Upgraded Switch model announced: Same price, battery life of 4.5 to 9 hours - Launches in August (Americas, Japan) and September (Others)

[Bofferbrauer2]

Shiken said:

Mar1217 said:

This isn't happening before 2023 imo. They're going for the longer lifespan this time around. It doesn't need the power boost some hopes for since it's been proven by sales that buyers aren't in for this aspect. (They're sure in for the games though !) 

They will still support it with a few cross gen gamea from 1st party.  Many people will still want some multiplats on the go, which is why the upgrade would make sense due to next gen consoles.  As you said, people want the games.

RolStoppable said:

The typical lifecycle of a successful Nintendo console has been six years. What has also been typical is that Nintendo had to support two consoles concurrently, but that not being the case anymore makes it much easier to prolong the lifecycle of Switch. And given how long it will take until Switch gets its first price cut, there is plenty of time left for multiple price cuts to extend the lifespan.

I have no idea why you would consider it a good idea to deliberately shorten a console's life and move on to a successor. Switch is much more successful than the 3DS, but for some reason you conclude a shorter lifespan.

The Switch is advertised as a home console with hybrid portable functionality.  The only home consoles from Nintendo to go 6 years was the NES, and the Wii.  Everything else followed a 5 year cycle (4.5 for WiiU).

You forgot the Super Nintendo, which had a 6 year run, too. Only in Japan, though, but still.

Then, you can add the handhelds. Gameboy, DS and 3DS had more than 6 years shelf life each.

Seriously, the 5-year cycle came from the late 90's/early 2000's, when graphic developments went so fast that a console was hopelessly outdated after 5 years, just compare PS2 graphics to X360. But with the diminishing returns these days, consoles should get longer and longer shelf lives, not shorter ones.