What is it? Did someone say ‘Switch Pro’? Oooh, ‘New Nintendo Switch’, isn’t it !? A more powerful variant with Super Sampling of Deep Learning with 4K resolution? 60 frames per second? Carbon fiber style? Swiss Army Switch? …
It wasn’t long after the Switch was released in 2017 that rumors of a hardware revision began to circulate. You choose, it was proposed by someone, and while we did our best to follow our noses and document reliable rumors about a potential revised model of Nintendo’s portable hybrid, separating wild speculations from well-grounded theories based on evidence can be difficult when Nintendo is so full of surprises.
The release of Switch Lite by hand in 2019 shed some light on rumors of SoC review, but even that took some viewers by surprise. A switch that doesn’t change !? That’s the stupidest idea ever! Oh, wait …
Of course, Nintendo has something in the pipeline, however, be it a ‘Pro’ Switch or a ‘New Nintendo Switch’. The current console has overtaken several legacy systems in terms of sales and is even overtaking the powerful Wii at the time of this writing, and Nintendo will want to keep that pace.
But will we see a new model this year? Well, analysts seem to think so, but some of them predicted an updated version two years ago. As for the NL team, opinions are divided. Below, we present some of the points we are discussing and, at the end, there is a poll – we would love to hear your opinion!
So, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the (switch) for a possible revision of the switch hardware in 2021. We start with the arguments against …
No way!
Pessimists among us believe – reasonably – that the momentum to introduce a new Switch model this year is simply not there while the regular version is sold in trucks. Simply put, Nintendo does not need a new console to target interest and anything that does putting it out would probably cannibalize sales of the current model.
It’s an age-old dilemma for successful hardware manufacturers: when is the best time to sacrifice the goose that lays the golden eggs and invest in the future?
if the “old” model continues to sell like hot cakes, there is no reason to bring a flashy gateau to the market
Given last year’s events, it is likely that any Nintendo plans have been delayed for several months, if not due to production problems, then by re-evaluating the launch schedule after an unpredictable sales increase fueled by the blockade. Yes, business is booming and a new console (a more powerful one, at least) really needs one or two new games to show it off; a Zelda or a Metroid Prime 4, for example. If they are not ready yet, and if the “old” model continues to sell like hot cakes, there is no reason to bring a flashy gateau to the market.
On the subject of switches flying off store shelves now, all those millions of people who bought a new console – perhaps a flashy Monster Hunter or that Red & Blue Super Mario number – may not be very happy if a month later there is a brand new variety that they could have bought.
No, even if Nintendo originally planned to launch a new Switch this year, there is no chance that they would risk interrupting the sales momentum that is happening now.
Alternatively…
Yes way!
As we’ve seen in the decades-long history of Nintendo hardware revisions, a modest update can do wonders, offering tweaks and improvements that give fervent fans the opportunity to buy something new – sometimes several times – without abandoning a hard-won customer base feathers buying yours Animal Crossings it’s yours Mario Kart 8s. It is this thought that created the ‘families’ of Nintendo DS and 3DS systems, and we already had the first addition to the Switch dynasty with Switch Lite.
a modest update can do wonders, offering tweaks and improvements that give fervent fans the opportunity to buy something new – sometimes several times – without abandoning a hard-won customer base
If we look at the 3DS timeline specifically, the XL variant arrived about eighteen months after the original, and the New 3DS was released just three and a half years later. The switch was launched in March 2017, Switch Lite arrived eighteen months later, in September 2019, and the original console will be four years old in a few months. Obviously, we are not comparing exactly here thanks to the hybrid nature of the Switch, but it is difficult to argue that the popular launch models chosen by the first users are looking a little tired and crooked today. The original model is due to an embellishment and something more comprehensive than an ‘silent’ internal overhaul.
And so as not to kill the momentum of the current model, Nintendo has been in the game long enough to know that you strike while the iron is hot! You light the flames, give people a second to catch their breath and then increase the dial to eleven! You have to keep the ball rolling! Giving up because everything is going great and elegant it is not the way to sustain the growth of the video game … video game.
Hot irons, rolling balls – all aboard the Mixed Metaphor Express: next stop, Switch Pro! See, we launched a train there now too.
And who exactly are these millions of new Switch owners who will go crazy if a new model comes along? This is how the cookie on the half-step console disintegrates, we fear; it’s the same with any iterative update in the technology world. For diehard Nintendo fans, yes, clear it would be disappointing to spend money on a console just to have a new model show up a few weeks later, but those most fanatical fans will have bought a Switch a long time ago and will probably be looking forward to a Pro model. No self-respecting Apple aficionado would buy a new iPhone in late August, would you buy? Early users are eager for the new flavor, and casual players will be happy with the original or Lite variants.
Yes, mark our words, sometime this year – in October or November, we would bet – there will be a new switch on the block. Most likely.
© NintendoFor the record, Nintendo stated that it does not plan to launch a new Switch model “anytime soon”, although at this time last year they specified that no new model would be released “in 2020”. In view of the care they take with this type of language, it is not an exaggeration to deduce that they have something planned for the second half of the year. This is not ‘soon’, right?
Anyway, it is clear from all the rumors that there is an appetite for an update in the middle of the cycle. Last year, we asked what features you would like to see on a ‘Pro’ Switch and, out of a total of almost 20,000 votes, ‘a more powerful CPU’ topped the list (followed by ‘increased resolution’ and ‘a finer one’ frame ‘around the screen). The desire is there, then; Nintendo just needs to figure out how to capitalize on fans’ hunger for something new in a way that adds to their current sales moment.
That and will need a sweet name. ‘Pro’, ‘New’ – they were made. How about “Nintendo Switch Up”? “Turn on”? “Switch on ‘” …
Quick, let’s get to the vote before it gets worse:
Let us know your thoughts on the potential for a new Switch model this year at the usual location.