Rumor: Nintendo plans to launch a new Switch SKU in 2020 - UPDATE: Nintendo says no

[Shiken]

RolStoppable said:

Shiken said:

I am thinking a Switch "Pro" like device, which would be in line with my previous prediction. As I said before, my prediction was not specifically about small upgrades exactly, so this is only a potential step in the direction I was talking about. Ultimately, a potential Switch 2 much further down the line will be telling if I was truly correct or not.

I also stand by the possibility that Nintendo will allow 3rd parties to make versions of more demanding games for this model only, if the base Switch cannot run it. The amount of 3rd parties that would actually do this however would be in question however, due to a multitude of reasons.

What I DON'T  think it will be is a Switch TV, unless it offers a more substantial boost than a potential Switch Pro would.  Also despite being more powerful than a Switch, do not expect any extea 3rd party next gen ports to be exclusive to it.  At that point, being tied to a TV gets rid of any reason to go with the Switch version of ANYTHING unless it is your only device as even with a proper boost, it still will not run as good as other devices tied to a TV.  Meanwhile a potential Switch Pro still has the ability to push portability as a factor, which is why exclusive 3rd party ports would make sense on a full Switch Pro rather than a Switch TV.

Why again would third parties develop ports exclusively for the very small installed base of a hypothetical Switch Pro or Switch TV?

3rd parties would not do it for a Switch TV.  The main reason anyone would buy those games (portability) would no longer be a factor, and therefore pointless as it would still likely perform similar at BEST to the base PS4.

They would allow 3rd parties to do it for a Switch Pro however, because being a smaller install base out of the gate does not really mean much.  If a smaller starting install base being a problem were true, devs would not bother to dev games for next gen consoles out of the gate either.

As far as how many 3rd party devs would actually do this, I have no comment on as it is hard to say.  It would be a risk taken on a popular hybrid concept, and it would be up to the developer to decide if they want to take said risk or not.  I simply saying Nintendo would ALLOW them to do it.  Continued support would be based on how well the "pro" model would sell, and how well the software sells for the 3rd party devs that gave it a shot.  Remember, many thought no one would buy games like Witcher 3 or Mortal Kombat on Switch...but here we are in a time when both have sold at least fairly decent based on top 30 digital games and developer reports.

That is not the exact same situation, but my point is that if there is potential, there will be at least some that test the waters.  Where it goes from there is anyone's guess.

However it is also safe to say that devs would be more inclined to at least try to make such ports run on the OG model as well due to the established install base, and that only releasing a "pro only" version would be a last resort.

Last edited by Shiken - on 06 January 2020