Current Events > Nintendo Switch is going to have an 8 year life cycle. 8 years.

(+) Yeah! (+)

That's pretty long, especially when competing against more graphically powerful consoles. To be fair, though, I suppose it's relatively normal. The XBox 360 lasted for about 7 years, for example. Lifespans have been longer for a while now. I'm not sure how to feel about this. I actually quite like the longer lifespans of consoles these days, but the Switch is already behind various consoles graphically, and will only look worse a couple of years from now. This gives Nintendo and third party companies plenty of time to keep releasing great games for the Switch, of course. I remember how much fun I had in the fifth year and sixth year of the XBox 360, with games like Alan Wake, Black Ops 2, SSX, and so on.

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They're probably working on something in the background, but COVID makes it hard to expect something new any time soon

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Obviously, I expect a full new console is in the early stages of development (as opposed to a Switch Pro or whatever), but it'll be a long time before it comes out, and quite a while until it gets shown to the general public.


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This device allows them to tap into both the console and the handheld markets. I'd assume they want to hold on to it.

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I think Nintendo needs to get started on some kind of cloud gaming service or they're going to get left behind when Microsoft and Sony start letting you play their shit on basically anything in the future. The Switch is popular because it's portable. But in the future (talking a decade out, maybe more) most gaming will be cloud gaming playable on any device just like Netflix. You'll subscribe to a games service and pay a monthly fee.

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