Switch is officially 7 years old!

Wow, 7 years and still active, pretty remarkable. What are your thoughts on the Switch? I think for sure it’s one of Nintendo’s best console, possibly even the best. The system made Nintendo consoles relevant again. It also made The Legend of Zelda series exciting again. It arguably has the best version of some of the biggest Nintendo IPs (Smash Bros, Mario Kart). Unfortunately I didn’t like Mario Oddysey much but Super Mario Wonder was great. Hopefully the best 3D Mario launches with the Switch 2. I also really enjoy the collaboration with Platinum Games and hope we get enhanced ports.

Was pretty good, but I'm a disappointed by the library. It's missing its own Mario Kart, F-Zero is still missing, no DK, among other IPs. Too many multiplatform games that are better played elsewhere and re-releases.

Happy birthday to the Switch. It’s an excellent system with a superb library of games. Ignoring the nostalgia I have for the SNES it’s definitely my favourite Nintendo system.

In terms of tech its 18yrs old, congrats to the Switch for becoming a man that looks like a child 🤣

The best praise I can say about the system is how it broke one of Nintendo's worst habits of letting a console whimper out the door with severe game droughts in the latter half of its lifespan.

Nintendo has been supporting the system strong this entire time and it may shape up to being one of Nintendo's strongest libraries for a console to date.

Hopefully it's not just a one-off bit of circumstances that has granted Nintendo to support a system the way they have with Switch, and whatever they do from here on out they know how to properly support a console through its entire duration.

Wow, even more than N64? Original NES?

One of the worst and most pointless consoles we've ever had from the big 3. Imagine building a system that runs everything so poorly that you're forcing everyone with a pc to emulate your games. What kind of a sick company does that?

@mrbojangles25: I wasn’t terribly impressed with the N64. It certainly had some all time classics like Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, and Banjo-Kazooie though. NES was pretty solid. The SNES outclassed them both pretty handily though. Switch is a pretty easy favourite for me with its library of games.

@Archangel3371: I'm the same, Switch is definitely my favourite Nintendo system. Possibly my favourite system of all time. It's been a great ride, bring on Switch 2!!

@hrt_rulz01: The Switch is terribru. You're the only person on SW that mains it.

@hrt_rulz01: Nintendo really hit a grand slam home run with system. Really looking forward to to their next system.

@hardwenzen: what do you mean big 3? There's only 2. PS and Nintendo

Happy birthday switch! Wonderful handheld console!

Nintendo just can't be stopped. The greatest system ever in the history of the universe.

We're not yet in 2027, but yes, its soon gonna be the case.

@jaydan: Yeah, having their dev teams divided between two systems was especially hurting their home consoles. Putting them all together was the right move in the end.

It's not even the greatest Nintendo system of all time let alone in the universe of gaming systems, not even close.

It was an ok stop gap to play indies until Steam Deck came out

I have to say I never thought the switch would have the legs it does. I thought 5 years and a Switch 2 would be out. But here we are. Chances are the Switch will also be 8 years old when the Switch 2 arrives. That's a hell of a run.

Overall I have enjoyed the system. It's not their most interesting system in terms of functionality but it has a very strong collection of games. If you never had a Wiiu (and you probably didn't) then the Switch probably never had a quiet year :P.

It also has the old school quality of "stick the cart in and away you go". Patches are generally very small if there is one. No installs. No fussing with settings. Just sit down and play. Hopefully that's something that retained for the Switch 2.

It probably should have been replaced quite a while ago though. Credit to Nintendo and some 3rd parties where it's due: the results they manage to squeeze out of, what is by todays standard, pretty decrepit hardware has been impressive. I'm playing Pikmin 4 at the moment and, underneath all the compromises is a very nice looking game. But there is only so much developers can do. The necessary compromises let the final presentation down quite a bit now.

Still they have some interesting tech available to them now. It looks like it will be Nvidia/Arm again (which makes sense). In terms of raw horse power, The switch 2 may only be around PS4 levels (maybe PS4 Pro when docked). But add some tricks like DLSS to the mix and it could still end up outputting a nice final presentation on high res screens. It looks like Frame gen as per DLSS 3 is not a runner but they may have a customised version that combines DLSS with FSRs Frame gen method also...could be interesting.

It's also going to be interesting to see how Nintendo manages production costs. It's easy (relatively speaking) to release a powerful console. It's another thing entirely to really drive the technical standards of said consoles. Far bigger companies than Nintendo are buckling under the financial pressure.

There is also the big risk that the Switch 2 flops. With no handheld to fall back on that could be a bit of a disaster. Though I suppose they could release a new cheaper Switch model and stick with that till 2030 :P.

But all that's a next system problem and a bit off topic anyway. As for the Switch. Some bugbears like no local save backups, no VC unless you sub to Nintendo online and it's a bit plain. And joycon drift (hopefully hall effect sticks as standard next gen.....BWAHHAHAHAHA...yeah i know fat chance). But many great games. The flexibility is nice. Only needing one system for all Nintendos games for a gen is also nice.

Where would I rank it? 3rd maybe. Snes and Wii I would rate higher. Still a great system. The vita fully realised.

Shit outdated hardware when it launched and it is just laughable at this point. However, Ninty has brainwashed the masses and they eat it up regardless.

I was just gonna come into this thread and ask if we could have a few words from @BassMan commemorating the birthday... Kind of like a toast... I see he's already prepared one!

I love the cartridges, I really hope they don't go away.

Is it me or does it seem longer.

@SolidGame_basic: The rumour is the dev kits have a card reader (and not just an SD card reader) so fingers crossed. I also hope that there are no installs and that the media is fast enough to keep up it's end of the bargain in keeping loading times short.

I suspect the writing is on the wall though for discs and carts. The big 3 would prefer to not share a cut of a games sale price with 3rd party retailers.

@osan0: but doesn’t Nintendo get a cut from the cartridges?

Bit harsh, but expected from you.

I'll add my two pence though. A system that while relatively weak has many games that can generally be played straight away, offline, without any additional mandatory downloads, or at least without huge additional downloads. Is also pretty easy to use.

What kind of a sick company does that?

"Play"? Everything runs on par with the N64. That is not playable at all. 21fps gaming isn't acceptable for today standards, let alone 1 minute plus loading screens because its the only system in the universe that is still not using an SSD.

@hardwenzen: Gamers just want awesome games. That’s why Switch is gonna be best selling console of all time. Your standards leave you playing one game a year like your Turds of the Fallen last year. That’s just sad mate, I’d take the worst running Switch game over that trash. I’d rather play with cardboard.

Gamers want video games on a system that can handle said video games. Nintendo hasn't discovered that as of yet.

Not as much. I'm not sure what the exact breakdown is but if you buy a 3rd party game on the switch then:

• Nintendo get a cut with licensing fees. They also do get paid for the cart.
• The retailer gets a cut.
• The publisher gets the rest.

If you buy the same game on the eStore then Nintendo also get the retailers cut. That's worth more than the cart (or at least id be very surprised if it wasn't worth more).

@hardwenzen: Yeah, that’s why 5k gaming PCs are sooo popular.

Where are you coming from with that random 5k resolution?🤡

7 or 8 years is usually a good age for a generation of console hardware. Congrats to Nintendo for supporting it for that time.

It's a bit harder to take with the Switch since it was an iteration on the capabilities of the Wii U, which was already less powerful than the hardware developers were going to target at the time.

I hope that the next hardware will provide a better experience with cross platform games.

Honestly, worth the wait for Nintendo's follow-up at this point because the Switch is PROVIDING! HBD!

For me, it will always be SNES that will never be outclass by any Nintendo console to date. SNES was just a different beast of a console back in the early 90s despite it was my first ever console gaming machine my parents got for me. Sega comes second and I can agree the Switch is a great console but not the best Nintendo console I've seen so far.

The N64 for me comes in 3rd place for a Nintendo console. Love those classic games from Rare and Mario 64 was a huge revolutionary of a game I might add.

As for Switch itself, happy 7th anniversary to the Switch. I'll reserve my judgment until I see Nintendo announced their Switch successor cause I think we need another next-gen console coming from Nintendo.

I was lucky to get one at launch. I remember being late to the pre-order announcement and by the time I checked Amazon it was already sold out. But I refreshed the order page a little while later and suddenly I was able to order so I jumped on it. Lucky me 🥰

3DS was better.

I credit most of its quality to the Wii U’s library.

Damn.... Did it do nothing tk set itself apart?

I think this should be the future for Nintendo. Just support one platform instead of dividing up resources between 2.

@TheEroica: I think the games that people will remember the most from the Switch will be Wii U games like Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8.

Wait, PlayStation is still around? I thought they stopped making games.

@kvallyx: no. You're getting confused with PS5 and Xbox. PS5 is the one with great GOTY games. And Xbox is the one without great games and zero GOTY nominees.

Which is a huge reason why I'm not a big Switch fan.

With Switch, I feel weirdly alone in wanting new games. People have been very accepting of just getting re-releases and remakes. It sucks.

Probably, but I'm not a fan. Remember how many games we got when Nintendo had to support two systems? That was awesome. Now they don't have to support two systems, but do we get the same amount of games? Nope.

Most likely because games for handheld systems are faster and cheaper to develop. Which means that now when Nintendo has to develop much bigger games in HD and whatever, we will get much fewer games. It sucks.

Ha that’s cute 😂

@Litchie: you are not alone... I cringe when they announce most remakes. In Nintendo's case I'd be fine if they skipped smash and kart for the next ten years and focused on other things..

Nintendo have got away with so many remakes because nobody brought a Wii u.

But in tech years as in doggy years...

...it's actually 21 years old. ;o

Silly sheep. lolol :P