Will the Switch 2 have some secret sauce? If so, what?

[Soundwave]

Slownenberg said:

Soundwave said:

An interesting thing is Nintendo around the end of 2022 patented a full VR setup with a 2nd player using a smartphone or TV to play as well.

https://toptierlist.net/news/gaming-news/nintendo-patent-vr-ar/

Interesting points ... one player plays using a VR headset, while a 2nd/3rd player can join in and play on their TV or smartphone, which suggests the "Switch 2" (we'll just call it that for clarity sake) can maybe stream to the TV or smartphone in this case? Maybe ala the Wii U but in reverse? This also seems to address the issue of "yeah but VR is isolating" by letting multiple people join in. 

The headset in the patent also had dual cameras + dual IR sensors (like the right Joycon has) on it (so VR + AR?).

Nintendo has made other VR patents in the past, but I think they largely related to Switch 1 Labo VR. This seems like something way beyond that. 

Affordable VR checks a lot of boxes for Nintendo ...

Does it bring something new to the game experience? Definitely. Once people try like Mario Kart or Metroid Prime 4 or Pilotwings in VR, it's clearly an experience that is different from just playing on a TV. 

It's something Nintendo has done a test run with in terms of Labo VR, really even starting with past projects like the Virtual Boy and Wii are kind of trying to be virtual reality in some respect. So in that sense it is a evolution of things Nintendo has been working on for a long time. 

Lower end VR is still a relatively open space still too. Yes there is the Meta Quest headsets, but they don't really have a killer software ecosystem like Nintendo can leverage (Nintendo could quickly get ports of the same VR titles they have but then also have the massive killer app of their own product catalog ... like Mario Kart, Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, even lower end Nintendo IP like Pilotwings or F-Zero or Wave Race could really shine in VR) and a Meta Quest can't function as a Switch, whereas in this hypothetical setup a Switch 2 can do all the things of a Switch + Meta Quest as well. Meta is not a game company really, they don't have in-house slate of IP even comparable to Microsoft or Sony, let alone Nintendo, so big advantage for Nintendo there. 

Things like Sony PS5 VR2 are way too expensive, Nintendo probably has an opportunity to move in on the lower end of the market and get a lot more people to experience VR at a more affordable price, and it doesn't have to be the be-all/end-all for the system, it can be one of those things Nintendo recommends you use once in a while for shorter play bursts. 

I think *affordable* VR makes a lot of sense and checks a bunch of boxes for Nintendo. The other thing with this patent is maybe Nintendo is looking at Switch 2 being able to stream to other tablet/phone displays, imagine for example playing a game on the Switch 2, but letting a friend play the game using their smartphone as a screen and just passing them a Joycon to play. 

So in that scenario it looks like the system is in the dock hooked up to the TV, and is streaming to multiple smart phones and multiple VR headsets. Seems like an awwwwful lot of streaming. I dunno how much streaming like that would take up resources from the system while still being able to run the game, but seems questionable.

It's a cool concept, but some cool concepts aren't practical nor desired by the market. WiiU was a cool concept but how many people actually wanted the weird asynchronous multiplayer of a single gamepad + wii remotes? Not many. This seems like a similarly "cool in theory but awkward in real life" concept that would be a lot of work and R&D for very little payoff. How many people are gonna get together to play on an amalgam of devices - smart phones, TV, VR headsets?

I'd much rather have Nintendo focus on perfecting the Switch concept next gen and focus on improving stuff like online and some of the weak spots in their games from this gen rather than trying to do niche things like VR and asynchronous multiplayer with VR and smart phones.

If Switch launches with like PS4-power (combined with DLSS to maybe even show off a current gen console AAA port in the launch period), solid battery life, improved joycons, improved form factor with higher res screen, for $350, while day 1 coming with a completely renovated and modern online play/infrastructure, and with NSO all set up, with a spectacular 3D Mario and a spectacular and evolved Mario Kart coming shortly behind...I'd find that infinitely more impressive and marketable than it launching with VR and streaming to multiple headsets + smartphones.

Who knows. Maybe the streaming tech exists today where you can stream to like 3-5 other products without a big fuss.

I could see a lot of people potentially using this, the whole point is to get people to play together when one person is using VR, and most people have their own smartphone, so actually this makes a 2nd/3rd person jumping into a game when someone is gaming via VR very easy (ie: Nintendo allowing smartphone users to use it instead of just insisting everyone has to have their own Switch). 

I get what they're trying to do, they don't want a VR setup where like one person is just sitting in the living room like a weirdo masked off from everyone else (lol). The point would be for them be able to share what they're seeing/doing and even jump in on the game. I assume the point is that people will take turns wearing the VR headset in a family while playing with their family. Which is a very Nintendo POV on the whole thing. 

Last edited by Soundwave - on 12 August 2023