The Game's Industry website released an article going in detail just how the new release of gaming titles, alongside improved hardware, has helped to maintain the gaming industry as a whole in a thriving environment in a post-pandemic world, stabilizing into a new normal state, as well as helping it grow even more than what it was before.

In this new article titled "The US video game industry gets back to growth", depicts several factors that are influencing the gaming market in the current day, with an expected growth of around 3% for the US, nearing 58.3 billion USD. In terms of hardware, products alone contribute around 7 billion out of the 57+ billion USD in video game expenses, with a growth of around 19% from last year.

One of the points of interest from this article, comes from the same talk about hardware sales, which is related to that of the Nintendo Switch. In the article, it's mentioned that the Nintendo Switch held a very strong 2023, with the release of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom helping with hardware sales, and not only that, but also helping the Nintendo Switch to finally surpass the sales of the Nintendo Wii on the US back in July of 2023, with the Switch trailing behind just a bit from the Xbox 360 by a million, and the PlayStation 2 by 5 million:

Switch has also continued to perform strongly in 2023, helped by the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. In fact, the US lifetime sales of Switch hardware finally surpassed those of Wii in the US market during July 2023. Switch lifetime sales now trail Xbox 360 by less than one million units, and PlayStation 2 by fewer than five million.

It's worth noting that the sales numbers combine all versions of the Switch, including Switch Lite and Switch OLED.
It might only be a matter of time before the Switch pairs up with the most successful consoles (PS2, DS) in terms of sales, but with the current rumours of a new Switch revision, or even a Switch successor on the horizon, it's still uncertain if the Switch will get there in time before said console appears and the Switch stops being sold.

Source

 

[JeepX87]

So was Wii, and that actually ran Nintendo games at 60 FPS for its entire lifespan.

It isn't good comparison between Wii and Switch because Switch run on HD that is very taxing. PS3 and X360 are HD and many of their games aren't 60 FPS at full HD, especially demanding games and some PS3 games had issue with FPS drops.

Difference between PC and PS3 was very noticeable, so I prefer to play games on PC over PS3.

4GB RAM was not enough for android-based phones in 2017, and so it certainly wasn't enough for a gaming console also running on ARM.

iPhone 8 released in 2017 but ran on 2 GB-3 GB RAM. Samsung Galaxy S8 basic model run on 4 GB.

Most cheap Android phones in 2017 run with much less RAM since premium phones come with more RAM.

Like I said Switch is designed to run games from X360/PS3 era, and I didn't expect Switch to be very powerful, compared to PS4 and Xbox One. That's very Nintendo typical.

 

[DragonMals]

The only thing that i don't like about the Wii is that when it comes to the shovelware, why do most of them run at a set set framerate but when you go in the Wii menu, it's back to being smooth again? This applies to more of the Wiiware games, but some games like standard Wii party and Bust a Move/Arkanoid Plus work just as fine.

 

[Xzi]

It isn't good comparison between Wii and Switch because Switch run on HD that is very taxing.

Nah, Switch uses a dynamic resolution scaler which frequently drops it to under 720p even in docked mode. RAM is far from the only bottleneck in the system, but it is the most egregious one stopping more third-party games from being ported over.

 

[JeepX87]

Nah, Switch uses a dynamic resolution scaler which frequently drops it to under 720p even in docked mode. RAM is far from the only bottleneck in the system, but it is the most egregious one stopping more third-party games from being ported over.

PS3/X360 do same like this. RDR run at 1080p in docked mode on Switch.

After all, Switch is basically portable version of X360/PS3, so RAM isn't issue if games played on X360/PS3 get ported to Switch.

Not happy with Switch? My suggestion to you: play games on PC and Steam Deck, and use Yuzu emulator to run the Switch games. I don't care about what you do. Trash the Switch? Go ahead.

I don't expect to debate with you over Switch, so I'm going to wrapping the conversation.

 

[Xzi]

After all, Switch is basically portable version of X360/PS3, so RAM isn't issue if games played on X360/PS3 get ported to Switch.

And that'd be fine if they had released it in 2012 instead of Wii U, but it was released three years before PS5/XSX, and Nintendo claims Switch is part of the PS4 generation. With that claim comes higher expectations. PS4 still gets a whole lot of ports that Switch does not.

Not happy with Switch? My suggestion to you: play games on PC and Steam Deck, and use Yuzu emulator to run the Switch games. I don't care about what you do. Trash the Switch? Go ahead.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Nintendo kept portable gaming alive when nobody else would, but Switch was more of a "right time right place" type of deal than anything inherently special. Any console manufacturer should be criticized for releasing hardware they know is five years out of date straight from the box. My physical Switch collection has ended up with just a few games more than my Wii collection. A lot of wasted potential.

 

[TomSwitch]

Most of the games are regurgitated remasters of old games, now with a higher price, but I can't deny, the Switch does have some pretty amazing games. Even though I'm a huge Wii fan, one thing I like better about the Switch is that it doesn't FORCE you to use it's shitty motion controllers like the Wii does. I wish you could just navigate menus and play all the games with a GameCube controller........

Crap being more expansive on Switch is true. It's a Nintendo problem, crap being more expansive than on other platform. And I have a feeling there is more crap on Nintendo than any other platform too. Seal of quality my foot. The game cart is of very good quality in material and workmanship, nothing about game quality.

Wii controller rocks. Nintendo failed to make anything out of motion control on Switch. 1-2 Switch is a very big joke and the squeal even worst.

Both platform have enough good games. I think Switch took longer to have enough good games.

 

[BlazeMasterBM]

Crap being more expansive on Switch is true. It's a Nintendo problem, crap being more expansive than on other platform. And I have a feeling there is more crap on Nintendo than any other platform too. Seal of quality my foot. The game cart is of very good quality in material and workmanship, nothing about game quality.

Wii controller rocks. Nintendo failed to make anything out of motion control on Switch. 1-2 Switch is a very big joke and the squeal even worst.

Both platform have enough good games. I think Switch took longer to have enough good games.

There's nothing wrong with the wii remote (besides needing batteries) I just wish they let you use other controllers instead of forcing you to use that one

 

[JeepX87]

And that'd be fine if they had released it in 2012 instead of Wii U, but it was released three years before PS5/XSX, and Nintendo claims Switch is part of the PS4 generation. With that claim comes higher expectations. PS4 still gets a whole lot of ports that Switch does not.

No one know about what happened if Wii U wasn't released at first place. Nintendo expected Wii U to be sold over 100 millions within 5 years but it was opposite effect, end up with 13 millions sold instead. Nintendo wanted to continue one home console and one portable handheld, but Wii U failure was over for Nintendo with two systems.

I didn't recall about Nintendo's mention Switch as PS4 generation, but if does, Nintendo made awful mistake. There is no way for Switch to match with PS4 and XONE by far. I knew in 2017 that Switch is no PS4.

Next gen console dubbed "Switch 2" likely to have 8 GB RAM, match with PS4's performance to have render Nintendo characters in candy-style Unreal Engine. I guess that your reaction would be... outdated but I was like... that's Nintendo and they are 1-2 generation before.

 

[TomSwitch]

but Switch was more of a "right time right place" type of deal than anything inherently special.

Every success requires luck and it has to be right time, right place and right product.

Was it luck that they had the right product, of course it was.

Trying to be special is a start up strategy. Trying to be good enough is what a matured company do. When customer is for you to win trying to be special to some people is the right move, you only have to hit some targets to be winning. When you have a big base trying to not loose them is the target, when trying to be special you will loose many customers as you can't be special to all of them.

Kinect was special to some and a terrible business mistake of Microsoft.

 

[Xzi]

Next gen console dubbed "Switch 2" likely to have 8 GB RAM, match with PS4's performance to have render Nintendo characters in candy-style Unreal Engine. I guess that your reaction would be... outdated but I was like... that's Nintendo and they are 1-2 generation before.

I feel like they have to eventually pick a lane between releasing outdated hardware and getting angry about emulation. Because the former enables the latter.

 

[ertaboy356b]

Makes sense - the Switch is a FAR better console than the Wii ever was.
Screw you and die, pointer-based motion controls, you dysfunctional fuck. Traditional controls are ALWAYS, ALWAYS better.

We get classic bangers like JUON The Grudge though.

Post automatically merged: Aug 29, 2023

That’s fair and all, but 4GB (3 if we get petty) is NOTHING in todays technological realm.

To be fair, flagship phones in 2017 has 6GB of RAM and that costs an arm and leg.

 

[MarkDarkness]

Wiis din't break half as often as Switchs

 

[Bladexdsl]

Wiis din't break half as often as Switchs

yep my wii mote and chuck never needed to be replaced every 3 weeks due to drift. in fact i still have them unlike them cheap 3d printed joke of a DRIFTcons!

 

[thunderboy17]

Wiis din't break half as often as Switchs

are you using your Switch as a hammer or something?

 

[Taleweaver]

Well...not bad for a console I predicted would be dead on arrival. Not bad at all!

Now if only nintendo could break out of their pattern of following every successful console with a dud, things' look good for them.

Wiis din't break half as often as Switchs

One of my friends broke a household lamp during one of the wii sports games. And let's not forget the televisions that got "bricked" by overenthusiast wiimote swingers.

 

[console]

Wow! I had two Nintendo Wii systems (have backward compatible with GameCube game discs to play) and love it. I skipped Nintendo Wii U due to bad sales then I was force buy PlayStation 4 (due to very strong sale of games and hardware over Wii U and Nintendo Switch) instead and skipped Nintendo Switch due to lousy hardware and joy-con controller analog stick problems wide all over world due to flaw design. I have to buy PlayStation 5 Pro next year to crush Nintendo Switch. Sorry to Nintendo company, you lost me as customer due to weak hardware like slow CPU, GPU, small RAM and storage.

 

[gaga941021]

It's worth noting that the sales numbers seem to combine all versions of the Switch, including Switch Lite and Switch OLED.

Why? Who would assume otherwise? Jesus.

 

[BaamAlex]

I never really liked the Wii too much as a console as Nintendo tried to sell a gimmicky console with a lot of shovelware crap.

I love the Wii. My launch unit runs perfectly until today and I still play mkwii online. Mkwii online on nintendo servers was funny. I miss these days. But yeah, there is a lot of shovelware on the Wii, but there are a few titles that are relatively good imho.

 

[Desconocido90]

Nah, Switch uses a dynamic resolution scaler which frequently drops it to under 720p even in docked mode. RAM is far from the only bottleneck in the system, but it is the most egregious one stopping more third-party games from being ported over.

Your problem is you're considering only the worst ports and rushed first party games to evaluate Switch HW, instead of using the best ones.

Switch has proven again and again that, when the developers dedicate enough time to optimize Switch games, they can easily surpass PS3 and X360 visuals thanks to the superior HW:

• Red Dead Redemption for Switch runs 1080p in dock (compared 720p of PS3 and X360), with slightly better performance and enhancements than X360, and much, much better than PS3.
• Dark Souls runs at 1080-900p in Dock and 720p in portable... higher than X360 resolution (1024x720, lower than 720p). Switch framerate lacks the frame rate huge drops from X360.
• Skyrim Switch port has higher resolution than PS3/X360 in dock (900p vs 720p). The frame rate is comparable to X360 and better than PS3... plus Switch lacks the PS3 lag issues after long gameplays and has some enhancements.
• Bayonetta 1 is 720p is all modes and consoles... but Switch has more stable 60fps than X360 and literally doubles PS3 terrible frame rate (30fps cap with frequent drops).

Also, you're also idealizing the 6th generation. X360 and (specially) PS3 games ran at 720p and had unstable framerates and issues... I dare to say Switch has more 1080p 60fps games that PS3 ever did.

but regardless 4GB was barely enough to run demanding games in 2008. 8GB would've been extremely cheap when Switch launched in 2017. They handicapped the system's longevity big time by nickel and diming the specs.

8GB of mobile RAM wasn't that cheap on 2017... plus, you're not seeing Switch as it is: handheld HW (despite the hybrid use) with a fraction of the size and power consumption of a home console.

It's notmal for handheld HW to be a generation behind from home console. It that way, Switch similar to what a PS3 Pro+ or a Vita 2 would be, it deserves some credit.

If you compare antecedents, Switch RAM (8 times more than PS3, half PS4) isn't that low:
Playstation Vita had 512 MB + 128 MB VRAM, next to PS4's 8GB.
PSP had 32MB next PS3 512MB.

It's normal.

There's nothing wrong with the wii remote (besides needing batteries) I just wish they let you use other controllers instead of forcing you to use that one

The Wiimotes had many issues.

• It lacked accesible buttons for most games. Vertically, you couldn't access 1 & 2 and the dPad was barely accessible. Horizontally, it was a NES gamepad with 2 extra A & B buttons awkwardly positioned. Vertical+Nunchuck you had a SNES gamepad (with a joystick). That isn't enough for many games and genres, and motion sensors aren't a reliable substitute for the missing buttons.
• The lack of a second stick for camera harmed the controls in 3D games.
• The motion sensors were crap. Nintendo promised us 1:1 motion capture, yet it gave us a gamepad without gyros, only accelerometers. It didn't fix the issue until years later with the wiimotion+, because of that most games were never compatible.
• The stupid cable between Wiimote and Nunchuck...

Wiis din't break half as often as Switchs

Actually, the first Wii could break easily if you just enable WiiConnect24. After months, the GPU got damaged, showing clouds of green pixels

Switch sales will never beat wii+DS

Maybe... but it beated WiiU+3DS and GC+GBA... I'm 99% sure it beated N64+GBC... maybe SNES+GB... maybe PS4+Vita...

...all that without having to support a non-profitable dead console (Nintendo lost money with WiiU) and with superhigh software sales. Switch prints money.

Wii+DS is impossible to repeat... Nintendo could only gather all casuals in the world because smartphones hadn't arrived yet.

 

[Marc_LFD]

There's nothing wrong with the wii remote (besides needing batteries) I just wish they let you use other controllers instead of forcing you to use that one

Using rechargeable batteries is actually a great idea because it's easily removable while an internal battery requires to open the controller and replace when it no longer works.

A DS3 controller is super easy to open, but DS4 takes more precision and a Stadia? Almost impossible.