Was Nintendo right to opt out of the graphics arms race?

[Chrkeller]

OdinHades said:

For me pesonally, yes, absolutely. I stopped caring about graphics about ten years ago. Because I can't see a friggin' difference anymore between low and ultra details. Sure, I can watch some digital foundry video that shows me a still image with 16x zoom to show me some detail that looks slightly better than in last gen or something. But I prefer to spend my time with actually playing games. Graphics have gotten good enough for me to not care about small details anymore. I used to be impressed by something like Crysis or Killzone 2 when those games initially released. But today when I see something like AC: Shadows or whatever the hell might be the shiniest game right now, I just think "looks nice", and that's it. Graphics just don't impress anymore as the jumps have gotten too small to really make a huge difference. That also applies to Pathtracing and stuff. Yes, the lightin in pathtraced Half-Life 2 looks gorgeous. But it's still Half-Life 2 and I kinda forget about the lighting or other stuff when I'm 30 minutes or so into a game.

Nintendos route lead to a portable system, which is absolutely fantastic for someone like me who travels a lot. Because in a train, on a plane or in a hotel room, my Switch 2 is indeed infinitely more powerful than my PS5 Pro that is sitting at home doing nothing. Yes, I know the PS Portal is a thing, but I don't like streaming with all the compression, lost connections, delay and stuff.

I prefer to get games on Switch 2 when they are available, although I do have a PS5 Pro. Portability beats the slight graphics upgrade any day of the week for me.

Largely agree.  I mean I can see a difference between medium and ultra but have gotten to the point where it just doesn't have a punch that I care about.  In fact, I find myself using medium/high settings on PC just for the increased fps.  for me it feels like fps is the next big jump.  I absolutely loved Prime 4's 120 fps mode.  the one thing I love about nintendo, when possible, they prioritize fps. 

I also find resolution overrated as well.  1440p versus 4k, meh, roughly the same.  4k DLSS, yeah, plenty good. 

Nintendo is well positioned.  Bang for the buck, combined with the convenience of the hardware design, is top notch. 

Probably the happiest I have been with Nintendo hardware since the N64.      

As for the main question, did Nintendo make the right choice dropping out of the arms race, based on sales the answer is clearly "yes."  There is no question Nintendo (and Valve) are leading the industry at this point in time.  

edit

I meant to add that DLSS, while already impressive, is looking to significantly improve.  There is an Oblivion DLSS 4.5 picture floating around where the base image is 240/360p and it looks pretty solid with DLSS 4.5.  If DLSS continues to improve high end tech just isn't' going to be required for a quality output.  

Last edited by Chrkeller - on 14 January 2026