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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 RagingToad@feddit.nl to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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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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[-] ninjan@lemmy.mildgrim.com 2 points 9 months ago

The switch is very weak hardware wise but also very reliable I feel. For being a handheld device they're surprisingly tough and cartridges do have a much better chance at longevity than disks so I'd say of all consoles I'd put Switch on the top for longevity and best odds of working well 20 years from now. Do note this is ONLY true of cartridge games. If you have Nintendo eShop games I don't expect them to work 20 years from now because that eShop might not be around and I'm confident it uses some form of phone home checkin to verify DRM. That is likely fixable but out of scope for this discussion.

As for Steam Deck / other handheld PCs the games are less likely survive 20 years, games have already started to disappear from Steam (unpopular ones) and I very much doubt every game I have today will be available/playable. Because Steam will be dropping support and not every game is DRM free in ways that mean you can run them once they're dropped from Steam. The PC handhelds also tend to work very poorly without Internet since Steam wants to phone home from time to time. As for the hardware I think the Steam Deck might last 20 years given it's Linux based. Stuff like the ROG Ally will be hard to make work due to the outdated Windows on it and the likelihood that you can't upgrade it and games/steam won't work without an upgrade.

[-] roadkill@kbin.social 2 points 9 months ago

Unfortunately there is a fair number of games with a physical release that require downloads to be playable as they are not complete on the cartridge.

[-] kratoz29@lemm.ee 2 points 9 months ago

I'd get both, I have both 🙂

Strangely enough, I only play online with the DS, since long before having the Switch and even today lol.

[-] IWantToFuckSpez@kbin.social 2 points 9 months ago

You can buy a flashcart for the DS and run pirated games on it. So as long as those ROM site stay alive you can play games on the DS. The 3DS can also run custom firmware to run roms so you might want to get a 3DS instead of a DS. Installing the custom firmware is really easy https://3ds.hacks.guide/

[-] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 9 months ago

i still use my super nintendo to play original secret of mana and link to the past, so i don't see why not.

[-] TwoCubed@feddit.de 1 points 9 months ago

The SNES also doesn't require active cooling. The stress on the components is none existent. It also doesn't have an integrated display, battery etc. And let's be honest, pretty much anything from 20-30 years ago was built way more robust than the finicky stuff you get nowadays.

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[-] JoeKrogan@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

I doubt any console is lasting 20 years nowadays.

I would recommend yuzu and roms if you want to future proof it, including the source code just in case.

[-] nintendiator@feddit.cl 1 points 9 months ago

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.

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[-] jagoan@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

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?

[-] CorrodedCranium@leminal.space 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.

[-] rikudou@lemmings.world 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.