Topic: For the last time, Nintendo will not release a 4k console this year, and not anytime soon.

@rallydefault
Issue is the Switch doesn't run particularly hot. Not to say that a 20-50% increase in performance wouldn't be worthwhile (i.e. sub "4K") I just don't see it coming from better cooling. If we're talking 1080p portable, maybe 1440p docked? I can see that happening and being worthwhile. But that'd come from moving to a more efficient SoC.

I'm talking similar to the quiet jump they've already done that they used mostly for better power consumption. That again but maybe a tad further. Hell, the rumoured "Switch Pro" might happen this year but not actually be marketed at all as a different console. It'll just be the Switch just in a new dock that's not physically compatible with the old Switch, slightly wider locator pins or something. Oh and look, there are options for 4K and HDR output in the settings. But little to no fanfare and literally an identical library

@skywake
Yea, I was only thinking more in lines of a 5-10% improvement from a better docked cooling solution and still only targeting 1080p just to keep things more realistic. I know overclocking on my PC can get me about 5-10% more when I get more aggressive with my fan curves.

Wait a second, what if perhaps by Switch being barely halfway through its lifespan is referring to the full lifespan rather than up until the Switch's successor launches (e.g. 3DS was still supported during the Switch era for a bit, its lifespan was March 2011 - March 2019). Switch successor could launch before early 2023 and there's a crossgen period between launch of the successor and early 2023 kind of like how PS4 got Sackboy, Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West.

Still think it's too early for 4K but this could be a more substantial model.

@Grumblevolcano Jen-Hsun Huang said he expects NVIDIA's relationship with nintendo to last at least for two decades. So there's defintely a discussion to have on wether the "next switch" will be to this switch what the 3ds was to the DS, or what the gameboy advance was to the gameboy, or not.
Some journalists like to think that nintendo will adopt a more "quiet" series of upgrades like the smartphone industry does, making the switch a family of devices with a common dev platform.
I think too many people underestimate nintendo's experiments along with publishers on streamed titles like control and hitman 3. it could be the patch to solve their cross-compatibility going forward. or not, i'm not very fond of it yet.
i know one thing for sure: they bet upgrade the wifi antenna in the next model and include the lan port in the next dock.

A LAN port in the next dock would be such a simple yet awesome improvement, and it would put them in a much better place for further pursuit of cloud stuff in the future.

Back to my point, I just think there is so much potential for the dock to be more of an amplifier than it already is. Improvements to the dock even while keeping the existing Switch itself could give the system a couple more years of power capable of bringing it AAA third-party ports. The raises obvious issues with the Switch Lite and how much more power can be eked out of this thing without the dock, though.

All the switch needs is a solid streaming service. I've recently signed up to GamePass and the quality of the games like Witcher and Outer Worlds streamed via my Android phone puts the switch versions to shame.
An incremental power increase isn't going to change that much on Switch - especially once most developers move over to the XsX and PS5.

@Mr-Fuggles777 People always forget streaming services works when you have ISP that you pay $$ for Broadband and not everyone can afford to have it to begin to start Streaming. NOA doesn't need streaming that is for PC computer. NSW does fine without such distraction from what it was intended for and that is Gaming Online and Offline. What Streaming services use your laptop or desktop for that service and leave the Gaming Online/Offline to consoles.

The latest if I recall never mentioned they didn't have one coming but they haven't decided so that already tells you they already have one Testing or close to Production to be released. If they didn't plan on it they would state clearly one will be coming at some point.

@SwitchForce a solid streaming platform (something like a gamepass subscription) would eliminate most of the things that hold the switch back performance wise. Realistically, if someone can't afford £20 a month for broadband a £300-£500 console probably isn't the wisest investment anyway.

It'd be really cool if they take this streaming thing to the next level, like imagine if you were able to stream all these games but without the internet. Imagine being able to play games on a train or on a plane without being restricted by the wi-fi! ;p

@jump you are then just limited to hardware

Nintendo has never been cutting edge in hardware, they have always done well by innovating and by developing timeless games. I doubt that will change this gen, so the only way I see us getting these big current ports is via some form of streaming. We are only just getting ports of last gen games like Apex Legends.

I could be wrong but from what I have heard from different industry friends is what is coming is not a "pro" version at all. Also the timeline is still not certain. Here is what I have heard:
1) There may be a new Dock because there have been eng samples floating around that suggest they are looking at changing the Dock to include a new type of WAN chip/bluetooth and revisions to the interpolation of the video out.
2) They have looked at 4K, the new SOC and a new GPU change. The cost at present puts this out of their target but the GPU may be used.
3) The "Super Switch" name may be the real thing but this it appears to be incremental at best and backwards compatible. I heard something else about this but it seems illogical to me.

Nintendo need sto be very careful with names.
As long as it's not a switchU I'm ok.
Nice name for a Pokémon SwitchU actually

Is just ps fans trolling, even among the NL writers are some.

@Zidentia
Interesting. We don't have any idea and you could just be messing with us for all we know, but I do think the dock is the logical way to go. Just a lot more they could do with it to improve functionality and perhaps boost performance by a bit, and nobody has to buy another Switch.

@Mr-Fuggles777 "Nintendo have never been cutting edge in hardware"

Ok we're just casually forgetting the N64 being a 64-bit console when every other alternative was 32 bits, the Super FX chip, the SNES audio subsystem when the Genesis was using a basic sound chip and the GameCube only being less powerful than the original Xbox

It was only starting with the Wii that they actually started to deemphasize the focus on hardware likely because of the PS2's success despite it being the weakest power wise on the market during the 6th gen of consoles. There was a time before then when they were leading on the technical side of things, but with the N64 and GameCube they were always held back by stupid decisions regarding the physical media distribution

The N64 and GameCube were only cutting edge because Silicon Graphics and AMD came to Nintendo and offered their tech exclusively.

Nintendo haven't really been competitive with technology in their own right since the days of the SNES.

Mind you, nobody else is either these days as it's all AMD or Nvidia inside.

Well 5G is coming, wether nintendo likes it or not, and microsoft is ready to occupy that space when it will eventually becomes broadly used, and they already have what everybody is calling "best deal in gaming right now" with gamepass. do i like streaming triple A titles? meh, there's lag, the UI it's not adapted, and attaching an xbox controller to the smartphone it's like going around with a sex toy. so, not really. yet.
But it's coming.
Panic Button ports are a viable option for devs as long as streaming is not yet taken for granted. when eventually streaming is taken for granted, i don't see publishers spending money on actually porting difficult games on switch. but i could be wrong!
it could be that by the time 5G is actually broadly adopted, the switch might be near the end of its cycle. 🤷‍♂️

@teo_o The biggest thing holding back Microsoft from being a serious competitor in the handheld space via xCloud is the 1st party Xbox lineup is still very poor in comparison to Nintendo's 1st party lineup. Their lineup most years in the past decade makes Nintendo's 2020 look extremely strong in comparison.

I am not messing with you just sharing what I have been told. It is fairly easy to see what direction Nintendo is going based on the small non obvious clues there are and what Nintendo themselves have done and said. Add in the small factual incidents and the answer becomes clearer.

I think one of the worse things Nintendo can do is let their success make them complacent. The thing is the timing. We know architecture is more important than raw power. For the revision or successor they have to design it in a way that they can have the highest clocks possible. Obviously the chip node helps a lot in this area. I love the switch and it’s one of my favorite Nintendo consoles. I just don’t want to see them sit back and wait for sales to start falling off before they feel the need to release an upgrade. Do it this year and phase out the older switch over time.