What is that? Did someone say ‘Switch Pro’? Oooh, ‘New Nintendo Switch’, is it !? A more powerful variant with 4K resolution Deep Learning Super Sampling? 60 frames per second? Carbon fiber styling? Swiss Army Switch? …
It wasn’t long after the Switch launched in 2017 that rumors of a hardware overhaul began to circle. You name it, it’s been suggested by someone, and while we’ve done our best to follow our noses and document a credible scuttlebutt regarding a potentially revised model of Nintendo’s portable hybrid, it can be hard to get out wild speculation. Separate well-founded theories based on evidence when Nintendo is so full of surprises.
The release of the handheld Switch Lite in 2019 shed some light on the SoC overhaul rumors, but even that surprised some onlookers. A switch that doesn’t switch !? That’s the dumbest idea ever! Oh, wait a minute …
Clearly Nintendo has something in the pipeline, be it a Switch ‘Pro’ or a ‘New Nintendo Switch’. The current console has overtaken several legacy systems in sales terms, surpassing even the mighty Wii at the time of writing, and Nintendo will want to keep that pace.
But will we see a new model this year? Analysts seem to think so, but some of them predicted an improved version two years ago. Opinions are divided with regard to Team NL. Below we present some of the points we discussed, and at the bottom is a survey – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
So let’s take a look at the (Switch) pros and cons of a possible Switch hardware overhaul sometime in 2021. Let’s start with the arguments against …
Not really!
The naysayers among us believe – reasonably – that the impetus to introduce a new Switch model this year is simply not there while the regular version is sold by truckload. Simply put, Nintendo isn’t need a new console to spark interest and whatever is doing would likely cannibalize sales of the current model.
It’s an age-old dilemma for successful hardware manufacturers: When is the best time to sacrifice the golden goose and invest in the future?
if the ‘old’ model continues to sell like hot cakes, there’s no reason at all to market a flashy pie
Given the events of the past year, it is likely that all of the plans Nintendo’s had shifted by several months, if not due to production issues, then by re-evaluating the release schedule after an unforeseen lockdown-fueled sales boom. Yes, business is booming and a new console (at least a more powerful one) really needs a few new games to show it off; a Zelda or a Metroid Prime 4, for example. If they’re not ready yet, and if the ‘old’ model continues to sell like hot cakes, there’s no reason whatsoever to market a flashy pie.
On the topic of those Switches flying off store shelves right now, all those millions of people who have bought a new console – maybe a flashy Monster Hunter one or that Red & Blue Super Mario song – might not be as happy if there was a month later a shiny new variety that they could have bought instead.
No, even if Nintendo originally planned to release a new Switch this year, there’s no chance they’ll disrupt the sales momentum they have now.
Alternative…
Yes way!
As we’ve seen with Nintendo’s decades-long history of hardware revisions, a modest upgrade can work wonders by offering tweaks and improvements that give avid fans the chance to buy something new – sometimes multiple times – without leaving a hard-won customer base. buying from you Animal Crossings and your Mario Kart 8s. It’s this thought that created the ‘families’ of Nintendo DS and 3DS systems, and we already have the first addition to the Switch dynasty with Switch Lite.
a modest upgrade can work wonders by offering tweaks and improvements that give avid fans the chance to buy something new – sometimes multiple times – without leaving a hard-won customer base
Looking back specifically at the 3DS timeline, the XL variant arrived about a year and a half after the original and the new 3DS launched a little over three and a half years later. Switch launched in March 2017, Switch Lite arrived a year and a half later in September 2019, and the original console will be four years old in a few months. Obviously we’re not really comparing each other here thanks to Switch’s hybrid nature, but it’s hard to argue that the much-loved launch models picked up by early adopters are looking a bit tired and dog-eared these days. The original model has received a facelift and is slightly more extensive than an internal ‘silent’ revision.
And as for the fact that Nintendo doesn’t want to kill the momentum of the current model, Nintendo has been in the game long enough to know you strike while the iron is hot! You turn up the flames, give the people a second to catch their breath and then you turn the knob to eleven! You have to keep that ball rolling! Give up because everything ticks fine and dandy is not the way to sustain growth in the video game … game.
Hot irons, roll balls – all aboard the Mixed Metaphor Express: Next Stop, Switch Pro! You see, we’ve thrown a train in there now too.
And who exactly are those millions of new Switch owners who will be angry when a new model appears? That’s exactly how the half-step console cake crumbles, we’re afraid; it’s the same with every iterative upgrade in the tech world. Yes, for die-hard Nintendo fans of course it would be disappointing to spend money on a console only to see a new model release a few weeks later, but those hardcore fans will have bought a Switch a long time ago and they will likely be fighting for a Pro model. No self-respecting Apple enthusiast would buy a new iPhone at the end of August, right? Early adopters are hungry for the new flavor, and casual players will happily play the original or Lite variants.
Yes, mind our words, at some point this year – in October or November, we’d bet – a new switch will be on the block. Probably.
© NintendoTo be clear, Nintendo has stated that it does not intend to release a new Switch model “anytime soon”, although last year they specified that no new model would be launched “in 2020”. Considering how careful they are with this kind of language, it’s not hard to conclude that they have something planned for the second half of the year. That’s not ‘soon’, is it?
Regardless, it’s clear from all the rampant rumors that there’s a craving for an interim freshening up. Last year, we asked what features you’d like to see in a Switch ‘Pro’, and out of a total of nearly 20,000 votes, ‘a more powerful CPU’ topped the list (followed by ‘increased resolution’ and ‘a thinner bezel’ around it). screen). The desire is then there; Nintendo just needs to figure out how to capitalize on fans’ hunger for something new in a way that adds to the current sales momentum.
That, and it needs a sweet name. ‘Pro’, ‘New’ – they are done. What about “Nintendo Switch Up”? “Switch”? “Switchin ‘” …
Let’s get to the poll quickly before it gets worse:
Let us know your thoughts on the potential for a new Switch model at the usual place this year.