The UK government's Microsoft Activision acquisition files suggest potential Switch successor

[Daniel Sims]

In context: Nintendo fans have gotten increasingly anxious as the company remains silent on plans for a successor to the Switch as the console approaches its sixth birthday. A few words buried in a UK regulatory document about Microsoft's Activision acquisition are almost the only official information acknowledging Nintendo's gaming plans beyond the Switch.

A single line in an appendix from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened speculation regarding the future of Nintendo's game subscription service. Many will likely interpret it as a reference to future Nintendo hardware.

The CMA spoke against Microsoft's proposed purchase of Activision Blizzard earlier this month. One of the main concerns is that Microsoft's Game Pass subscription service could gain exclusive rights to Activision Blizzard titles like Call of Duty, harming competition. The regulator's files briefly mention the Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) subscription, which offers retro games (and recently added Game Boy titles).

The interesting part is where the appendix explains why NSO isn't part of the Microsoft acquisition discussion – the limited range of devices it supports. Game Pass is available on Xbox and PC while Xbox Cloud Gaming includes those platforms and web browsers. The CMA notes that NSO, however, "is only available on the Nintendo Switch device and [redacted]."

The redacted part could refer to a future console Nintendo is preparing, as the company currently only offers NSO on the Switch (it's in the name). If so, it would confirm that NSO will support that new hardware. It's easy to guess that Nintendo would bring its subscription service to a Switch successor, but the company's past efforts to transfer its Virtual Console retro collection from the Wii to the Wii U and 3DS were unnecessarily complicated.

The CMA document is possibly the closest thing to an official acknowledgment of Nintendo platforms beyond the Switch since a 2020 Nintendo investor relations presentation. That fall, the company published an infographic (above) confirming plans to maintain customers' Nintendo accounts and "Value-Added Services" (probably referring to NSO) between the Switch and an "Integrated Hardware-Software Next gaming system" coming in an unspecified year.

If Nintendo releases a Switch successor in 2024, it would end an unusual seven-year gap between Nintendo home consoles. The last time Nintendo waited seven years to follow up a console was when it released the Super Famicom in Japan seven years after the Famicom. However, the company might be extremely cautious going into another hardware transition after the Wii U's failure.

In December, Digital Foundry revealed that third-party developers knew about an upgraded Nintendo Switch that never launched. Digital Foundry speculated that Nintendo wanted to avoid a repeat of the Wii U, but the company could have also run into manufacturing problems due to the global supply chain disruptions over the last couple of years.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/97672-uk-government-microsoft-activision-acquisition-file.html

 

[dangh]

I'm quite sure Steam Deck already is a Switch successor.

 

[Hooda Thunkett]

I could see the global supply chain issues potentially driving the bom up and forcing Nintendo to make a tough decision: Release another new console with specs that aren't that much better than the current 7-year-old one and potentially have another Wii-U, increase the MSRP enough to cause sticker-shock, accept a smaller or no profit on each unit sold, or cancel it and wait.
Looks like they may have gone with the last one.

 

[kira setsu]

I'm quite sure Steam Deck already is a Switch successor.

the steam deck is for pc fans, its too expensive and complicated to be compared to switch, even as a pc gamer I'm glad the SD is somewhat niche because its fans are truly annoying(imho).

nintendo is taking its time because it can, the switch still sells well and unlike sony/microsoft has never needed to join the graphics horsepower battle to get its praise, look at how much hype the new zelda has made for the old thing.

 

[dangh]

the steam deck is for pc fans, its too expensive and complicated to be compared to switch, even as a pc gamer I'm glad the SD is somewhat niche because its fans are truly annoying(imho).

Steam Deck is for gaming fans, not PC players. It is not too expensive (costs what, 80 usd more?) for what it offers (imagine watching Netflix on your portable device, Nintendo still cant get their head around it) - and gaming is _dramatically_ cheaper than on switch. So yeah, cost is not an argument here.
Complexity isn't, either. You buy a game on steam, click install, and then play it. Exactly same steps as on any of the consoles, and works for all games labelled as SD compatible. Unless you play with settings you wont see other, so no harm can happen.
Sure fanboys are annoying bunch, but it is really far away from achieving toxicity of Nintendo believers.

Anyhow, a portable gaming device with option to watch netflix or disney plus, listen to spotify, browse internet, play Steam games (which can be bought on great sales), or most of the emulators (including Switch emulator with sometimes a better performance...) is by default a better choice than very closed, limited, slow device with ancient approach to customers. The fact you can actually disable console - like experience and use it as a PC is just nice extra.

And will see how much more time Nintendo can waste. It was easy without any competition. Now, we are going to witness how this company is going to cope with a market where customer actually got an option. And if that would result in popular services like e.g. netflix or spotify will magically appear on Switch that would be already a win for competition based changes. And if N won't do anything - it was nice to know them...

 

[Burty117]

the steam deck is for pc fans, its too expensive and complicated to be compared to switch, even as a pc gamer I'm glad the SD is somewhat niche because its fans are truly annoying(imho).

Just based on this comment, I got the Steam Deck out, girlfriend got her Switch out, we raced to see who could get a game we've already purchased downloading the fastest. To make it fair, it had to be a game on both platforms, so we chose "It Takes Two".

We then stopped the download, turned each device off, swapped and did it again.

Both times the Steam Deck won easily. I think your version of "more complicated" is based on the fact the Steam Deck CAN be more complicated if you want it to be. Out of the box though? There's a real argument here it's simpler than the Switch.

 

[kira setsu]

Steam Deck is for gaming fans, not PC players. It is not too expensive (costs what, 80 usd more?) for what it offers (imagine watching Netflix on your portable device, Nintendo still cant get their head around it) - and gaming is _dramatically_ cheaper than on switch. So yeah, cost is not an argument here.
Complexity isn't, either. You buy a game on steam, click install, and then play it. Exactly same steps as on any of the consoles, and works for all games labelled as SD compatible. Unless you play with settings you wont see other, so no harm can happen.
Sure fanboys are annoying bunch, but it is really far away from achieving toxicity of Nintendo believers.

Anyhow, a portable gaming device with option to watch netflix or disney plus, listen to spotify, browse internet, play Steam games (which can be bought on great sales), or most of the emulators (including Switch emulator with sometimes a better performance...) is by default a better choice than very closed, limited, slow device with ancient approach to customers. The fact you can actually disable console - like experience and use it as a PC is just nice extra.

And will see how much more time Nintendo can waste. It was easy without any competition. Now, we are going to witness how this company is going to cope with a market where customer actually got an option. And if that would result in popular services like e.g. netflix or spotify will magically appear on Switch that would be already a win for competition based changes. And if N won't do anything - it was nice to know them...

everything you just listed proves my point.

the switch is a simple games console, thats why its done so damn well, buy a cart or download a game and it just works the way its supposed to work, thats why all consoles exist, closed, simple ecosystems that bypass the complexities of a pc. they do more now but the core of them is to not be a brain teaser, to just work, and no pc can touch that point.

the steam deck doesnt carry that simplicity, to get the best out of it youre gonna be tweaking some settings, its gotten better with its overall simplicity since its launch but its still an underpowered portable pc with pc gaming quirks...aimed at techheads, for crying out loud steam itself list if a game can even be played on the thing, when you get a pat on the back for doing the bare minimum of your job description thats a red flag.

(thats a rabbit hole I admit, if youre a hardcore backwards compat person)

for a techie(probably you) that's used to dealing with tech stuff, yeah it sounds like and is a great product, it does alot and seems simple, for some parent or aunt/uncle or rando person who isn't tech savvy its another behemoth of wires thats too much to deal with or hand off to some lil kid who will f***up some setting, brick it and end up with a switch or whatever anyways.

 

[dangh]

everything you just listed proves my point.

the switch is a simple games console, thats why its done so damn well, buy a cart or download a game and it just works the way its supposed to work, thats why all consoles exist, closed, simple ecosystems that bypass the complexities of a pc. they do more now but the core of them is to not be a brain teaser, to just work, and no pc can touch that point.

the steam deck doesnt carry that simplicity, to get the best out of it youre gonna be tweaking some settings, its gotten better with its overall simplicity since its launch but its still an underpowered portable pc with pc gaming quirks...aimed at techheads, for crying out loud steam itself list if a game can even be played on the thing, when you get a pat on the back for doing the bare minimum of your job description thats a red flag.

(thats a rabbit hole I admit, if youre a hardcore backwards compat person)

for a techie(probably you) that's used to dealing with tech stuff, yeah it sounds like and is a great product, it does alot and seems simple, for some parent or aunt/uncle or rando person who isn't tech savvy its another behemoth of wires thats too much to deal with or hand off to some lil kid who will f***up some setting, brick it and end up with a switch or whatever anyways.

... Exactly the same way it works on steam in big screen mode. You buy, you download, you play. There is no indication underneath steam there is any PC. You hav a shop, and a game library. There is no complexity of a pc. And from this perspective, Deck is a console.

No, you don't need to tweak settings, unless you want to. Default settings are made for steam to ensure smooth gaming. Those settings are predefined with Deck in mind, so as long as you don't want to play with those yourself, there is no need to do so. Non verified games are not recommended in store, so normal user wont have any issues anyway. So - no red flags.

I understand what advantages Switch have, or in fact any other consoles. And still Deck is a device with larger library of better and cheaper games for wider audience, without mad limitations of Switch OS, and if a user can buy and instal game on Switch, he will be able to do same on Deck. Sure, not _all_ games will always have same experience, but in worst case scenario you can just hit a 'return' button - no console yet managed to be that customer friendly.

And no, you don't have to be a 'techie'. Simply, you just can't be illiterate. If you can use your mobile phone and ever touched a Microsoft Office, you are probably going to be fine with a deck.

 

[Burty117]

everything you just listed proves my point.

the switch is a simple games console, thats why its done so damn well, buy a cart or download a game and it just works the way its supposed to work, thats why all consoles exist, closed, simple ecosystems that bypass the complexities of a pc. they do more now but the core of them is to not be a brain teaser, to just work, and no pc can touch that point.

the steam deck doesnt carry that simplicity, to get the best out of it youre gonna be tweaking some settings, its gotten better with its overall simplicity since its launch but its still an underpowered portable pc with pc gaming quirks...aimed at techheads, for crying out loud steam itself list if a game can even be played on the thing, when you get a pat on the back for doing the bare minimum of your job description thats a red flag.

(thats a rabbit hole I admit, if youre a hardcore backwards compat person)

for a techie(probably you) that's used to dealing with tech stuff, yeah it sounds like and is a great product, it does alot and seems simple, for some parent or aunt/uncle or rando person who isn't tech savvy its another behemoth of wires thats too much to deal with or hand off to some lil kid who will f***up some setting, brick it and end up with a switch or whatever anyways.

Here's a question, have you ever used a Steam Deck? Because based on your comment, you haven't touched or used a Steam Deck in any way.