They won't be getting a pandemic boost next time around (well hopefully not since it would be terrible for the world), but one way to mitigate that next time around is release an actual Switch 2 Pro model to get a mid-cycle boost that way.

They didn't use that this gen, because they largely didn't have to (also the pandemic caused a component shortage which then would've made a Switch 1 Pro difficult, think Nintendo just opted to do the Switch OLED and spend their R&D money on Switch 2 instead), but next generation they could play that card.

I would consider something to be a hybrid where the devices form factor fundamentally changes, which then changes how you use the device.

The Switch is just a Tegra powered ARM tablet that sits in a dock.

Where-as a 2 in 1 Laptop can "transform" from a Laptop -into- a tablet and change how you use it entirely.

These days display output can be delivered over USB to compatible devices which are generally included in the box.

Or completely wirelessly in the case of my phones and tablet to the TV.

The Shield TV and Playstation TV are not devices that are regarded as Hybrids or Portables.

They lack fundamental mobile-technology such as: Display, Speakers, Battery and more.

The CPU/GPU/Ram type and capability is not what defines the "mobile technology" of a device, it's a much larger umbrella term.

If covid didn't happen, I feel like the big releases for holiday 2020 would have been 3D World & Rise, both of which have gone on to sell more than 10 million units. I believe that 3D All-Stars and BDSP wouldn't even exist if covid and it's impact never happened. Arceus would be the big holiday 2021 title, with Splatoon 3 launching around late summer/early fall 2021. TOTK would be early 2022 and SV would still be late 2022. Switch 2 would probably release in late 2023 although it could be early 2024. Mario Wonder's development in our timeline had no deadline, but I feel that might be more strict about a deadline in this non-covid timeline in order to have the game out in 2022, at least a year before the successor.

Games like Forgotten Land, XC3, Engage, Mario Party Superstars, etc. also probably would've launched sooner.

I guess that depends on what you mean by massive breakout. Adjusted for attach ratio, Zelda and AC are way ahead of the others in terms of growth, enough that you probably can't pin it on the same market trend.

Even if it had grown as much as SMO or even the open-world Kirby/Zelda, AC would have sold almost a whopping 20 million less.

I guess I don’t see how a 2-in-1 laptop is more of a “transformation” than Switch docked vs undocked. How does switching from a keyboard to a touchscreen change how you use it entirely while going from portable to connected to a TV with a controller doesn’t? I feel like based on your own description of Switch, a 2-in-1 in just a tablet with a detachable keyboard.

But do people consider Switch a hybrid simply because it can transmit its video to a TV or because it does that while also having a power source while in the dock, has improved performance while in the dock and detachable controllers that turn into a standard controller making it so that you can exclusively use it as a home console without ever having to take it out of the dock or have to buy add-ons?

So things like display, battery & speakers are what makes a portable a portable, but by definition a hybrid has to have features of both a portable and a console so if it didn’t have a display, battery, speakers, etc than wouldn’t it simply be a console? It seems like you’ve created a scenario where the entire concept of a hybrid is impossible to create.

The Switch physically doesn't change when you drop it into a dock. It's not two different form factors.

If the Switch is a "Hybrid" simply because it can project it's display to a TV... Then every single phone and tablet I have owned over the last few decades has also been a Hybrid.

Most "mobile" devices have a "power mode" when plugged into mains power, this actually is a concept that has been around since Intel introduced "Speed Step" on the mobile Pentium's over 25 years ago.
- Where the CPU will run at a higher/Max clock more often (But can be overridden in software, just like a modded Switch) when plugged into mains power as it doesn't need to concern itself with conserving battery power.

So yes. Dynamic clockspeeds depending if it's battery vs mains predates the Switch by several decades, it's not a new technology... Nor does that feature alone dictate that the Switch is a hybrid.


Addons also doesn't make a device a Hybrid or Not. - You buy a Switch, chances are you -will- need to replace and buy more Joycons due to a terrible design flaw that introduces Drift anyway.
But removable input devices is not a new concept.

Again... 2 in 1 laptops that "transform" into a tablet go from a Keyboard/Mouse input to a Touchscreen.

So by your logic...

1) Device that can "dock" is a Hybrid.
2) Device with variable clockspeeds is a Hybrid.
3) Device with included input controls is a Hybrid. - Phones and Tablets have voice control when you don't want to use touch.

That literally means every single Laptop, Phone and Tablet over the last several decades is a Hybrid going by your definition... And if they aren't a Hybrid... Then feel free to explain why.

Correct.

By my argument... If your device features 100% mobile hardware (Even with a shift in form factor) then it is a portable device.
That is literally been my entire argument.

The "Hybrid" scheme is literally a marketing gimmick.

You still have a fixed device and a mobile device. - And there are instances where a device can do the other role, but it's less than ideal/optimal.
I.E. The Switch is actually a very shit fixed-home console due to it's tiny Joycons (Pro controller is superior) and inferior hardware capabilities as it's using a mobile CPU/GPU/SoC.

But it's actually a very good portable console.

Personal opinion; hybrid versus mobile with video out is semantics. But to each their own.

If the switch didn't have a dock I wouldn't have bought it. I don't game on the go.  Meanwhile my kids play almost exclusively in handheld.

The selling point of the OG switch is everything is includes to play mobile or at home and the transition from one to the other is seemless.  

It helps a lot that mobile chipsets can produce some solid fidelity.

idk, I just don’t see how this

Is somehow more of a transformation than this

You keep bringing up that none of those things are new but I never once claimed that any of these technologies in Switch are new, I think Switch is like DS & Wii in the sense that DS wasn’t the first gaming device with a touch screen and Wii wasn’t the first gaming device with motion controls but the execution and emphasis on them made them stick out and seem like fresh, new products. Switch isn’t the first hybrid device by a long shot but the way that it’s executed in such a seamless way and it’s one of the main driving forces of the devices appeal is the difference between it and other devices that have the ability to connect to a TV, where it’s essentially an afterthought or one of hundreds of rarely used features.

Even if Switch is a “shit”fixed device (I don’t think it is but this is getting into personal preference) because of controller size or low specs, doesn’t change the fact that it can be used 100% of the time as a fixed device. I can put my Switch in its dock, connected to a power source and connected to the TV with my joy-cons plugged into the joy-con grip and literally never have to switch it back to portable mode or have to buy anything extra to make it work as a console.

Sort of agree. And since switch is marketed as a hybrid it can also correctly be called a hybrid.

Banned for spamming the same post on the forums - TrunksWD