I said this years ago before Nintendo Switch 2 ever released, but it's good to reflect on it in today's day and age with so many console warriors trying to put down Switch 2's versions of AAA games due to being technically inferior in terms of graphics and performance.
All Nintendo Switch 2 needed to be, in terms of third party games, was powerful enough to not only get them, but get them and have them look and run solidly.
Not on par or better than anything else. Not with consistently locked 30, 40, 60 fps. Not with consistent native resolutions at 1080p. Not with every lighting and shadow feature under the sun. They just needed to look and run solidly.
Switch 2 has achieved that thus far. Why is this good enough?
Because the comparisons are getting it all wrong. This isn't about how Switch 2 compares to other systems from other companies, it's how these games looked compared to how 3rd party games looked on Switch.
The first image is Doom 2016 - called an "impossible" port on Switch in 2017. It ran at low resolutions, lots of stuff turned down, and couldn't come close to maintaining 30 fps. It is more of a corridor shooter - something that's easier to run than an open world game. Now, the next image, is Pragmata on Switch 2.
While still not a top tier resolution and not locked to 30fps, it actually runs consistently higher than 30fps - but more importantly there are so many more details and graphical affects going on. You can tell it's a generational leap forward. This only get's more obvious, when you look at an open world game.
The 3rd image is Witcher 3 on Switch. Still to date, this is a really impressive port considering what it's running on. The last image showing way more environmental detail, a sharper image, more consistent frame rates, and a lot more going on in each scene. This is from Assassin's Creed: Shadows on Switch 2.
The idea is that all Switch 2 needed to realistically pull off, is successfully convey it is a next generation device when showed side by side with the best the Switch has to offer. It has successfully done this, and created the ability for perfectly acceptable, if not down right pretty solid, ports of AAA games to be really enjoyable on the platform.
I don't care where you play games or what you play them on. If you're a multiplatform owner - of course get your third party games on the better stuff unless you value the portable nature of the Switch 2. But most people are not multi platform gamers - especially today as gaming gets more and more expensive.
For Switch 2 only users - all of this is perfectly acceptable if not, a huge leap from what we're accustomed too. And that's what ultimately matters.
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