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nuckles87 on 29 June 2020
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Shaunodon said:
nuckles87 said:
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it here: I think it depends on what you consider a Switch 2. I think there will definitely be some sort of hardware upgrade next year, but I also expect most, if not all of the content made for it will be compatible with the original Switch. The modular design of the Switch means they could quite easily release an upgraded version of the tablet to sell standalone for current Switch owners to encourage upgrades. If they do something like that, I could see a Switch successor that also changes the joycons and dock waiting until the mid-2020s.

As much as I wouldn't mind something like a Switch Pro, I can't see the point in it. The only purpose would be for supporting new AAA third party games, which have a nice market on Switch but not enough to justify a hardware revision. We're seeing enough of those games can already run on Switch with enough work put in, and the few that can't right now can be early releases for Switch 2 in 2024/2025.

People that buy Switch want to play 1st party games and other killer exclusives for the system. Most of those titles we've seen so far haven't even taken full advantage of the Switch hardware yet, so I can't see why any of the future ones would be restricted by it.

There are a few things Nintendo could do with an upgraded Switch now.

They can add a larger, 1080p screen. They can make it 4K capable. With a higher res screen and more onboard power, they can also make it a more capable VR device. 


A Switch Pro would not only be more capable of running third party games, it could also run first party Nintendo games at higher resolutions and frame rates, both in portable and docked mode. There are already first party games that don’t run at 1080p now (like the Xenoblade games, Mario Odyssey, BOTW), and with 4K TVs becoming more prevalent there is DEFINITELY a market for this sort of thing, and if they can do that without dividing the market, there is little incentive not to.

Honestly, Nintendo’s only real incentives for releasing a true “Switch 2” would be if they want to make significant changes to the platform as a whole (such as revised joy cons and dock with new features, altered form factor, or a VR pack-in peripheral), or be able to no longer promise near-universal compatibility between the Switch family of devices. If Nintendo’s fine with the current Switch joy con & dock tech, and are okay with just slowly phasing out software compatibility with older models ala smart phones, they may never need to make an official “Switch 2”. XD

Although I do fully expect a Switch 2. If Nintendo was going to go all-in on a smartphone-like upgrade mentality, we’d be getting one THIS year. But I can definitely see them doing something along the lines of a PS4 Pro or New 3DS.

Last edited by nuckles87 - on 29 June 2020