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Nintendo will reportedly release a new Switch console this year.
The Japanese gaming giant is said to be following-up its two-year-old success story with a new model, but with a twist. It will be allegedly cheaper and could even ditch the dock for home play.
Here then is everything we know so far about the Nintendo Switch 2, including the proposed features of the 2019 release.
All new console?
As we're only two years into the existing Switch's life cycle, a new generation machine is not expected. Instead, the Nintendo Switch 2 is more likely to be Nintendo Switch 2019, with a tweaked upgrade rather than replacement.
Indeed, both consoles will likely be sold at the same time. The biggest rumours are that the new model will actually serve as a cheaper alternative with the current Switch remaining the flagship machine.
That's because the Switch 2 is said to be a dockless console, with attached Joy-Con controllers, as shown in a cool concept render by LetsGoDigital.
This means it will be mainly be portable only and you won't be able to remove the controls either side of the screen for two-player or motion gaming.
This will keep the cost down, it is claimed.
"Nintendo will launch a fully handheld version of the Switch at $199," renowned analyst Michael Pachter told Games Industry at the start of 2019.
"I expect the device to have the same screen, but with Joy-Cons built into the body and no docking station. Since it can't 'switch' from handheld to console, it's hard to guess what they will call it, but let's assume Game Boy (kidding)."
Specs
A few rumours have appeared online about the new Switch hardware.
According to Japanese game site Gamepedia, even though the 2019 Nintendo Switch will be cheaper and likely dock-free, it will have some bumps in internal specifications.
The RAM is said to be 8GB, double that in the current console, while the on-board storage will get a major hike to 128GB. The existing Switch only has 32GB of storage and nigh-on demands that you buy a microSD card if you want to store more than one game.
New processing will be adopted, it is claimed, with an all-new system-on-chip - not the Nvidia Tegra, then. It would have to be based on the exact same architecture mind, considering that the games will need to be completely compatible between machines.
Gamepedia says that the most likely benefits of the new SoC will be shorter loading times and possible higher frame rates.
Lastly, the new machine will support 4K output, although we find this rumour peculiar considering there will be no dock and the machine is unlikely to have a 4K display built in.
It might have a 1080p display, however, rather than the 720p one on the current Switch. That makes more sense considering its portability.
Games
All games for the new Nintendo Switch will be playable on the existing Switch too, and vice versa. This is just a new model in the same way the New Nintendo 3DS plays last-gen 3DS games.
It's unlikely that Metroid Prime 4 will be a launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2019 variant as Nintendo itself admitted original development was scrapped and started again from scratch recently, by an alternative developer.
Release date
We don't yet have an idea of an actual release date for the Switch follow-up but late last year the Wall Street Journal wrote that it is more likely to appear in the latter part of 2019.
A summer release has not been ruled out, however.
Let us know what you think in the comments
Author- Rik Henderson
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