Otter said:
Nautilus said:
*sigh* a Switch mini wont happen.It simply dosent make sense.
Im not feeling the mood to spend 30 minutes of my life writing and explaining all the reasons why this is not feasible, so Ill just list them: Joycon(cant make them smaller and Nintendo wouldnt make another version to confuse people on which works with what), battery life(For it to become smaller, you have to sacrifice something, and baterry would be one of its victims), the WHOLE Switch concept(Making it smaller not only would potentially sacrifice the whole aspect, because it might not fir in the dock and all, but you alsow ould have the issue with the joycons again, with them being too small to form a regular controller and all).
The Switch is already small, at least for todays standards.Everyone carries tablets around, and those are bigger.Not only that, but you always have someplace to store your Switch:Backpack, purse, your car(while you are doing your duties) and so on.A mini concept makes sense on paper, but when you actually go to practice, its dumb on many levels, at least for the Switch.And Nintendo knows that.
Plus, if you want to amke a cheaper SKU, you just have to do a price cut.You dont need a whole new model for that. |
Everything you said is wrong ;)
The 3DS is approaching 80m, in its 8 year selling about the same pace as the Xbox One yet somehow we think that there is no market for a cheaper dedicated handheld than the Switch?
I'm not going to bother detailing all of reasons but its pretty obvious. Not "everyone" carries a tablet ( I don't) and a 10 year old kid cannot fit a Switch in their pocket. It's nice to have your own portable console not have to share amongst siblings (think of how Ninty has marketed prior handhelds with multiple in one family-Pokemon is also due this year)... related to this I want to focus on the most frequent point brought up about the "impossibility" of a Switch Mini: The Joycons
Not only are they one of the biggest costs (which almost every game works without), they can very easily be purchased as an accessory like I'm sure 90% of Switch owners have already done (or purchased a pro controller).
Nintendo sells a Switch Mini at $199 with no Joycons (built in buttons), a smaller 5" screen, no dock or HDMI... And if you want to adapt it for home play you buy a dock accessory and controllers (but maybe you already have this, referencing multiple switches in one household). Its a no brainer. They have nothing to loose.
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Thats the usual problem with people trying to predict things: They lean too heavily on past data(or base solely on this) and stop seeing the current circunstances or how people behave and consume things.
A Switch mini is "obvious" just because Nintendo makes handhelds, and usually people dont give a better reason other than that."But Animal Crossing is a handheld franchise, and pokemon is a handheld franchise, so its obvious that Nintendo needs a purely handheld format to accompany them".Pokemon just proved that it can also sell on a hybrid system.10 million units in a month and a half.And it did that on a spin off game!Animal Crossing has sold just as a well as New Leaf on consoles(Cant remember the name).That proves that people will consume products, if said products are of good quality, regardless what form it takes(hardware), assuming said hardware dont suck.
About the 3DS argument: Yeah, I expect to there still being a market for cheaper handheld consoles.And the system that will do it is called the Switch.Without a mini on it.You guys forget that the Switch is a bloody hybrid.So that means it works as a handheld too.Now for the "cheap" part: The Switch will eventually get cheaper.Hell, we are probably bound for a price cut this year, making the Switch cost 250 dollars(and that would be its official price.If you look hard enough, you will probably find a good deal that its significally cheaper than that), bundled with a great game or two.Two or three years from now the Switch will get another price cut, and so on.Therein lies your cheap dedicated handheld.
Plus I should add: Making things smaller dosent make them cheap.I mean, probably not shipping the hardware with joycons(which brings a whole lot of different problems, like killing the whole idea of the Switch, your "handheld" Switch not working with certain games like Super Mario Party, and so on) and a dock will cut a lot of corners, but on the other side not only would you need to invest alot in R&D to shrink the parts without outright killing its performance(and thus rendering any game for the normal Switch useless), but also spending more on buying those parts, because its actually more expensive to buy those kinds of parts, than its bigger cousins.So until you prove me with hard evidence that thats possible without actually increasing the cost of the console, you are just pulling this argument out of your ass.
About your "not everyone carries a tablet", "want to fit the Switch in a pocket" and "its nice not to have to share the Switch with other people":Im sorry to say, but you are in the minority.Just look at the sales of tablets worldwide.Just look at the trend of the increase in size of phones.People dont mind putting those stuff on their backpacks rather than their pockets.Hell, even if the Switch was smaller and could fit in my pocket, I would never do it, because I could scratch the screen, I could break the sticks, and many other potential problems.So yeah.
"Not only are they one of the biggest costs (which almost every game works without), they can very easily be purchased as an accessory like I'm sure 90% of Switch owners have already done (or purchased a pro controller). " Again, you are pulling this one out of your ass.90% of the users brought another pair of joycons or pro controllers?Those really epensive controllers?Gaming is a hobby, and a expensive one at that.They already spent 300 dollars plus at least 60 for a game, do you really think everyone is willing to shell out an extra 70 or 80 dollars for something they already have and dont really need?I really doubt the numbers are anywhere near that.But if you provide any evidence, Ill be glad to say I am wrong.
And congratulations.You made me waste my time explaining something that was fairly obvious.Dont get me wrong, a mini could happen.Who knows, Nintendo is unpredictable and has made worse moves.But Nintendo has shown this gen that it understands this market.So dont expect it
