The Wall Street Journal is back to reporting Nintendo Switch rumors once more, following up on their October 2018 claim that Nintendo would be releasing a new hardware revision of the Switch in 2019. Originally, they stated that the Switch would focus on peripheral additions similar to Labo, rather than new hardware, before changing their initial stance to state that a "better" Switch revision was on the way, and would focus on upgraded hardware. This time around, their claim has a few more details--now mentioning two potential variations: a cheaper model which would replace the Nintendo 3DS as the budget option, and an enhanced model, which would be "targeted at avid video gamers".

This conflicts with previous recent statements from both the Nintendo JP president Shuntaro Furukawa and the soon to be former president of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, who separately debunked new hardware rumors by saying "[it] is not Nintendo's current focus".

Right now, as we go into our second holiday, my focus is making sure the current grey and neon Switch continue to have momentum in the market place. You saw systems, whether it’s our own or competitive home console systems, utilize that tactic a bit later in the life cycle. So right now, the current execution of Nintendo Switch with the Joy-Con and all of the capabilities, that’s our focus right now.

The Wall Street Journal further asserts that these two supposed hardware revisions would be "different from the original, and you would be surprised," with both versions launching as early as Summer 2019. According to the WSJ's insider sources, hardware prototypes have already been sent to software developers, who say that the "upgraded" Switch model won't be as strong as the Xbox One X or PlayStation 4 Pro.

Nintendo Co. plans to launch two new versions of its Switch gaming console as early as this summer, people familiar with the matter said, as the company seeks to sustain sales momentum for the product going into a crucial third year.

What are your thoughts? Do you find the Wall Street Journal to be reliable, or have other rumors of new Switch hardware got you convinced? Are you more skeptical, after already hearing the WSJ's initial story, or do you believe that there's no room for doubt after so many claims of a revised Switch model have been circulating across the internet? With sales of the Nintendo 3DS slowing down, and the company having just barely missed the mark on its 20 million sales fiscal year projection, a new "pro" and "budget" model could be just what they need to get more sales rolling.

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[ZachyCatGames]

And good luck finding a way to increase performance without increasing thermals and decreasing battery life.

Doubling the CPU speed would have very little impact on battery life and thermals, and I’m guessing they’d use a more modern GPU that’s more power efficient.

So.. Sharp is doing the displays now? We getting glass?

Ugh, they changed display manufacturers again? They should really stop doing this, it creates variances in screen quality JDI Switch screens 4 life. Switching to Sharp doesn’t mean we’ll be getting glass displays.

 

[the_randomizer]

Doubling the CPU speed would have very little impact on battery life and thermals, and I’m guessing they’d use a more modern GPU that’s more power efficient.


Ugh, they changed display manufacturers again? They should really stop doing this, it creates variances in screen quality JDI Switch screens 4 life. Switching to Sharp doesn’t mean we’ll be getting glass displays.

Such as? Tegra X2? I don't see it being less of a thermal issue than the current one, or having a higher clockspeed.

 

[ZachyCatGames]

Such as? Tegra X2? I don't see it being less of a thermal issue than the current one, or having a higher clockspeed.

Dunno, I suppose the one from Parker is a possibility ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[the_randomizer]

Dunno, I suppose the one from Parker is a possibility ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Don't know anything about that. Good luck having good battery life, thermals, and keep it at the same price though.

 

[jmrodrigues]

Keep the Tegra RCM Bug on new models and it's a buy! Eheheheh

 

[ZachyCatGames]

Don't know anything about that. Good luck having good battery life, thermals, and keep it at the same price though.

Parker = Tegra X2. The GPU in Parker is more power efficient than the one in Erista (Tegra X1)

 

[the_randomizer]

Parker = Tegra X2. The GPU in Parker is more power efficient than the one in Erista (Tegra X1)

I had no idea, well then. *sigh*

 

[Techjunky90]

The only problem I see with the current switch is lack of high quality games. All I see are ports, low quality 3rd party games & indies. I understand that a lot of people like indie games, but me personally, all the indie games on the switch are games I would expect to see on smart phones and tablets, not on a dedicated gaming device. Games such as Zelda show what the switch is capable of, ye

Mariko doesn’t mean anything, it’s just gonna be another silent revision (A “mini” switch would also probably use it I guess)

Did you honestly think mariko would only be a chipset revision? We all knew Nintendo would do a complete revision, better screen and battery life was a given.

 

[ZachyCatGames]

Did you honestly think mariko would only be a chipset revision? We all knew Nintendo would do a complete revision, better screen and battery life was a given.

Mariko is literally the same as what we currently have, but with some of the security features back ported from Parker. We literally have FIRM for Mariko systems (thanks Nintendo), this shit has already been confirmed

 

[Xzi]

Parker = Tegra X2. The GPU in Parker is more power efficient than the one in Erista (Tegra X1)

I'd buy a Tegra X2 Switch in a heartbeat, it'd be a massive upgrade. It would also likely cost somewhere between $500 and $700 (TX2 dev board is $480). That's why I don't see Nintendo going that route so soon.

 

[tomi1578]

A hardware revision from Nintendo? I’m calling bullcrap on this, there’s absolutely no precedent for this kind of thing from Nintendo whatsoever.


Well, unless you count the NES-101, SNS-101, Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Light, Gameboy Colour, Gameboy Advance SP, Gameboy Micro, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL, 3DS XL, 2DS, 2DS XL, New 3DS.....


But other than that, no precedent whatsoever, it’s totally not the kind of thing Nintendo is known for.

you forgot the wii mini

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

The dock would still need to be included otherwise we would get brand confusion (“they said you could play it on the tv!”), and having joy cons locked into the switch prevents any ability to replace or buy new joy cons -something Nintendo would definitely want consumers to do.

I can only think removing HD rumble, the IR sensor, NFC features, and the joy con grip from the joy con, removing the cartridge slot, and the kickstand from the switch itself, and removing the extra ports from the dock to reduce the cost. Though I think most could live without all of those (minus the cartridge slot)

having joycons locked to the console will also break games that want you to use them separately like mario party or snipperclips

 

[ZachyCatGames]

I'd buy a Tegra X2 Switch in a heartbeat, it'd be a massive upgrade. It would also likely cost somewhere between $500 and $700 (TX2 dev board is $480). That's why I don't see Nintendo going that route so soon.

They could use a modified version Parker without the denver cpu cores (Ninty probably wouldn't use them anyway), which would probably reduce the price a bit

fwiw Jetson TX1 devkits still cost around $500

 

[Xzi]

fwiw Jetson TX1 devkits still cost around $500

About $360.

 

[ZachyCatGames]

About $360.

From nvidia's website:

 

[Ericthegreat]

The only reason I could see for a better switch would be w new screen, now I will say, if soon we hear of a shield 2, I think there's a decent chance of a switch with a new Tegra chip, and also a switch with a 1080p screen. The current tegra chip/shield is getting pretty old, and with reports of an official google tv, I could very well see a shield tv 2 coming.

 

[Xzi]

From nvidia's website:
View attachment 161999

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/900-82180-0001-000/nvidia

Sponsored reseller.

 

[Jonna]

If it bothers you that much add releases after 3ds games. I started my talent scouting agency some 8 years ago and to this day have signed not a sausage.

They had 8 years and still have nothing to show for it that stands up against the GBA and DS, or otherwise.

If the 3ds had no games... what were those cartridges people were putting into their systems?

 

[ZachyCatGames]

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/900-82180-0001-000/nvidia

Sponsored reseller.

the Jetson TX1 Module is different from the Jetson TX1 Development Kit
(I think the module is a part of the devkit)

 

[osaka35]

having joycons locked to the console will also break games that want you to use them separately like mario party or snipperclips

They could release an update for button press rather than gyros...though that'd ruin most of the fun. or just make those limited to the other consoles. Would certainly hamper the fun a bit, eh?

 

[Obveron]

I know I'm in the minority here but I'd buy a non-portable version that has decent cooling and is either is cheaper than the standard switch OR considerably more powerful.

I just have zero need for portability, if bought a switch it would sit in dock mode forever, seems like such poor cooling design for a console to be a docked tablet that never leaves its dock.