The Problem with "Switch 2" pricing

[JWeinCom]

Soundwave said:

JWeinCom said:

Don't see the issue with pricing really. Make it cheaper in Japan. No need to region lock it. A lot of people aren't going to be aware of the price in Japan anyway, importing will drive up the cost, and worst case scenario they buy up the Japan inventory and people in the US have to buy it here anyway. They can throw in a pack in title also to help compensate for the price difference. For a company that is doing most of its business overseas, weak currency is generally a benefit to the point where China is frequently accused of undervaluing its own currency.

The OLED screen size I think would be pretty easy to guess. The Joycons had to fit on the Switch "Pro", so you could assume the size would be similar, so the screen would just be expanded by the size of the bezel. 

It's probably best to treat all leaks are false until proven correct. Unless you have fun with the speculation, then by all means. 

There's no fucking way they just randomly guessed an OLED panel and the panels exact screen size by guessing. They got that info from a leak likely inside a factory in China. 

What they got wrong was they were also getting reports about this Nvidia chip (Tegra T239) and they didn't understand that these are two separate products (Switch OLED and Switch 2), instead they assumed it was one product (Switch Pro). Which is honestly a fair mistake, anyone could make that. If I'm hearing about a new Switch model with a new OLED display and I'm also hearing about a new chipset for a new Switch model, it's easy to think they are for the same system. 

When looking at a leak one should first look at who the leaker is and if they have a proven track record, and then they should look to see if that information corresponds with information that comes out later. For example the leaker of the Tegra Drake/T239 has reliably leaked several Nvidia chips before, and then after he leaked that, an Nvidia employee was caught referencing this chip (so it exists), and an Nvidia hack also shows this chip in their firmware and even shows its graphics API is known as NVN2 ... NVN being the Switch's graphics API. All that stuff checks out. 

From Nintendo's POV IMO Switch OLED IS the "Pro" version of the Switch. Just because it didn't get a spec bump that people wanted doesn't mean it doesn't essentially fill the same role as a premium version of the Switch like the DSi XL, New 3DS XL, etc. in the back half of the Switch's life cycle. 

Why not?

If you think about the ways one might improve the base switch, an OLED screen seems like a pretty logical guess. As for the screen size, I don't know what to say without repeating myself. Making the screen bigger is another obvious improvement. But, if we assume they are going to keep it compatible with the same Joycons, which seems like an obvious decision, the overall size of the unit would be the same. Meaning, there's a pretty narrow range of sizes you could do. The screen was 6.2 inches on the Switch and could only get to about 8" if you wanted it to extend all the way to the Joycons. The only real possibility would be in the range of 6.5 to 7.5 or so. 7 is a nice round figure in that range. And if they had guessed something like 7.2, you'd probably had counted that as close enough.  

I see no reason why this is particularly impressive.

Last edited by JWeinCom - on 31 August 2023