Topic: The future of the switch, supplemental computing device, VR, New devices.

Im not sure if this has already been posted but i wanted to get peoples thoughts on the future of the switch and what we might see.

First off is the rumored supplemental computing device. I think its a neat idea. The ability to enhance your switch by buying a different dock is intriguing. However, I feel that because the switch is a portable device you'd be limited to the games that can play portable. If for instance the portable switch only has 400 gflops the game will have to run with lower textures. less detailed models etc. It wouldn't simply be turning down antialiasing, post effects, resolutions, hbao the list goes on like you would for your computer graphics card. The docked mode might be able to get away with it because it might be powerful enough where you don't need to change the game too much to get the game to run. There is also the idea of patches for the dock and maybe the dock has a hard drive so you can download patches that have improved textures and models. Seems like a lot of work though.

Next is VR - I can't imagine VR being a thing currently because we all know that the switch resolution is 720p. This would cause major screen door issues. If ninendo is worried about making VR comfortable then I don't think the switch is the way to go about it. I could see a new switch in the future with a higher resolution that could support VR but that would be quite a ways away seeings the switch is just launching.

Finally we have the future of the switch. Nvidia did say that they can see them working with nintendo for many years to come. This might mean that as nvidias technology evolves so too will the Switch. Nvidia has revealed their next SOC for their autonomous vehicles. The new Xavier chip. which apparently has 512 cuda cores giving 20 tera-ops (DL Tops) of performance. Which is the metric for 8 bit integer math. Im not sure if that means it can do 5 teraflops of fp 32 in a 30 watt chipset. If thats the case that is crazy! especially if you take away half the cuda cores to save power youd still get 2.5 teraflops. The question though would consumers be willing to purchase upgraded nintendo switches that have more power down the road. Would they think its a cash grab? Would Nintendo do what Sony and microsoft are doing and have it so all games would be made to run on the older switch and newer switch?

What does everyone think?

I'll only touch on the future of the Switch for now. The other two don't have enough foundation in reality for me to spend much time thinking about, not until we get given solid reason to get interested.

The future of the Switch and should I buy the next one? Depends how the games go. Currently the Switch 3rd party lineup is looking a bit JRPG heavy to me, which is not my bag. But if enough of my kind of games are realised, and the prices of games manage to stay reasonably with the other systems, then I'll probably be there for the next one provided if it's differentiated enough from Switch 1.

But if Switch does properly well then I expect Sony to produce a portable competitor, but one that also does phone calls. Nintendo seem to be ignoring the trend of convergence of devices by trying to make the Switch a games machine only. That leaves them liable to being overtaken by a Sony Switch Killer, that makes calls, has a half decent camera, gps etc. And that's what I've been asking for since talk of hybrids began - one device that does it all.

1. Supplemental Computing Device
I don't think this idea could work. The issue with this idea isn't the tech of the Switch itself. It does have a USB Type C port so it could in theory it could be thunderbolt enabled. Unlikely but in theory it could be. However even if they have built that in to make it possible there are other road blocks. The Switch's CPU and RAM are appropriate for the level of GPU power it has. If you added a more powerful GPU the Switch itself would become a bottleneck. The solution to this? A more powerful Switch... and that that point why not just put a more powerful GPU in the Switch?

2. Virtual Reality
There's nothing stopping them from doing it except for the fact that the Switch as it is would not provide a great experience. Which I think for Nintendo is enough of a reason not to do it.

3. Switch Revisions
Yes there is a lot of possibilities for revisions of the Switch itself. And revisions in hardware don't necessarily just mean more power. They could deliver a similar level of power at a lower price and with significantly reduced power consumption. What for? Well less power consumption means smaller battery. They could make a Switch Mini which sells to kids and people who want a cheaper and more portable device.

4. Dock Revisions
As it stands the Switch dock has a HDMI 1.4 port and 3x USB 3.0 ports. The Switch itself is outputing a DisplayPort signal so it stands to reason that the HDMI 1.4 port is holding it back. Not much because the Switch is only outputting 1080p but still. A HDMI 2.0 version of the dock could support HDR. A HDMI 2.1 version of the dock could support variable refresh rates. It's way to early for it to jump on that bandwagon now but in 3 years time? It could be possible. The competition won't be able to do the same without an entirely new console.