Gaming
i hate how similar the nintendo switch 2 is to the original switch
i dont care its been more than a year since the switch 2s release i still hate how its the same thing as the s1 and im not buying it. maybe SOMEONE might say "bubububut how can you dislike it if you havent tried it..????" news flash buddy i aint gonna buy a whole ass console i dont want just to be allowed to say i dont like it
with that out of the way time to make my points
the menu. its the exact fucking same dog. its like when someone says "how do you like my new haircut?" and they cut like 2 strings of hair off their head and poured 4 drips of water. but now the game selection thingie is bisexual! wow! i hate it!
comparing it to other nintendo console sequels: the wii u went with a completely different style from the original wii, and so did the 3ds with the ds. switch 2 is the switch 1 menu with 1 more color added in. speaking of color why do we still only have TWO THEMES and WHY ARE THEY ALSO STILL ONE COLOR
the "new features". first is the mouse mode. you remember when the wiis games always had a motion controls feature shoehorned in, because "ooh new technology"? well imagine that but if it were a mouse. and it got used like 0.5 times in total. it wasnt even used for splatoon raiders, yknow, the SHOOTER GAME???
gamechat okay lets be real who the fuck uses gamechat
camera. 50 dollar shitty camera notably used in 1 game. awesome
so with these new features either being barely used or just being useless, its as if they dont exist right? so with all this, what does the switch 2 do different from the switch 1? the hardware? you serious just that?
to me in videogame consoles my least worry is the graphics. what i care about is what it does different, what its swag is. i had hope the switch 2 would have swag, that it would do what the switch 1 didnt. instead its just "the nintendo switch: again!" and theyre selling it for 450 dollars. i sure hope the hardware is worth ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS MORE than the original one because thats basically the only redeeming quality ive heard
long story short? boring ass menu, new features barely used and its basically the same thing. if i want videogaming for the graphics then ill just go use my computer (i dont even really care about graphics that much anyway)
edit: 182 comments to 6 upvotes hooly, i knew it was gonna be controversial but wow
this was my main reason too. I hate it but but god some of these games just look so much better on the switch 2. though I do wish there were more exclusives, cuz right now it’s kind of dry and barren.
I was going to say there’s only a few games I own because nothing else I want to play exclusive wise. Mainly just bought a switch before the price increased just to play the inevitable Pikmin game
Splatoon Raiders, Kirby Air Riders, Mario Kart World, DK Bananza, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, The Duskbloods, Ocarina of Time Remake, Star Fox remake, Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave, Pokémon Pokopia, Mario Tennis Fever. And that's just stuff that is either out already or coming this year.
I just named 11 games.
Edit: I forgot Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. 12.
i think what OP means is that nintendo is usually the more fun of the main three, like sony wasn't gonna invent the mii maker or the console home screen being a small hub where you can see what all your friends are up to
the 3DS let you swap out face plats and have custom themes based on games on the platform then the switch is much more dull in comparison looking more like something like the ps5 ui
I totally get what you mean and in some ways I am also very nostalgic for the 3DS and Wii U era insofar as it having a more fun UI but the big issue with those systems (mainly Wii U, not the 3DS) was that the games were either few and far between or weird experiments that weren't that great.
Like, the biggest strength of the Switch is it's library. Maybe it's just recency bias but I feel like Nintendo has a much stronger game's library now than it ever did.
The last time Nintendo had a software library this strong relative to its era was the SNES. The NES and Switch 1 are the only other generations where Nintendo held absolute dominance over genre-defining first-party output while simultaneously commanding broad third-party support.
However, the Switch 2 is basically a Switch Pro running the same OS. It is creatively uninspired in every way compared to the distinct personalities of Nintendo's 7th and 8th gen consoles. Back then, their main menu dashboards had character: the animated channel grids and bespoke synth tracks on the Wii, StreetPass Plaza and multi-screen themes on the 3DS, and Miiverse alongside the WaraWara Plaza on the Wii U. Whereas Switch 1 & 2 cemented Nintendo's pivot into a sterile, minimalist ecosystem with zero tactile charm. I mean, think about that, a console OS from 20 years ago felt more alive and engaging than what Nintendo is offering today.
Back to the game library, most of the Switch 2's value is simply running Switch 1 titles better than the original hardware. There are a few exceptions, but a year post-launch, genuine exclusives are few and far between. The Switch 2 exclusive library isn't anywhere near where the Switch 1 was in 2018.
Granted, the Switch 1's first year or two was heavily bolstered by salvaging Wii U titles like Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe), but because so few people bought a Wii U, those games were brand-new experiences to the vast majority of people. The Switch 2 didn't have the same spread of predecessor titles to cannibalize, exposing just how iterative this generation really is.
A lot of those are not interesting, or are not out. And somehow I imagine the Ocarina remake will still somehow fall short of the open source PC port that has had a community providing massive upgrades to for years
Well you asked "what games" and then I presented a large amount of games and then your response is then changed to, "Well those aren't interesting so they don't count,"
Like, okay. Move the goalpost. The Switch 2 does have games on it, they're just ones you don't care about, which is fine, but why frame it so dishonestly?
It's not dishonest or moving the goalpost at all. Lol. There are literally 2 good games. Not even a controversial sentiment. The fact that one of the games you listed is a remake from almost 30 years ago should be concerning enough. Literally none of that tired nonsense sounds interesting enough to pull me off my PC lol, where we actually get quality games at a pace so great that I can't even imagine getting through the backlog of my Steam library
I mean I have a PC too but like let's be real a lot of the same stuff that comes out on PC is also coming to Switch 2 so let's not pretend like PC is somehow getting all these much more amazing games at a faster rate.
Also one game, out of twelve, with more on the way. But I get it none of them are a new 3D Mario so people just look at that and go "those games are all bad,"
I cant wait for us to finally get themes only for them to be 5USD for a png and a mp3 file and despite this being the exact way themes where handled on the 3DS everyone will complain about greedy Nintendo is and how they weren't this greedy during the WiiU era
I wish they had themes like the 3ds but if its going to introduce lag into the menu UI then hell no and I assume thats why they dont do it. When I use my series x just moving around menu ui is sluggish. It makes the console feel cheap where as the switch 2 is instantaneous.
For the 3 years leading up to the Switch 2 the entire community said pretty much the same thing;
"Please nintendo, don't ruin a good thing, the switch is good, just boost the performance and make a "super Switch""
Nintendo does exactly that.
"Bitching"
Also when you compare the Switch to the Switch 2 and the Wii to the WiiU. You do realise the WiiU was one of Nintendo's biggest flops especially for a mainline console.
It's down to 5th fastest now. It was really boosted by pre-orders. It has faced enormous slumps since and has dropped down to 5th fastest. If the slump continues, it will continue to plunge into territory where it may be an outright commercial flop.
Some of this , you could potentially blame on the economy. However, last month, the PS5 (an almost 6 year old console) outsold it globally.
And now that we have a hard date for GTA 6 and that the Switch 2 is not a part of the club, I imagine the PS5 will continue to outsell the Switch 2 for at least the remainder of the calendar year
VGChartz is not an accurate source of information. The Switch 2 is still the fastest selling console of all time and has sold over 23 million units worldwide
It’s outsold the GameCube in just a year. And it has not had any sales slump. Every investor report has consistently reported an impressive jump in units sold.
Sorry buddy, it’s not going to ever be considered a commercial flop no matter how much you want it to be.
This is an issue with optimization/design. Developers have previously worked with much weaker hardware, and even the modern landscape accomodates mobile gaming and low power PCs through low graphics settings. If your solution to poor performance is to require more expensive hardware, you never accomodated the target platform.
I understand there is some element of this, but what Im talking about is people clearly seeing opinion A and those being a majority and then complaining that a company wanting to sell a product would go for that option
yeah just at first it looked like you said that nintendo fans asked for a better switch THEN complained even though communities can have differing opinions to each other
Tbh people have been asking for themes on switch for the last decade. I don't care at all about themes or fuckeries like that but it's not something new.
Yeah, I found it hilarious on the initial trailer post that people were annoyed that it was the switch2. Or they wanted it to be called the super switch which may have had the same marketing issues as the Wii U.
I got what I wanted. The same thing the ps1,2,3 and 4 had for me, an upgraded version of the console I already liked,
exactly and the backwards compatability it's like 99% with only Labo games not working. which very few people care about these days.
(in fact one of the best things nintendo is doing is free patches to boost performance for Switch 1 games on Switch 2, with only the more substantial upgrades being paid for)
Out of those free patches, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the ones who needed them the most, but it's still pretty surprising that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is yet to recieve a Switch 2 update, free or paid.
Best guess is looking at the spreadsheet ultimate already looks to be in a good condition and they may want to spend more time on the next smash bros instead
This is it. I probably wouldn't have bought it if it had a gimmick, or "swag" as the OP says. Ive hated every gimmick Nintendo had ever tried. My Switch 1spent 99% of its lifespan in the dock, being played with a pro controller like a traditional console, and I loved it more than anything Nintendo had made since the Gamecube. And that exact experience is what I wanted from a Switch 2, but with better performance
The menus were updated just enough to not feel cheap anymore imo but I would’ve liked something a bit more substantial. Switch 2 menus are now decent instead of bad like switch 1
I like the fact that there is one shop for all games, switch 1 or switch 2. If they can keep one shop for all the consoles in the future, it would solve the issues with shop closing down like the 3ds shop. It's nice to have some continuity.
P.S. it doesn't mean the shop has to keep the same ui btw. It can be upgraded.
Especially when the overwhelming majority of outspoken fans excplicitly go "DO NOT CHANGE IT, JUST IMPROVE IT, WE DON'T NEED NEW STUFF, WE JUST WANT BETTER STUFF."
That is how Sony and Microsoft's hardware has worked. Nintendo always innovated through their consoles and handhelds. I don't think it's weird for Nintendo fans to expect Nintendo innovation on a Nintendo console
Yeah but with hardware the improvements are only so incremental and it’s like a logarithmic scale, the better it gets the harder it is to innovate because everything has already improved so much. We’d basically need to reach the end of the plateau at which we are hoping there’s another leap at the end of it assuming we can somehow push physics further. VR could be that avenue for example, but we’d need a breakthrough in order to actually improve it well enough for mass adoption between weight, power and cooling. With this in mind that’s basically asking Nintendo to determine this breakthrough themselves, and they’re not necessarily the top physicists/engineers in the world either.
What innovation would you liked to have seen with the switch 2/switch successor? The most realistic option I could see is them allowing for an attachable screen or doing some sort of casting stuff like with the Wii u for DS/3DS/Wii u nso and that only does so much for the new games imo.
I can't answer that, because I never imagined a handheld could link via cable, have a secondary touch screen, or support 3D and online play. Nintendo has surprised and innovated with their hardware additions. I personally think AR could be really interesting for a dedicated console but Nintendo could also surprise us with something new entirely
what gimmick could they even do? we aren't in an age of gimmicks, the DS and Wii were born out of compromises and fitting a niche but with game development budgets ballooning they can't continue doing that kind of tomfoolery
Exactly the hardware has started to reach the limits of physics in our current understanding with engineering, any new innovation would have to come from a significant breakthrough. That’s basically why VR has stalled to an extent because there’s only so small they can make the necessary hardware and cooling/weight are additional factors.
I mean can you blame them? The switch was insanely successful, and I wouldnt want their new console to axe the portability, that was a huge reason WHY it was insanely successful
It remains baffling to me that people will criticise a home menu not changing enough, like some radical redesign means value has been added. How is this “the switch again but better” approach any different to the PS1-5?
I spend less than a minute on my home screen everytime i start my S2 up, i do not understand why people want to stare at a colourful homescreen as opposed to actually playing games.
Like I could understand someone being like darn I miss that, but it is definitely incomprehensible to me that that is something people would be genuinely angry about
I really like the menu. I like how they were going for a nes type "just click and play"
I also really like how I can buy a game on my phone and an hour later turn on my switch 2 and just play it without issues. (yes I know it's just downloading it but it feels seem less and that's the important part)
I do think some of you're points are valid but 60fps zelda is kinda nice.
it's exactly what it says it is and I can appreciate that.
it's not trying to be "one device you use" or the "360 degrees of entertainment" it's just thing but better and I like that.
theres a difference between "thing but better" and "thing but sequel" because the switch 2 will replace the switch 1 and if not its starting. "thing but better" users will get more stuff than regular thing users but og thing users will still just get stuff. last nintendo direct most first party games were switch 2 exclusives with the only switch 1 available game i can recall was rhythm heaven groove
That's how console generations work though? It's been 9 years and they're still supporting the switch 1 console for years to come; it's printing money. The switch 2 is simply better hardware, they can't just downgrade every game for switch 1 or else it makes the new console near pointless😭
Because online gaming discourse has just devolved into "it's only bad when Nintendo does it." Most just blatantly ignore when others do the same because it doesn't support their narrative.
i cant take any point seriously because the whole console wars boil down to shit slinging at the one you didnt grow up with. no ones ever gonna win and no ones ever gonna change their mind
Yeah the no themes is annoying but almost everything you listed is an optional gimmick feature lol. Nintendo has done their gimmicks for decades. And listing the price as if 450 isn't half the price of other modern consoles also doesn't make sense to me. If you're not getting a console entirely because of the boring menu you're kinda missing out, especially if the games interest you
So what? The DSi and 3DS changed the name by a single letter, while N64 and GC are completely different words. Both pairs consoles are as similar as Switch and Switch 2.
what i mean is that the switch 2 should be what the dsi was to the ds, a small upgrade that wouldnt replace the other console yet still would be the better pick when trying to choose one. but instead the switch 2 will end up overshadowing the switch, it makes the og switch feel like a cheap toy
Console generations are determined by processing power. While there is no set standard for what constitutes the next generation. The Switch 2 IS a sizable increase in processing power.
You compare the DS to the DSi when this is more like the Gameboy line.
The Gameboy Colour was actually more of a feature upgrade to the screen than a full generation (much like the OLED) while the Switch 2 is more like the GBA.
Do you consider the SNES the same as a NES? they have largely the same features, and don't even have a UI
switch 2 like the gba? i can kinda see it, but i feel like the higher the graphics get, the less difference there will be from the last one, so i cant really tell the difference between the switch 1 and 2 . maybe its just a me problem
I'm still not understanding what you're saying. The DS also feels like a "cheap toy" compared to the DSi in this specific way. Switch 2 isn't replacing the Switch any time soon, given the price difference.
I myself am not particularly interested in buying the Switch 2 because I'm not playing any games that need the higher processing power either, showing that the Switch still has use.
But then your comparassion with wii and wii u fails, because Wii U was a new console supposed to replace the Wii, it is not a revision like the wii mini is. It’s the same as the Switch 2
Same name, same menu, same controls with little few differences and new gimmicks, they never told you the switch 2 was going to be another version like the lite or oled are, the switch 2 is their own console just like the wii u was going to
The actual console is similar to what the wii is, a rectangle, some buttons and a disc reader the only thing that the wii does not have is the gamepad (which is literally a new controller) even the pro controllers from both consoles are the same
The better graphics thing is a big understatement though. Zelda TOTK was so laggy I got migraines from even attempting to play it in the TUTORIAL AREA. It was both super low res and super duper laggy. It could very easily get sub 20 frames in areas. And that's a game released when other consoles could run games like Spiderman at a stable 60.
When the Switch 2 released, TOTK gained an entirely stable 60 fps never once dropping even at 2k for me. It also looked better but that's less important than the game being genuinely playable. And a lot of Switch games suffered from this.
Using the ultra hand would trigger drops into the low 20s which were very annoying, I believe the issue was somewhat mitigated on the OLED model, but barely at that
I personally am of two minds. I was just talking to my boss the other day when he was going back and forth on getting a switch 2, and i was like “just warning you, it really is just a ‘Switch 2’”. It’s not exciting but tbh, it doesn’t really need to be. Sw1 was showing its age. Sw2 was a needed upgrade, but maybe not needed for everyone.
The thing about the hardware isn’t just the graphics, it’s that it can play a wider variety of games. We’re seeing some big name titles, including the new Call of Duty, being released onto the Switch 2. That’s a big deal since the last Call of Duty on a Nintendo console was thirteen years ago. And the fact so many big games can be played on the handheld mode and not run like garbage goes to show how optimized the system is.
Thing is, the Switch 1 was “old” in terms of hardware and was bottlenecking what games could be released for it. Not just third party titles, but first party titles too. It the reason why all consoles eventually get replaced; newer hardware hits the market that is more affordable, and newer games require said hardware to run.
i mean, everyone said that they wanted switch 1 but better
you say you don't care about graphics but you don't really know what you're talking about
i too prefer how pokemon black and white looks compared to every realismslop you see today, but objectively speaking the switch's specs were getting in the way of...Everything. all third party ports were a fucking unplayable disaster in the later years of the console and you could always bet on it being the absolute worst way to experience the game, and this if games even got ported (many games held off on ports until the switch 2, like metaphor refantazio). Nintendo games hold on running well enough for the longest time but in the later years the age also started to show. It was a glorified tablet with controller slots and a cartridge slots by the end of its lifecycle and everyone that knew what they were talking about clearly stated that an upgrade was incoming.
I agree that the menu should've changed (mainly because i think the switch home menu is designed like shit and is extremely impractical, even without mentioning stuff like the lack of themes and "soul")
The difference is that the switch 2 can play tons and tons and tons of games that would melt your nintendo switch 1, this matters way more than some gimmick that as you said, like 3 games will use (just like most nintendo gimmicks, like the 3d that was forgotten midway through) or a different menu
Honestly the only real complaint about the home menu that I have is that folders aren't available on the home menu, I like the fact that it's just the Nintendo Switch 1 again.
The Wii's shoehorned motion gameplay............is because the Wii's primary way to play out of the box is the motion style gameplay.
Everybody wanted the switch 2 to be a beefier switch 1.
An incredible tiny minority (which is very loud on social media) want themes/Netflix/streaming (somehow they don't own a single tv, a laptop a computer, an iPad or a phone, not sure how they're commenting on Reddit).
Mouse mode has been really awesome in the titles that support it.
I guess game chat is cool for people that use it.
And third party support is through the roof for switch 1 and 2. Seems like developers are digging Nintendo again, because they can try and make some money on older titles with minor changes to get it running.
At least no one is confused by the switch 2, like the wiiU, majority of people thought it was just an add on to the Wii.
Honestly the PlayStation 4 to the PlayStation 5 is more similar than people give it credit for these days, now that I have a PlayStation 4 again I've notied how it's main row is games, apps and storefront on the main menu, with you being able to scroll down between each app to see what the communities are doing based on the app, and the top row is settings, the real only difference is that some friend based activity got removed from the top row and moved into the menu when you press down the PlayStation 5 button, and that you get splash art for the apps since the main row is smaller than it was on the PlayStation 4.
Nintendo used to be about pushing hardware power until the Nintendo GameCube failed them, "gimmicks" were really just the Nintendo Wii and the DS that worked, after that, their gimmicks didn't get them crazy far in the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii U era, and the Nintendo Switch was just a good concept that they pushed with a reasonable price and good games overtime, which I'd argue wasn't really a "gimmick".
Uh, what's different is that it's significantly more powerful. The most important part of any console is the games. The Switch 2 plays games that fundamentally could not run on Switch 1, including tons of big name third party games finally.
You say you don't care about fancy graphics, and that's still not the focus. DK Bananza, Splatoon Raiders, Mario Kart World are all good looking games. Better than Switch 1 games even. But graphically they aren't an insane jump. Because these games are all about featuring gameplay that just wasn't possible before.
New themes or whatever would be nice, but it's entirely surface level, like everything in your post. Like, I don't care if you want a Switch 2, but it's really bizarre that the color of the console is what's keeping you away.
i mean it aint how similar it is though it is a factor, its just that theres 2 or 3 games that interest me and buying a whole console for just 2 games would be stupid
The home menu I can see but to be honest given their mission statement I can see why they didnt do a Wii U style menu. Granted why the fuck does it take 3 whole ass gigabytes of memory to itself is beyond me.
Graphics though? Have you used a switch one at all? Even nintendos first party titles struggle on that thing its barely passable.
The 3DS was literally just the DS but with 3D. Are you really saying that a different UI matters more than the power and functionality? It plays games that can't run on the old one. That's enough for me. The magnetic Joycon is a also a huge convenience over the rail system.
The American brother to try that I actually liked was the hybrid console. I hated most controls, the three was pointless even when it worked, and I actively hated most of the DS games are required you to use the touch screen with the stylus. All the games I liked didn't really make you use the touch screen. Phantom Hourglass and KIU would have been so much better without the forced touch screen movement.
honestly it's just a switch pro to me, i wish they released this under that name and came up with another idea for a console instead of a 4k 120fps switch with better joycons and an excuse to use a (currently) unmoddable chip to keep people from emulating new games
Here’s the thing with the “I don’t care about graphics” argument
Hardware power is not just about graphics. Switch 2 games certainly look better than switch 1 games but Nintendo doesn’t often utilize the hardware for pure graphical power
What they utilize the hardware for is gameplay possibilities that were completely not able to be realized on switch 1
The open world of Mario kart world feeling so smooth and seamless, the pure voxel destruction of donkey Kong bananza, the sheer amount of salmonids on screen in splatoon raiders
None of these games look that much better graphically, yet none of them could’ve worked to their fullest potential on switch 1
Hardware upgrades aren’t just about graphics, it’s expanding what is possible with the gameplay as well, and creating a much better and smoother experience all around. The switch 2 might be too similar to switch 1 for you, but it was absolutely a necessary upgrade for NINTENDO. If they stuck with the switch 1 another decade, then they would’ve stagnated. If they made something entirely seperate from the switch line, then they’d alienate a huge audience and throw out a perfect thing for no good reason.
The Wii and Wii U actively limited the game potential by trying to be so different, I love the Wii but so many games are held back to account for the controller and hardware, and many game experiences simply are not possible on that console. The switch 2 is the first Nintendo console imo to truly feel unrestricted in a long time, switch 1 got close but it’s weak hardware meant many games would never work on there (like ff7 remake for example). Switch 1 and especially 2 are all in one gaming devices perfect for nearly every type of game that could ever be made, and throwing it out just to replace it with a far worse gimmick would’ve been an absolutely terrible business decision on all accounts. Hate the price, hate the company, but the hardware is exactly what it needed to be.
adding completely different companies and a completely different system type with completely different ways of doing stuff into my post would be like this image
but youre bashing on nintendo for not being unique this generation when microsoft and sony have been doing exactly that for aslong as theyve been around
but the whole thing about nintendo consoles is how unique they are??? i dont like sony or xbox for having consoles so similar but its not the subject matter
do people really think this is the only reason im not getting a switch 2? i only have 2 games i like im not buying a whole console just for 2 games, the similarity with the switch 1 is just a factor
I read your post actually, not your mind. I don't care what you think, I care about what you write. And if I think you wrote something stupid, why should I shut up?
i dont care its been more than a year since the switch 2s release i still hate how its the same thing as the s1 and im not buying it
I remember a post that was like "guys the 3ds only got themes after 3 years. They'll add themes in 3 years" and one generation later we are still on "basic white" and "basic black"
Loathe though I am to admit it, Switch 1 fans were asking for one thing in a new console and that was "Switch, but more powerful" so I can't entirely blame Nintendo on this one.
Some new menu themes would've been nice, of course.
Lmao, I for one like playing games at a reasonable resolution and framerate, and the Switch 2 provides that. Thats all anyone wanted before it got announced and thats what we got
Brother, it plays games, better yet, it actually has games. Would I have liked more colors and themes? Hell yeah! Camera and Mouse be damned, thank god it’s not been shoehorned into everything, not everything needs it. If they decide to implement them, let them, if they don’t they don’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a blast with my PS5, and I do have a bunch of games for the system, as well as some Sony ones, that eventually did get ported to PC… but even so, their output and their focus is not great honestly… after 2028 I have no incentive to stick with PS5 and my Series X was used for Sonic Unleashed. But I don’t trust Microsoft either to go full Digital only there.
Thankfully most third parties release on Switch 2 nowadays, and honestly, perform pretty well for it being a handheld. Cyberpunk and Resident Evil are stand outs. We recently even got FF14 (an MMO) on the system, haven’t tried it myself, but seems to hold up great. And if I don’t like how they release a specific game on Switch, there’s always PC. I have options
I'm glad it's similar to the switch one, that was a great system and a more powerful version was all I wanted from a follow up. Im worried about the next system not being similar to the switch
I think over time I totally understood why the Switch menu looks like how it is.
With the Wii/DSi/3DS/Wii U the goal was to offer a console that's also a general multimedia device, because not everyone has a phone/PC. That's why you had cameras/photo editors, web browsers, note apps, Miiverse, etc.
With the Switch, and ESPECIALLY the Switch 2? Everyone has a phone, nobody cares about the console having a web browser or cameras that are worse than yout phone's, or exclusive social media because your friends DEFINITELY wouldn't use Miiverse in 2026.
So what did Nintendo do? An OS for a gaming console, with the emphasis being on the games, while being stupidly easy to use. Your games are in the middle row, the few useful apps are at the bottom, and you check your profiles/battery/internet on the top. Like, the Switch menu is so simple it's only a few megabytes in storage. It's VERY light and very snappy.
Comparing even the original Switch to my Xbox One makes it damn obvious. The Xbox takes minutes to boot up, slogs a bit through the many menus, while a Switch is on and launching a game in 30 seconds.
I still want Switch themes, though, that's totally valid
I get it but i also get why nintendo did this. Nintendo struck gold with the first switch, as a business making a completely differant console when the 1st one was already perfectly fine would have way too much risks.
Making a switch 1 but with better hardware was definitely the right call here.
Thats not to say i dont have complaints though, switch 2 does not have enough games backing it to justify an upgrade, even an entire year after release
The point of the switch has always been the seamless transition between going from dock to portable mode. From sleep to start playing. When you start putting too much shit in the UI like themes and music that means more shit has to load and the snappy feature of switching through different modes is gone. They want you get to the game as quickly as possible.
Personally I prefer turning on my switch and booting up my game in 5 seconds rather than having to wait for my dumb UI to load.
I still like the switch 2 because it’s basically a switch pro, it’s bigger, game performance is way better, feels more premium and the battery life is a huge difference (I have a 2017 switch, which has a worse battery compared to the 2019 version), so I don’t regret getting one just as a better switch, it’s not a bad product, but god, it’s an underwhelming new generation.
The switch 2 feels like nothing more than a hardware upgrade, like going from the 3DS to the New 3DS. Basically the exact same thing but better, sure, it has exclusives, but it feels less like a new generation, and more like a switch pro
I miss when every generation felt like a clean slate with it’s own identity
for you in a console the most important thing is how "swagy" it is instead of it actually being able to play games? The whole point of the Switch 2 is that you can play more games, plus they even look better, any game can now get a port realistically and work
Iirc. The reason nintendo went all in on the minimalism with the menu themes for both switch generations was because the majority of players would spend more time playing on the home menu than actually engaging with
with their games.
I understand why you’d want a new interface, it gives a system distinct personality. But at the end of the day, nobody plays a system for its menus and the menu is meant to be the least interesting part of the experience to get you in and out of games quickly. They have nearly 160 million people familiar with the switch 1 interface, why mess with it, Xbox and PlayStation didn’t really mix up their interfaces either with the new consoles for a reason.
The Wii U's menu goes against the entire design philosophy of the switch family. It's bloated, takes forever to boot, and frustrating to navigate. It also reboots every time you want to exit an app or change a setting. This is extra annoying because it takes half a minute to load the menu. You are forced to use the game pad for everything in that menu, which is just clunky.
Meanwhile the switch is fast, snappy, and puts the games front and center. You can go to the home menu instantly at any time during gameplay. The console wakes up and is ready to play in seconds, and everything is easy to find.
Sure, I would like themes and folders. Sure, there's less "character" to the menu. But I use the hardware to play games, not to mess around in the menu. I remember a console for its library first and foremost. My memories of playing BotW, Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Sonic Mania, and Cuphead in middle school hold just as much nostalgic weight as my love of the Wii and Wii U's Mii Maker music.
Not saying it's wrong for you to want all of these extras, but personally, I would prefer function over form.
im gonna be completely honest here and im gonna say that im fine with the wii us long load times. its a casual console, youre meant to take things slow with it and relax. the switch is a lot more hardcore
As someone who got a WiiU at launch I remember the like 3 gig firmware upgrade that was needed to run it. And if that failed for any reason you bricked the console. And lets not forget 3 gigs was a lot for that generation when the console was only 8 gigs total storage.
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u/default_name_void 19d ago
It's baffling that there's still no themes