Could they make something weaker and cheaper? I think all they really need for gpu power is somewhere along the lines of the RX480. That alone would make them go toe to toe with the twins.

Thunderbolt chips are expensive.... like 3-5 times as expensive as USB chips.
The cable & connectors are more expensive too.

The newest USB types are almost equal to thunderbolt right?
If thats cheaper to use, they should be useing that.

Imo thunderbolt is a expensive joke, that Intel invented for apple, so they could lock people into a ecosystem they controlled and charge people more for.

And its such a small upgrade compaired to USB.... on motherboards (pc) its a joke, and it drives the prices up for no reason (imo).

^ so much this.

Thanks for the discussion guys! I was not aware of the licensing fees quite a few of you brought up. Maybe the best and Nintendo solution would be to make their own direct bus connection as BlkPaladin mentioned.

I am not too sure about that.

The dock can be slotted in and held such as the Surface Book, so it won't be disconnected while it is playing. Although you'd have the same problem with Nintendo's own proprietary connection. Anyways, good heads up on past connections used in Nintendo's consoles.

I thought it was a joint venture.  I could be mistaken.  Anyways, if Nintendo wanted to go Thunderbolt then I guess I'd bend over and take it.  I doubt they will though.

TomaTito those 40 Gbps is with a "active" cable, which is many times more expensive than a passive one.
With a normal cheap passive cable, its only 20 Gbps (thunderbolt 3).

I had to look it up,.... looks like it ll atleast be twice as fast as a usb 3.1.

And still think the price from going thunderbolt will make it a bad choice.

Active cables, eh? Another thing I learnt today!

Still those would go in the dock, just increases the price of that even more

http://letsplayvideogames.com/2016/10/report-nintendo-switch-trailer-prototype-powered-by-usb-c-cannot-be-charged-in-kickstand-mode/

Rumours say there will be a usb-c port for charging, and that's logical since it will be the new standard easy to support cables, battery packs... and maybe SCD in the future?

I can agree with the USB-type C type connector side of this rumor/leak, but I don't believe Nintendo is dumb enough to make a "home gaming system" that can not be charged while being docked as this article claims.

It would be beyond ridiculous.

I also read that at first, but they mean the kickstand not the dock.

Since the port is on the table side, you can't charge it while playing like this.