The Nintendo Switch is generation...

[Pemalite]

super_etecoon said:

Ok...so I'm sure this has been done before, but it seems this concept is derailing a few threads.

The Nintendo Switch succeeded the under-performing WiiU in 2017.  It is a hybrid system (the first of its kind), and has the power of something between a WiiU and a PS4, arguably much closer to the PS4 than the WiiU.

So where do we consider the Switch when it comes to generations?  Do we measure it against the PS4 and XBoxOne (Gen 8), or does it have a very early lead out the gate as the first Next Generation (Gen 9) system?

Or is it possible that it has to fit in its own category considering that it is a new way to play games, straddling the line between handheld and home console.  In that case, when will we see a proper competitor to the system?

There's plenty to debate here, and plenty more is already being debated in other threads.  I just wanted to create a poll, so we get an extra thread to boot.

I am of two minds about it.

From a release window point of view... I would consider the Switch a 9th gen platform... But then the Xbox One X would also be considered 9th gen. (It's not.)

But from a hardware feature set point of view, it's clearly 8th gen and even exceeds the 8th gen consoles in a few areas.
And from a performance perspective... It could be seen as a 7.5 gen device.

At the end of the day... I just don't give a shit what generation a console is, doesn't make a difference to whether the platform is enjoyable or not.

Megiddo said:

I'm curious. What 'tech' did the Wii have that put it in the same generation as the Xbox 360 and the PS3?

Nothing.
Unless someone considers the use of PowerPC ISA as the definer for that gen... But considering it's not exclusive to the 7th gen anyway... Kinda muddies the waters.

RolStoppable said:

4. The common argument that competition defines generations can't be taken seriously until the people who say that start to call the Dreamcast generation 5. But they won't do that, because they know that the Dreamcast is the successor of the Saturn. Despite the Dreamcast featuring all the counter-arguments that are held against Switch being generation 9 in a more pronounced fashion, people arbitrarily choose to call the Dreamcast gen 6 and Switch gen 8.

The thing that makes the Dreamcast generation 5, rather than generation 4... Is that it's hardware feature set had more in common with say... The Playstation 2/Gamecube/Xbox than it did with say... The Playstation 1.
It would have lost soundly in regards to performance though.