The Nintendo Switch is currently the third best selling console of all time at nearly 140 million units sold, but as it approaches its seventh birthday in March, there are increasing rumors about a sequel.
All rumors discussed in this story are from articles by IGN, Polygon, Creative Bloq, and Gizmodo compiling the various rumors from insider reports, leakers, and other sources.
This follow up, with some suggested/rumored names being the Switch Pro, Super Nintendo Switch (in reference to the Nintendo Entertainment Systems successor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System), or just Switch Two, is supposedly being announced in a direct this March, and releasing in late 2024, though a newer rumor suggests that it has been delayed to 2025.
While Nintendo’s recent new consoles typically aren’t just more powered up versions of their predecessors, usually having some new gimmick like the motion controls of the Wii or 3d of the 3DS, the Switch’s follow up seems to be breaking that mold due to its success. The sequel is rumored to have the same design of a hybrid console, able to connect to the tv through a dock or played on the go, with detachable controllers (Joycons) allowing this. The successor is also rumored to be backwards compatible with the Switch, still using the proprietary cartridges.
Some possible differences include a eight inch screen, two inches bigger than the current base Switch, though not an OLED screen like the Nintendo Switch OLED released in 2021, and more ergonomic Joycons. The larger screen is said to be a main contributor to the rumored $400 price tag, still cheaper than the $500 Xbox Series X and Playstation 5, but the same price as the digital only Xbox Series S and the base Steam Deck Oled, another hybrid console.
Spec wise the Switch’s successor is said to be on the same level and maybe even more powerful than the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Specifically the sequel is rumored to use a specially made chip by NVIDIA called the T239, paired with a custom graphics unit based on Nvidia’s Ampere architecture, allowing it to be capable of 4k graphics. The console could also feature NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling, an AI rendering technology which helps with performance.
While Nintendo has said almost nothing official about the Switch’s followup, behind the scenes they have been rumored to have begun briefing their partners, showing off demos of the console’s capabilities, showing it running Unreal Engine Five, and sending developers development kits.
Some possible launch titles could be the long awaited Metroid Prime Four, which restarted development in 2019, as well as a new Mario Kart and 3d Mario platformer, two major series which haven’t had a new game since the first year of the Switch.
