By cryptoadmin 
Because the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Swap is over seven years outdated, so it’s due for a refresh. Nintendo Swap 2 rumors have been swirling for years, however now they’re actually heating up. A sequel to Nintendo's most profitable dwelling console ever is coming and it’s possible coming sooner fairly than later.
Will it’s a straight up sequel to the Swap with up to date specs whereas retaining the identical hybrid performance or will Nintendo get bizarre with it? Will it even be referred to as the Swap 2, or will the corporate go along with one thing just like the Tremendous Swap and even the New Nintendo Swap? You may by no means inform with Nintendo. Heck, possibly it’ll name the factor the Swap U.
In any occasion, latest weeks have introduced feverish hypothesis relating to all points of the forthcoming gaming console. It’s essential to notice, nevertheless, that little or no data has been confirmed by Nintendo. The corporate operates by itself timetable. With that mentioned, listed here are all the rumors which might be almost definitely to come back true, given business evaluation.
When will the Nintendo Swap 2 be introduced?
As beforehand talked about, Nintendo marches to the beat of its personal drum. We don’t precisely know when it’ll maintain an occasion to disclose the console, however rumors have been swirling relating to an announcement this week. A publish from Walmart appeared to recommend {that a} reveal could be approaching Thursday, January 16. The Verge's Tom Warren has additionally reported we'll get an announcement this week.
Even Nintendo has hassle retaining the lid on a significant console launch, which is probably going why there have been so many announcement rumors. There are elements that must be sourced and shipments that must be made. A senior analyst at MST Monetary famous a spike in manufacturing tools spending by Nintendo assembler Hosiden.
When will the Nintendo Swap 2 come out?
As soon as once more, this is kind of a thriller. We aren’t completely at midnight, however it’s principally rumor and hypothesis. One factor we all know for positive is that Nintendo will announce the Nintendo Swap 2 (or no matter it chooses to name it) by March 2025, as the corporate confirmed again in Might. Some are saying there shall be a March launch date, which is sensible given the OG Swap got here out on March 17, 2017. Nonetheless, different studies put the console’s launch window later in 2025.
Accent producer Genki, which has been a significant supply of leaks in latest months, claims the console shall be launched in April.
Will it even be a correct Swap sequel?
Nintendo has a bizarre monitor file right here. The baffling Wii U adopted the large success of the Wii. The Wii itself adopted the extra conventional GameCube. In different phrases, it’s doable it’ll be one thing out of left subject and never precisely a real sequel to the Swap. Nonetheless, that is unlikely this time round. As a lot as I might like to see wacky VR glasses or a totally bonkers console idea, all factors point out a extra conventional strategy.
Nintendo Patent Factors to (One other) VR Headset https://t.co/pofTjclgOt #LaboVR #Nintendo pic.twitter.com/A5WEZUG3kL
— The Escapist (@EscapistMag) September 10, 2019
Builders have already seen the {hardware}, although in a a lot earlier kind, and it appears to be a daily outdated console. Whereas Nintendo hasn't confirmed hybrid performance, it’d be a bizarre omission given absolutely the monetary firestorm of the Swap. We’ve additionally heard rumors of a Mini-LED show, which might monitor for a hybrid console. It’s extremely possible this shall be a straight-up Swap 2, or one thing prefer it, calling to thoughts the Tremendous Nintendo.
A abstract of right this moment's alleged Swap 2 photos 'leak'. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/Z4rfSGz4WQ
— Andy Robinson (@Andy_VGC) September 18, 2024
To that finish, latest rumors recommend a design that remembers the unique Swap. Based on reporting by VGC, images of the console have appeared on-line and so they present an 8-inch display and magnetic Pleasure-Con controllers. There appears to be like to be SL/SR buttons and front-facing participant LEDs on these controllers.
Will there be a little bit of Nintendo weirdness?
Every little thing leaked or rumored thus far on this console has been pretty, properly, conventional. It appears to be like like the unique Swap, however higher. That's superior, however will there be any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Perhaps! Current studies point out two puzzling additions that people can't make cover nor hair of.
Genki, the equipment producer, simply revealed a touchdown web page for his or her Nintendo Swap 2 equipment. This touchdown web page contains a video that features a very detailed have a look at a Swap 2 mockup. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ
— Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025
An adjunct maker referred to as Genki by accident leaked an alleged mockup at CES 2025 of the complete console. If the Swap 2 is coming sooner fairly than later, it is sensible that accent makers would have these sorts of mockups. There appears to be like to be a mysterious "C" button on the bottom-right aspect and no one is aware of what it does. May it provoke voice chat throughout gameplay? May it calibrate the controllers? May it create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your lounge? We'll have to attend and see, and there's at all times an opportunity that the button received't even exist.
Now onto the up to date Pleasure-Cons, those self same leaks appear to point a brand new sensor on the connecting aspect of every controller. It appears to be like an entire lot like an optical sensor, which is what a pc mouse makes use of. This has led to hypothesis that gamers will be capable of flip the Pleasure-Con over and use it like a mouse.
Genki reveal isnt a mockup, its straight up simply the Swap 2, optical sensor is actually flashing on this shot @Stealth40k #Switch2 pic.twitter.com/COeLsonqMd
— Ash (@Ashinarii) January 8, 2025
However why would anybody even need this? I can consider three phrases. New Mario Paint. In any occasion, take all of that Genki stuff with an enormous grain of salt, as Nintendo got here out and mentioned that the photographs and video had been "not official." The accent producer has additionally said that its mockup wasn't primarily based on an precise console, however fairly “leaked data that’s circulating within the business.”
Is the Nintendo Swap 2 backwards appropriate?
If it’s a sequel to the Swap, the subsequent query must be about backwards compatibility. The Swap’s library is completely huge, and continues to develop, so players could be rightfully peeved in the event that they couldn’t play Tears of the Kingdom on their new next-gen console. There’s excellent news on this entrance.
The corporate has formally introduced in a latest earnings report that the console shall be totally backwards appropriate. It should additionally characteristic entry to Nintendo On-line, so customers will be capable of play all of these outdated retro titles.
What about specs?
The rumors relating to specs are all over, so it’s robust to pin down. We all know one factor for positive: It’ll be extra highly effective than the traditional Swap {hardware}, which was already antiquated again in 2017. One analyst allegedly obtained a maintain of a spec sheet from the Korean United Each day Information that mentioned the Swap 2 would boast an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of inside eMMC storage. This tracks for me, as these specs are about as underpowered in 2024 as the unique Swap was in 2017. Nonetheless, some studies do point out that the console would come with 12GB of RAM.
One other supply means that the eight-core CPU shall be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the present Swap runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes numerous sense. The CPU shall be extra highly effective, however it's the Swap 2's new GPU that shall be a significant differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Swap 2 will help DLSS, NVIDIA's "deep studying supersampling" upscaling tech, which might permit the console to render video games at a low decision internally whereas outputting a high-resolution picture. (Enjoyable reality: We truly wrote about how good DLSS was for the Nintendo Swap 2 when the expertise was introduced alongside the RTX 20 collection again in 2018.)
There are nonetheless questions in regards to the Swap 2 and DLSS: Will the system help newer DLSS options like body technology? Will present video games be robotically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Whatever the precise implementation, DLSS upscaling shall be an enormous leap over the rudimentary strategies accessible to Nintendo Swap builders.
As for the show, there are numerous conflicting rumors. Early studies from strong sources instructed the Swap 2 would have an 8-inch show LCD show, however there have additionally been rumors about an 7-inch show with a 120Hz refresh fee. Some analysts have instructed this may be an OLED display, whereas others have mentioned it could be a Mini-LED show. A Mini-LED show is principally an LCD show that has a backlight made from (shock!) mini-LEDs fairly than edge lighting. This enables for native dimming, making the blacks extra black. I’m hedging my bets right here. I believe it’ll be a normal LCD, to chop prices, with an OLED or Mini-LED mannequin coming later down the road. Nonetheless, Mini-LED screens are barely cheaper than OLED shows, in order that’s definitely a risk at launch.
As for decision, latest reporting means that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. That's a lot better than the OG Swap.
How a lot will the Nintendo Swap 2 price?
We don't have an excessive amount of data relating to worth however we do have loads of historical past to work with. The unique Nintendo Swap launched at $300, which is just about the "magic quantity" in the case of Nintendo console releases in recent times. The Wii U additionally got here in at $300.
Nonetheless, there are many rumors circulating that Nintendo might be upping the asking worth for the Swap 2. Quite a few retailers have reported it'll be $400, or doubtlessly much more costly. Nonetheless, the identical analysts who say the console shall be $400 had been additionally pretty sure it could be out by the top of 2024 and, properly, it appears to be like like that ain't taking place.
Dipping again into historical past, there’s some priority for a worth uptick. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Swap elevated to $300 and, properly, numbers wish to go up. A $400 price ticket would make it practically as costly as a PS5 and Xbox Sequence X. That may additionally put it on the identical worth because the 256GB LCD Steam Deck.
Will we find out about any launch video games?
Nope! However it’s definitely been a very long time since we’ve gotten a correct 3D Mario journey, proper? That may be one heck of a system vendor. Aside from that, your guess is nearly as good as mine. Previous as prologue, we are able to count on one thing from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Swap.
If there’s a gimmick or hook concerned with the console, we’ll additionally get a sport that takes benefit of that. A twin launch of Metroid Prime 4, similar to Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess earlier than that, can also be a risk. Lastly, there have been rumblings that the massive launch title might be none other than Mario Kart 9.
That's every part we all know in regards to the Nintendo Swap 2 right this moment. We'll replace this text with rumors we belief and with data we collect straight from sources. Any adjustments made to the article after its preliminary publishing shall be listed under.
Replace, January 15, 2025, 12:10 PM ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate rumors a couple of potential console announcement for this week.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/will-the-nintendo-switch-2-get-revealed-this-week-heres-everything-we-know-110023623.html?src=rss