I hope so. For me, Switch is not a good enough substitute for a dedicated handheld.

I voted yes, but my prediction of the 4ds is basically what they did for the 2DS and the 3D games but with the switch. Like "hey its been 4 years, hardware is cheaper so here's the Switch Lite, 6 hours of battery now, slightly smaller, better screen, no TV dock or functionality and you can't detach the joy-cons". Old switch is still there for TV gaming fans.

i think their next system will probably be an update of the switch (depending on how well it does in the end, maybe).

I think you're missing the point of it being called the "switch"

Also maybe if the switch does WiiU numbers otherwise no way.

@fugoy: It didn't stop the "3D"S becoming the 2DS, but yes naming will be a challenge.

If you had asked me before the Switch reveal conference, I would've said no. After seeing the way that thing has been positioned, and the way Nintendo seems to be repeating the same logistical mistakes they made with the Wii U, I'm far less convinced and could see a 3DS successor announced next year.

Obviously, it's never smart to totally write-off Nintendo (they turned the 3DS around, after all), but if what's been revealed is going to be the vast sum of their first year with that thing, it's going to be a rough first year. I hope Zelda is as good as it looks.

The Switch feels like Virtual Boy: 2017 Edition, so yeah, they'll have to burn more capital to course correct pretty hard with a 4DS.

I bet it'll be well within 3 years, too

Your 3 points are all pretty bang on for the original 3DS as well.

Who knows what Nintendo is going to next. They haven't made sense since pretty much forever.

That would seriously undermine the Switch so I kinda hope not. I'm hoping to see the 3DS/Wii U libraries combined on the Switch if you understand what I mean.

For Nintendo's sake I sure hope not.

Nintendo has sort of said it will be the portable/console hybrid we dream of

Did they? IIRC they were consistent about saying this does not displace 3ds

Also that it does not replace the Wii U.

Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima has said that the NX “won’t simply replace” the Wii U or the 3DS. This according to a tweet by Takashi Mochizuki, a Tokyo-based reported for the Wall Street Journal.

(They say those things a lot.)

I recall someone mentioning on the Bombcast that it runs at less than half speed when in handheld mode. I also remember hearing it has a battery life of a two to three hours.

Why does this thing exist, again?

Completely depends on how the Switch does. If it totally tanks during its first two years they might consider another handheld but even then I doubt they'd get it out without 3 years of switch. Ideally no, they don't want a handheld out, they want the Switch to have those sales.

@canadianmath: 3-6 hours of battery life depending on the game. I have no idea where you heard the "half speed while un-docked thing." All reports is that it will run slightly better while docked.

@sloppydetective: The Digital Foundry report from a month ago stated that the GPU speed drops from 768MHz to 307.2MHz when undocked. Not quite half, but 40% slower. But because games run at 720p while undocked and 900-1080p when docked, performance relating to frame-rate and such will remain largely similar. However this hands-on report, again by Digital Foundry, would seem to indicate that in the example of Zelda some draw-in was detected in undocked mode which wasn't there when docked.

@isomeri: Hmm interesting. Jeff made it seem like it wasn't the biggest difference from his time with it. I'm planning on waiting to get one, I don't really have the money for a new console right now. Hopefully by the time I do they will have done some hardware upgrades.

@quantris: of course they say that! Lol

Nintendo actually reported in the past that the Switch is a home console first and foremost and is not supposed to replace the 3DS.

Also did Nintendo ever actually confirm that their strategy going forward would be to unify first party development to support one platform only? I don't think this was the case but only the perception/an assumption made by journalists.

Personally I think it will depend on the switch sales exclusively - if they see it to do really good, they will probably not invest in a dedicated handheld anymore (having in mind that the handheld market is on a decline in a lot of their most important markets since years). If not they might do an 180 and put out an handheld to focus on the part of their business that is ...dying slower I guess.

Sources

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-10-29-nintendo-isnt-replacing-3ds-with-switch

https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/58n70h/nintendo_switch_is_a_successor_to_the_wii_u_not/

I want a Switch Micro. I'm not even kidding.

Probably in the minority, but I think handheld consoles/games are completely useless. I've never fully enjoyed a handheld game unless I'm in a comfortable environment with few distractions. That narrows it down considerably. The places I'd be would already have a better method of playing games (consoles/PC's,), so why use a handheld? If I'm on my way somewhere, smartphones offer an infinite amount of distractions to pass the time. There's so few cases where I'd want to use a handheld, so I have a "why bother" attitude towards them.

Why would Nintendo launch a second portable when they have the Switch?

I don't think so. I actually would prefer it if they just kept putting out games on the 3DS. That system is great and I don't honestly know what they would add to it to justify it being a completely new system. The portable aspect of the Switch will find some space in the market alongside 3DS and mobiles (and the Vita), but I'd be quite happy to continue playing games on the 3DS. Worst case more devs start making games specifically for the "New" iteration and you'll have to get up to date on that one if you're after it. I don't know if that's exactly what will happen, but it's what I'd like to see.

Impossible to predict until we see how well the switch does. What you're really asking is, will the switch do well enough to negate the need for a handheld successor? I'm a little more hesitant to say yes it will after the internet reaction to that conference. We'll have to wait and see.

Didn't they say the Nintendo DS wouldn't replace the Game Boy. Saying this to ease fears in the meantime for people that have the current systems. Bearing on how well the Switch does of course they may rethink a different new portable. But if the Switch does poorly I don't know what shape Nintendo will be in.

Yes, but it won't be a '4DS'. It will be a smaller, dedicated handheld version of the Switch. Plays the exact same games, but specific for on the go gaming.

They will release a new handheld and a new home console in 2020 and 2022. They will market them as the return to original handheld and original console gaming respectively. People will rejoice with how innovative Nintendo is. Others will be angry and claim this is the final straw and Nintendo will fail. There will be mass confusion about the systems, even two years after their release. This will be due to the names of the systems. The Super 3DS XL and the Wii Too. Each system will only have three launch titles.

Only if it's a modified, more portable friendly Switch or if the Switch is a total failure. Also companies don't want to devalue their older consoles by straight up telling you they don't matter anymore, they'll keep the 3ds going as long as they can and eventually phase it out. They say the Switch isn't a replacement so that 3ds sales don't plummet and in the off chance the Switch totally bombs, similar to the 3ds after the Wii U.

I think it far more likely that Nintendo would be out of the hardware business altogether than it is they would launch another handheld.

The reaction to the Switch seems pretty tepid in most quarters and they don't seem to have a launch lineup worth a damn. If the Switch falls on its face and doesn't sell, it'll make it an entire generation and a half where Nintendo has been completely irrelevant. At that point you have to wonder whether they'd even have the resources to develop a new handheld, much less market and produce one.

Even if a 4DS is produced, I wouldn't count on Nintendo creating a system that builds on the 3DS success. They don't seem to have a good understanding of why some of their systems perform well and others flop. Since the Wii, they've definitely been heavy into what I would personally term "gimmicks," like motion control, and second screens, and partial portability that, while making for good marketing material, don't tend to get good games produced for them and can't compete power wise with Microsoft or Sony.

I don't know if it will be a 4DS, but they must have thought about releasing a 'Game Boy Colour Classic Edition' somewhere down the line.

@lawgamer: Don't underestimate how enormously wealthy Nintendo is, they aren't going anywhere for a while. Also don't underestimate the success of the 3ds. It's no DS but it was far from irrelevant.

On a more opinionated level I don't think the general gaming community responses are gonna be a great way to judge interest in this thing. We'll see in due time but I have a sneaking suspicion that people are more seeing what they want to see here as opposed to accurately judging the "next big thing". ie many people seem to be getting a suspicious amount of joy from pointing and laughing at corporate mistakes, to the point where they start to stretch reality a bit.

"The Switch is already a massive failure, worse than the Wii U even. Nintendo ruins everything they ever touch!" is the kind of overreaction I'm referring to.

I wouldn't be surprised if a revision of the Switch comes out that is more portable friendly. But it plays the same games.

Saying the Switch doesn't replace the 3DS is the same ass covering statement as calling the original DS the "third pillar". But we haven't seen a Game Boy since, have we? So it really depends on how successful the Switch is. If it bombs they'll bring out a new handheld and be all "ah yeah this is the thing we had planned all along" but if it's hot you'll never see another dedicated handheld from them again. And I'm sure there will be a more portable version released down the line.

Either the Swicth is successful or Nintendo might be out of the hardware game altogether. Neither paths lead to a 4DS.

Handheld maybe, but i feel this may be the last Nintendo console.

Not alongside the Switch no. Now if the Switch flops I can see them doing that, but in the process just give up on the console side completely.

The only way this is even remotely possible is if Switch is a WiiU level failure but even then that's not what will happen.

They'd get out of hardware and AAA games development entirely and move over to phone gaming with a higher focus on merchandising and various non-gaming media endeavors.

I doubt the Switch will be a smoldering crater like the WiiU because while their messaging with the conference was a bit muddled and frankly utter shit there was a EU Switch commercial that was basically of the same style as the initial very on point 3 minute reveal trailer.

Things could get dicey when they start marketing 1 2 Switch! but the marketing for the Switch, not the conference, has been very intelligent what with masking all of it's family and kid use cases by simply using young 20 somethings in the ads instead.

In 2-3 years you'll probably see a Switch slim that loses the bezel on the left and right of the screen to get a bit more portable, can't lose the vertical bezel otherwise it wouldn't be able to support legacy Joy-cons, and that should fulfill the needs of the portable crowd.

The battery complaint from the portable demo is a bit weird though considering any normally handheld titles likely won't be nearly as demanding as Zelda and thus have much longer battery life. People seem to be taking the minimum of 2.5-3 hours for Zelda that was given as a maximum for all games instead of just an estimate for most demanding games. So the battery for something that would be a traditional console game will be fairly shit but say Pokemon likely will have five hours or something much more acceptable.

Also battery tech should improve enough in 2-3 years that again a revision of the Switch would improve it enough to be viable as a dedicated handheld.