I've only barely touched a Switch 2 but it doesn't even feel like a new console.

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Poll of the Day » I've only barely touched a Switch 2 but it doesn't even feel like a new console.
fettster777
08/07/2025
03:17 PM
#1
I remember the generational leaps between PS1 and PS2, N64 and GC, PS2 to PS3 etc. They felt like whole new experiences.

Switch 2 doesn't feel like that AT ALL. It literally feels exactly the same as the Switch.
FrozenBananas
08/07/2025
03:18 PM
#2
:(
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Ogurisama
08/07/2025
03:19 PM
#3
Generational leaps are getting smaller and smaller with each Generation
http://cdn-android.apptap.com/img/870/mobi.colortrilogy.bitlink/267135850.png
https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/10/5/uv4r7nGyrE6ylt2lHGWpiQ2.gif
adjl
08/07/2025
03:34 PM
#4
Ogurisama posted...
Generational leaps are getting smaller and smaller with each Generation

Pretty much. We're at the point now where any of the consoles on the market could be "forever consoles," given the major diminishing returns on further efforts to make them more powerful.

In the Switch 2's case, it is a sizable power leap over the Switch 1 (the Switch could never have handled Donkey Kong), but that's less noticeable because the Switch was noticeably behind the power curve. The Switch 2 just brings it more in line, so rather than "I get something new and powerful" it's more a matter of "I'm playing a Switch but it's not so far behind now," which is much less noticeable than being ahead.
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faramir77
08/07/2025
03:43 PM
#5
adjl posted...
Pretty much. We're at the point now where any of the consoles on the market could be "forever consoles," given the major diminishing returns on further efforts to make them more powerful.

I've been advocating for this since the PS4 launched. Even that was a pretty minor improvement over the PS3.

They're still releasing games for the PS4, making me really wonder why the PS5 even exists. And yet despite this, Sony admitted in the last year that the PS5 is nearing the end of its life, which makes no sense given that it easily could be supported until the late 2030s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCtAUrZbUk
-- Defeating the Running Man of Ocarina of Time in a race since 01/17/2009. --
ReturnOfFa
08/07/2025
04:13 PM
#6
Feels like a generational leap to me. You could argue that the 'leap' is small, but calling it 'the same' doesn't seem accurate.
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Questionmarktarius
08/07/2025
04:17 PM
#7
faramir77 posted...
And yet despite this, Sony admitted in the last year that the PS5 is nearing the end of its life, which makes no sense given that it easily could be supported until the late 2030s.
The problem with the last couple generations of Xbox and Playstation, is that they are functionally PCs that are frozen in time. GPU advancement may be running up to the end of Moore's Law, but games keep getting more RAM and storage hungry anyway.
Of course, the upside of that, is that subsequent iterations should be indefinitely backwards-compatible, so long as they continue with x86.
adjl
08/07/2025
04:18 PM
#8
There is also the consideration that we're all 20-25 years older now than we were for the console leaps TC mentioned. Diminishing returns or no, that's inevitably going to mean a little less childlike wonder and excitement making it feel more significant.

Particularly with the Switch 2, I'm also still using a Switch 1 pro controller for everything, so the user experience end of things is virtually identical except when I'm playing handheld or tabletop (in which case I notice the larger form factor and improved stand).
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dragon504
08/07/2025
04:58 PM
#9
The current consoles aren't nearly powerful enough to be forever consoles. We've still got a ways to go to hit the graphical plateau and 8k resolution. I only care about the graphical plateau though, because I want them to have new focus on other technical limitations. Never seeing assets clip through each other again would be great. As for 8k, I remember reading that it would be enough more than enough resolution to do true to life images, so anything beyond that would essentially be superfluous.

As much as I'd like to see more focus on other aspects of gaming, as long as there are better visuals to chase, game companies will go after them, as they're the easiest way to say "this is better than the old stuff".
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faramir77
08/07/2025
05:04 PM
#10
dragon504 posted...
The current consoles aren't nearly powerful enough to be forever consoles. We've still got a ways to go to hit the graphical plateau and 8k resolution. I only care about the graphical plateau though, because I want them to have new focus on other technical limitations. Never seeing assets clip through each other again would be great. As for 8k, I remember reading that it would be enough more than enough resolution to do true to life images, so anything beyond that would essentially be superfluous.

As much as I'd like to see more focus on other aspects of gaming, as long as there are better visuals to chase, game companies will go after them, as they're the easiest way to say "this is better than the old stuff".

You're going to have a hard time finding anyone seriously upgrading a console for resolution. I doubt most people even own a 4K TV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCtAUrZbUk
-- Defeating the Running Man of Ocarina of Time in a race since 01/17/2009. --
adjl
08/07/2025
05:13 PM
#11
dragon504 posted...
We've still got a ways to go to hit the graphical plateau and 8k resolution.

I really couldn't care less about 4k resolution, let alone 8k. I've got a 1080p 60 Hz TV, and at no point have I felt any drive to replace it with something that would offer a nominal improvement in image quality. The idea of having to spend hundreds of dollars on another generation of consoles to unlock graphical improvements that I'll only be able to take advantage of if I spend another thousand+ on a better TV isn't exactly appealing.

1080p looks great, no matter how badly tech marketing wants to convince me it's outdated. Heck, I genuinely haven't thought "I wish this system were powerful enough to make this game look better" since the first time I turned on my Gamecube in 2001. Anything past 1080p60 costs way more than it's worth to actually take advantage of. Current systems can pretty consistently hit that target, and that's good enough for me. If they want to sell me another generation of consoles, it's going to have to be based on the user experience side of things and not just ostensibly shinier pixels.
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Kyuubi4269
08/07/2025
05:19 PM
#12
faramir77 posted...
I doubt most people even own a 4K TV
It's not 2014 any more, 4K is the norm, and has been for a while.
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Questionmarktarius
08/07/2025
05:23 PM
#13
adjl posted...
Anything past 1080p60 costs way more than it's worth to actually take advantage of.
4K panels are ubiquitous now, past a certain size.
Salrite
08/07/2025
05:24 PM
#14
adjl posted...
There is also the consideration that we're all 20-25 years older now than we were for the console leaps TC mentioned. Diminishing returns or no, that's inevitably going to mean a little less childlike wonder and excitement making it feel more significant.

More recently I had that childlike wonder with the leap from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom in regards to gameplay. There were plenty of other problems with it, but the new improvements and additions to gameplay were undeniable and left me binging the game for 12 hours at a time. Also Pokemon Legends: Arceus ended up being the closest thing to my dream Pokemon game, and then similarly, Palworld replaced that status.

I know this is software and not hardware, but that feeling of excitement is still possible. It's just very rare now. And I suppose, the Switch itself is relatively recent being released less than a decade ago. And I was still very impressed with what it did, even when I got one in 2019.
adjl
08/07/2025
05:35 PM
#15
Questionmarktarius posted...
4K panels are ubiquitous now, past a certain size.

Unless they're like $10, they're too expensive to be worth replacing what I've already got, for what they offer.

The consideration here is not "can I get a 4k TV for a reasonable price?". It's that the TV I have right now costs me $0 to keep using (power costs aside because those aren't going anywhere). Selling an upgrade to me means competing with that price, and that's some stiff competition when all that's being offered is a marginal improvement. If this one dies, its replacement will probably be a 4k one, but hopefully that's not coming any time soon.

Salrite posted...
More recently I had that childlike wonder with the leap from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom in regards to gameplay. There were plenty of other problems with it, but the new improvements and additions to gameplay were undeniable and left me binging the game for 12 hours at a time. Also Pokemon Legends: Arceus ended up being the closest thing to my dream Pokemon game, and then similarly, Palworld replaced that status.

I know this is software and not hardware, but that feeling of excitement is still possible. It's just very rare now. And I suppose, the Switch itself is relatively recent being released less than a decade ago. And I was still very impressed with what it did, even when I got one in 2019.

I mean, I'd say I still get it from games as well. Just not so much from the hardware itself. The Switch was a cool piece of tech and offered some excitement that way (and a couple weeks after getting it I took it to visit my now-girlfriend's friend who'd been stuck in the hospital for a few weeks and the two of them played Snipperclips on it, which was a really cool experience that meant a lot to her and wouldn't have been possible otherwise), but my primary excitement in getting it was the anticipation of getting to play Zelda and Mario on it. I was excited for the Switch 2 in the same regard (and DK has not disappointed).
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wwinterj25
08/07/2025
06:00 PM
#16
Kyuubi4269 posted...
It's not 2014 any more, 4K is the norm, and has been for a while.

Yep but I will say my 4K TV has developed an chequerboard issue when playing some games in 4K on the PS5 while previously that wasn't an issue. However lowering the resolution to 1080p fixes the issue and games still look good. I guess my point is this 4K thing really doesn't offer much of a leap for me.
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Questionmarktarius
08/07/2025
06:04 PM
#17
adjl posted...
The consideration here is not "can I get a 4k TV for a reasonable price?". It's that the TV I have right now costs me $0 to keep using (power costs aside because those aren't going anywhere).
well, yeah.

Hardly anyone buys a TV to "upgrade" anymore, but instead when the current one just suddenly dies for no apparent (usually RoHS related) reason.
ReturnOfFa
08/07/2025
06:06 PM
#18
just because someone has a 4K panel does not mean they are using 4K, lol. also, 4K TV adoption in the USA is still only around 50%.
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Salrite
08/07/2025
09:00 PM
#19
I got a 4K monitor for my PC, and I'm happy with the ability to watch video in 4K, but I still can't play most games in that resolution. I can usually get to 2K comfortably though. I don't believe "4K Gaming" is quite the norm at this point yet.

Also, 4K streaming is easy to do, but there is a significant upcharge in any streaming service for it. I don't have the numbers but I feel like this is the biggest wall keeping people from adopting it when 1080p is "good enough".
hockey7318
08/08/2025
05:47 AM
#20
ReturnOfFa posted...
just because someone has a 4K panel does not mean they are using 4K, lol. also, 4K TV adoption in the USA is still only around 50%.
This. I'm fairly certain that my 4K tv's almost never get to utilize the potential resolution. We don't pay for 4K on any of our streaming services so that just leaves the 2 hours a week that I might get to touch my PS5 and only some of the games I play even have the option to be in 4K.
papercup
08/08/2025
07:44 AM
#21
Idk to me it feels like what the Switch 1 should have been.
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KingInBlack
08/08/2025
11:40 AM
#22
So stop buying new consoles as soon as they're released.
Your loyalty lies on the wrong side of the future
captpackrat
08/08/2025
11:52 AM
#23
I think a good part of it is that the Switch 2 looks like a Switch 1.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/9abfae64.jpg

Sure it's a bit bigger, but visually it's the same. Previous generations of console were very different in appearance.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/03256fe5.jpg
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adjl
08/08/2025
12:00 PM
#24
papercup posted...
Idk to me it feels like what the Switch 1 should have been.

Or if not going as far as "should have been," it's the Switch 1 but without the limitations that the concept inescapably imposed on it. A hybrid system had to be substantially weaker than contemporary alternatives (at least if they didn't want it to cost $2000). The hybrid concept was important and worth making those sacrifices for, but they were sacrifices nonetheless. Now, we've more or less got parity (or at least close enough to parity that making PS5/Xbox games playable on Switch 2 is a matter of minor technical downgrades and not implausible feats of optimization), essentially meaning the Switch said "this isn't even my final form."
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Questionmarktarius
08/08/2025
12:06 PM
#25
papercup posted...
Idk to me it feels like what the Switch 1 should have been.
Good luck getting that eight years ago, at any sort of reasonable price-point.
Muscles
08/08/2025
01:22 PM
#26
Xbox 360 and PS3 should still be the main consoles imo, everything else that came out after hasn't been worth it, there was a bigger gap between Xbox and PS2 to 360 and PS3 than there has been from both of them to the current consoles
Muscles
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dedbus
08/08/2025
10:11 PM
#27
I feel as though the last few gens have been botched whether by scalping, pandemic..related manufacturing and cultural issues, chip shortage issues, the crypto mining fiascos and such that we're in the half baked era. Generations that take so long to get out of their toddler phase that by the time they do its way outdated and the next gen isn't around the corner is the next house over. So you're left with this lag where the next gen is the stuff that's been pushed up from the previous gen and that even further blurs the distinction between the two.

On top of that AAA publishers are operating like they're on great depression bread lines and stuffing games with cheap artificial fillers, than going for the premium genre defining ingredients that made them the juggernauts they are.

Salrite
08/09/2025
01:06 AM
#28
The things that used to set consoles apart weren't necessarily advancements in specs (although this might have been enough with the leaps they once took). But physical design and what you could do with them. Now we're at the point where features are being taken away (disc drives and physical media) and there's not much more to add. All other consoles outside of Nintendo are basically streaming boxes with access to social media. They might try copying a gimmick Nintendo introduces like motion control and portable hardware. And Nintendo is so far behind that anything they do introduce now is over a decade year old technology that's been done way better before.

I really don't see where we go from here unless VR starts making massive leaps in advancement and the Big 3 start adopting it.
Poll of the Day » I've only barely touched a Switch 2 but it doesn't even feel like a new console.