Which generation does the Switch fall into? Nintendo crazy?

This is probably the most confusing generation in awhile. It almost seems as if Nintendo launched 2 consoles during a gaming generation. Is the Switch current gen or a different gen all together?

Were in a post generational paradigm. The idea of generation had no meaning anymore and i for one find this refreshing and freeing!

Technically it is 9th gen

PS4/XBOX are both 8th gen (including Pro/X)

agreed. The attribution is extremely artificial at this point

It falls into the shitty hardware generation, which is a Nintendo exclusive generation.

Since when did Nintendo follow the console generation thing? They just release a new console when they're ready to, I doubt Sony or MS having a console launch to out do the other even registers with Nintendo.

Nintendo doing their own thing is something I respect about them, still doesn't make me buy their consoles though.

Technically, gen 9.

Graphically, gen 7.

the whole thing is a mess now to be honest. technically, under the old rules, the 8th gen ended with the launch of the switch, PS4 won and the switch is not competing against anything at the moment. this is no relfection of reality though.

maybe the switch is just nintendos X1X/PS4 pro. ah that doesnt really work either since it has its own games and wiiu support is gone.

yeah gens are done really at this stage.

A console generation is generally defined as a set of consoles that comes out during a certain period of time. The exact time can vary and what is considered the first of a next-gen console is not set in stone either. While the Wii U was the first 8th generation home console, it is a bit hard to say if the Switch can actually be considered a 9th generation console. If you see it as a handheld, then it very much is. If seen as a console, it seems to be more like Nintendo's 2nd 8th generation console. It also came out in a time period when both MS and Sony are releasing a significantly upgraded version of their 8th gen console. Rather than saying we are halfway through generation 8, it might me more accurate to say that generation 8.5 (or next-gen extension) has started and that the Switch is part of it.

(Though if you want my opinion, I still view it as a 9th gen console just to make it easy on anyone)

LOL, shitty hardware is indeed a ninty exclusive feature.

@needhealing:

Technically it falls under next gen. Nintendo fanboys are running mental gymnastics over the Switch's lack of power but we all know most people buy it as a home console first and portable second.

I know I'm only going to use it as a home console. I already have a 3DS and Vita, anyway. Having a 2nd Nintendo portable console is flat out useless to me.

@GarGx1: Nintendo followed gens up until the Wii came out, that's about the time they started to put consoles out later with outdated tech (compared to what was on the market at the time).

Yep, agreed.

By what standard?

If so... Xbox and PlayStation are also shitty hardware.

Theyre all non-enthusiast lowest common denominator ... even then 1.5's are friggin mediocre.

@MBirdy88: By console standards nitwit. Did it really have to be spelled out for you?

Ah yes, because comparing a HTPC to a Tablet is so different from a Full ATX PC to a HTPC Console.

I mean cmon, its just fucking sad that these conversations even take place.

SNES/N64/GC were all fine on the hardware front.

How do you figure? The GC was way out of sync with its "gen" too - DC launched that generation almost 2 full years before the GC and XBox.

In the 5th generation, the N64 launched almost 3 full years into the generation.

People fixated on timing are doing it wrong.

Generations used to be defined by architectural leaps - typically this is why they were associated with an abrupt shift in game support as well. Release years were often staggered like mad; that wasn't what defined a new gen starting.

@vfighter: Nintendo dance to their own tune, they always have and always will. I seriously doubt they have ever planned a console release because other companies have launched or were about to launch a new one. The other way round though, not so much. All of them have chased Nintendo at some time or another.

Gen X

If Wii/360/PS3 is gen 7,

and wii u/xbox one/ps4 is gen 8

Could Ps4 4K / xbox one 4K / Switch be gen 8.5?

Doesn't really matter to me. This whole thing isn't as fun as it used to be.

We're all gonna die.

Repackage last gen hardware is shitty hardware by any standard don't try to pretend its not because you have a liking to the shitty hardware.

ha

Nintendo graphics by "gen" chart

Gen 4 - Gen 4 graphics
Gen 5 - Gen 5 graphics
Gen 6 - Gen 6 graphics
Gen 7 - Gen 6 graphics
Gen 8 - Gen 7 graphics
Gen 9 - Gen 7 graphics

HMMMMM.... Yes very interesting Nintendo... Interesting indeed.

I'm going to say it's a gen 8.5 restart.

No lies detected.

haters gonna hate

Damn, Nintendo made people in this thread all confused and stuff. They are the Donal Trump of gaming.

It falls under the current generation. Anyone who disagrees is usually an anti-Nintendo fanboy.

gen 9...after their gen 8 flop the Wii U. :P

It's a 1st gen hybrid! :O

Honestly, don't know, don't care. All seems arbitrary now.

If you really need to compare things, just compare what's current. The delineation is muddy these days and ultimately doesn't matter.

Guess it'll be a bit annoying in the future, trying to quickly refer back to a certain generational group of consoles. People might lump WiiU and Switch in the same gen (8), or we may abandon the idea of generations in general. Who knows.

You realize that it's replacing 3DS, right? And Vita is dead.

@techhog89:

If it is, then too bad for Nintendo because I didn't plan on replacing 3DS. And no, Vita isn't dead. My library for it is living proof. It's full of Japanese imports but still.

The right answer is who gives a shit?

The generation that kicked Xb1x butt when it comes to sales numbers.

@needhealing: Nintendo is in its own lane. Theres to many people that buy Nintendos that dpnt even look at p4s or xboxs

My aunt bought a wii and switch. Shell never buy a ps xbox tho.

Theres friendly appeal that puts it in a different boat.

Its just as dum as comparing pc to consoles on a direct level

The wii u was the modern day virtual boy so just forget about it my friend. As far as we are supposed to behave this gen has always been PS4 pro, Xbox 1 X, and Switch...anything before is irrelevant.

The Nintendo Switch is in the "9 and a half mid-generation revision of gaming systems". Which also includes the PlayStation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X. The Nintendo Switch is what the Nintendo Wii U should have been. Both systems however feature only 32GB of on board memory compared to Sony's 1 TB HDD memory on the PlayStation 4 Pro, and the "really 10th Generation entry" but we cannot tell the consumer since they will be pissed off. Microsoft Xbox one X which also has a 1 TB HDD.

The Wii U died quickly. A Tablet shaped controller just didn't cut the mustard in 2012. So now Nintendo has a gaming tablet 2011 Nividia Shield tablet CPU. While the PlayStation 4 Pro still uses a plain Blu Ray Disc drive and false 4K resolution. The Xbox One X should have billed itself as the first 10th generation entry. Microsoft should have distanced themselves from the horrible launch of the original Xbox one console in 2013. 2017 could have been the fresh start Microsoft needs. But the Xbox One X needed a game built to take advantage of it's Tech Power. So technically the Xbox One X has no games. even though Microsoft has billed Xbox One X as in the same family as Xbox One S and the original Xbox one console.

MS should have named the console differently and billed it as the first entry into the 10th generation of game machines/devices/consoles. Featuring backwards compatibility with Xbox One/S games and controllers. So the Nintendo Switch and PS Pro/Xbox One X belong to the "9.5 half arsed generation mid up grade. With Microsoft most chicken. Sony not quite hitting the mark. and Nintendo still thinking that 32GB is a good amount of storage in 2017. Nintendo at least has managed to turn around the Wii U sales. The Switch has almost equaled the entire sales of the 9th gen with their 9th and a half gen entry.

cry more little salty one, nobody cares.

I will tell you because sensitive sheep around dont want to admit and talking out of their asses. Last time ive heard that Nintendo is out of this generation thing since Wii when Wii is clear a 7th and Wii U an 8th generation console taken as that by both media and industry.

To me : Switch generation is nothing. Its a handheld. Handhelds shouldnt compete with consoles. This is wrong to begin with .. but ! Since everyone disagree with that ...

For industry, media and sheep that keep calling Switch a console : Its generation 9 since its a console, they cant avoid this now, can they ? Switch its a new console, 9th generation that competes with 4 years old 8th generation consoles. Sonys 9th = PS5 , MSs 9th = X2. Not out yet.

Sigh, and when Azatis saying this is wrong and will backfire = the bad guy ! lol. My predictions, noone listens till its very late. Just remember this when PS5/X2 is out in 1-2 years when Switch will be only 3 years old. You heard this here first.

@Mercenary848: ain't no way in Hell Wii U is a modern day Virtual Boy, it's a modern day GameCube. Both had Nintendo as the main supporter, and came in 3rd out of 4.

Generations are out the window at this point.

@jimclirad: you bump this old thread to reply to me lol.

@appariti0n: "Technically, gen 9.

Graphically, gen 7."

Absolutely this!

The switch is what the Wii u should have been. It's a next gen system in my opinion as the Wii u failed this gen.

I categorize consoles into generations based upon time periods and which other consoles they spent the majority of their lifespan competing against. So just like I consider the Dreamcast to be a 5th generation console since it spent most of it's lifespan competing against other 5th generation consoles, I consider the Switch to be an 8th generation console since it is probably going to spend most of it's lifespan competing against other 8th generation consoles.

And before somebody says that a company can't have two consoles in the same generation, that's not true and there are multiple examples of this happening before. For example, the 2600 and 5200 are both generally considered to be 2nd generation consoles and they were both made by Atari. Another example is the SG-1000 and the Master System are both considered to be 3rd generation consoles and they were both made by Sega.

What old rules? There has never been any official rules for what defines which generation a console belongs to. Console generation categorization has been a mess going all the way back to the 80s. This is not just a recent thing.

I agree with the other guy. It is possible to release 2 consoles in the same gen and that is exactly what Nintendo did.

The switch is a glorified Wii u that is now wireless and the sides detach.

That is all it is. The exact same terrible games hence all the ports.

Atari and Sega both have done this in the past and Nintendo did it.

Sony and to a lesser extent Microsoft now dictate generations because they actually push hardware.

Nintendo does NOT dictate anything and have not for 20+ years now.

Generation 8. They fucked up the Wii U, so they decided to build another one to compete with Sony and Xbox.

Essentially Nintendo has two consoles competing with Xbox One and PS4 in the current gen.

Was going to say gen 8.5, but that's probably what Nintendo thinks :P

Exactly. Nintendo make up their own views of console generations.