Gen 9 and the Nintendo Switch

Then what should we call it?

“There are no generations anymore!!! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!!!!”

But if you look at the sweeping history of consoles, they certainly fall into…

“No generations! I won’t hear of any of this talk! It is all just a wikipedia invention anyway!”

So your contribution to this discussion is to shut down all discussion on generations?

“They don’t exist, FireEmblem_Man! You hear me? THEY DON’T EXIST!!!!”

Why are they so defensive, reader? It is one thing to debate whether or not a generation begins or end, it is another to say there are no and never have been generations in the first place.

One could argue, “Just as the PS4 Pro is a re-release of the PS4, as the Xbox One Whatever is to the Xbox One, so too is the Switch a re-release of the Wii U. Hell, the Switch is filled with Wii U ports! Wii U got canceled and thrown off of shelves early. Switch is just a Wii U part deux!”

This is actually a decent argument. The flood of Wii U ports on the Switch doesn’t bolster Switch’s case of being a Gen 9 device. However, the Switch is heir to not just home console but to handheld. The Switch’s release coincides with where the 3DS successor should release (six years after).

Switch is hard to understand because it is not just the heir of the Nintendo home console line but their handheld line as well.

“Bullshit! They market the Switch as a home console!”

Yeah, so you pay $60 for the games. But in Japan, the Switch is not marketed as a home console. The Switch is marketed as a handheld. The marketing is indicative of geographical and regional differences, not philosophical.

The line of handheld generations gets little attention. One extremely common trend is for Nintendo to port their home console games onto their handhelds.

“What about the Gameboy?”

It could not port NES games onto its system because it was too underpowered. However, it did mimic the NES games as best it could. Gameboy Color began to have NES ports. Gameboy Advance was filled with NES and SNES ports (NES Classic Line, Super Mario Advance 1, 2, 3, 4, etc). DS had SNES and N64 ports (hello Mario 64 DS). 3DS had N64, Gamecube, and Wii ports (hello Ocarina of Time and Majora Mask Remastered. Hello Donkey Kong Country Returns 3DS).

The successor to the 3DS is going to have Wii U ports.

*gasp* And look! The Switch has Wii U ports! I believe the Wii U ports are indicative of Switch as an heir to 3DS instead of Switch as a re-released Wii U.

If Nintendo was still doing two consoles, the successor to 3DS could be something like 4DS. And 4DS would be playing, early on, ported versions of Wii U games.

So the question remains: Why the hysteria when someone whispers “Switch and Generation 9”. It is a premise that automatically puts the Xbox One Whatever and PlayStation 4 Pro as ‘prior generation’. It also says that the console landscape has radically shifted. If PlayStation 5 is just a big box that connects to a TV, will that still find a similar market? These consoles are extremely risky billion dollar gambles. What if the market wants a console on the go? Japan clearly does, and Japan may be further than the rest of us.

The Gen 9 of Switch flares up questions and scenarios in their minds they do not want to answer. Repeat after me: “It is all a fad. It is all a fad.” This is what they want to say. I know it. You know it.

Above: Gamers drag out the ‘Big Bug Brain’ of the Game Industry out into the open. What is it thinking? “It’s afraid!!!!!” *wild cheers*

/malstrom

everyone is going to have their views.

it will be hard to change anyone's mind on how they feel either way. So everyone can just state their opinion but no one has to agree to anything.

@metalboi said:

But the switch is gen 9?

Cry harder. We are still in the 8th gen you delsuional Sheep.

You never even bother reading the post, so I win!

No offence but this generation debate is not only pointless but is also a very dumb one to have in the first place. And when I say dumb I mean on both ends: those who argue for Gen 9 and those who argue it's Gen 8. It doesn't matter what gen it is, the console is great, it has great games and it's flying off shelves.

You're the only person who cares about/is obsessed with this.

Right now, it's "competing" with PS4 and Xbox One. That's all that matters at the moment. It doesn't matter what label you want to apply to it.

TL;DR...

And......... BLOG IT

PS4 Pro, PS4 SuperPro, PS5, PS6, PS7, PS Cheeseburger.... nothing more than brandnames

All that waffle for something that doesn’t matter.

Switch is basically a mid gen upgrade

They shoulda called it the Wii U deluxe

Or the super Wii U

Yes those names are awful but when the original name is “wii u” there isn’t much to work with here

If we're talking about mid gen upgrades à la PS4 Pro and XboneX then the Switch can't really be qualified as such since I can't just pop in my Wii U games and play them on it. Basically it's not an upgrade to any other console, it's its own thing.

This makes no sense at all. Do you even know what a mid gen upgrade is?

@lebanese_boy: right, you have to rebuy all your old Wii U games at full price to play them on the switch

Just like on any other console, it's called re-releases, remasters, deluxe, etc. you get the gist.

Nintendo and sheepheads calling this a console. Media and market have no other option to take it as a console so automatically is a generation 9 console. This is a given.

This excuse or moronic idea that there are no more generations because it fits sheep arguments because Switch, as a handheld, cant go next to other consoles therefore this "console" dont count as a console ... i mean what the heck.

So in short, this is the next-gen Nintendo console isnt, the successor of Wii U ? 9th generation then.

While I'm not here to defend fanboys of any kind I do have to point out that the first time the argument of having no more generations showed up was when the PS4 Pro was unveiled. This generation is like no other simply for that and the lines between gens are clearly being blurred with the likes of PS4 Pro, XboneX and Switch. In the end this whole argument is meaningless so it's no use getting worked up over it (not saying you are) and I think generations don't really mean much anymore.

I think it's important to separate Nintendo into its own gen series. The Switch is gen 9 because Nintendo decided to take it's own road and experiment which resulted in the failure of the Wii-U. They had no choice but to cut their losses and create a successor sooner.

Is it gen 9 for the rest of us? No. Thus, Switch doesn't feel like gen 9 hardware. Ever since Wii in 2006 Nintendo has been a generation behind in power. So for more than a decade, Nintendo's new gens feel like the previous gen. It's just the way it is.

I personally skipped Wii-U completely. I acted as though it didn't even exist so the Switch to me will be part of the PS4/X1 gen.

I have no problem with considering the Switch a Gen 9 system myself. For me as soon as just one console manufacturer comes out with a new system then a new generation has begun.

Fact: Atari And Sega released multiple consoles in the same gen in the past.

Therefore Nintendo released 2 consoles in gen 8(wii u and switch).

I have no idea why Nintendo fanboys can’t understand this simple concept.

Listen how it goes.

For months im stating some facts and opinions why Switch is a handheld, not even close to a console. All im getting back is hate, trolling, drama blablabla. All right, fine by me. I dont mind that, im in SW in the end of the day.

BUT when every sheephead here going nuts over some facts/opinions if Switch is a console or not and at the same time stating that Switch shouldnt considered as a next-gen console from Nintendo.... Im sorry pal, but to me this is one of the most hypocritical statements a sheep, that defending Switch for being a console can get.

And since we talking about hypocrisy, whats the only factor that makes Switch not being a 9th generation console ? Its a console or not, sheep must decide. And because it cant be compared side by side with real consoles suddenly sheepheads coming up with " generations dont matter anymore " or " generations dont exist anymore " blabla ! Oh really, now we gonna change how console generations work for 30 years now ? Hehe.

So to end this, since Nintendo fanboys all over the internet, Nintendo themselves, whole media and market taking this as a console, Switch = 9th generation console from Nintendo. Thats how i see it, thats how it goes and this console will have to compete in few years with 9th generation consoles of SONY and MS. Good luck Switch console.

I actually agree with you on the Switch being a handheld. Looking at it at its core it's a tablet that runs on battery and comes with physical buttons, a handheld. It also happens to have the necessary accessories to perfectly emulate a home console experience at the same time. That's the way I've seen the Switch since day 1. Calling it a hybrid or having Nintendo market it as a home console won't change what it is technically.

I don't speak for sheeps/fanboys, I'm none of that. But as I've said previously on this thread I think the whole gen discussion is pointless because it won't change a console's success, charm and the fun you have with its games. Gens are also not exclusive to home consoles, so wtv you want to consider the Switch it is the newest generation of Nintendo's systems. Whether that belongs to gen 8 or 9 is a debate that is best left to people who have more time on their hands.

People had no trouble considering the Wii a 7th Gen console or the Wii U a 8th Gen, so if some fanboys are being hypocrites like you said then that's their problem. I prefer to enjoy games on whatever suits me best I don't have brand loyalty I've owned consoles/handhelds from all of the big 3.

Switch is a handheld, except when it isn't. Basically Nintendo fanboys will chop and change their opinion when it suits them on this. If it's a handheld, as some claim when they want to dodge why Doom plays so crap or Skyrim is the PS3 version, then the gens don't come in to it. If it's not, which they argue when they want it to be talked about with the respect that a main console gains, then it's yet another console that is underpowered and ill equipped for what has been or what is coming.

It may be, but it's also a FACT that the switch, is a gen 9 console, competing against gen 8 consoles. It's wonderful that it's selling so well, but let's not kid ourselves that it's only put on the same competition as the x1 and the ps4, with sheep's is because it's doing so well against them. Also, let's not pretend like Nintendo didn't have a gen 8 competitor that completely fell on it's face. It is competing against the ps4/x1, but it is in a gen all of it's own.

I'm willing to call it a 9th gen system even if it's got the power of a beefy 7th gen system, it's a hybrid device and follow up to their eighth gen Wii U and 3DS, and the mid-gen upgrade excuse shouldn't apply here as there's no current compatibility with the 8th gen games or systems. I don't know why this is a contentious issue for some.

Nintendo is doing well for a change and that matters more. I feel having one main device is smart so they don't have to split focus between devices like they did for Wii/DS and WiiU/3DS.

Okay, I guess two people care. Gens don't matter.

Only to you, Nintendo, and most of the sheeps here. Gens are still a thing, whether you want to acknowledge it or not.

No they didn't!

I'm willing to bet that it'll be Microsoft that effectively kills off gens soon

Sadly, I'm not talking about "the future". I'm talking about the "now", and in the "now" generation are still a thing. The future holds too many "probabilities" for me to speculate on what may/will happen.

Okay, fine. I just don't think that the number makes any real difference other than documentation purposes, unless you consider console wars that important (and I suspect you do) in which case, yes, Nintendo lost gen 8 hard.

My problem is people effectively claiming that Switch has no competition yet.

Depending on how one view competition, it may not have any. Let's not act like console was never defined by it's generation, even the media always put consoles in their corresponding generation as "direct" competition. How many times was the 360 compared to be in "direct" competition with the ps2? Looking at it from that standpoint, then yeah, the switch really is in a generation of it's own. What's funny is that last gen, Nintendo and sheep tried to sell us on the falsified perception that the Wii-U was a thing of it's own because it was failing so hard, now that the switch is on the ride of success, now it's in competition with the ps4/x1. Get out of here with that flip flop action. This isn't "when we're doing bad, we're not competing with the others, we're just doing our own thing here, but when we're winning, we're definitely in competition with you guys" crap. Nintendo lost the ps4/x1 generation with the wii-u, end of story. Now the switch can beat out the ps4/x1 in sales, but it's isn't in any way "lol" for ms or sony because they destroyed Nintendo's competing console for their respected generation.

Well, that's not how I thought at all but thanks for making shitty assumptions. The idea that Switch is in a special bubble and only selling because it launched before PS5 is stupid. By the way, the OP is actually the sheep here.

If new consoles launch this year, then sure. However, if they launch in 2020 Switch's life will be half done by then. That's why I don't think it really fits in.

I've always looked at it as they released 2 Gen 6 systems (Gamecube and Wii). Remember all the jokes about the WIi being "2 Gamecubes ducktaped together"?. Ever since then they've been a generation behind.

Wii-U was the last to release Gen 7 system, which shared similarities with the Xbox 360.

Switch is the last to release Gen 8 system, but realistically it is a portable tablet device as well -, of note is that the PS4/Xbox One also used some tablet components. However even though the portable form factor gimps it's performance vs. the other Gen 8 systems, I'd say it's at least on a plane with the entry level Xbox One and PS4 (not the X or pro model, clearly).

yea, is he talking about the 32x and sega CD?

thos were attachments. you could not buy those standalone and play games. you had to buy an actual genesis to attach it to.

What generation is the PC in? When was its launch date?

Do graphics matter anymore. Is the PS5 going to be a portable system that has the graphical power of the current gen PS4?

Don't be salty because ms and Sony end up being a whole gen behind literally! They waited so long with the Xbox 360 and ps3 they deserve to be left in the dust and yes switch is gen 9

Switch is Gen 9, just like how the Dreamcast was 6th Gen or how the Xbox 360 was 7th Gen (even though it was released 4 years after the original Xbox). It doesn't matter whether the PS4/XB1 are doing strong (and are stronger than the Switch) or their successor isn't coming out in 2020, as you can see, sometimes the generations start early - and in the Switch's case it started Gen 9 early. You didn't see people saying SEGA was late to the 6th Gen with the Dreamcast (just because they released it 2 years after the N64, which is 2 years shorter between the timespan between the PS4/XB1 and Switch since both the PS4 and XB1 released 4 years earlier than the Switch). If the Dreamcast can be 6th Gen, Switch can be 9th Gen.