A Switch hybrid Pro doesn't convince me; due to technical limitation the improvement would be noticeable but rather irrelevant compared to what competing platforms are offering. Plus it would make the jump to next-gen Switch harder some years later, still due to technical limitations.
If Nintendo releases a TV model it shouldn't be an "affordable version", but rather the premium version that supports things such as 4k 60fps. This is what home console enthusiasts are looking for right now. And as a Nintendo player I would be tempted to play BOTW in 4k, on the other hand I would literally have zero reasons to buy another SKU with the same performance as the current one. The lower end market is already covered by the Switch Lite.
Switch VR is far less unreasonable than it sounds...if they equip an (hypotetical) Switch TV version with some local video streaming capabilities, they could pair it with an headset and sell it in bundle (like the WiiU console was paired with its controller). That way you would have 1 product that is both a Switch TV / Pro and a stand alone VR device. Is it feasible? I think so. If you consider the substantially lower graphical baseline of Switch games (compared to baseline PS4/XB1) you wouldn't need very expensive hardware to meet the higher rerquirements of 4k and VR. Considering a mid-range VR system (like the Oculus Go) is already avaliable for 200$ I would expect they could sell such system for about 350$.
Does it make sense? Yes, VR is a new market to develop and it's an opportunity to further differentiate the Switch product line from the incoming next-gen consoles. Even if Sony have their own VR device already they're actually in worse position to counter act. Their customers are now focused on the next-gen upgrade and PS5 will be an high-end device; this means a new improved VR headset would need to be high-end (and expensive as well) in order to meet next-gen expectations. Not to mention Nintendo has the most important advantage: games. Think of Metroid Prime, Mario Kart, Spatoon, Arms, Wii Sports, Luigi's Mansion in VR...there is so much potential in terms of software and the media buzz would be huge.
I'm not saying this is what they're going to do, but it would be a great move imo.
Last edited by freebs2 - on 08 January 2020
