Everything we know about the upcoming console

As the world transforms, console generations also change. Nintendo Switch He is more than seven years oldSo it’s time to update. There have been rumors of a Nintendo Switch 2 Swirling for yearsBut now they are truly heating. A sequel to Nintendo’s most successful home console of all time is a possibility It will come sooner rather than later.

Will it be a direct sequel to the Switch with updated specs while retaining the same hybrid functionality or will Nintendo get weird with it? Will it be called Switch 2, or will the company opt for something like the Super Switch or even the New Nintendo Switch? You never know with Nintendo. Heck, maybe this thing will be called the Switch U.

However, recent weeks have brought feverish speculation regarding all aspects of the upcoming gaming console. However, it is important to note that very little information has been confirmed by Nintendo. The company operates according to its own schedule. However, here are all the rumors that are likely to come true, in light of industry analysis.

When will Nintendo Switch 2 be announced?

As mentioned earlier, Nintendo marches to the beat of its own drum. We don’t know exactly when a console reveal event will be held. Many people wrongly assumed that this would happen in the latter part of 2024, but that did not happen.

Even Nintendo is having trouble keeping the lid on a major console release, so we can find out something before the official reveal. There are parts that must be sourced and shipments must be made. A senior analyst at MST Financial He pointed to a significant increase in spending on production equipment By Nintendo Hosiden Complex.

When will Nintendo Switch 2 come out?

Again, this is somewhat of a mystery. We’re not completely in the dark, but it’s mostly rumors and speculation. One thing we know for sure is that Nintendo will announce the Nintendo Switch 2 (or whatever you choose to call it) by March 2025, the company announced. It was confirmed back in May. Some say there will be a March release date, which makes sense considering the OG Switch was released on March 17, 2017. However, other reports suggest that The console release window is later in 2025.

Accessory maker Genki, which has been a major source of leaks in recent months, It claims that the console will be released in April.

Would it even be a proper sequel for Switch?

Nintendo has a weird track record here. The puzzling Wii U came after the massive success of the Wii. The Wii itself follows the more traditional GameCube gameplay. In other words, it could be something out of left field and not a true Switch sequel. However, this is unlikely this time. As much as I’d love to see weird VR headsets or a completely crazy console concept, all points point to a more traditional approach.

Developers You’ve already seen the devicesalthough it is in a much older form, and appears to be a regular old console. Although Nintendo hasn’t confirmed hybrid functionality, it would be a strange omission given the Switch’s absolute financial storm. We’ve also heard rumors of A.J Small LED screenwhich would track the hybrid console. It’s very likely that this will be a Switch 2, or something like that, reminiscent of the Super Nintendo.

To that end, recent rumors point to a design reminiscent of the original Switch. according to Report via VGCImages of the console have surfaced online and show an 8-inch display and magnetic Joy-Con controllers. There appear to be SL/SR buttons and front operator LEDs on these controllers.

Will there be a little Nintendo weirdness?

Everything that has been leaked or rumored so far on this console has been fairly conventional. It looks like the original Switch, but better. That’s great, but will there be any of Nintendo’s unpredictable magic? maybe! Recent reports point to two puzzling additions that people can’t hide or hide.

An accessory maker named Jinki An alleged mockup at CES 2025 of the entire console was accidentally leaked. If the Switch 2 is coming sooner rather than later, it makes sense for accessory makers to have these types of mockups. There seems to be a mysterious “C” button on the bottom right side and no one knows what it does. Can I start voice chat while playing? Can controllers be calibrated? Is it possible to create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your living room? We’ll have to wait and see, and there’s always the possibility that the button won’t be there.

Now regarding the updated Joy-Cons, these same leaks seem to indicate that there will be a new sensor on the side connected to each controller. It seems a Just like an optical sensorwhich is what a computer mouse is used for. This has led to speculation that players will be able to flip the Joy-Con over and use it like a mouse.

But why would anyone want this? I can think of three words. new Mario Paint. Anyway, take all this Genki-related stuff with a large pinch of salt, as Nintendo has come out and said that The photos and videos were “unofficial.” The accessory manufacturer has also mentioned this His mockup was not based on an actual controllerRather, it is “leaked information circulating in the industry.”

He is Nintendo Switch 2 Backwards compatible?

If this is a sequel for Switch, the next question should be about backwards compatibility. The Switch library is quite huge, and continues to grow, so players will be really upset if they can’t play Kingdom tears On the new next-gen console. There is good news on this front.

The company officially announced in its latest earnings report that The console will be fully backward compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all those old titles.

What about the specifications?

Rumors regarding the specifications are all over the place, so it’s hard to pinpoint them. We know one thing for sure: it will be more powerful than the old Switch hardware, which was already outdated in 2017. An analyst allegedly obtained the spec sheet from Korean United Daily News Switch 2 said It will flaunt an octa-core Cortex-A78AE processorIt has 8 GB of random access memory (RAM) and 64 GB of eMMC internal storage. This tracks me down, since these specs will be as weak in 2024 as the original Switch was in 2017. However, some reports Do not point to the console It will include 12GB of RAM.

Another source indicates that the octa-core CPU will be assembled inside a unit produced by NVIDIA Tegra239 SoC (System on a Chip). Since the current Switch runs on an NVIDIA chip, this makes a lot of sense. The CPU will be more powerful, but it’s the Switch 2’s new GPU that will be a major differentiator. The Switch 2 will certainly support DLSS, NVIDIA’s “super deep learning” upscaling technology, which will allow the console to display low-resolution games internally while outputting a high-resolution image. (Fun fact: We’ve already written about… How perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 When this technology was announced alongside the RTX 20 series in 2018.)

There are still questions about the Switch 2 and DLSS: will the system support it? Latest DLSS features such as frame generation? Will existing games be automatically ranked by NVIDIA’s algorithm? Regardless of the exact implementation, a DLSS upgrade would be a huge leap over the primitive technologies available to Nintendo Switch developers.

As for the screen, there are many conflicting rumours. Early reports from reliable sources suggested that the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch LCD display, but there were also rumors of a 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Some analysts suggested that this would be an OLED display, while others said it would be an OLED display Small LED screen. A Mini-LED display is essentially an LCD display that has a backlight made of tiny LEDs (surprise!) instead of edge lighting. This allows for local dimming, making blacks blacker. I’m hedging my bet here. I think it will be a standard LCD display, to keep costs down, with an OLED or Mini-LED model coming later. However, Mini-LED displays are a bit cheaper than OLED displays, so that’s certainly a possibility at launch.

As for resolution, recent reports indicate that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. This is much better than the OG Switch.

How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

We don’t have a lot of information regarding price but we do have a lot of history to work with. The original Nintendo Switch launched at $300, which is pretty much the “magic number” when it comes to Nintendo Console releases in recent years. The price of the Wii U also reached $300.

However, there are a lot of rumors circulating that Nintendo could raise the asking price for the Switch 2. I mentioned it would be $400Or maybe more expensive. However, the same analysts who said the console would be $400 were also fairly certain it would be released by the end of 2024, and well, it looks like that’s not going to happen.

Going back in history, there is some precedence for rising prices. The GameCube was $200, and the Wii was $250. The price of the Wii U and Switch has risen to $300, and the numbers want to go up. A $400 price tag would make it almost as expensive as the PS5 and Xbox Series

Do we know about any launch games?

no! But it sure is It’s been a long time since then We got a proper 3D Mario adventure, right? This will act as a vendor for the system. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. After the introduction, we can expect something from Ubisoft and a title out of the ordinary like 1-2-Switch.

If there was a gimmick or hook included with the console, we’d also get a game that took advantage of that. Double version of Metroid Prime 4just like Breath of the wild and Twilight princess Before that, it is also a possibility. Finally, there have been rumors about it potentially being a big launch title Nothing else Mario Kart 9.

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That’s everything we know about Nintendo Switch 2 today. We will update this article with rumors we trust and information we gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publication will be listed below.

Updated, January 10, 2025, 12:40 PM ET: This story has been updated with details about the Switch 2’s alleged “C” button, along with the Joy-Con’s optical sensors. We’ve also written about the announcement window and launch of games. Finally, we covered the announcements from Nintendo and Genki regarding the potential leak.