Rumour: Nvidia Is Stopping Production Of Switch's Most Important Hardware This Year

Oh god, here come the Switch Pro rumours.

Now THIS is interesting and will no doubt add fuel to those that keep asking "WheRe'S MY sWiTCh Pro?"

Theres a more powerful 6 core Tegra with better graphics out there... i bet they would switch to that for this mythical "switch pro".

(remember the Switch only uses 4 cores of the 8 that the X1 has)

"Sources close to the matter" is just Bill the night cleaner and Jill on reception at the manufacturing plant

It wouldn't make sense for Nvidia to cease production ENTIRELY if the Switch is doing incredibly well. I think they would just reduce production and dedicate it to the Switch.

That new Switch revision? Feels too early and people are blaming hardware limitations for resolution and frame rate issues of 1st-party games, when they should be blaming the developers.

@MS7000 People have been well-trained to compulsively look out for the next thing... whether it makes sense or not. I blame Apple more than Nintendo, but actually, its the entire economic model...

Hard to gauge, as there are no numbers of how many Nintendo already have access to. For all we know they could have at least 40+ million stock piled (for production and 5 years of repairs). It is likely they'd need anywhere near 100 million, which would give them flexibility for the next few years.
If Nvidia have a new SOC it is likely cheaper to produce. So it wouldn't at all suprise me if the new Switch is a minor revision, with a dirt cheap efficient SOC and a premium screen, that retails at the exact same price as Switch. It will simply be phased in exactly like the Mariko model.
But it's rumour.

Can we call it Super Switch please?

It'll be called Switch Plus you heard it here first my uncle works at Nintendo

Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...

@ModdedInkling 4 years in and no one has created any games that look better than the launch title. That is stagnant hardware, not the developers.

If this is actually true, then Nintendo literally needs to make a Switch Pro revision in order to keep selling Switch hardware in the future

Another revision incoming
Guess is not only the "screen" if that is to be believed as well

It won’t be long until the rumours are real now tbh.

@ModdedInkling Its not the developers fault the system has the power of a Wii U, and people are expecting miracles.

Smash Bros devs couldn't add Rex and Pyra, as it would kill the framerate in 8 player Smash. That kinda tells you how little extra horsepower the Switch has.

@COVIDberry blame Apple? Maybe the car industry since the 60s

It's October 15 2058, and Nintendo has just announced the New Nintendo Ultra Switch XL HD 3D

Senile and demented 89 year old leakers: "See I tol... Where am I?... I'm cold..."

@Wargoose @FargusPelagius
You're telling me that no other game looks as good as Breath of the Wild? I'm willing to debate that any Mario game looks better, as well as Smash.

Smash is the only exception where I see hardware limitations being a thing. The game fills up a 16gb Game Card to the brim. I might consider Breath of the Wild, but there's not much to say because it was a transitioning point. Any other issues I find are inexcusable and the developers are to blame. Age of Calamity had no reason, other than COVID development restraints, to perform worse than Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition and neither did Bowser's Fury did to Odyssey. Pokémon Legends is just a result of Game Freak and their usual laziness with visuals. Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2 had no reason to look bad on handheld/tabletop if they didn't get part of their dev team taken out in favour of Breath of the Wild.

@Wargoose Design wise it was impossible. Not technically.

Anyways, this is probably the older mariko chipset that the rumors are talking about. Not the revised one which is still in production.

That rumour just could mean that the current 16 nm FinFET SoC will be replaced by a similar but cheaper 8 nm SoC, with lower power consumption, hence smaller fans and longer battery life time. There will be a Switch Pro SoC, but it will be EXTRA!

@COVIDberry I mean, to be fair, I normally don't mind speculation (although I kind of agree that we have almost been conditioned at this point), but I feel like this rumour is particular has been around for what feels like forever. I could be wrong, but I am fairly sure Switch Pro rumours started back in 2018.

It would be nice if you guys could stop giving fuel to "rumors" and "leaks".

@MS7000 Speculation on the Switch is to be welcomed, not least because of the innovation it represents and the modular nature of the device. I understand that neither of the USB-C connections within the tablet or dock will support the data transfer rates required for dedicated graphics hardware within the latter, which I always considered a missed opportunity. The next Nintendo machine - not an OLED-bearing revision, but an all-new device - just might include that kind of set-up, or so I like to think.

What I do find unwelcome is the insistence by some people that the Switch, a portable device, and one which must remain under $400 US to be competitive, should "simply" be upgraded with more RAM, more GPU power, et cetera, as if we were ordering fast food. I'm no engineer, but neither are the people constantly crying out for that...

The pro Monika makes no sense for a switch. Apple coined it I believe because it’s short for professional and they want to position themselves as the pro choice.

Pick from the below, vote now.
Switch 2, New Switch, Switch 2023, Super Nintendo Switch, Switch Hardcore, Switch Up, Switch Max, Switch 4k, Switch VR, Switch Core

@ModdedInkling none that i've played. Then you cite second party games not running flat out. They've reached the Switch hardware ceiling. There may be a little more performance to squeeze, but the time it takes to accomplish that level of coding, simply isn't worth the extra 2-3 frames you get. It's like wanting Xenoblade chronicles X to have physics aswell as gorgeous graphics and draw distance, the hardware forces the dev to pick one.
What i think you are really annoyed about it the Devs expecting the Switch to handle really pretty and really performent, and they cannot quite pull it off. In my eyes they simply need a processor bump to make it look like they pulled it off.
I've been playing on X Series S and even that cannot run things perfectly, in that case, yeah devs need more time with the hardware. The Switch Hardware has been tinkered with since 2013 (Nvidia shield), we are seeing mature expertise here, not launch window hiccups.

Relax, that may just mean another die-shrink. They may stop producing the 16nm Mariko in exchange for a 10 or 7 nm, even more power efficient version of it, under a different revision name.

I won't go further down than 7nm simply because Apple monopolizes TSMC's production of 5nm and soon 3nm wafers (those are already reserved by Apple, which is crazy!)

Replacing those production lines of old 16nm tech by 10 or 7nm variants would make sense.

This is probably the most credible proof of a pro i suppose

@FargusPelagius pretty much - if it were true, it would sound like the same kind of "Pro" we already got back in 2019... but the only takeaway so far is that we don't even seem to get hardware component news nowadays without wading through weeks and months of "leaks" and "rumours". And fandom apologists excuse it as "the need to report what the leading industry news outlets say". Hate to break it, but tabloid fodder originating with a "leading news outlet" is called leading news outlet tabloid fodder, not information.

Not that Nintendo cares, I suppose. To them, the current 80+ millions must be including all the "hardcore fans" crowd already, meaning that relatively few people seeking to buy a Switch in 2021 are the same people who frequent and diligently read NL or subreddits.😅

Digital Foundry thinks that its too complicated to replace the chip with a entirely new one for this revision

@MS7000 actually I know for sure supermetaldave64 started it around september 2017 lol

Oh thank goodness I’m not able to get out of bed without my daily Switch Pro rumor in the morning!

I think this officially confirms that the Switch pro will be called "The New Nintendo Switch".

PS4 had revision PS4 Pro - to this day, not a single game has released as Pro only

Xbox 1 had revision Xbox 1 X - to my knowledge, not a single X1X exclusive game

Xbox 1 has next gen XSX and XSS - still don't think there are any next gen exclusive Xbox titles

3DS had revision New 3DS - Xenoblade Chronicles was New 3DS exclusive

If New Switch launches nearly 5 years after Switch and has any exclusives, I don't see how Nintendo can possibly say it's only a revision and not a "next gen" console. I mean sure they can say it, but that's having it both ways, and basically a lie. Sony & MS both showed how revisions don't have exclusives, and MS doesn't even have exclusives on it's next gen hardware. Sony has a few.

But something is coming. More likely to be a Switch 2 than a New Switch at this point.

I don’t understand why people think it’s too early for a Switch Pro?

It’s definitely too early for a Switch 2 but not a Switch Pro. PS4 & Xbox already set the precedent for a mid-life refresh. PS4 was selling very well at the time too. It actually makes perfect sense. I would be happy to trade-in my OG Switch. I’m actually experiencing some battery degradation at this point too.

@Socar Mariko was the codename for the revised Tegra X1 - the one that went into the Lite, and them the lightly revised Switch.

I'm curious if Nintendo will go for NVIDIA or AMD next time.

AMD have a powerful tablet GPU now than runs Cyberpunk 2077 PC version. Not a ported or downscaled version.

@TSR3 Ok..so they can just not end it? Or best to substitute the chip that doesn't do much?

@Ventilator I reckon Nintendo with stick with Nvidia. ARM as a platform is going great guns at the moment with Apple's M1 beating Intel PCs and cloud vendors deploying massively muti-core ARM CPUS for servers

Still eagerly awaiting the pro model. So I kind of hope it's true. Though I wonder what it means if this piece has to be replaced when one is sent in for repair or something.

I think a lot of people misunderstand what this revision is meant to be. It's not the successor to the switch, it's just a revision. Like the DS Lite or XL was to the DS, the SP or Micro were to the GBA etc. 4 years is definitely not too soon for that based on previous handhelds.

People keep focusing on the 4K rumours. I'm sure it's just outputting a 4K signal to TVs. The 360 and PS3 output 1080p signal, but it didn't mean the games were anywhere near 1080p. I don't think any revision is going to have any exclusives that can't be played on all current hardware.

@Socar yes, Nvidia can stop production. There may be harder evidence when their next financial statement comes out. They're still selling Jetson dev kits using Tegra X1s on their website tho', so it's not like they're pulling all supplies just for Nintendo.

This is a pretty weak rumour to be honest. It's not like Bloombergs industry contacts and analysis

@ModdedInkling I don't think you can blame the developers of the best looking games such as Botw and Xenoblade 2. We need a slightly more powerfull switch just to keep those frame rates stop resolution from droping below 720p. Remember the switch only has 4gb of ram, wich probably only 2gb is used as Vram, wich limits textures and resolution.

@ModdedInkling for all we know that might already have made 150 million of the current chips which would mean that they don't need any more so will stop production

@rjejr New 3DS also had Fire Emblem Warriors

@TSR3 Yeah. I find it weird that Shield TV from 2019 still used Tegra X1 from year 2014, but with 2 new features added. Dolby Vision and AI Upscaling. The rest is the same old.

In 6 years, hopefully NVIDIA made a new portable power house GPU in secret like AMD did.

Perhaps they won't reveal it until Nintendo announces a new console.
Here is the new AMD based handheld running Cyberpunk 2077 among other things.
https://youtu.be/JX52EnF77EU

@andyg1412 Hyrule Warriors worked on standard 3DS launch model. I own it for 3DS.

@ModdedInkling "It wouldn't make sense for Nvidia to cease production ENTIRELY if the Switch is doing incredibly well."

Unless Nvidia knows something we don't... Plenty have suggested the Switch Pro may not be the super upgrade some want and more of a revision that just replaces the current model.

@E1000 After 4 years, we know a new Nintendo console is incoming. Probably backwards compatible with Switch to boost console sales.

It’s a computer chip...being replaced is what they do. No rumors required on that one

@themightyant This is the brand new PC Handheld running on AMD. Hopefully a new Nintendo will be that far behind this.
https://youtu.be/JX52EnF77EU

@Ventilator Nice link. One can only dream.
Remind me how much I loved the Vita. Shame it was never fully supported.

If true then the new Switch revision would be guaranteed to be a full replacement for the Switch and Switch Lite rather a more expensive model that coexists alongside the existing models.

Closest comparison we have to that is XB1 -> Series X|S, where Series X|S is technically next gen but is designed and named to blur the generations.

Ehmmm... Nintendo did NOT say they have "no plans for new hardware in the near future" as stated in the article. They said they are "not planning to make an announcement anytime soon".
Don't you see the diffenerce? (@editorial staff)

@Ventilator "Hyrule Warriors worked on standard 3DS launch model. I own it for 3DS."

They wrote - FE:W (not edited, I have the email) which is New 3DS exclusive, not HW, so I'm not sure listing games that weren't exclusive really matters, just shows that New 3DS was b/c w/ 3DS.

@andyg1412 Thanks. I knew there were a few others, like a little game called Minecraft, but XC is a FIRST PARTY game. People tell you it's not b/c Monolith made it, but Nintendo owns Monolith therefore Nintendo made it, and released their game on their console revision that their old console couldn't play.

2 yr old list from Reddit.
New 3DS Exclusives
The following games are exclusive to the New 3DS systems.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Fire Emblem Warriors
Wind-up Knight 2
Runbow Pocket
Futuridum EP Deluxe
BlockForm
Pixel Hunter
Lifespeed (eShop)
Pinball Hall of Fame (Release date TBA)
Dragon Fang (Out in Japan Spring 2016)
forma.8 (Release date TBA - in 2016)
SNES VC
Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition

To be fair Nintendo did call it "New 3DS" but I've never seen anyone actually treat it like a next gen system, despite all the exclusive games. Whereas Sony and MS revisions had zero, zilch, zip and their "next gen" systems are fully backwards compatible like New 3DS was to 3DS, so b/c can't be used as a demarcation line.

I love the hypocrisy in the switch community, where you find the same people simultaneously defending the poor performance of ports like Apex on current hardware whilst also clamouring for an upgraded or revised model.
If you are happy with how these games run on the current switch, why do you need a new console?

@Grumblevolcano "Closest comparison we have to that is XB1 -> Series X|S, where Series X|S is technically next gen but is designed and named to blur the generations."

Considering PS5 is full b/c w/ PS4, and PS4 Pro never had any exclusives anyway, PS5 currently does just seem like a PS4 Proier Pro w/ the limited list of next gen exclusives. But MS really has it feeling like - Xbox 1, Xbox 1S, Xbox 1X, Xbox Series X/S - are currently all just revisions of the same gen. Everybody be waiting on Halo like...

You're almost certainly right about New Switch being a replacement and not a more expensive Pro. Nintendo only needs 2, New Switch and New switch Lite, current price points, moar powar.

Would be nice though if Nintendo simply came out and said "Switch 2" w/ full b/c after all the Wii U ports they've been spamming us w/ the past 4 years. My Switch collections is very limited b/c I already own so many games on Wii U. As long as, you know, they don't change the cartridge sizes.

I’m sorry, but phasing out the normal switch, one of their best selling consoles on the market, would be the worst bing to do. Because say they are making a new switch model, but the original has a worse running thing, then they make games for the one that’s not phased out, and leave the current 80 million buyers who don’t want to buy a new one in the dust.

@Twilite9 Super Switch should be reserved for a Switch 2. This is just a Switch hardware revision

@themightyant VITA were great except from a bunch of bad design decisions which ruined the sales.

Not supporting cheap SD cards were a big deal breaker for people.
VITA didn't have internal storage for games.
Sony wanted to sell their overpriced flash cards exclusive instead.
3G phone mode on it were useless as 90% of internet apps were disabled on it for 3G.
You could recieve SMS on it, but not reply to them.
There is other things too.
There were so much stupidity during design of VITA. Sony sabotaged the sales before it even launched.

The hardware itself were very good and the OS were faster than most newer consoles.

@Ventilator really? I didn't know that, thanks

Im thinking people are getting confused between rumours regarding the Switch revision and rumours about the Switch follow up. Im expecting a Switch revision this year with a 720p OLED and a version of Tegra X1 on a more advanced process node so maybe 7nm (down from 16nm.) This would allow them to use higher clock speeds on the CPU and GPU allowing for higher framerates and resolutions. Nothing dramatic though.

The talk of 4K and DLSS im thinking is for the Switch 2. That is the major upgrade where theres leaks that in handheld mode it'll be slightly above a base PS4 in raw power, just with a better CPU and more advanced graphics chip.

Its obvious the Chip set will change through the life span of the console, every console has. But it seems the switch pro could be in the works.

@Ventilator 100% agree, so many half thought out ideas... the use of proprietary Memmory cards, and their cost, was heinous. The clunky proprietary charger was another, it took for the near end of life Slim model to just use USB. Considering how quickly the battery drained carrying it about was a must, but with it it didn't feel very portable!

BUT... when it was used just to play games it was glorious and that OLED screen, still wow! Once the games ran out I ended up jailbreaking mine and it is an almost perfect emu system. If it had a proper R2 and L2 I would still use it more today.

The source claims production on the Tegra X1 Mariko will end in 2021
Here's all we need to know a new hardware Switch is coming. Why else would production end and a new GPU come along because there is a new Switch in town.

@Coxula Ehmmm... Nintendo did NOT say they have "no plans for new hardware in the near future" as stated in the article. They said they are "not planning to make an announcement anytime soon".
Don't you see the diffenerce? (@editorial staff)
That is why people keep saying the first part even though as you pointed out nothing of the sort was said like that but people keep grabbing for straws that doesn't exists.

As others have said, there is the possibility that the specific part will be phased out, with a replacement that is not drasically different, such as a die shrink or something like that rather than a whole new part that is considerably more powerful. It reminds me of when the Raspberry Pi 3+ came out. It was mostly the same SoC with a higher clock speed and some other internal adjustments to make it a distinct new part with its own model number, but it didn't change much in terms of performance.

@Ventilator the AYA NEO Ryzen looks like it would be great for all those PC port mobile players, if it makes it out of crowdfunding (and the players can afford a second PC)

Re Nvidia - there's already two Tegra successors to the X1, the X2 and Xavier, with the Ampere based Orin due out sometime soon. However Nintendo are a big enough customer to get a bespoke design from Nvidia. Plus a couple of others on this thread have also pushed another X1 revision to a 7nm production process (Mariko was a shrink from the original 20nm, to 16nm).

@themightyant Yeah. Lack of R2 and L2 were not cool in Killzone on VITA among other things, but i managed to complete it anyway.

As for more bad design. The "rear touch" were all over the place and inaccurate, and is maybe why very few games supported it.
The forced rear touch control is why i never could complete LittleBigPlanet on VITA. Good idea, but poorly executed.

As for USB it had some custom voltage or something so it only could work on Sony charger. There were some third parties that still could charge only if they they could adapt the voltage or whatever it was. Like a Samsung car charger for example.

Since third parties like EA, UBI etc. abandoned VITA already after 1 year most games later only used like 10-50% of the power inside VITA. What a waste of console power. It became a Indie handheld. Also. Sony abandoned VITA early on too. Killzone were close to their last game early in it's life. When Sony didn't believe in VITA, there is no way to get third parties on board either.

Sony tried to revive VITA by forcing all developers on PS4 to make it work like Wii U second screen, but developers refused. Same reason why most AAA developers disliked second screen in Wii U and ignored the console.

Anwyay. I completed many games on VITA even with all it's problems.

@ModdedInkling Why would we blame the developers?? It's only so much they can do with ancient hardware I mean c'mon now. The switch is using 5+year old hardware that grows more obsolete every year. It's time for a revision there's no defending it. It's gonna get to a point where developers will stop making games for nintendo because it's no point. Nintendo has to make a pro model sooner or later. You fans will only put up with so much until you realize that no new game ports will come in the future.

lock 60 fps for switch pro pls! aoc, apex, just shows how much switch needs 60 fps (more than say... 4K)

@FargusPelagius That's exactly How I feel. This fanboy really expects devs to make miracles for 5 year old hardware. At this point Nintendo badly needs a revision because sooner or later the price to port a game to the switch won't be worth developers troubles anymore. Nintendo only has so much time left.

@TSR3
Doesen't AYA NEO Ryzen run PC games natively, but with lower settings of course?

I just not hear much about portable NVIDIA GPU's.
NVIDIA earned a lot of money already in 2017 on Switch, so they are willing to continue with Nintendo. The only leg they have in the console business today. As you know for sure, AMD have the PS and Xbox market.
NVIDIA wants a position there too. Since Nintendo needs millions of chips early on on next console, they can also lower the price.
I owned 2 x Shield TV's since launch in 2015 btw. so i knew the power early on long before Switch came.

@ModdedInkling
Totally agree. Switch had aged hardware already at launch. There is only so much you can do with Switch. It also only have 3.GB RAM for games. Switch isn't much more than a Wii U when it comes to power.
I don't expect much Series X and PS5 games at all on Switch. There is only so much you can downscale a game without it looking like a mess like Ark Survival for example.

You are the kind of person who would understand what i say here.
People keep begging for Rare Replay port on Switch here, but many here think i'm lying when i say Switch is too weak to emulate Xbox 360 games...
Some don't understand at all how much power you need to emulate a console like 360 and PS3. You need a beefy PC to emulate these at full speed too. Even more if you want accurate emulation.

Would you play Xbox 360 games at like 1-3 fps on Switch?

@Abowens64 at this stage in the game, if publishers aren't making games for Switch (and possibly PC), they simply will skip Switch and do PS5, Series S/X and PC. It's sad but it looks like that is what is happening this year. There's only Capcom who have any kind of Switch centric support, and even they have a mainline Resi ready for the next gen transition. Switch is in a really awkward position. Popular, but it doesn't have the grunt to wow kids for long before they go back to PS and Xbox. Parents will be trading them in at Christmas for PS5s etc, guaranteed.

Precedent indicates that the revised Switch will be called new Nintendo Switch.

@FargusPelagius to our misinformed poster its been outpacing sales for xbox/psx so not sure what stories you have been telling yourself to sleep at nights. If you haven't noticed it's not only about GPU why the Switch is having success but missing this and you already missed the big picture of Switch success.

I agree with those who say it's time for a major Switch revision to keep up. I remember the Wii losing support from 3rd parties in it's last few years when most households had upgraded to HD TVs. The rise of 4k TV reminds me of that.
How about 'Switch SP' or 'Switch i' for new names?

@SwitchForce i guess so. Must be why it is my least played Nintendo console. It's good for little kids, but a bit pricey even for them tbh. I sleep great by the way, a console doesn't rule my life lmao.

@rjejr The reason why there's no exclusive games for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X despite having the base version already out there was because the upgraded model was just that, an upgrade and games that were released after those two platforms had to intergrate support for both the upgrade and the base model so upgrading from base to the new powerful models are easy to integrate. There's no added feature or hurdle to get through. In the New 3DS's case, Xenoblade Chronicles for New 3DS took advantage of every specs and features of the New 3DS, it wouldn't had work perfectly on the old 3DS cause of the new 3D tracking camera, the more faster processor, and the added C-stick and trigger buttons.

It would be a big hurdle to dev to waterdown that game to work on the older models especially when trying to intergrate the C-stick feature to the old 3DS which originally had no C-stick support. Of course making newly release games works on older model isn't new to Nintendo, they had try that with some of the Game Boy Color releases like Pokemon Gold and Silver, Link's Awakening DX, Dragon Warrior I & II, and several other black cartridge GBC titles which could still work on original Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket systems just that not all GBC titles got that support.

@FargusPelagius at this stage in the game, if publishers aren't making games for Switch (and possibly PC), they simply will skip Switch and do PS5, Series S/X and PC. It's sad but it looks like that is what is happening this year. There's only Capcom who have any kind of Switch centric support, and even they have a mainline Resi ready for the next gen transition. Switch is in a really awkward position. Popular, but it doesn't have the grunt to wow kids for long before they go back to PS and Xbox. Parents will be trading them in at Christmas for PS5s etc, guaranteed.

You're talking about kids but what you're really talking about are the teens and adults that still think they are kids. Switch is the most accessible platform right now for any age and yes it's true if game doesn't release for Switch it'll be release for the other platforms instead but by missing the Switch also means that game won't be getting sale from the same people that own a Switch especially the Japanese crowd which are cater more towards Switch than the other platforms. Also lacking in powers doesn't mean Switch is in an awkward position, it just means Switch is more open to creative games and games that could take advantage of the hybrid nature of its console. More powers doesn't mean getting more games, it just means the other platforms had a better chance of handling cinematic style titles, triple A games could still be made without it being too cinematic as long as it's fun.

Nintendo doesn't need Resident Evil to help gain relevant and besides the next top Monster Hunter is coming for Switch anyways, there's a saying you can't have it all. Sony got some games and Nintendo got some games, doesn't mean one is better than the other and Resident Evil hasn't been good since RE4 anyways. I'm sure the same kids who got a PS4 and PS5 also got a Switch if not one yet probably one in the near future, the Switch is battery power so it's convenient for on the go gaming, it feature hybrid control out of the box which is easily accessible for multplayer session and since it came with a built-in screen it doesn't required an external one for play so when you take those into account plus the high quality of 1st party Nintendo games and third party titles as the icing on the side those alone are the real benefits of the Switch and are the main reason people are buying the Switch for and if the portability isn't your cup of tea one day you could always turn it into a home console anytime anwhere without complications.

@Ghost_of_Hasashi yeah i understand all that. The problem i pointed to, is that Publishers are not currently interested in making specific games that are tailored to the Switch hardware. Square and Capcom are pretty much the only two, other than Nintendo themselves. All other publishers are doing ports. The list of ports will get smaller as devs shift focus on newer hardware. It sucks. I hope Nintendo has managed to garner enough indie support and goodwill to fill the release schedule with "quality" rather than some of the tat that has flooded the eshop.
Both wii and DS had games made specifically for the hardware, that helped them so much in the long term. 4 years in and Switch has barely scratched the surface of it's potential in this regard, and it may not get a chance to if MH Rise doesn't encourage third parties to develope "new" games for Switch.
Publishers have become dependent on multiplatform releases, it's counter to what Switch needs in the long game, that Nintendo had in mind.
Also i never said PS5 is better. Alot of casual gamers in the U.K want one at the moment (no idea why, it barely has any specific games). Only Switch owners i have seen recently are school children or mums, so even in that regard, Switch isn't aimed at me anymore. Anyway happy gaming.

@Ooyah Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.

This is honestly the strongest argument for a Switch revision we have had. Call it the Pro or whatever. I'm sure Nintendo will stockpile some chips. But it's much more likely we'll see an update to the system now that there will be an actual need to update it.

This seems more likely.

Perhaps its time to come out with a switch successor that's backwards compatible.

@Ghost_of_Hasashi "features of the New 3DS, it wouldn't had work perfectly on the old 3DS cause of the new 3D tracking camera, the more faster processor, and the added C-stick and trigger buttons."

So you're making my argument for me, that the New 3DS wasn't just the revision that Nintendo claimed, it was in fact a next gen console b/c of all the new specs, and Nintendo was really kind of lieing trying to pass it of as just a mid-gen upgrade?

I only play my Switch for exclusives. I think it really struggles to punch it's own weight. A revision which can run native resolution for all games in handheld and improve docked performance is what it needs I think.

I also think it should be sold as a portable entertainment system which can dock, rather than a home entertainment system which can undock, because I think the latter is setting disappointing expectations.

I also rarely play handheld mode, because my GBA and New 2DS XL are significantly better at the whole handheld aspect.

I just want a switch tv model which comes with a pro controller instead of joy cons.

@FargusPelagius also the Xbox Series consoles are using a brand new GDK still in development with many RDNA 2 features still to be unlocked and capitalised on. Looking forward to seeing imcoming upgrades once Microsofts new GDK matures!

Switch tho really has been coughing since launch.

@YoungLink64 remember how many were opposed to Switch lite rumours.

Nintendo fans are the most anti progress bunch in gaming.

@sixrings the joycons are worthless fisher price garbage.

@YoungLink64
It does not fit in my pocket
It sucks at being a handheld

@YoungLink64
If Nintendo could turn it into a clamshell design, it would truly be the best of both worlds
It is first and foremost a "TV console" as it is the most powerful Nintendo has ever produced, despite it being behind PS and Xbox

@FargusPelagius @RaphaBoss
Art style looks amazing, while resolution is... questionable, but if you take other 1st-party games into comparison, I'm willing to debate that it was possible. Splatoon 2? Super Mario Odyssey? Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?

Again, Breath of the Wild is a special case. I can't talk about hardware limitations if they probably didn't have as much time porting it as any other Wii U port.

With Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2, unless there was some part of it that was taxing on hardware, I'm doubtful there was any reason for the games to have a meh resolution, especially Xenoblade 1 which I find pretty inexcusable since this was a Wii game AND since they were able to get the game working fine on a New 3DS. Compare that to a game with a large number of assets that need to be loaded in - Hyrule Warriors - which the Switch version ran very well, yet there's so much activity and enemies to render in.

@themightyant
That is definitely in the realm of possibility. Good idea for them to avoid having a surplus of these old chips.

@Abowens64
For the record, I was only talking about 1st party devs and 2nd party devs. 3rd party games is a whole different story and I can't blame them for hardware limitations.

I blame 1st/2nd party devs because they have a limit that they fully know how to reach. They already know how to make a game hit 60fps 1080p on the Switch. Make a game this big before the graphics and frame rate start going down. Instead, they keep trying to push past that limit, dropping resolution and frame rate to something minimally satisfactory.

@YoungLink64
There's the constant fear that the library would end up like the New 3DS, where various games were locked behind the New 3DS models. There's also the dear that newer games would take the "Switch Pro" into priority, which potentially means running badly on the regular and Lite.

nintendo: haha, people actually think we'll make a switch pro

nvidia: now you have no choice

nintendo: wh-

I'd put more weight on this rumor if it came through some other general tech news source and not a gaming specific site like Gamereactor.

@YoungLink64 it’s been since 2017 and gets old real quick

@ModdedInkling the games are already "compromised" on Switch and Switch lite, they don't run as well as some expect or want. While i can accept that, if anything, it would only make a new Switch fly off the shelf at the same or faster rate than it is currently. People like me who bought two at launch (i didn't want Nintendo to fail early again, so i got my brother one) will get at least one of a model that has a better processor. Maybe i will give my launch model to my 6 year old niece who won't mind the diminished performance. It will end up like upgrading a phone, but with a longer 4-5 year cycle. Good discussion.

@ModdedInkling I suspect it's more that whichever fab Nvidia uses is stopping its 20nm process. Assuming they buy another off the shelf design, a Tegra Xavier would give them a Volta gpu, which would marry up with the dlss on-chip rumours.

@Twilite9 or New Switch? or Switch Turbo? Switch Extreme? Or... Switch UHD, pronounced: "uuhhhhd"?

@YoungLink64 it's called fear a Switch can do 4K and go portable. We have on here alot of NintenDoomed moles whom don't want something that they have a fear of the unknown. The mere mention of a Switch 4K and the sky is falling. They can't fathom innovations can come from Switch.

@Ventilator I never mentioned Hyrule Warriors

@ModdedInkling

The switch is maxed out.

@ModdedInkling Yeah, the current Switch is printing money. Not sure why they would move on, unless it was backwards compatible and upscaled previous games. But, yeah, why fix what ain't broken? Although, Nintendo made a similar move with the Wii and we all know how that turned out. That's also what makes me nervous about BOTW2. That they are going to pull some cross-gen crap.... again.

So with them killing Mario off come the end of March and never making any more games combined with them obviously having to stop Switch production and probably going back to making playing cards, I would have thought there would be more cries of how doomed Nintendo are.

Disappointed.

@andyg1412 I know. Were just saying that actually works ond 3DS. Framerate is bad, but still playable.

Worst of all is people won't even care. Looking at the most downloaded titles they're mostly games also available physically. They put them at the same price as physical versions, people buy them, they don't spend near as much in manufacturing and distribution as in the old days and we allowed it.

@tseliot
This seems like a different case. It's too early to talk about the next generation for Nintendo.

@jamesthemagi Switch is not a tv console. It is a portable you can dock. The last console Nintendo made was Wii U.

@ModdedInkling Xenoblade 1 was completely remade with new 3d models and textures, lighting etc. You can't compare it to the wii and 3ds version.
Anyway, any game running below 1080p 60fps would benefit from new hardware. MK8 deluxe and Smash Ultimate, could get updated shadow resolutions ( they look terrible in ultimate, still better than the inexistent shadows in Smash Wii U lol).

Swich is 4 year of release, so it's safe to say that a power-up version will be released this year.

@RaphaBoss
It's not a comparison, but rather a point about how a game on two weak platforms should not look bad on a newer platform with hardware that is clearly more powerful. A remake of a Wii game looking worse than any Wii U port is frustrating.

Maybe they were using the XC2 engine for XCDE, but as a remake, the game shouldn't be as taxing on the hardware as XC2 would.

@ModdedInkling This is not really a comparasion, but Xenoblade DE has completely remade graphics, 3d models, lighting, textures, it doesn't look worse or comparable at all to earlier versions, you should put it in the same tier as Xenoblade 2, the original wii could never run it.

@liveswired
According to Nintendo itself, it is a TV console

@RaphaBoss
But I'm under the impression that XC1 is still easier to remake from the ground up than developing XC2.

@MS7000

I've been asking for a Switch Pro since March of 2017, the launch of the Switch.

So...technically speaking, they started much sooner. 😁

I still wish Nintendo would keep up with the competition while also doing their own innovation thing. A man can dream.

@jamesthemagi It isn't though, it's a portable you can dock. Naming it a console was only to appease their hardcore fans and likely to encourage uptake from those not interested in portables.

@ModdedInkling of course, the world only had to be remodeled, but that has nothing to do with hardware utilisation.

@RaphaBoss
After quickly looking up the file sizes, perhaps I set my expectations a little too high. XCDE is a little bit bigger than XC2 (not sure if TTGC is factored into XC2's file size).

@Xiovanni I think for the mass market it's a console that undocks. That marketing gimmick works to frame how people view it in the west where nobody cares about handheld consoles, but a console you can take with you? Awesome! People are brainless. New coke happened. It works. Enthusiasts know. Everyone else thinks f2p is a bargain.

@rjejr it's NOT a tabl..... Whoa. Deja vu.

@rjejr it's NOT a tabl..... Whoa. Deja vu.

@NEStalgia As a home console I think it's rubbish. As a handheld it's also rubbish.
Loved my Wii U a lot better.

I mainly bought it for Metroid Prime 4 and Super Mario Odyssey.

sWiTcH pRo WhEn?

@NEStalgia Yeah, it's still kinda a tablet.

Well not for me, for me it's a Nintendo home console that plays Nintendo games.

Getting the big 4k hdr tv delivered tomorrow. A little worried about how Switch may output to it. Never had a 4k tv before. I don't have a 4k console now so technically Switch should look the same as PS4 does, but who knows. I know when I went from an SD CRT to HD flat panel the Wii was hard to look at for some games like LoZ:TP. Smash looked ok, but Zelda was just blurry mud.

Anyway here's my anxiety spilled out and over. I think my ulcer is going to eat me. Last long post.
https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/best-4k-tvs-for-ps5

@rjejr I play on a 27" monitor that's 4k. Not quite the stretching of a big TV, but as far as Switch on 4K, it scales surprisingly decently, honestly, but it depends on the internal scaler of the TV as to how blurry or sharp it is. I suspect monitors tend to have better scalers than TVs even if TV tech is ahead of monitor tech just due to how they're intended to be used.

But the jaggies......there are more jaggies in a switch game on a 4k tv than in all Monster Hunter games combined.

LOL...$1k for a TV like that....do you realize most telephones cost more than that now?! It's maddening. Remember you thought I was crazy with a $1k phone. Holy geeze they start at $1200 now.....they go up to 2500 and beyond. Just 6, 8 years ago a ToTL flagship was $700 tops.....now they're $2500 for totl, and $1200+ for second tier.

FWIW I have a Hisense refrigerator...they don't make that model anymore. It probably cost more to ship than the unit cost. It has its oddities but it's not bad. I liken Hisense as the Chinese modern equivalent of where Korean "Goldstar" was back in the 90's and early 00's. Remember when they were "Goldstar" and you'd avoid them with a 100ft pole as the lowest grade of trash?

...Now they're selling those $2500 status symbol phones and TVs.......

@NEStalgia "do you realize most telephones cost more than that now?!"

No, I'm pretty sure most telephones sold probably cost $300 or less, just the phones you buy cost $1000 or more.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/934471/smartphone-shipments-by-price-category-worldwide/

Look at what you can get for about $200 in a phone, from a company I've heard of. It's enough for 90% of people.

https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones-moto-g-power-gen-2/p?skuId=539

I usually spend about $100 on phones every other year for my family. This tv will hopefully last us 10 years. My current tv is 12 years old and still going strong, but I wanted bigger. I can't fit any bigger than this into my basement - stairs to hallway situation. I maybe probably should have gotten all those high end things I didn't, but I didn't.

I could fall off the roof tomorrow leaving my wife w/ a big bill and a tv she doesn't really need. After this weekend of removing an old DirecTV antenna in the cold and wind - it was smashing all over the place right over my bedroom, barely connected - I've decided I'm too old to do my own roof work. Cape cod slanted roof, too much slipping and sliding and bending. Could go at any time. TV will do until then.

@rjejr I was always too old to do roof work. Not sure I'm qualified to do flat patio work either. I could probably injure myself wrapped in bubble wrap in a padded room. Too much chance of accidental suffocation.

Well that first chart shows the growth of the mid and high tier phones over low tier. I also hate global sales charts like that "Oh look the trend in worldwide shipments is phones that cost 1783 rupees" I don't live in Bangalore. No sane person with an option would ever live in Bangalore. Why are we comparing our way of living to the 8.1 trillion people living in a single apartment block in the bad part of Bangalore? Yeah, that moto's ok for the money, but what happend was technology kind of stopped progressing. 4GB ram? That's what I had 8 years ago....it got too slow back then. 6GB is too little for me now. A 720p 6.5" IPS display? Thing looks like a Switch. I'm not writing emails on a Switch for a reason. And no wireless charging.

I figured features I considered standard 6 years ago at the high end would work into the mainstream phones by now and I could buy cheaper phones. QHD OLED displays, fingerprint/face, wireless charging, more RAM, more storage. What they've done is instead of advancing tech and moving things downmarket like before, they've taken those features they know power users need, locked them up permanently into "high end" without ever moving it down market, and then doubling the price of "high end" (and beyond) so you have no choice to pay whatever they jack the prices to, and turned them into status symbols. The same tier of technology that was $700 8 years ago simply became $1200. They could have moved that down-market, but they don't.

My favorite is the Note 7. Remember the Note 7? The portable incendiary for militants shaped like an unassuming, common phone that made its way into GTAV as a throwable bomb as a PC mod? The phone I like to assume came from Samsung's Pyeong Yeong office. They had to recall them all. Then they refurbed them, put a smaller battery in it and sold them all as the "Galaxy Note Fan Edition" (Fan edition....it's a refurbished car bomb...) ...and shaved a bit over $200 off the MSRP from when it was a flagship with a big battery. I kid you not. It sounds like something Nintendo would do, Samsung screens are a perfect fit for Switch Pro.

Of course the Note flagship back then was $750 new. Now the Galxy S Ultra is $1200 new. Rumor say the next note is $1600 (And may be the last Note as S replaces it.) When did a mostly affordable thing become a new Rolex? They sell phones like cars now. "up to $700 savings with qualified trade-in, as low as $12/mo for well qualified buyers." WTF. Its a fuhdging telephone for cripes sake, not the Regalia. You shouldn't need proof of income to purchase a telephone. For that money you should get the entire phone booth and coin box.

@NEStalgia Maybe you should purchase a 1 way plane ticket to Bangalore and trade in your phone for a 1 year apartment lease, see how it goes? The horror.

@rjejr A year? One of those phones probably buys a decade in a scamtown tenement with 30 other people. Of course the guys living in mini palaces in Bombay down the road, they buy 3 of those phones a month just to try them out. Welcome to our caste system future!

@NEStalgia "Welcome to our caste system future!"

We've always lived in a caste system, we just don't call it that, interferes w/ the "Anyone can be President" image. 😝

I did realize after writing that you could probably get a really nice place for a $1,200 phone, and money left for food, drugs and booze. I know you don't watch TV but season 1 of Brockmire was really good. Season 2 was lame, 3 was bad. But 1 was something worth aspiring too. 😉

@NEStalgia What are you doing with a phone that you need so much RAM and an OLED display for?

@Xiovanni Posting on Nintendo Life.

Seriously, tough, it's not one single task like 4k video processing or anything, it's a collection of many tasks at once that total up to immense ram requirements, and noticable slowdown due to bottlenecks. 12gb isn't even enough but it'll do. Between heavy browser use, thick email clients with half a dozen imap accounts, security software, various server apps for various things. It adds up. The screen doesn't explicitly need to be oled, but old helps with contrast with tons of tiny text much better. Technically I consider 1440 the minimum, but my current phone has 120hz, but only so 1080. I was going to switch to 1440, but I'm kind of getting addicted to how smooth and responsive 120 is for scrolling.

Sounds crazy but I work fast, I type and swype fast, I read fast (if I leave subtitles on in games I end up skipping the VO because I'm done the paragraph by the time they're half way through). And if my hardware doesnt keep up I go into rage quit modeand lose my attention span.

Most of the people that want specs like that play games. I never play games on phones... Can't afford to waste the battery. All productivity for me. Or "productivity" in the case of using it to post here.