The Wall Street Journal is claiming that Nintendo is planning on developing a new hardware revision of the Nintendo Switch. Thanks to the highly successful sales of the console, Nintendo is potentially in talks to create a newer, better version of their hybrid system. These upgrades are still being considered internally, but the Wall Street Journal reports that there's a chance of this revision having a better display, one that's higher quality than the current LCD the Switch uses, but not one as sophisticated as an OLED screen. Earlier this year, WSJ believed that Nintendo would not be planning on hardware revisions, but instead would focus on peripherals, which only held true in regards to Nintendo Labo.

The source of this information comes from insider knowledge at the Wall Street Journal, along with suppliers and manufacturers that work with Nintendo. WSJ Japan's article claims that shareholders in the company confirmed this information, too. If they're correct, then the new Switch model would likely hit the market sometime in Summer 2019.

TOKYO— Nintendo Co. NTDOY -1.78% plans to release a new version of its Switch videogame console next year to maintain the sales momentum of the device, according to suppliers and others with direct knowledge of the plan.

Sales of the Switch, introduced in March 2017, are still solid but are no longer delivering the favorable surprises that marked the machine’s first year on the market. Nintendo shares, which rose sharply last year, have trailed the broader stock market this year. The move to update the Switch suggests the Kyoto, Japan, company is moving quickly to ensure its flagship product doesn’t lose competitiveness.

Nintendo is still debating what new hardware and software features to include in the upgrade and weighing the cost of the features, people with knowledge of the discussions said.

One option is improving the display, they said. The current Switch uses a lower-end liquid-crystal display without some technologies that are standard in more recent smartphone LCDs.

Updating the display with these technologies would make it brighter, thinner and more energy-efficient. The updated Switch isn’t expected to adopt the organic light-emitting diode or OLED panels used in Apple Inc.’s AAPL 1.22%iPhone X series.

Nintendo is looking to release the new Switch in the latter half of 2019, perhaps as soon as summer, the people said.

A Nintendo spokesman declined to comment.

Between its introduction last year and June 30 of this year, Nintendo sold 19.7 million units of the Switch, a pace that compares favorably with Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4, the most popular console among the current generation of videogame players. The Switch can be used both as a living-room console and as a portable game machine.

Nintendo has said it wants to sell 20 million units in the year through March 2019, and analysts say they expect sales roughly to match that goal assuming some popular software titles planned for late this year arrive on schedule. Nintendo has said it plans to introduce “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” on Dec. 7.

Videogame makers generally come out with new consoles every five to six years, and it is common for them to update the devices in the middle of their life cycles to keep the momentum going. Sony introduced the PlayStation 4 in November 2013 and updated it with a less-expensive version in September 2016 and a high-end model two months later.

A new Switch would follow that pattern. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, who created many of its top games and now holds the title of creative fellow, said in February he wanted the Switch’s life cycle to be longer than usual, suggesting next year’s update of the hardware may not be the last.

The upgraded Switch would likely share many features with the current version and be compatible with existing Switch game software.

Software makers and others in the industry are watching whether Nintendo will clarify the future of its hand-held 3DS videogame device when it decides on the next Switch.

Nintendo has said it would keep selling 3DS machines because they are a safe and affordable option for children. But new game releases for the platform have been declining and some popular franchises, including Nintendo’s own “Pokémon,” moved to the Switch this year.

An executive at one software maker said the 3DS was increasingly overshadowed by smartphones that are well-suited to portable games. He said he was waiting for a “clear message” from Nintendo about what it would do with the 3DS series when it puts out a new Switch.

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[Foxi4]

switch mini for sure

How are you going to shrink the Switch and simultaneously maintain compatibility with the Joycons? Nintendo is married to a form factor at this point.

 

[sarkwalvein]

How are you going to shrink the Switch and simultaneously maintain compatibility with the Joycons? Nintendo is married to a form factor at this point.

Make it a monolithic portable thing and drop replaceable joycons altogether I guess?
Though I would expect that to come at EoL if at any time, Wii Mini or GB Micro fashion.

 

[|<roni&g]

Looks like I'll be passing on the switch entirely, already pissed about paid online and recycled WiiU games I'm already done with, and now a new model only a year after launch purely to stop cfw... can't stand tendo these days

 

[smf]

Im not saying they shouldnt release a new version. It would just be a slap in the face if it would be this soon

It's not soon, it's a year away. The switch will be at least 2 and a half years old & I doubt it will be a game breaking change (like the N3DS).

Would you consider it a slap in the face if a car manufacturer revamps the car two years after you bought one?

The RCM will probably be fixed. I think nintendo could get nvidia to fix it.

RCM is already fixed on shipping switches, I am theorising that this is to tempt us to buy unhackable switches because they are better.

I may be wrong, it might just be a cost reduction or something.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Looks like I'll be passing on the switch entirely, already pissed about paid online and recycled WiiU games I'm already done with, and now a new model only a year after launch purely to stop cfw... can't stand tendo these days

You won't be losing much.
Actually, TBH and even if it sounds elitist, as long as you have a semi-decent PC you won't be losing much even if you skip all consoles.
All home consoles nowadays have paid online and recycled remakes/remasters galore... hmmm... stay on PC.

 

[smf]

You won't be losing much.
Actually, TBH and even if it sounds elitist, as long as you have a semi-decent PC you won't be losing much even if you skip all consoles.
All home consoles nowadays have paid online and recycled remakes/remasters galore... hmmm... stay on PC.

I quite like the idea of a scene, you don't get the same thing with the PC.

 

[sarkwalvein]

I quite like the idea of a scene, you don't get the same thing with the PC.

Yes/no... actually, you got a lot related to scenes on PC.
Not the hack it to make it run your code scene, because it is already able to do that.
But you got big scenes on making homebrew fanbased games.
VNs and all the communities around e.g. Renpy.
All that community around fighting games, MUGEN, etc.
A lot of game maker engines, and gigantic communities around them.
Scenes related to hacking and varies weird Linux distros.
Whole scenes related to emulation, all the true high-end emulation happens on PC.
Of course you have the demoscene, if you want to challenge yourself a little.
The true modding scene regarding games happens on PC.
Etc.

I am not one that plays much on PC tbh (for some reason it doesn't appeal me, I guess I associate PC with work), but if it is about scenes the biggest scenes go around PC.

 

[duwen]

If we're spit-balling revised versions we'd like to see... personally, I'd be more likely to bite the bullet on buying a Switch if they announce a traditional console variant (no portable screen, just a device that plugs into the tv, packaged with a pair of pro controllers) - they should be able to put something like that on the market for a fraction of the price of the current model.

 

[FanNintendo]

New Switch console old Switch will be handleheld plug in New Switch like Gameboy Advance plug in Gamecube

 

[Deleted User]

If WSJ is correct about this, than I figured Nintendo would make a revision of the Switch. I'm not really surprised.

 

[Captain_N]

I thought those revisions were already out?

I ment a redesign of the cu so RCM mode is impossible.

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

You linked to a hodge podge of 3rd party ports, indie tripe and mobile shovelware, not to mention a sizeable amount are either unreleased, TBA, or region specific.

So right off the bat, NO, there are not "1,199 games available on Switch".

When I say nintendo needs to revise it's software, I'm talking 1st party IP's.

But you already knew that,

It wasn't immediately clear you were talking about first parties, no.

I think Nintendo is still yet to fully solve their third-party woes. However, I link that page to show that the system has been receiving plenty of content, including plenty of well-regarded games from the past few years. Most people are likely to find games that interest them among the currently available library given its size and the amount of genres it covers.

I did assume you meant the system lacked games that appealed to you. Valid opinion, but let's put to rest this notion that the system has no games. It's blatantly false. Port mania is a valid criticism, but it's ports of well regarded games that are now able to be taken portably. The added feature of portability is, in my opinion, a valid reason to be porting so many titles. It is highly unlikely that a single person has played every great game that's been ported, and even then, games like Disgaea 5 or Stardew Valley may still be worth it for the replayability that can now be brought portably.

 

[guily6669]

Apples and oranges. No phone is capable of displaying the amount of polys required to run a modern console VR game. As for the "new Tegra", it's nowhere near the PS4 - NVidia lists their mobile SoC performance charts in half-precision (FP16) FLOPS, in order to translate to full-precision (FP32) you must slash the figure in half. This is why the Tegra X1 isn't actually "1 TFLOP" in comparison to the PS4, it's 500GFLOPS. The X2 isn't 1.5TFLOPS, it's 750GFLOPS. We're several generations away from mobile tech catching up.

EDIT: I looked into the latest Tegra documentation and I think I found the processor you're referring to - the Tegra codenamed "Xavier".

https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/nvidia/tegra/xavier

This one does push 1.3TFLOPS in full-precision, however it's brand-new, unlikely to be included in the new Switch and still behind the base PS4. It about matches the original Xbox One, but it's trailing behind the One S and the base PS4. It's very impressive, but hardly a competitor for the upcoming PS5 and Xbox Two which the new Switch is supposed to be pitted against. After all, that's the only reason why Nintendo is working on a refresh - they want to be ahead of the curve before these systems release in late 2019/early 2020 - historically that has always been a bad strategy.

I was exactly talking about the new Volta Tegra it can actually do 32, 16 and 8 bit and 1.3Tflop in Full precision and GPU is the latest tensor cores... It might actually perform better in games than the normal 1.8Tflops PS4 since in PC AMD needs quite a lot more theoretical performance to stay in pair with Nvidia.

About mobile, for a long time they had way better resolution and screens than any PC VR Headsets, only recently is showing up better ones like the Pimax 5K plus, 8K and so on...

Samsung S9 4 example is 5.8" Quad HD+ Super AMOLED (2960x1440) with 570 ppi and a huge HDR that could melt your eyes with peaks above 1000 nits. Theres also a Sony Xperia with true 4K display, but it is LCD and not OLED, not very good for VR.

Some ppl on youtube actually preferred Samsung Gear VR with a good phone than the first batch of PC VR headsets like the Oculus Rift (though off course they all now got improved).

And I'm not saying you use the phone for the crap android games, they connect to the PC and use Steam VR or whatever, there's a app 4 that and the thing is you have use for your phone after not using it as a VR PC headset

ps: But I'm not recommending it anyway, off course, because they also lack high hz screens which is mostly only seen on razer gaming phone...

 

[DarthDub]

I think Nintendo should fix their online first.

 

[smf]

Yes/no... actually, you got a lot related to scenes on PC.

It's not really the same, it's too big you can't keep up to date with everything. Then you have software that works well on one PC and not so well on another, so you have to keep updating your hardware.

With a console you can go to one or two sites to find everything, and the software is pretty much guaranteed to work on your hardware.

It easily plugs into a TV, everyone has the same controllers, etc.

 

[sarkwalvein]

It's not really the same, it's too big you can't keep up to date with everything. Then you have software that works well on one PC and not so well on another, so you have to keep updating your hardware.

With a console you can go to one or two sites to find everything, and the software is pretty much guaranteed to work on your hardware.

It easily plugs into a TV, everyone has the same controllers, etc.

Well, yeah... that's true.

 

[SonowRaevius]

This is why I am slowly casting a wary eye towards new consles and heandhelds all the time.

What's even the point of buying a console when a better version is just around the corner?

I guess when you can get people to pay to pretty much beta test your products, it's hard to make the best version for sale first, even if it would have taken those 1-3 extra years to do so.

 

[Foxi4]

If we're spit-balling revised versions we'd like to see... personally, I'd be more likely to bite the bullet on buying a Switch if they announce a traditional console variant (no portable screen, just a device that plugs into the tv, packaged with a pair of pro controllers) - they should be able to put something like that on the market for a fraction of the price of the current model.

You'd be surprised how cheap it is to slap a screen on a device. The SoC already has a display controller built-in, all you're paying is the cost of the screen, which is extremely cheap when sub-HD and bought in bulk. I wouldn't expect a price cut higher than $30-$50 which isn't worth the sacrifice in portability. I built an IPS 1080p 60Hz 11.1 inch screen with nothing more than a $27 HDMI controller and a $36 LCD TFT screen and I'm just "a guy" buying single components.

 

[John256145]

They better fix that floppy kickstand smh

 

[Codemastershock]

If we're spit-balling revised versions we'd like to see... personally, I'd be more likely to bite the bullet on buying a Switch if they announce a traditional console variant (no portable screen, just a device that plugs into the tv, packaged with a pair of pro controllers) - they should be able to put something like that on the market for a fraction of the price of the current model.

I would defintely be happy for this, one SKU that is cheaper and it is more a traditional console, removing battery and the screen for people that are willing to jump on the new console and their games and dont care about portability and other that is kinda like the current device, but smaller, with more internal storage and better battery life, oriented to mobile gaming, but not removing the hybrid aspect of it.

I am not too fond of portable gaming, although I had many portable consoles myself and liked their games, I enjoy more when at my home than outdoors (not just games oriented towards storytelling like many RPGs that can be difficult to remember where you left off, but simple pick and play games too). I cant properly enjoy a game between boring tasks such as waiting on a line or a bus or something, it is supposed to make these times more enjoyable, but I just stay too preocuppied or too distracted.