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.

Source

 

[Stwert]

Wireless HDMI would be horrible. Just imagine the latency.
1080p - battery

You can actually get wireless HDMI without latency issues. Though considering this tech as a stand-alone option costs upwards of £250/$330, I doubt we’ll see Nintendo using it for Switch.

 

[MaxiBash]

“...replacing the 3DS...”
I just finally got one after 8 years got one and they’re ending support, fuck my life.
Wouldn’t take too long for them to end online support, so we have to get WiimmfiNID.

I just hope the budget-version has online support and most basic features intact unlike the Wii Mini.

 

[anhminh]

It funny that people assume the budget Switch will be smaller when in reality that would never be the case. Cutting of the dock wouldn't save that much money and reduce size mean they have to remake whole design to fit everything in smaller case while still keep all the function intact. It's hillarious that they think it even come with better battery, what a joke.

 

[DANTENDO]

“...replacing the 3DS...”

I just finally got one after 8 years got one and they’re ending support, fuck my life.

8 years worth of games you should never get bored

 

[anhminh]

It funny that people assume the budget Switch will be smaller when in reality that would never be the case. Cutting of the dock wouldn't save that much money and reduce size mean they have to remake whole design to fit everything in smaller case while still keep all the function intact. It's hillarious that they think it even come with better battery, what a joke.

Edit: I though this was release on Weekly Shounen Jump magazine from the abbreviated :lol

 

[FAST6191]

While I will wait at least until one of the emissions/product testing houses, patents or something leaks I will not believing Nintendo's older statements of no hardware revisions.

8 years worth of games you should never get bored

This is 8 years of 3ds games though and 3ds has no games.

 

[Techjunky90]

Tell us something we do not already know. It's only logical that Nintendo would release a revision, aka mariko. It's also logical for Nintendo to copy what Sony did with the Vita, make a non portable version, no screen, no battery, no dock etc. which would bring the price down a lot.

 

[DANTENDO]

This is 8 years of 3ds games though and 3ds has no games.

if has no games why after 8 years are you still active in a nintendo based forum

 

[FAST6191]

if has no games why after 8 years are you still active in a nintendo based forum

Because the GBA and DS did have games, and we have nice discussions on systems that do have games.

 

[huma_dawii]

Because the GBA and DS did have games, and we have nice discussions on systems that do have games.

I hope you're kidding when you say 3DS has no games.....

 

[DANTENDO]

Because the GBA and DS did have games, and we have nice discussions on systems that do have games.

yr probably the only gamer in this forum who thinks tht the 3ds was bad then

 

[Kubas_inko]

Wrong quote. Sorry

Because the GBA and DS did have games, and we have nice discussions on systems that do have games.

3DS is the best handheld ever because you can play any nintendo handheld games on it and some from home consoles as well

 

[twin snakes]

It will definitely happen, the console is in its third year, and I am surprising bt the fact that there are none rumour till now.
There will be a new Switch with ‘improved stability’ enhancement

 

[Rahkeesh]

I hope you're kidding when you say 3DS has no games.....

If you don't love RPGs the native offerings are slim pickings after Nintendo titles.

Granted it plays so many other system's games quite well. And the Vita is truly desolate by compare.

 

[KHANV1CT]

So did Nintendo just checkmate the jailbreaking community?

 

[spotanjo3]

Wrong quote. Sorry

3DS is the best handheld ever because you can play any nintendo handheld games on it and some from home consoles as well

To me, 3DS is the ugly design and dont liked two screens at all. That's why I never bought it at all. Don't have it. Nintendo Switch is the best handheld (lookalike) ever. I love its sleek and design.

 

[DarkCoffe64]

Just remove the [RUMOR] there from the title, Nintendo has always been like this, it was just a matter of time before they re-released the switch in 100 new flavours or something

 

[FAST6191]

I hope you're kidding when you say 3DS has no games.....

I am quite serious.

Everything I liked about the GBA and DS vanished from the 3ds. When the 3ds was new I was still doing a retrospective on it all ( https://gbatemp.net/threads/links-to-various-gbatemp-features-over-the-years.352851/ *) and time and time again I looked to see what those making the GBA and DS as good as they were happened to be doing at that point. Usually not working on the 3ds, or giving the 3ds a token effort, was what I found.
I would maintain that if you played the GBA and DS you would not be missing out on much of anything by skipping the 3ds and but for the 3ds' ability to play DS games (GBA too if you fiddle a bit or buy a fancy DS flash cart) you could skip it in favour of the GBA and DS and miss nothing particularly interesting.

The homebrew scene for it was similarly lacklustre -- IOS dropping (and then android gobbling that up) which killed off the remaining parts of the DS and PSP homebrew scenes seemingly meant that nobody moved onto the 3ds as there were better choices for portable devices at that point (sad really as I am not a fan of the monetisation options pursued and controls of the phones, so much so that I don't have one).

It is not the first time I have mentioned the weakness of the 3ds, and it is similarly not the first time people have tried to call me out for such a statement. To this day though nobody has been able to make a list of things I should play else I would be missing out having come up through the GBA and DS. When the DS was rising up I generally noted it had most of what made the GBA special but gave it an extra bit of polish and some more modern standards. I did not get that, or some kind of radical departure that would have otherwise made it worthwhile, from the 3ds.

When talking about Nintendo's home consoles I often mention an informal test I do for them. That being if you had that as your sole console would you have experienced the gameplay styles of the day? The gamecube came close enough that it would mainly be the PS2's utter dominance that generation that knocks it down if it is done at all, after that we are back to the 16 bit era and older. For the 3ds I don't know that I would raise the Vita up against it, though it did have some interesting ideas and I can see it being something of an overlooked device in years to come similar to maybe the Saturn today, but while I said something like it above about the DS games compared to the 3ds library I would go it again here.

*if I had to summarise my general approach it would be that I don't give a damn about Nintendo's own franchises, save perhaps for Advance Wars and Starfy (both of which had no 3ds entry). You can find a list of the sorts of things that interested me about the GBA and DS (and some other consoles) on that thread. Did not get that from the 3ds. If you did care about Nintendo first party efforts (which does seem to be their main fanbase these days) then maybe if it is your only pokemon mario mario kart fix but it was not at all uncommon to find people that did the GBA and DS whilst ignoring such things and had a great time.

This is why I say the 3ds has no games, and about the only reason to own one is if you enjoy the form factor of it over the DS, DS lite, DSi, DSi XL (or GBA family if you are going that way) and can deal with the downsides of running code on it. I am not sure why anybody would enjoy the form factor but between hand size, eye quality and the like I can write that off as personal preference easily enough.

 

[SkittleDash]

Nintendo, if you actually release a upgraded model and release "exclusives" for it... Oh boy...

 

[Stwert]

This is 8 years of 3ds games though and 3ds has no games.

No...games???


Mario 3D Land, NSMB 2, Zelda, Zelda, Zelda, Mario Kart, Luigi’s Mansion 1 & 2, Metroid Samus Returns, Animal Crossing, Pokemon(s), Super Smash Bros, Monster Hunter, Kid Icarus, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Maker, Kirby(s), Xenoblade, Resident Evil Revelations, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis.


I could go on, and on, and on, and....


That’s before we even get to DS compatibility. Not to mention hacking it and playing 40 odd years worth of retro games.


No games? No games? The 3DS is one of the best handhelds ever for games.


But, each to their own. If it’s not your cup of tea, don’t drink it.