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The story
A thread on 5ch’s “Hardware/Industry” (Geha) board speculated about the shape of the yet-unannounced next-gen console, the “Switch 3.” Centered on the theory that Nintendo’s fortunes run in cycles — a slump through the DS→3DS and Wii→Wii U transitions, then a rebound with the Switch — talk turned to whether “Switch 3,” following the Switch 2, would land on a “success turn” or a “failure turn” in that pattern. Opinions split over whether to ditch portability for raw power or lean into portability as the selling point, and the discussion also covered how much further users could tolerate the console’s rising price.
What people said
Wii → Wii U
so
Switch → Switch 2
having some rough patch is kind of unavoidable
Make this thread again once there's an official announcement, thanks
the soaring cost of the console and everything else
is that really as big a burden as people think?
Can Switch 3 actually do anything about it?
in an era where multiplatform releases are the norm, pulling that off would just scare third parties away
For starters, the goal should be getting the price down to ¥40,000 without selling at a loss
That alone will probably take more than 10 years
Worst case, even 10 years might not get it that low
It'll work out once AI collapses and the battery problem gets solved
Nintendo-style, that is.
There's no rule saying you can't put buttons on one.
I don't want them to go full "sorry, no casuals allowed," but that might be a tough ask
Since it runs on Xbox Series S, that shouldn't be too crazy a demand
But that should be the hard cap on spec increases
Be ready to write off any third-party title that demands more power than GTA6
It's less about raw power — GTA6 probably won't happen unless Nintendo covers the porting/debugging costs
Before that we'll probably get a shrunk-down, lower-power-draw revision first 🥺
Plus an OLED model, a Lite version, and so on 🥺
If it ends up cheaper than that "Gokisute" (a derisive nickname for PlayStation), it'll rule the market
This one's actually 'viable' (´・ω・`)
It's probably the way to sell the hardware cheapest (digital software has higher margins, so they can subsidize the hardware price more deeply)
But going download-only is a pretty big risk too
Profits would shrink, but they'd be better off still supporting physical cartridges
Home-console only?
A whole new concept?
so with upscaling and frame generation, performance won't even be in the same league as the Switch 2
Probably more like DLSS 4-5
Depends on whether it stays hybrid like before or goes home-console only
Once it becomes the unified platform, they can't just do whatever they want
The moment all the third parties gather and declare "We have united beneath Lord Nintendo!" "Let us flourish together in Japanese games!" and total unification is achieved, if Nintendo suddenly announces "lol we're scrapping Switch for a new brain-wave-controlled console!!" the third parties would keel over screaming "Our lord has lost his mind!! (´；ω；`)"
The whole unification collapses overnight lol
LMAO 🤣
Kind of like that game everyone's playing right now where you teach your little sister to drive
Nvidia chips only pack CUDA cores and tensor cores
Aside from Google's or Microsoft's special-purpose AI, pretty much every generative AI out there runs on those anyway
They need to get the next-gen console out soon or it's gonna be bad
The situation's different though
DS → 3DS
Wii → Wii U
and then the Switch came along afterward, so maybe one generation's worth of dip is actually fine
The Switch 2 also seems to be following that same script — leaning hard into movies and the like, and you can see the relationship-building with third parties too
The focus is clearly set on Switch 3 already, what with talk of a second development building
But what are they actually planning to do?
= success
↓
3DS Wii U
= failure
↓
Switch
= success
↓
Switch 2
= failure
↓
Switch 3
= success — isn't that a stretch?
Ah, it's that same 'hurdle' guy again (a recurring 5ch nickname for a doom-and-gloom poster)
Well, I'm not saying make it top-of-the-line, but I was hoping for at least PS5 Pro level — though isn't that about where the next PlayStation handheld is landing anyway?
Just a few years ago you were saying you wanted PS4-level performance.
Nintendo already granted your wish, didn't it?
2033, lmao
Realistically, it'll be pricier
Didn't the New 3DS also ship without an AC adapter or something?
There's enough of a performance gap that they have to change it
Even phone chargers — plug into some old junk-spec charger and it can't keep up, the battery can actually drain instead
That's just plain too expensive, and I doubt users will bother upgrading anymore
The PS6 will probably end up the same way
Yeah, people will probably just quit gaming altogether at that point
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Nintendo’s home/handheld consoles have followed a cycle: the DS and Wii succeeded, the 3DS and Wii U stumbled, and the Switch bounced back again. At the heart of the thread was this cyclical theory, underpinned by anxiety over whether Switch 3, following Switch 2, will land on a “success turn” or a “failure turn.” The other axis was price — against a backdrop of rising component and manufacturing costs, posters repeatedly floated the idea that the console’s price would climb even higher than the Switch 2’s. That said, all of this is speculation from 5ch users with no basis in official announcements; specifics like a 2033 launch date or DLSS generation numbers were simply pasted answers from a query to an AI chatbot, not sourced information. Likewise, the either/or framing of ditching portability for power versus keeping portability while holding the price down doesn’t reflect any actual development direction — it’s best read as fan wish-fulfillment, nothing more.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, “Geha”) thread “[Discussion] What Should Switch 3 Be Like.”
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