this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2024

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Can I use my Nintendo Switch in 20 years from now? (feddit.nl)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

148 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I am trying to choose between buying a Nintendo Switch or a Nintendo DS.

This may not be the perfect community to ask - but I can't think of any better place.

The reason for my question: I don't want to own obsolete hardware in 10 years. Lately most games seem to depend on a "phone home" feature, which is not really an issue for my pc because it is always connected, but a console is something I want to play always and everywhere.

I already did some searching and found that games can be played offline fine (most of them, some exceptions are there like Multiplayer and Mortal Kombat), but:

There is something like the paid Nintendo Online Account. I am not planning on having a paid account. How much of the system depends on the account?
Can I have progression in a game (let's say: one of the Zelda franchise) and will my Wife and Kids all have their own progression, without having to pay for X accounts?
People who own a Switch, let's take this to extremes, do you feel like in 20 years from now you can still do the same things on your hardware as you can do now? (No multiplayer is fine)

Also, feel free to rant about "paying is not owning", the state of the gaming industry is horrible.

edit: Thank you all for the comments! I don't post a lot, so it was kinda overwhelming :)

For clarity:

I meant I want to "buy for life" (not really "life", but, if the hardware survives you can play on pre-internet consoles forever - you can even buy more games if you can find them)
I want to buy a physical copy of the games, not download them

I've decided to go with the Nintendo DS for now (I have a DSi - this week I bought a couple of games, 2nd hand). Reasons:

I already had it
Joycons on switch. Multiple people mentioned having problems with them. I don't count on being able to buy them new in 10 years, meaning they will have to last.

Again: thank you all for the useful input!

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That is an odd take, I mean, if there are still new games release on Switch in 20 years, then sure? Switch definitely has better chance on having newer games than DS in those time frame.

The reason for my question: I don’t want to own obsolete hardware in 10 years.

In that case, why not wait for the next gen? I have my Switch since 2018, I think, it's still the first gen one, that can be modded without hardware. I'll continue play it as long as there's a game for it. The only way to have the most time of a hardware is to get it when it's new, right?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I think by obsolete they mean virtually useless. Think of the Ouya not something like the Nintendo Wii. I don't think anyone really expects the Switch to keep going for 20 years. Maybe it will get the odd homebrew but they are wondering about if they are going to be able to keep their existing library or if things like DRM are going to get in the way and artificially reduce the consoles lifespan.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

My switch died after about 4 years. A capacitor burned, tried to replace it, but still nothing happens... dont know if Ill get it to work again

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

It's pretty much needed only for online stuff, so single-player only is no problem. Also cloud saves.
Yes, multiple local accounts are possible.
Probably, since I no longer pay for online services, so nothing much will change for me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (8 children)

People who own a Switch, let’s take this to extremes, do you feel like in 20 years from now you can still do the same things on your hardware as you can do now? (No multiplayer is fine)

No chance.

Not only it is unlikely that the hardware will last that long, the supplies for hardmodding it likely won't either, and in 20 years there won't be enough of a community interest to support hardmodding services unless some sort of master keys are leaked. And without hardmodding, the only Switches that you can install whatever you want on are very ld ones that were released with firmware 3.x or something, which are also less capable hardware and lower quality joycons.

Heck, if I had to bet on 5 years more instead of 20, I'd flat out sell my Switch and buy a Steam Deck 2.0 as soon as they release.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not only it is unlikely that the hardware will last that long, the supplies for hardmodding it likely won’t either, and in 20 years there won’t be enough of a community interest to support hardmodding services unless some sort of master keys are leaked. And without hardmodding, the only Switches that you can install whatever you want on are very ld ones that were released with firmware 3.x or something, which are also less capable hardware and lower quality joycons.

Do you think that will be very relevant if we get things like the MIG Switch? I feel like there will still be a decent dedicated community for the Switch for a while. It is a Nintendo product with decent emulation/homebrew potential.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't know enough of it to opinionate but I see at least two big issues (for me thinking about usefulness for that time period):

it's hardware, meaning it's far more pricey and international access far more restricted (they do point out for example they don't sell to end users).
in theory it only runs Switch carts (or, technically, Switch installable packages). if so meaning they only supplement a previously jailbroken Switch's setup (eg.: pegascape, atmosphere, emulators, ...), not replace it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

it’s hardware, meaning it’s far more pricey and international access far more restricted (they do point out for example they don’t sell to end users).

I am hoping it's one of those things we see replicated and sold across different sites for cheap. Kind of like how the MX4SIO was originally only sold in a few places by people like Helders Game Tech and now you can pick them up on Ali Express for dirt cheap pretty much wherever you are.

in theory it only runs Switch carts (or, technically, Switch installable packages). if so meaning they only supplement a previously jailbroken Switch’s setup (eg.: pegascape, atmosphere, emulators, …), not replace it.

Kind of like HEN for Playstation systems?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I would lean towards either a DS, or switch emulation (using a device such as the Steam Deck, so games that require gyro input such as Super Mario 3D World - can still be played fine)

The DS is really affordable second-hand, and the usual third party SD card carts work just as well. People seem to really like the XL models, so may be worth considering one of those

As for the Switch, you'll likely be able to play your existing physical carts in 20 years time. It's still Nintendo's latest console though, so there's no telling what they may decide to do in future. I think if you have a jailbroken switch you could be in for a difficult time if newer carts use different hardware encryption keys that require a newer firmware...

With emulation though you get to actually own the games and play them on whatever device you want, at any time. The Mii maker and gyro setup does require following some guides to get going, but this stuff is well supported for the Deck (probably similar story for the alternative Windows handhelds but haven't checked). Yuzu's early access Android app already has gyro configured, using the sensors built into your phone. Lastly you can do multiplayer with other Yuzu players over the internet, completely independent of Nintendo's online functionality

[–] pugsnroses77 0 points 9 months ago

i have a switch too and 9 times out of 10 im booting it up to play light games with friends. it gets me a lot of use but hardly for real gaming. main exceptions are the zelda games, the mario sunshine reboot, and the ace attorney reboot, plus some of nintendos unique titles. the main upside to people is that you can get it pretty cheap compared to a nice gaming computer or a console so for casual gamers it gets you access to a lot on the online store, but if you are looking for pure longevity the ds is not a bad choice.

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