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[ultrazilla]

Credit and thanks to L Lovelygamer for the heads up.

More powerful Switch console coming early 2021

I think this helps explain why Nintendo has been so silent this year. They've been working
on the "pro" model(the disclosed R & D costs in financials prove they've been working on something big).

Also, they've been working on games for the system. Covid hit and here we are.

EDIT: Pointed out by Evangelion Unit-01 : Bloomberg now reporting on this here:

Nintendo plans upgraded Switch console and major games for 2021

Could one of the upcoming Nintendo Directs drop this bomb!?

 

[Bolivar687]

Slay, Queen.

 

[Kamina]

Waiting for this so long

 

[Birdo]

I'd laugh if it uses the same Joycons.

 

[Kamina]

Slay, Queen.

 

[ricardo_sousa11]

Thats what we all need, a more powerful switch to pick up even more powerful dust on the shelf.

 

[ExKing]

This seems very credible. But no way Nintendo talks about it this year. Maybe this is for the January Direct.

That would be a fantastic move for Nintendo to release a Switch upgrade in the first part of 2021, before Next Gen system get into rhythm.

I could see Nintendo releasing this alongside Breath of the Wild 2.

 

[iconmaster]

"Better interactivity and image quality" may not mean what you think it means.

Edit: Let me expand on this. The Wall Street Journal infamously reported two new versions of the Switch for 2020. One was the Switch Lite -- fair cop to them. The other was a version with "enhanced features targeted at avid video gamers." Well, they got that right too.

It was the Switch with improved battery life. Just the thing for avid video gamers, of course.

So be careful how you interpret these rumors. There might be little more in view than an improved screen.

 

[Lupin3]

I'd laugh if it uses the same Joycons.

I’m sure it will. At least the same design.

 

[ShirAhava]

Can't wait to play Wii U ports @4K 60fps w/DLSS 3.0 on the Switch Pro...Do it Nvidia!

 

[ultrazilla]

Don't know how reliable "Pixel Dan" is but here we go:

 

[jaysius]

Nintendo and R&D costs, lol!

This thing has been "coming" for years now.

 

[Fbh]

The "Switch Pro" is like the new Splinter Cell.
Every couple of months we get a rumor or leak about it that's like "any moment now...." and it's never true.

Assuming they do have Breath of the Wild 2 for next year though, I guess it would be the perfect moment to launch a Switch Pro.

 

[Evangelion Unit-01]

It's this time of year again...

I would love a dedicated console Switch w/ One X/Pro style updates to existing games but I am not sure that Nintendo is ready for that and cloud saves situation makes owning two consoles incredibly frustrating to say the least.

If this is still a hybrid portable/console, which I think is most likely, then I wonder what it would mean for the current Switch model...would they kill it or keep 3 SKUs?

 

[beni12]

Doesn't seem that different from same rumor that we have been hearing since 2018, if it's real then there probably will be a report about it on Bloomberg.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I happily bought a Pro eventually and I'll happily buy a Switch Pro (if it exists).

Since I am nitpicky with my games -- looking specifically at how replayable a game might be before buying -- the ability to go back through with nicer graphics/performance is something I always enjoyed on PC and I like that consoles are catching on.

 

[Alexios]

I mean, they literally just said they don't have anything like that for 2020 (duh, what companies would do a big launch in this shit) so random nobodies jumped on the opportunity to pretend to be some credible source with insider information by pushing it to 2021 that they didn't comment on, lol?

 

[existensmaximum]

Please be capable of 1080p docked! Then I'd actually consider buying it.

 

[carlosrox]

I don't expect a big power upgrade but I'd love to be wrong.

 

[Golgo 13]

1080p portable isn’t really necessary if we’re being honest. Just make the Joycons reliable this time and make it 1440p/60 in docked mode. This 4k shit is absurd.

 

[iconmaster]

Deep learning supersampling can do amazing things with pushing lower-res images up to 4K. It seems to me Nintendo should just do that.

 

[reinking]

Pass. I have three Switches in my house. 2 originals and 1 Lite. Tired if the Nintendo Tax and faulty controllers. 2 of the 3 units have had controller issues including the Lite. The only reason the other has not is because I use an old PS3 controller most of the time when playing that one. Nintendo is going to have to prove something to me and a 2nd mid-gen refresh is not going to do it.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

No.. Noooo!!! I WANT OFF OF THIS DAMN RIDE, I KNOW HOW IT ENDS

 

[J4K]

Hmm that still seems *slightly* early to my eyes. Couple things come to mind for me:

- A true next-gen switch probably needs to hit 1080p or 900p in portable mode for a larger, sharper screen with less bezels
- Docked play needs to be able to upscale decently to support 4K screens--perhaps combining a 1440p image with a newer version of Nvidia DLSS
- It needs to have a vastly improved octo-core CPU running at higher clocks to at least enable some 30 fps ports from next gen consoles, like the Switch is currently sort of able to do for PS4 and XB1
- To do these things and be power efficient enough to be a mobile product, it's almost a requirement that it be fabbed on a 7nm process

If an updated Switch can't do these things, I don't even see the point of introducing a new model. Why bother?

Currently, there is a lot of contention for TSMC's 7nm process, including for most of AMD's current CPU and GPU product lines, the upcoming home consoles, Intel trying to get in on it, and Nvidia Ampere products that are rumored to be split between Samsung and TSMC. Not to mention most of the cellphone industry is still relying on 7nm, even as Apple starts to break in TSMC's upcoming 5nm process.

Given Nintendo's hesitance to create expensive products, I think the only way we see Nintendo having a new Switch that meets the above goals ready for the first months of 2021 is if they're on a less advanced Samsung process. Certainly wouldn't be unexpected, but then this rumor is coming out of Taiwan so that seems off.

My money would be on a summer 2021 launch at the earliest. I think Nintendo's goal will be the best optimization between using newish Nvidia features and also getting a better price on 7nm. Given the current Switch is still hard to find on store shelves, they really don't need to be in a hurry.

 

[Entroyp]

I don’t believe this one bit.

 

[Astral Dog]

Well, on one hand Nintendo might find useful a product to expand the Switch life and get enthusiast gamers hyped.

But at this point i would rather wait for a real Switch 2, specially if this new model could have worse battery life than the current

 

[Shaqazooloo]

Keep dreaming. Eventually you might will into existence, although that's highly unlikely..

 

[Jack Videogames]

It's my turn to post this rumor next week

 

[Mister Wolf]

I'm glad I waited to play Xenoblade Remaster. Wont play XB2 for a third time but I definitely want to see what it looks like running on this thing. Hopefully this kind of image quality:


Emulators still haven't managed to conquer XB2.

 

[mckmas8808]

Wouldn't the Switch PRO need a new GPU/CPU combo to be truly a "PRO" version?

 

[Saber]

Interesting if true.

Here in the hopes to be a non-switch version. A standart aways-dock console.

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

I have a couple of mates who work for a AAA studio. They don't tell me specifics but last time I asked about a new Switch in July they said it's much more about CPU compute improvements than a massive GPU upgrade (more stable framerates). I'm expecting like a 3-4x increase in CPU compute and a 1x increase to GPU. They never mentioned more RAM.

 

[PSFan]

I bet it's called *new* Nintendo Switch.

 

[Gormless Noodle]

Wouldn't the Switch PRO need a new GPU/CPU combo to be truly a "PRO" version?

Yes and there isn't really a new Tegra as far as I know, there's a slightly better version so maybe they're going for a 3DS to N3DS type of power difference, that'd be the most likely scenario I think.

Alternatively they could use a new dock with some actual guts inside to significantly power things up together with a more modernised Switch but that would be very un-Nintendo and probably quite expensive.

 

[Entroyp]

I haven’t heard of a New Tegra SoC, so if this is true could it be that nVidia will actually design one for Nintendo? That would be sooo sweet instead of Nintendo’s R&D department dumpster diving on nVidia’s back alley to get its scraps.

 

[Patrick S.]

I kinda dig the idea of owning a Switch, but Nintendo's price policy for their games completely kills it for me.

 

[Andrew Evenstar]

lol i remember this two years ago... it never happened and i never bought a switch. nintendo and i both lost.

 

[Arkam]

Be curious what the chipset is on this one. If launching next summer/fall I dont think we will get an announcement this fall. Space will be too crowded with the new 4kTwins. Why fight for messaging and dollars when you can come in the day after and get folks as a secondary device.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Nintendo makes slight revisions in their hardware. I don't believe this, not for a minute.

 

[Vawn]

The Switch may be 5 by the time we see a Pro model. By that point, why bother? Just make a full successor (that has Switch BC support like 3DS had with DS).

 

[Codes 208]

The Switch may be 5 by the time we see a Pro model. By that point, why bother? Just make a full successor (that has Switch BC support like 3DS had with DS).

Well, if it does come out next year that would be 4 which was the age of the xbox one when the one x released.

 

[Fitzchiv]

Great news, we can all play all that absolutely fuck all on a newer, more powerful version.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Don't know how reliable "Pixel Dan" is but here we go:

This list is literally what the Internet wants from a new Switch so I’m not going to believe it until proven wrong.

I don’t mind the current screen, but if a revised Switch still has a 720p screen I’mma eat popcorn for days.

BTW, a revised Switch with better battery and performance isn’t something I’d say no to.

 

[Jose92]

Will it be based on the RTX series, with some form of DLSS 2.0.?

That will be amazing next gen graphics rendered at 540p upscaled to a full hd AMOLED screen on the go.

 

[kraspkibble]

I'll be selling my Switch for it

 

[Jack Peterson]

Why don't they just wait until 2022 and release a Switch 2?

 

[cireza]

Oh look, it's that rumor again.

More power will help improve the Wii and Wii U ports. Very clever Nintendo.

 

[Warnen]

Instantly sells more then ps5 and Xbox Series X combined

 

[belmarduk]

I'm glad I waited to play Xenoblade Remaster. Wont play XB2 for a third time but I definitely want to see what it looks like running on this thing. Hopefully this kind of image quality:


Emulators still haven't managed to conquer XB2.

Yeesh you played it twice already? That must've taken 250 hours!

 

[splattered]

Smokescreen!

Switch Pro is actually Lockhart.

Nintendo and MS join forces and extend subscription services to each other's consoles.

I mean Phil Spencer HAS been pretty sweet on Nintendo lately... and they've released a small handful of games natively to the console so far.

I will buy the shit out of this (And probably never play it like i do with all my Nintendo consoles)

Seriously though, if they release an enhanced Pro model i am totally buying one ASAP.