Furthermore, the name will be Switch 2. I also expect deep price cuts for the original Switch in 2025.
Putting the “banal” in analyst.
🅱️analyst
The Switch 2 is very likely to struggle, but this consultant’s reasoning is dumb as fuck, and belittlies average gamers as ‘normies’. His analysis of why it will struggle, and why the WiiU failed is off base. The average person doesn’t look at the PS5 and PS4 and go “but why, they look the same.”, they understand that its the updated version with imrpovements.
Nintendo is going to struggle due to:
- Handheld PC alternatives that outperform and have much larger game libraries for similar cost.
- Pissing off the emulation crowd
- Pissing off fans for fan project shutdowns
- Pissing off fans of Smash Bros Melee
- Joycon drift denial
- Stealing fan art.
- Failing to adapt to a rapidly changing gaming market.
- 500 other things.
Nintendo might struggle with a percentage of the hard-core gaming community for those reasons, but the general public does not care about (or is aware of) any of those things. Little Timmy and his parents have no fucking clue what a Yuzu is.
Those concerns are so super niche, I doubt they’ll be a big problem for Nintendo. I know it may not seem that way, but handheld PCs are not a widespread product.
Yet. There is a ton of models coming out, some more shown army CES, and the SteamOS news shows the direction of what low end gaming laptops are going to become over the next 2-5 years.
As an indsutry insider, I there is lots of people discussing this and more studios and publishers starting to look into the cost/benefit analysis of getting Steamdeck Verified.
Nintendo has been staunchly anti-emulation since even before the N64 launched, and it hasn’t hurt them yet.
I’m a proud Steam Deck owner, and I’ll be the first to admit that I predominantly use it to emulate my old games collection (PS1-3 & PSP), plus SNES out of sheer spite at Nintendo.
However, my relatively tech-savvy relatives (even those in their 20s), baulk at something as complex as SteamOS.
I think Nintendo’s safe for at least one more console generation, before the normies get on the portable-PC wagon.
Your first point hit the mark, but boy did the rest drop off quick.
Bro like maybe 5 people care about anything you listed and 4 of them will still buy the switch 2
Yep. Hardly any of that registers as a blip on the mass market. People have been calling for Nintendo to give up on hardware and just make games for other platforms for decades. Then the DS line happened. And then the Wii. And then the Switch. Each one pushed the boundaries of what the gaming space could be, despite the spec nerds raging at the lack of horsepower.
Nintendo does a lot of shady shit, but once Sega exited the market they were the only true gaming company left in the console space. PlayStation? Xbox? Just a small part of larger corporate empires.
I’m fucking thrilled that Steam picked up on the hybrid format. Not everyone wants to screw around with maintaining a PC. I was in corporate IT for 25 years and want nothing to do with any of it anymore. Enormous PC game library, consolized experience, and a big push to Linux, all with the Deck? That’s awesome from every angle. It’s always good to have more options. And if they can sell a hundred million more units, Nintendo might start having a problem. Until then, I’m pretty sure they’re just going to continue to print money.
If “normies” are able to buy a Playstation 5 after having bought a PS4, 3, 2 and 1, Then I think Nintendo is going to be just fine.
Of all the things you can say about the Switch 2’s name, ‘confusing’ isn’t one of them.
Calling people “normies” as if Nintendo products and video games in general aren’t mass market items.
Ick.
The Wii U also suffered from it’s weak library of games, though. Yes, you could argue that was partially due to Nintendo pivoting away from it earlier due to the slow start which was, in part, caused by the confusion over the naming and marketing…but if Nintendo commits to the Switch 2 and releases more bangers from big franchises it will be a long-term success. The “gimmicks” of the Switch are the best assortion and implementation the company has ever delivered and it has an amazing library of games. There is no reason why the Switch 2 can’t deliver in those same areas (it already will with the retention of motion controls and portability).
If this was true the PlayStation 2, 3, 4 and 5 would have all failed.
The Apple IIe would never have caught on. Of course we all still use Windows 3.1 and do spreadsheets on Lotus 1-2-3 as we dont understand software generations either. /s
They did all look very different from their predecessors though, especially the ps1 to ps2 jump was quite significant in terms of design.
Dunno, to my parents all consoles did look like cardboard boxes in the shop. What did clue them in, however, was the big number written behind the name.
They’re all Nintendos anyway, what’s the difference?
Yeah that’s totally fair.
If parents weren’t confused by
Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One Xbox Series S/X
Then the number 2 should be just fine.
I mean, they were. I have personally heard from people that couldn’t be bothered to understand the Xbox SKUs for the possibility of buying one because of how horribly Microsoft names things.
I think the GB and DS Lineup was much more difficult.
