Following on from yesterday's news about Nintendo's possible plan to update some of the components in the original Switch model, a hacker and dataminer known as Mike Heskin has now taken to Twitter to share his own findings about the recently announced Lite model and a completely new and improved system, that's rumoured to be on the way.
This information has been extracted from recent firmware updates. Below is the full summary, courtesy of the ResetEra user Atheerios:
Since firmware 5.0 there has been support for three hardware lines, one with the original Tegra 210 and two for the new Tegra 214 (Mariko)
Those two hardware lines are Switch Lite and Switch "New".
The original Switch has 4GB of RAM and 6GB for the devkit. The new models have support for both 4GB and 8GB of RAM.
Both Switch Lite and "New" use LPDDR4X DRAM which grants a small battery boost due to lower voltages.
Switch Lite has a smaller screen and non-detachable controllers while "New" Switch should have the exact same form factor.
The GPU in the "New" Switch is clocked at higher values than Switch Lite, potentially giving a modest performance boost.
Larger than 32GB memory is possible in the "New" units. Two models have been found in the firmware (codenames "Iowa" and "Calcio") and is speculated that one will have more internal storage.
There's absolutely no evidence of an actual "Pro" version. At least not in the sense that it would be based off of the Tegra X2 or have massive performance and/or memory improvements.
Not long after the Switch Lite was revealed to the world, Doug Bowser explained it would be the only new Switch hardware coming this holiday and that the original model would not be receiving an upgrade right now. As already mentioned above, this followed with Nintendo filing a "Class II Permission Change" to the FCC.
What are your thoughts about these findings? Tell us below.
[source nintendoeverything.com, via nintendoenthusiast.com]
Comments 124
Well that didn't take long 🤔
No, remember Bowser said no new hardware this year. Oh yeah duh I forgot. Nintendo doesn't consider revisions of hardware to be new hardware. And don't forget if it's released in the next 123 days it's not the Holiday season.
The lite one is more of a 3ds replacement compared to the original switch, as it is completely detached from the TV.
Has anyone confirmed whether the analogue sticks on it is like the 3ds "sliders" or not?
So they're speculating that a non-Lite model would ALSO aschew the Joy-Con like the Lite does? Yeaaaah, not buying it, sorry.
Heck, even if any hardware changes to the original Switch are minor, that's still something. I doubt a true Switch Pro or Switch 2 will show up for at least a couple of years.
I hope Nintendo doesn’t do this. I’d rather they wait longer. The Switch is barely 2 years old now, and throwing out a new piece of hardware would be confusing. I’d rather a major than just a minor upgrade, otherwise it just cheapens the console that put them back in the driver’s seat.
@Sabrewing
I think it means ‘will have the same form factor’ as the original
@Ganon_The_Canon Doesn't really need confirming, considering that you can see them in the pictures from all angles.. they are raised just like the originals.
Be interesting to see if this happens. Might be tempted to upgrade for slightly better performance and slightly better battery life.
Was hoping that any upgrade would see some QOL improvements like Bluetooth Audio, etc but if it’s to share the same innards as the Lite this makes sense from a production/cost POV
@Ganon_The_Canon Those analogs don't look like the Circle Pad at all.
Lite isn't even out and we are speculating on another new model?
Your comparing the mini with the switch. I see no comparison of the switch and a more powerful version here.
From developers side of view it makes completely sense to have 3 models in the code after the news that Nintendo will.update it's SoC also for the normal switch. If it has a new chip this needs to be considered in the code. Done! No Pro version here!
Sounds exactly as predicted by another site based on production/insiders (I think it was WSJ but not sure). They predicted a Switch Mini and slightly redesigned Switch for this year, with modest improvements on the regular Switch. Not sure if they also predicted a Switch Pro, but honestly that’s a matter of when not if. 2020 or 2021 sounds likely
It's probably exactly the same as the Lite but with the TV functionality and more powerful but it might take at least one more year to come out
It looks more like a die shrink for the current X1 chip. This would result in a rework of the current switch and we have already seen a FCC submission for this. It does not look like it will have any user facing changes though, beyond maybe a SKU with a bit more storage and improved battery life. These updated internals should arrive at the same time as the lite model as they will lower production costs. That said I do expect a switch "pro" model to show itself but only in 2020.
It's the DSi all over again
Sounds like this Switch is going to be more like the Xbox One S but without the form factor change.
current switch model is more powerful then switch lite.
I miss those times, where you buy a console, have fun with it for five, six years and then get excited for a completely new successor with awesome new tech and features.
Nowadays there is such a bunch of impatient people, who start whining and moaning about anything slightly new after one year. 🙄
There’s no 1.5 generation boost here. Just efficiency gains...like they always do. Anyone saying switch pro is drinking Metal Dave’s koolaid!
Still using links to the website where a mod encouraged Etika to commit suicide? Pretty shameful, NL.
Well we didnt see that comming huh
@electrolite77 Honestly, Just audio out via TypeC would be cool.
I have the Xiaomi Mi ANC USB TypeC (active noise canceling) I use on my My laptop & phone when I travel. Would love to just use it on Switch.
I think Nintendo will keep new hardware releases to the Spring. The Switch Lite has no competition and will launch within 3 months of a new Pokemon title. The Pro will probably release next spring.
@Agramonte
That would be great. I know you can use a Dongle and I’ve seen some recommendations but there’s always latency.
For me it’s Docked that’s the issue. Again, can get a Dongle but not ideal.
How are the Xiaomi earphones? They look good.
Id go for just a modest upgrade with Switch Pro, double the ram and slightly faster GPU/CPU, so atleast high-end third party games would run better (The Witcher 3 in 720p rather than 540p in handheld) and a 1080p screen for less complex games like Mariokart Deluxe and Cuphead. Also better wifi, maybe add another antenna for better coverage.
This sounds like what WSJ said was happening all along. Meaning those expecting a ‘Switch Pro’ that will be a big upgrade may be pinning their hopes on something that doesn’t exist.
Switch confirmed for Smash?
@Sabrewing they mean same form fact as original (it reads strange when taken out of context)
@RiasGremory not sure where you got that idea and I doubt it. The better battery life most likely means the lite is slight better for n performance than original and it makes sense as they won't be using the same chip due to its hackable issues
I doubt this change will even advertised as such. This imlooks like an internal review that no-one will know until opening it
Real shame they didn't use this opportunity to fix the horrible placement of the right stick/face buttons. Having to claw thumb over the stick to reach the face buttons is ergonomically terrible.
I copy/paste what I wrote a week ago already !
PCkidSat, 4:07pm
The plan is simple to understand.
The Switch in itself is gonna become a portable only. You'll be able to plug it on the TV but it's going to be considered as an "extra".
I can clearly see a "Power Dock" coming to simplify the ports of PS5/Scarlett to Nintendo's machine.
To make it short, Nintendo has "pre-sold" their "NEXTGEN" already.
Every Switch owner will have to buy the new dock to get better experience on their TV sets.
PS : the Switch mini is part of that strategy too BTW. (reducing the price of the system with no joycons anymore will be a great way to drop the price to $199).
Nintendo denied any new model was in the works at the beginning of the year... and the lite is coming out...
@Balta666 Uh no, the performance will be exactly the same. The better battery life is due to the smaller screen, meaning it requires less voltage.
@Stocksy Of course they did. If they didn't, people would stop buying because they'd be waiting.
Business 101
@Blizzia right, I know, my point is that them denying the existence of another model is expected and holds no indication if another is on the way. I’d imagine they’d leave a gap but people in comments are acting like “no current plans for more hardware” somehow confirms this is the only model in the works and on the way. It isn’t.
@Stocksy True.
I'd estimate that this just means that we'll have a "honeymoon" period for Switch Lite to establish itself, then they'll probably announce what else they have (if they have anything).
Maybe Bowser is not in the loop, he is the new guy and still on trial. Something like a new console would be on a need to know basis, to minimise leaks.
Had a new 3ds been announced instead of the Lite I would be preordering it from day one, the Lite is of no interest.
I can see Nintendo not wanting to label the Switch as anything but Switch 2, much like Sony does with the PS. So it's anyone's guess what the Switch 2 will be capable off. It would have to have enough to tempt gamers to upgrade.
The Switch Lite is really more for the casual gamer. There could be an Elite Switch for the hard core gamer who would not mind a higher price. But I can't see Nintendo wanting more than two Switches at this point in time. So a Switch 2 would allow Nintendo to phase the Original Switch out and at the same time upgrade the features of the Lite.
If it makes sense it's probably true. Except this is Nintendo who dumped the only 3d hand console in the world.
I knew this would come up.
It's no different than Forbes announcing that the Mini would have a 1080p screen a few days before it was announced with a 720. It's crap.
Bowser is still a suit which has been given hardly any information.
I don't think there will be a "pro" version, just an upgrade which Nintendo will not tell you about, just implemented in later iterations of the switch, therefore not "new" hardware
@BacklogBlues If there is something else in the pipeline it won't come out this year.
And TBH I think these specs are far-fetched at this point.
Yeah, I'm thinking there is no upcoming Switch Pro and it's just going to be the slightly updated regular Switch that we see.
@zool yep, well this is all part of working for a Japanese company. Even Reggie, after all his years, had a limited view and influence on any Japan-led decisions (which by the way, is everything outside of pricing, marketing and localisation). Indeed, more often than not Reggie was ignored. I don't believe Bowser is on a "trial" - he's in a senior executive role after all. You don't choose someone you aren't sure about for such a role, you pick the best person for the job and get on with it - I know what you mean though. He's a puppet essentially.
A big part of the job is simply falling in line, getting with the PR program and singing from the same hymn sheet. I don't believe he has any influence at all on any decisions made out of Japan. He is strictly North American region - and that's literally it. We paint it as some glorious role because he gets some screen time on some Directs in our region - he's literally reading a script and executing decisions other people made for him.
@Blizzia you're forgetting the current battery won't fit in the lite. They have better battery life with smaller battery (also is a fact that the chip used is not the same and has a better heat performance)
@PCkid your previous post makes no sense. The games need to run on handheld so a more powerful dock accomplishes nothing as AAA won't do games that don't run on handheld
@zool they dumped because the concept is not interesting to the majority of its market (3d did not sell nearly any 3ds as you can see from early sales. In the end what saved 3ds were games regardless of the use of the technology). Also you can bet with the studies that alluded to the 3d being bad for children Nintendo will not touch that in the next 10-20 years
Isn't this just basic manufacturing changes for the same product? I'm on the lookout for the next gen switch more than a modest revision tbh.
@Balta666 I would dispute that it was not interesting to the majority of its market, especially when version 2 came out. Nintendo did not produce enough true 3d games, it expected 3rd parties to take the lead, but Nintendo was largely ignored at that time by developers. If 3d games did not sell it was because there was almost none to sell, and since the 3ds sold well, there is no way I'd knowing what setting their 3ds was on, 3d or 2d.
3d being bad for children? Show me the evidence. You could argue gaming is bad for children so Nintendo should stop making games. And if something is bad for children that would be an issue for parents, not to buy their kids 3ds.
Switch isn't new to hardware updates in later units (remember the Tegra exploit fix?), but this stuff, while more tangible than the usual "leaks" we've been trolled with for months, sounds more like making room for the more distant future. Which would certainly be good news, allowing to speculate that the eventual Switch successor might follow the same/similar hardware and firmware patterns and potentially ensure backward compatibility. But more RAM/storage for Switch's price when even NSL couldn't lower it without throwing out half the controller tech? Yeah, sounds legit. :V But since zany "Switch Mini" rumours have become pointless to buzz over, zany "Switch Pro" ones are all fans and tabloids have left.
@zool I used alluded to on purpose as I don't think there is prove of it but that does not really matter as Nintendo clearly decided do downgrade on it to avoid a public outlash. I will add that on a personal perspective I cannot deal with it for than more than a few seconds of it without having headache
@Balta666 I'm not forgetting that, no. My point still stands - the better battery life performance is due to the smaller screen requiring less voltage. The battery being smaller just means that performance could have been bigger had the other battery fit.
Bowser is lying, Nintendo is going to launch a Switch for TV-only.
I'd feel betrayed if they released a revised version of current Switch. imagine having paid the same and being there since the beginning, only to have an inferior performance than newcomers?
@Blizzia well that is your speculation but it is a fact that the lite is using a different chip
@Balta666 nah it's just using Mariko. It's the same chip, just a different revision. Switch uses 210, Lite 214 (Mariko).
The information doesn't seem to be written particularly clearly-- It appeared to be saying the "New" version had non-detatchable Joy-Cons at one point. But rest appeared to be indicating it was just manufacturing updates of the current/main version of the system. When the first rumors of a "Pro" version came out I assumed that's what it would likely just turn out to be. It probably won't even be a different SKU, just increased built-in memory and better battery life for newly-produced units.
Awesome great exciting Switch news.
if it's not a full switch 2 then i'm not too interested.
No reason to get a switch 1.1 or whatever.
@Balta666 To substantiate that Nintendo clearly decided do downgrade on it to avoid a public outlash, you would have to show evidence otherwise this is speculation.
I agree some people don't get on with 3d, like others react to flashing lights, and I can't stand any park ride that go round, I get motion sickness. But thousands of others love these rides, are not bothered about flashing lights and enjoy 3d movies and games.
Switch - 4310 mAh battery (2.5 - 6.5 hours)
Switch Lite - 3570 mAh battery (3 - 7 hours).
Whilst some of the energy saving will come from the smaller screen, a big chunk of it must come from the processor revision.
The big question is, if they're using this new chip in the regular Switch, will they be shrinking the battery and giving us similar battery life, or leave the battery the same and give us longer battery life? fingers crossed
@zool call it speculation if you prefer but it is your own words that Nintendo clearly abandoned it mid way through the 3ds life cycle
@Heavyarms55 Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
they should call the next switch model the nx model
@Balta666 Nintendo are innovators but are to small a company to let their inventions grow and expand beyond the first stage. I bet Nintendo are working on the next idea right now and the Switch will go the same way the DS has gone.
Once Google implement cloud gaming and all we will need is a controller the games industry will change again.
@graysoncharles I get what you're saying and I agree to some extent. I should clarify; I meant: a) so soon, and b) at the same price/sold as the same product (since this whole thing doesn't indicate this is the "Switch Pro")
@zool that is why I said to not expect it in 10-20 years
@Heavyarms55 Based on what we know, and what is said here, it's not speculation about a "new" model, just an in-line hardware "1.1" revision of the Switch to integrate the updated chipset. Despite "advantages" listed on tech sites, consumers wouldn't know it was a new model, it would be sold as the same old model, and the only real point would be to simply production and keep bulk part order runs cost defective by using the same chip that happens to be more efficient in all models produced.
Most consoles have these minor revisions over time. Even the NES did.
Thus someone buying a Switch in 2020 might have a slightly better performing battery/GPU/temperature than someone that bought a launch Switch, but officially they're identical units.
Kind of like people that bought a launch day Pro controller have a significantly defective controller compared to anyone buying in 2018, but officially there's no difference....
@zool "Once Google implement cloud gaming and all we will need is a controller the games industry will change again."
Or so the investors believe. We're a loooooooooooong way away from a world where that's actually functional in enough locations to replace local rendering. Comcast will have to go out of business before that happens in the US. And true universal performance wireless isn't happening this decade...or probably next here. Doubtfully really after that either unless we can get satellite to be fiber-fast and non-positional. We're not even talking podunk farm towns in Idaho. The Western 2/3 of NY State is going to be spotty on wireless signal for a long long time still. Heck, the fiber rollout in NYC proper is indefinitely stalled....
@Balta666 in handheld mode switch only uses half of its processors but in dock mode it uses every processors which gives the switch a major boost in power for tv mode so yes current switch model is indeed stronger the the lite version.
That actually seems reasonable. It's not unusual for hardware manufacturers to make these kinds of unannounced mini-upgrades.
@NEStalgia On another page someone mentioned this might be to fix that hardware exploit that was found that cannot be patched with software. That would make sense.
@NEStalgia Google has only been around for a couple of decades and already we are where we are. I wouldn't under estimate them.
@Heavyarms55 I'm sure it's not the sole reason, but yeah, that makes sense that that's addressed here and is a big motivator. Though the die shrink alone is also going to be cheaper to buy, and buying only that part keeps the lot prices lower and keeps it simple too. Using the older chip would just be a headache. If Nintendo switches (ba-dum-tss) away from the old part I imagine nVidia will just shut down fabrication entirely for it and is willing to pass some of that cost savings onto Nintendo as well. Nintendo is certainly the largest customer by far for that part.
@zool Google's track record for new products and services is worse than abysmal. Maybe the worst in the industry. They're a monopoly on advertising and search and that grants them unlimited budget, but outside that they generally spin in circles and fall down with anything they do. Maps took off...but they bought maps wholesale in buying Keyhole...which itself was badly hidden CIA front. Youtube was also bought wholesale. Fiber was a disaster. Google has a hard time competing in arenas where competitors actually exist. They're used to being a monopoly in their fields.
I, for one, am grateful at their sheer incompetence. They would be even more devastating to the world if they were actually competent. Their early services, primary things, mail, documents, storage remain solid, but that was in the early days when the were still sane. Chrome shouldn't have taken off, but it somehow did for inexplicable reasons mostly attributed to Microsoft sucking at browsers, and Mozilla Foundation being a disorganized internally political disaster. Chrome's horrendous but somehow the world likes it. Android isn't exclusively theirs. It's a modified Linux package and Microsoft owns part of that as well.
But fortunately every new product or service is poorly designed, poorly launched, poorly run, and then is abandoned shortly after it fails, or rebranded and relaunched as something else for which the cycle repeats.
In the case of Stadia, it has a two-fold problem. It's competing against established competitors with solid brand identities, and unique content. Google doesn't understand the content business at all (see also:
Google MusicerrrGoogle Play Musicerr Youtube Music and Google Video.) Internet technology is a long long long long way away from being able to handle that well in most locations (which makes it a non-starter for industry dominance even if it makes it an option in select locations), and finally Google, the "everything is free!" company has started to become the "we're a monopoly and you're going to pay up" company. Their "free" and "cheap" services are rapidly starting to become the highest priced option more and more. Stadia's no exception. The pricing model is horrendous and is not the way consumers adopted streaming services.Imagine if Spotify made you buy every CD you listen to AND charged you the monthly fee, AND the internet in most places made the music buffer or lag periodically? Classic iPod would still be the hottest ticket in town.
When they release a new “pro” model it will most likely be in conjunction with a major software release. My guess is Botw 2. It is probably a few years out but if they enhance the game for a pro model it will be a big selling point. If it’s released in the near future maybe Witcher 3? But I would think it would release with a major 1st party title. Since botw released with vanilla switch having a “pro” release with botw 2 makes sense to me. Plus, with new Xbox and PlayStation coming next year I doubt Nintendo will stay silent. So....botw 2 and switch pro released in the same time period as ps5 and Xbox whatever? Best way to make a splash in my opinion.
@AlphaElite you shouldn't judge anything on the actions of one person
@NEStalgia do I detect that you are not a google user? I guess you are Apple.
@zool I am android user and can assure you Stadia is not going anywhere both because the infrastructure is not there and mostly because the monetization is beyond ridiculous
@RiasGremory lol comparing oranges and apples... Gotcha yah
@Balta666 I read that Stadia is scheduled to launch later this year. So realistically if the launch is OK where ever the launch will be, five years from now it could well be up and running to a greater or lesser degree. About the life cycle of a new console. Once these things are up and running, they move fast.
I read somewhere, Netflix for gaming.
@zool yes, Stadia premium is launching later this year and free version next year. That still does not resolve the issues with latency, data caps and the fact that you need to pay 60$ for a game that you can use exclusively online.
IMO Microsoft has potential to make it worth it if included in the gamepass and for games that you can play on a console if you prefer.
I would be very much surprised if Stadia is still a thing in 5 years time
Yes, I knew it. Now they are dumping this site full with "ultra switch" "info". This site never dissapoints in how predictable they are...
@zool Do I detect one of those Google fans that think Google can do no wrong and is a benevolent force in the world as they pillage and burn their way through?
FWIW, no I can't stand Apple. I've had a handful of iPod/Touches over the years but that's about it. I don't despise them, but I just dislike their pricing/status symbol appeal, and feature limitations. For phones I do use Android/Google, though I try to lock out as much of Google's spyware as possible, and keep location services off at all times (though I don't doubt they're using it anyway.) Google's flat out evil and creepy.....Apple isn't, but they're greedy as a "luxury brand", and I don't really like their products, so I stick with the evil/creepy phones that do what I need them to do rather than less objectionable ones that don't (and cost more.)
I wouldn't use Chrome if someone held a gun to my head though. That thing is 100% pure spyware.
I actually pay for
Google Music, Google Play MusicYoutube Music specifically forYoutube RedYoutube Premium. Grandfathered in at an older price but I wanted the ad-free Youtube. THey've repriced it. You used to be able to buy both separately. Now to get ad-free youtube you need to buy the music service, and then pay $4/mo on top of THAT. They're no longer the cheap company.I also subscribed to YouTube TV for a little over a year. It was a great service...."cable" TV, streamed, at a great $35/mo. The service was mediocre. They frequently updated the Roku app...and broke it in important ways (press to scroll didn't work after one patch so to fast forward you had to madly mash the directional buttons one for ever second!) 6 weeks later they fixed that, then broke the DVR storage (you permanently lost things you had...) etc. One time it swapped my stations with a different city's. It inexplicably buffered (Youtube doesn't handle live streaming well.....) But for $35 I was happy enough. Then they announced they were adding a bunch of channels I didn't care about and jacking the price up to $50. No thanks. Now it's one of the pricier streaming options.
Enter Stadia. Did I mention the Youtube platform sucks at live streaming? Did I mention Google ran PS Now, the previously laughed at streaming service even Sony had to backtrack after years and add a Game Pass style download option for non-PS3 games? Yeah....
And then we get to pricing. It's not Netflix for gaming. Game Pass is closer to Netflix for gaming than that is despite not being streamed. Netflix became popular because it's a smorgasbord. $13/mo you can watch everything you want to! Not so with Stadia. You still have to buy the full price games. AND you have to pay the sub for the privilege of streaming them at full quality.
Think about that. You still pay $60 a game (or sale price) to get an inferior experience....that you have to pay $10/month to access..........and it's really only viable if you have fiber, which is a fraction of the US.
Not to mention it runs through Chromecast. My experience with my CC Ultra has me unenthused.
If it were a Netflix smorgasbord, as a fiber customer I'd be thrilled....but I couldn't even get PS Now to run well over gigabit fiber....which was also the Google platform. Amazon's going to do a gaming service too...of course it will be tied to their proprietary hardware no doubt. I do hope it doesn't interfere with them selling console games.
I'm sure in L.A. and Redmond, Stadia's it's wonderful.
@smithpa01 I can certainly judge the website for not taking action against said person. That place doesn't deserve the web traffic that an NL link will bring.
What I got from this is now that they are past posting endless articles about rumors for the Switch Lite it is time to start up endless articles about rumors for a Switch fancy pants edition.
@graysoncharles This does bring up the possibility of the Switch Lite simply being the low-end version of a dedicated Switch portable in it's simplest form, I mean the name totally makes sense for that if they were to bring out a more powerful version that plays the games with docked performance.
I could see a "pro" model releasing next year, but I also see that one just taking the spot of the current Switch. Same price with 64 gigs storage, maybe a faster CPU for faster loading times, maybe a slightly larger screen on the same form factor, and maybe a higher resolution.
@Balta666 Not all of the games will be $60...
@NEStalgia In South Africa the majority of the resedential areas already have fiber, huge layout has recently taken place...why would the US b lagging so far behind all of a sudden ?.
@NotTelevision I think they have to with the new consoles coming out next year. The switch is terribly underpowered now and just with a much, much wider gap between the switch and say the Ps5 the only thing keeping third party developers with the switch is it's install base because porting becomes even more impossible and development is limited by four year old mobile hardware. Basically, without a real hardware update and not just a minor revision the switch becomes the Wii again. I really hope there's a switch 2 soon because, man, the games Nintendo can get to work are great, but think if they had some juice to work with.
Hell, if I was a major game company i'd try to put out a handheld hybrid with around the PS4 power or higher and price out at 400 bucks to kill the thing completely by luring over major third party support as well as supporting an art style that isn't just cartoony to hide all the jaggies. Seriously, does no one else notice that every switch game uses color to hide hardware limitations?
@Sim1 Look toward the size of the country and the terrain, primarily. Yeah, there's corporate skulduggery as well, but a lot of it is just the landscape & geography....which are really difficult problems for internet expansion here. It took over a century to get telephone/telegraph lines to absolutely everywhere! From point to point there's tremendous space, crossing tons of mountains forests, all kinds of above ground and underground water bodies, deep rockbed, plus very old infrastructure dating back 150+ years in a lot of areas to coexist with. That's not easy to deal with, and is overwhelmingly expesnive to deal with to actually run everywhere. Sure companies (and unions) squandered money, but very company that starts does part of 2 major metros then runs out of money after blowing a billion. That's a lot of expensive fiber to run and maintain (and upgrade and repair.)
S. Africa on the other hand is comparatively small, with a relatively flat, consistent landscape without all the winding water bodies, mountains, ancient infrastructure, rock soil, frozen over areas, etc. And there's not tremendous distance of fiber to run from point to point between paying customers. The US, with modern upgrades has a particular problem that being the early adopter of technology back in the early to mid 1900s, and not having had it blown to pieces in war like Europe, is we still maintain a lot of really antiquated systems for things because there's so much of it and the way it was all installed, with everything built around/on top of it it would be really really painful to try to replace and upgrade it all. They weren't good at planning things long term in the 1930s.....
On top of all that....Comcast. The big telecom companies (Verizon, AT&T, etc....though really they were all part of the same monopoly at one time), are very used to charging maximum and delivering minimum. They're all fairly awful...but....when it comes to internet they're not the bottleneck often enough. Comcast, the monolithic cable TV company that bought all the other cable TV companies and acts as a pseudo monopoly (there are a few others depending on region) - they use their massive legal department to secure zoning permits and such and hold onto them in such a way competitors can't enter in a lot of areas. They are the reason Google Fiber halted - even Google couldn't wrest permits from Comcast's bought politicians, (though Google buys their own politicians massively on the national level, local politicians aren't their possessions like Comcasts are) so dig sites would sit years tied up in litigation then go abandoned. And of course where Comcast is a semi-monopoly, there's no need for them to offer anything more than 5Mb/s or so, for $100/mo and a 1TB data cap. If you want internet, you'll take it. Not like you have a choice.
Of course the cost of running so much fiber is prohibitive to everyone here. Even Verizon one of the bigger fiber companies stopped all new rollout of fiber. They want to rely on 5G wireless as the internet solution because it's cheaper to install a few towers than dig to every house. For places that get neither they still have DSL over copper phone lines. 15Mb/s or so!
It's going to be that way for decades here. Streaming gaming wont really be realistic outside major metros. Heck even parts of major metros still have DSL. Even parts of NYC where the rollout stopped. Even just outside Silicone Valley someone on this forum pointed out parts of San Francisco don't even have great internet...so even in the most connected most major metros, it's not really everywhere even there.
Edit: And if you're wondering why Comcast is so hard to budge: They're Comcast-NBC-Universal. NBC is arguably the biggest TV network, and Universal means Universal Studios - the film studio and brands, the record label, the theme parks (including the Nintendo theme parks).....that's all them. Google's still the bigger company, but it's more of a rival of titans there.
@NotTelevision It’ll be nothing more than minor revision, simply to phase out old hardware. No big performance boosts here, at least not significant enough to classify it as “pro”.
@Balta666
Think a little more deeply dude.
The Switch is a concept that allows you TO SWITCH between handheld and docked mode : it's the CORE feature... guess what ?
Nintendo SWITCH LITE is coming.
Hope you're going to understand by yourself. ^^
@NEStalgia if you do detect a Google fan that think Google can do no wrong you are wrong, but like you I use Google for similar reasons. Apple is expensive for what it is. My daughter has apple but she will keep her iPhone for two years, I change my Sony every year. If Microsoft had been more successful with Windows Phone I would have stayed with them. Android was really the only other option, but I have few complaints and a reasonable choice of phones.
I have a Chromebook and it does what it says on the tin, again I have few complaints. We have an ipad as well that is also OK, better speed than the tablets we've had that use chrome.
I get that Google is not your favourite company. But cloud gaming will be here, maybe maybe not with Google, but it will be here. It only seems like yesterday we were being told we won't see 3d on a TV let alone a games console, and now it's been and almost gone, reason, 3d TV programing was over priced and the DS did not have adequate 3d software to be sustainable.
If you compare media companies Disney is bigger than Universal. But I guess that is like Nintendo v Sony.
@Balta666 you can't stop progress, and the cloud seems to be the future. As for price £50/60$ is the cost of a download now.
I don't know much about these specs and power of consoles, but is 8 gb of RAM a lot? I'm just wondering cause my Smart phone has 8 gb of RAM so i'm just confused.
@zool cloud may be the "future" but it's a distant future if over half of the largest market can't actually use it, and the possibility of that happening isn't even in visual range. It'll be be an option in select locations, but not much more than that.
Heck streaming in Japan is only "fairly decent" and you can't get much better internet than that. The problem is the physics limitation. Video wouldn't have gone anywhere if it had to be steamed bufferless, real time frames. All the talk of streaming games ignores that video and audio work because they aren't real time and have a sizable buffer. Games can't do that. Physics will heavily limit the utility of steamed games. Even streaming from my xbox to my surface pro on my own wired lan has perceptible lag. That's the BEST possible performance. Cloud is intently worse even at it's best.
There's a reason Microsoft despite launching their own cloud platform is doubling down on hardware and pc. Cloud may grow mass market but the demand for real time performance will still grow. Ultimately switch is going to be more responsive than cloud even if graphics are worse.
@Balta666 its pretty much fact man.
@Sim1 right, what I mean is that they will cost you the same as other media and that makes no sense to me as I don't see the value in it for a product that if they want they can cancel and then you cannot play the game anymore
@zool yes, you can if the product is not good and people don't adopt it. But note I am talking stadia in particular as the way I see it Google is handling it as poor as it can gets.
On the 60$ the thing is that a cartridge or a download you have the game in your possession and even if servers are disconnected you can play the games but that won't be true with stadia
@RiasGremory that docked is stronger than handheld? No joke Sherlock... The only comparison possibly is bettwen the power of each tablet and most likely lite is slight better than OG as technology gets cheaper everyday and they got the time to enhance ir
@Xansies Yeah I agree with everything you said there. I would just want something that majorly improves upon the Switch, since the new model would basically replace the standard Switch. I think despite what people say, the Switch is still competing with other consoles on the market. Just some reports suggest that the hardware revision would just be a minor one, so I’d say that would be bad move and throw the Switch out of the range of 3rd party support next-gen. The “power in numbers” argument is undermined by the poor 3rd party support the Wii got which is still Nintendo’s best selling machine.
It will probably be a silent revision, not a whole new model (+ a 64GB version probably)
But the pro will probably come next year or something
I've posted it a while ago in the forum, but this is old news. Kernel Devs have long time ago revealed what the new tegra was all about. Nvidia had to release a refresh since the "old" X1 couldn't support Android 9.0 and above. The new specs where in a XDA article and where "higher max boost" for the GPU, better power management.
The original XDA developer article has some additional news on the SoC, go check it out.
@zool
Google Stadia aint defying the laws of physics, nor is it even a subscription service, so being the Netflux of gaming is a complete misnomer.
There is no data, only zool.
@westman98 not yet but look five years ahead.
@Balta666 this is the future of gaming, maybe not all gaming but most, and in the near future and satellite will be the way its done. It will, like all technology start off with limited subscriptions and be expensive, but will eventually be for the masses.
As for owning games. Do we really own them? I have some downloaded eshop games on me nearly defunked 3ds. Do I get to redownload them to my Switch? Or does Nintendo try and resell them to me for the Switch, maybe with a face-lift. And the physical card games for the DS,, they will only work while my DS works.
That's why I don't really collect games. I never have more than s dozen at any one time. I trade them. I don't usually play a game twice.
@zool yes, you own the game on your 3ds and if you save it on a SD card you can play it 20 years from now. For the game to run on switch it would need to be ported and that has a cost. that is a perfect example of gamer entitlement
I don’t want or care about a ‘marginally’ improved ‘New’ Switch like Nintendo pulled with the New 3DS, I want a vastly improved ‘Pro’ Switch. Anything less than this is a wast of time on Nintendo’s part.
While the PS5/XB2 are still a year or two away from launch, and even longer before they hit they’re strides, Nintendo will need a Switch ‘Pro’ to continue any worthwhile 3rd party support.
I’m also not in a hurry for a Switch Pro. Sure I’d love one now, but it’ll become obsolete in a couple years when it can’t handle lower end versions of PS5/XB2 ports.
Let it be known, I absolutely love my Switch, but I will always want it to be more powerful than Nintendo will make it.
@Kang81 @NotTelevision
Just because it looks like they’re giving the OG a slight upgrade doesn’t mean they can’t release a “Pro” version at some point in the future. This makes the most sense now, a greatly enhanced Switch “Pro” (which would be a Switch 2 really) would need it’s own software and splitting the user base now would be a terrible idea. Maybe 2021/22.
@zool
Google ain't defying the laws of physics today, and they ain't defying the laws of physics 5 years from now.
And that still doesn't solve Stadia's ridiculous premium priced business model that should have been a subscription service.
@Balta666 I hear u, just like any subscription service I suppose, when it's cancelled u always gonna lose something...its just part of life...
@TempOr
It’s different but not so different that it needs massive coding to make games work. It’s Maxwell vs Pascal and on the PC side of things Pascal was a MASSIVE leap in performance per watt over Maxwell. I don’t think we need a Pro version so soon but late 2020 or early 2021 it would be cool to see.
Then again it’s not like Nintendo needs to do anything here. The Switch is killing it and I don’t agree with people who think a power boost is needed because PS5 and New Xbox are incoming. The Switch is it’s own thing like the 3DS was, it’s install base will mean that devs will create Switch titles vs trying to port their PS5 games over to it. That’s just my opinion we will have to see, but power isn’t needed when you have portability. Hell I still play Diablo 3 on the go it’s awesome!
@graysoncharles
I dunno you are thinking too far ahead in my opinion. I’m 36 years old and from what I’ve seen there will most likely be ways to play these games on what ever service/system we happen to be using in the future.
It seems there will always be a demand for classics of some sort, and while that’s no guarantee it seems silly to worry about such an issue tbh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfkcYxsI4x8
@Kang81
You are making the faulty assumption that the switch will rely on downgraded 3rd party support. The 3DS didn’t need this, it’s install base made it worth while for 3rd parties to develop games from the ground up for the 3DS and in my view the same will be true for the Switch. It exists as a portable and thanks to the millions and still greatly growing install base, I don’t see why this wouldn’t happen again for Nintendo’s handheld hybrid. As we head into the unknown future I personally feel it’s more likely that devs will continue to take advantage of porting PS3/360 games onto the portable as the demand is still strong for this and they will start producing games specifically for the switch. It’s just taking some time for them to come around because the Wii U was such a failure for most 3rds.
@NEStalgia Thanks u've educated me and made some valid points, btw South Africa is actually quite a large country (25th ranked by area) and has a large population (24th ranked) although it can't even be remotely compared to the States cos that's enormous and in another league...anyway 2 whatever extent it may be we will probably all have 2 suffer "cloud gaming", right now we r not even on the list for initial Stadia rollout, probably wave 2 hey lol, I'm personally not for or against it but will probably get "suckered" in as per usual...here's 2 the future...
I’m betting that this is just the “slight hardware revision” that’s been tossed around lately with the FCC filing.
Since these specs also appear to apply to the Lite (which has been announced for imminent release), we will likely have to wait until it comes out, then we can crack it open and compare it to the original system’s internals. If the Lite’s specs match up to this rumor, then we can speculate.
Don’t hold your breath though, it’s too early.
@Stocksy Care to cite your source of where Nintendo claimed no new model in the works? The closest thing I recall is them saying is no "Switch 2.0". Recognizing anything short of the next-gen successor would be logically still be a "1.X", I interepreted it (apparently correctly) as confirmation of a new model indeed being in the works and the comment was doublespeak meant to hide an official confirmation. I can't entirely blame less observant people for falling for it, but Nintendo has a very long history of using such language, so it was predictible. Just because you interpret something some way doesn't make it fact.
@graysoncharles cloud saving is the least safe of them all as you're depending on the publisher to keep the service running...
@graysoncharles ok, you're not talking about cloud saving from the console or steam. You're taking about the same thing as I that is to have your saves backed by yourself (if it on SD card, hard drive or cloud it does no really matter). For my part I still prefer to have more than one physical backup
@Dilated
I would honestly rather 3rd party publishers make games specifically for the Switch instead of just ports.
That said, I foresee that as a big problem for publishers. That would require a lot more time, money, and resources, than just porting a game.
Clearly BotW is proof that the Switch can run some amazing games. I just don’t know if 3rd party publishers will want to invest in that. Perhaps Ubisoft and Bethesda, they’re support is good right now.
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