Cognition Dissemination: Backwards Improbability
Nintendo Switch development partners now have their hands on development kits for the next-generation Nintendo video game system, according to a report from VideoGamesChronicle (VGC). Details of the kit were bound to leak, because nearly every game development company has staffers with loose lips when it comes to new hardware. But few details are surprising.
The system will reportedly retain the Switch’s hybrid nature, expected given how well the current platform continues to sell. That’s also partly why Nintendo is targeting a release timeframe of the second quarter of 2024, the other reason being due to the company wanting to have a larger number of systems to sell in the launch window, contrary to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X after their launches. The system will also support physical copies of games in addition to offering digital versions.
The console, somewhat disappointingly, could come with an LCD screen instead of a beautiful OLED like the one included on the aptly-named Switch OLED. It’s understandable that Nintendo will want to keep the production costs and the system price lower, but it’s disappointing when you’ve had ample time to gaze at the beautiful OLED screen’s vivid colors. But it’s another unsurprising detail considering this is the same company that once released a DSi XL with beautifully-large screens, but went back to smaller ones for the 3DS at launch. I suspect that anyone used to the upgraded models will wait and hope that an OLED version will be provided in a quick timeframe for the new platform; by “anyone” there, I mean “me.”
There is one detail that made me raise my eyebrow, with a “what the hell man” exclamation under my breath:
“Other details, such as backwards compatibility support for Switch games (physical and digital), remains unclear. Nintendo has said it wants to convert as many of Switch’s 100m+ userbase as possible to its next system, although some third-party publishers are said to have expressed concern that legacy support for Switch games could negatively affect sales of next-gen titles.”
You’re kidding me. This even being a question is, to put it plainly, nonsense. Every single new console should have the ability to play the previous generation’s software, unless the circumstances around omitting the feature are understandable. It made sense when, for instance, the Nintendo Switch didn’t play 3DS games. The card sizes and spaces aren’t identical, and the former system more importantly did not retain the latter’s dual-screened setup. Switch not playing Wii U games was less understandable, particularly the digital titles, but chances are Nintendo likes for their platforms to have physical and digital software backwards compatibility. The consoles also had different chipsets from alternate manufacturers.
None of this will apply to the next-generation Switch platform, considering everything we know. Physical storage cards for the software haven’t significantly evolved since the first system launched in 2017, over six years ago. It’s also retaining the hybrid nature, though it’s not as if any game utilized switching between both gameplay styles as a feature. (Thank goodness for that, because that even sounds unintuitive.) I’m having trouble seeing why the new system can’t be backwards compatible with Switch games from a hardware perspective, considering reports that the system will still be running on Nvidia chips.
But two things make me concerned that it won’t be backwards compatible. Nintendo could be convinced by publisher demands that the system shouldn’t be able to play Switch games, because it could lower the sales of their potential remasters. It would be best for the user if the system could play Switch games with enhanced performance, similar to how several Xbox 360 games worked on Xbox One. (I’m using this comparison because of rumors that the system will be on par with PlayStation 4 in terms of power.) But of course publishers want to sell those games again. Nintendo might agree, too, considering they benefitted from selling ports of Wii U games on Switch. It was understandable here considering the Wii U’s poor hardware and software sales. It won’t be understandable for the next platform, with Switch sales were leaps and bounds higher.
Having backwards-compatible games would be great for preservation; but Nintendo doesn’t care about that, either. This is the company that deleted the digital archives for the Wii U and 3DS months ago, vanishing two important libraries into the digital void and making several games unavailable outside of piracy. It, sadly, won’t be a surprise if this happens to the Switch’s digital store in the future. But it would be nice to have the option to download, play, and keep the console’s digital games stored on the upcoming platform.
If someone asked me to bet on whether the new system will include backwards compatibility with Switch titles right this second, I would still bet on the feature being there. Too many prior Nintendo platforms have come with it for me to think they’ll stop offering it now, and if Nintendo wants to keep their promise to convert as many Switch owners to the next platform as possible, they’ll make doubly sure that it’s retained. But a small and cynical part of me can’t shake the potential of the console not having it, for slimy consumeristic reasons. Logic will ideally win out here, and not distilled greed.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
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Hey Geoff, it’s interesting there are some details leaking about the new switch. I’m sort of betting it might just be a “Switch pro”… maybe there will be some higher-power games that can run on the new hardware? I bet that a lot of games will be playable from switch, but kind of hard to know what will happen until it comes out?
I Have the feeling 2026 is actually when we could expect something big from them in terms of a new device (maybe a new kind of console).
In the nintendo FY22 annual report they are spending year-to year about 110M yen or ~ 84 million a year on R&D. However, I came across the detail they are spending 34,000 million yen ($255M USD so a quarter of a billion dollars) on a new R&D facility to be completed March 2025. That sort of sounds important since it’s enough cap-ex that seems unusual, and it’s not clear that is just for console development but does sound like the kind of cash to spend for something that’s significantly new (so wondering if the new console concepts can come from there). Of course it’s just a hypothesis
I do wonder just how big of a power leap this will be over the current platform. About PS4-level would be good enough for a successor coming next year, I think. But yeah, I certainly think it will just be an upgrade in the sense that it will play everything currently on Switch.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo had earlier plans for some kind of “Pro” system, but COVID and the supply chain issues got in the way. Though it’s not like Nintendo will ever come out and admit that anything like that happened.
My first thought upon reading this was “Wow, Nintendo’s manufacturing their own amusement park rides” for some reason, and I can’t explain why. There are a lot of mysteries here, and I hope we find out more about everything soon.
Haha, The part about manufacturing their own amusement rides! you could be right! they planned to spend capital on R&D facilities and also interestingly the production of molds (dont know if it’s for action figures or for gaming consoles). I’ll e-mail you a snip from the report. However I do feel like theme-park spending called “R&D” seems a bit off— however development is kind of a broad term, so we’ll see.
I’m curious like you about how big the leap is. Nintendo has definitely fallen into the pattern of being about 1Gen behind, PS4 power would be great like you said. I do like that many switch games have favorable loading times as well and hope that continues.
(there is a great audio book on audible (free as well) called Super Mario, discussing their console patterns that i’ll also suggest that explains why they always want to remain behind others in terms of computing/cutting edge power).
I was joking about that part with the R&D, but honestly, I’d love it if that turned out true. It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened on this blog. I do wonder what they’re seriously investing in, though.
Yeah, same, with the loading times. I’m not expecting this to be on par with the Steam Deck in terms of power (and price), but I do hope they have some kind of solid-state solution for quicker loading times
I’ll have to check out that Super Mario book, by the way. I don’t listen to audio books enough, and it would be good to start with this one.
I think the bigest difference with the Switch being unable to accommodate Wii U (digital) games was the wholesale change in architecture between the generations.
While Nintendo stuck with successively stronger PowerPC chips with ATI graphics for three consoles in a row from the Game Cube to the Wii U, Going to an NVIDIA ARM-based APU for the Switch meant everything that came before needed to be either rebuilt or emulated.
(This also means that the Wii U could have maintained Game Cube backwards compatibility had Nintendo wished to bother, though there would have been a few added expenses involved)
Yeah, I figured the internal hardware was different there. It was a similar situation to the PS3 going to the PS4, and the Xbox One from the 360 (at least at first). The Switch successor should really have it, or… I’m gonna make another blog complaining.
If not that, they are sure to do something else that’ll be content-worthy.
Oh, absolutely. They’re always doing something.