Topic: The Nintendo Switch Rumor and Speculation Thread

@PikaPhantom Ah that makes more sense. Just saying we need a Zelda game made none to me lol.

I would love it if this were true. There were all the rumours and incorrect leaks about Zelda being playable in TotK. I didn't end up buying TotK, but I definitely would have if Zelda were the main character.

Is Toadette just a skin of Mario in many games? Yes. Is she nonetheless superior in all possible ways? Also yes.

Not to mention that the series is named after Zelda. Maybe Link has just been a skin for Zelda this whole time.

As for gameplay differences? I imagine similar, but Zelda has more of a personality than Link so could actually speak to help along the plot. Plus Zelda usually has magic so I am sure they could mix things up a bit.

I can more easily imagine some TotK dlc that let's you play as Zelda is more than a standalone Zelda game, at this stage.

Perhaps if they hadn't told us TotK would have no dlc.

If it exists, could just be a warriors game. Or maybe some other spinoff.

@FishyS I feel like they have to pull the old switcheroo on us once in a while, just to keep us on our toes.

If this is real I suspect this is a Switch 2 announcement. Any kind of bold new idea is probably better saved for next gen, especially if it's a AAA, high budget sort of game (and Zelda typically is). Plus they might not have any big Zelda games planned early (maybe 2D Zelda, but it's unclear if it's releasing on Switch or Switch 2 and when), having a big new Zelda spinoff/side series would be a good addition to the lineup with the big main series 3D Zelda not happening anytime soon. There might be some concerns with it being not big enough like what happened with Luigi's Mansion on GC, but I think as a supplement to other big new main series games we're expecting like 3D Mario and Mario Kart I don't think this would be as much of an issue.

I do want Nintendo to start branching out with new IPs and subseries to flesh out their lineup, and I think they might be. It is a good way to help the Switch 2's lineup stand out more and feel like a legitimate evolution as opposed to just sticking to new entries in their tried and true IPs and feeling like a rehash (I do think they need entries in the tried and true IPs as tentpoles to help it sell, but they should experiment with new series as a supplement and a way to find potential new tentpoles). One of the reasons I found the Wii U and its lineup overrated was because there were far too many entries that just felt like they were phoning it in and recycling things from the Wii, DS, and 3DS (especially their platformers, which there were a lot of that gen). This is one thing that they should try to avoid next gen if they want to help limit the inevitable drop in sales (it won't doom the Switch 2 but it probably will hurt to a degree), it shouldn't just feel like the same games all over again. The 3D Mario game shouldn't just feel like Odyssey 2, the 3D Zelda shouldn't just feel like BotW3, the Smash game shouldn't just feel like Ultimate 2, the Animal Crossing game shouldn't just feel like NH2, etc., if we get that much repetition for that many games the lineup is going to be less compelling. Now for the record I don't think we will get that much (some of those above examples already feel like they're not going to be that), but this general vibe is something to watch out for. If the games just feel like the games we already bought on Switch, why buy the new Switch 2 entries? Shaking things up for existing series and coming up with new series (whether it's a new IP, a spinoff/subseries of an existing one, or just an entry of an existing series that plays/feels differently) will help the Switch 2 lineup really feel like a distinct evolution of the Switch rather than a tired recycling of what the Switch did.

I predicted a few months ago about a new Hyrule Warriors taking place during the imprisoning war being a Switch 2 game. That would have Zelda as the main character.

https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/nintendo-switch/next_nint...

It would be cool if it was a Switch 1 game but the better outcome would be if it's a Switch 2 game and Switch 1 gets the Wii U Zelda remasters.

@Grumblevolcano personally I think a Hyrule Warriors would be one of those games that support the Switch when the focus turns to the successor, although that's just what I think. Still leaves room for Zelda WiiU ports at somepoint before.

@PikminMarioKirby
Assuming there is this cross-gen period with games on both, and I think there will be, it'll be interesting to see where that line is drawn. For simplicity lets use the GBC terms again and call them Class A (regular Switch), Class B (Switch compatible, Switch 2 enhanced) and Class C (Switch 2 only)

Class A:
The vast majority of the Switch back catalogue plus a subset of new games. For the new stuff mostly titles along the lines of a new Rhythm Heaven, NWC 2, that sort of thing. Generally these games will run the same on Switch 2 as they did on Switch. At most they run at a more reliable framerate but generally, they'll be as they were on Switch

Class B:
Metroid Prime 4 is obligated to be here I think. Also I would suspect that most of the less-demanding new releases post Switch 2 would fall into this category. Would definitely include things like remasters of GC era games and that sort of thing. Probably also some developers, especially Nintendo themselves, would dip into their Switch back catalogue and push "Switch 2" patches for existing games.

What that enhancement would be? My thoughts are mostly higher target resolutions, higher target framerates, more demanding settings, possible use of stuff like DLSS. Broadly this category is basically games developed for Switch that have some small sections of code wrapped in a "Switch 2" flag

Class C:
All of the headline acts post Switch 2 launch. Mario Kart 9, any new 3D Mario, headline Zelda titles, major third party release. I expect most of these to disappear from the Switch. A Hyrule Warriors type game? That's a bit tricky. But I would think it lands here rather than in Class B given previous entries were notoriously a bit framey. These games would be games developed from the ground up to take advantage of the Switch 2 hardware. And because they don't have to QC or optimise for two platforms I would think that most developers are going to fairly quickly shift to here. Unless the game really, really doesn't need it and they want to tap into the existing Switch userbase

@PikminMarioKirby By Switch 1 and Switch 2 games I was meaning in the sense of release timings. That it would be a better idea to have the Wii U Zelda remasters come before the Switch 2 launch and have Hyrule Warriors set during the Imprisoning War during the Switch 2 era. I'd imagine if another Hyrule Warriors came out as a Switch 1 only game, complaints about unstable framerate would overshadow the game (Age of Calamity's framerate is very rough at times).

I think he’s more so suggesting the idea is overdue for exploration, not hinting at anything specific. Honestly, I’m inclined to agree she would be worth giving a playable role in her own title at this point. I’m sure there is some concept they could do, maybe a spin off more based on puzzle solving then direct combat, just something that would give a good chance for Zelda to shine.

@skywake I truly hope that we get game upgrades for the next console. I'd love to play my favorite Switch games with better resolution or maybe even framerate. Most games look fine on Switch, but I'd love to see upgrades to enhance the experience. Sadly WiiU doesn't seem to really upgrade Wii games, and same with Wii to GCN games. Hopefully with the modern technology they can pull it off though!

@GrumbleVolcano I think that if it did release on Switch it would have some problems with framerate (probably similar to Age of Calamity), however maybe if the next console is backwards compatible it runs better on there.

@PikminMarioKirby
I think there are a few reasons why it could happen now and didn't for the Wii. Firstly, Wii Mode on the Wii U was a sandbox by design, when you played Wii games on the Wii U you were effectively playing Wii games on a Wii. They could do this again with Switch 2 but this new SoC will be closer to the Switch than the Wii U was to the Wii. So I'm not convinced that they will have a "Switch mode" in the same way

Secondly, the Wii had no mechanism for game patches. When a Switch game boots it looks for any additional game files outside of the main game itself. A Wii game doesn't. The only update Nintendo ever issued for a game on the Wii was for Skyward Sword and it wasn't an update to the game itself. It was a tool to update a game save if you encountered a bug

Lastly, resolution. A Switch game for is already built for 720p output at the very least. Wii games were all standard def. If you've ever done any kind of Wii emulation you'd know how jarring SD textures and HUD elements can be when you run the game at 1080p. But a game designed for 720p? All that stuff still looks good even if you boost to 4K or something silly

@skywake Those are all very good reasons. I feel like there's a lot more demand for such an upgrade these days anyways. It's not a dealbreaker if games don't get upgraded, however it would be very nice.

@PikminMarioKirby
I guess we'll find out soon enough. But yeah, I think it would be a bit of a shame if they released this significantly better hardware and all of the existing Switch games run exactly as they did on Switch. Which in some cases could even mean they look worse if the Switch 2 has a 1080p screen and all these games still render at 720p in portable mode

Honestly I'd be fairly happy with backwards compatibility that did nothing but open up the additional performance so we get more consistent framerates. With the icing on the cake having it "trick" Switch games into thinking portable mode is docked so they run with the docked settings. This should be fairly easy, I can't post here how I know its easy so I think you understand why I think this should be easy. And maybe, at a real stretch, opening up a additional modes "Switch 2 docked" and "Switch 2 portable" which they can optionally support. But additional options would require developers to patch their games to support it

@skywake Yeah, some games can have inconsistent frame rates (Link's Awakening, Pokemon, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, BOTW) and sometimes it's not that big of a deal, but I'd love to at least see a stable 30fps. I'd imagine making the portable Successor mode act like the docked Switch mode would be fairly easy to pull off.

Yeah some games may need to give a patch to support. I feel like a lot of 3rd Party developers would take advantage of this. The question is if Nintendo would. I think if the update is applied, the game could automatically upgrade. As long as it can tell what console it's on. IDK if updates for just one console and not the other are possible. I would hope Nintendo would upgrade the framerate/resolution on some of their games, but who knows. Maybe 2nd party could also take advantage of it (Kirby, Pokemon, Intelligent Systems) as well.

@PikminMarioKirby
To go back to the Class A, Class B, Class C bit it'd be something like:

Class A: Games run as if they were on an overclocked, permanently docked Switch
Class B: Games support additional Switch 2 modes beyond docked/undocked
Class C: Switch 2 developed games

.... I just had a random thought while playing some emulated DS. What if this magnetic JoyCon idea is a way to achieve a secondary mode that allows a vertical aspect ratio. The obvious benefit being DS on NSO, and if it's a 1080p you can fit in a fairly solid 4X scaling with fairly small borders, but it could also be useful for Vertical arcade games. And potentially it could be a way to open up some of the more DS-Like "dual screen" touch screen stuff that has largely been abandoned

The obvious follow up question would be how would this translate to playing on the TV. And it doesn't really. Not without some way to figure out a second screen which I think is a bridge too far. But as potentially a fairly easy party trick that could be used sometimes with minimal downsides? I could see it working

@skywake I mean that ain’t a terrible idea, but I’d imagine the whole magnet tech they’re putting into the device has more uses then just replacing the rails for joycons.

Has this post on resetera/famiboards been mentioned yet? Some interesting stuffs here:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/leak-switch-2-hardware-shipm...

Basically component shipment details for various bits and pieces for Nintendo. To save you the click they are:

• 6GB LPDDR5 chips (presumably 2X for 12GB)
• 256GB UFS3.1 Flash storage (so 256GB it is, but fast, so that's cool)
• Nvidia's T239 SoC
• Realtek Audio chip
• NFC/RFID reader chip
• Display port to HDMI converter, supporting HDMI 2.1 (i.e can technically support upto 4K/120Hz)
• Realtek Gigabit Ethernet Controller
• Another Realtek microcontroller, similar to the one used on the current dock
• "Game Console Touch Screen Display" ..... that's it, no part number, nothing, cool

Then there multiple Printed circuit boards for assembly. What appear to be one for left and right controller components (joycons) and a main board. Two labeled "ANT" which are presumably for WiFi/Bluetooth. Headphone/microphone jack (Nintendo have the courage to keep it), a built in microphone (interesting) and volume control. Then additionally some boards that appear to be for the dock and something else that might be a pro controller

There's also some detail on the casing including dimensions. 14mm thick although it might be thicker when fully assembled due to the top housing etc. Same thickness as the current Switch if this is what it is. Then it's 115mm high and 206mm wide. So about 1.5cm taller and 3m wider. Which tracks with what has been leaked about there being potentially an 8" screen