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 The Nintendo Swap is over seven years outdated, so it’s due for a refresh.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 residence console ever is coming and it’s probably coming sooner somewhat than later.
Will or not 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 known as the Swap 2, or will the corporate go together with one thing just like the Tremendous Swap and even the New Nintendo Swap? You’ll be able to 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, nonetheless, that little or no data has been confirmed by Nintendo. The corporate operates by itself timetable. With that mentioned, listed here are the entire rumors which are probably to return true, given trade 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. Lots of people wrongly assumed it will occur towards the latter a part of 2024, however that didn't occur.
Even Nintendo has bother maintaining the lid on a significant console launch, so we may be taught one thing earlier than the official reveal. There are components 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 nighttime, nevertheless it’s largely 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 might be a March launch date, which is smart 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 might be launched in April.
Will it even be a correct Swap sequel?
Nintendo has a bizarre observe 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 discipline and never precisely a real sequel to the Swap. Nonetheless, that is unlikely this time round. As a lot as I’d like to see wacky VR glasses or a very 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 type, 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 observe for a hybrid console. It’s extremely probably this might be a straight-up Swap 2, or one thing prefer it, calling to thoughts the Tremendous Nintendo.
A abstract of at the 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. In line with reporting by VGC, pictures of the console have appeared on-line they usually present an 8-inch display screen and magnetic Pleasure-Con controllers. There seems to be 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 up to now on this console has been pretty, effectively, conventional. It seems to be like the unique Swap, however higher. That's superior, however will there be any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Perhaps! Latest 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 incorporates a video that features a very detailed take a look at a Swap 2 mockup. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ
— Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025
An adjunct maker known as Genki by accident leaked an alleged mockup at CES 2025 of your entire console. If the Swap 2 is coming sooner somewhat than later, it is smart that accent makers would have these sorts of mockups. There seems to be 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 front room? 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 seems to be 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 to 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 have been "not official." The accent producer has additionally acknowledged that its mockup wasn't primarily based on an precise console, however somewhat “leaked data that’s circulating within the trade.”
Is the Nintendo Swap 2 backwards suitable?
If it’s a sequel to the Swap, the subsequent query needs to 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 might be absolutely backwards suitable. It’s going to additionally function entry to Nintendo On-line, so customers will be capable to play all of these outdated retro titles.
What about specs?
The rumors relating to specs are in every single place, so it’s powerful 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 bought 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 inner 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 might be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the present Swap runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes lots of sense. The CPU might be extra highly effective, nevertheless it's the Swap 2's new GPU that might be a significant differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Swap 2 will assist 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 really wrote about how good DLSS was for the Nintendo Swap 2 when the know-how was introduced alongside the RTX 20 sequence again in 2018.)
There are nonetheless questions in regards to the Swap 2 and DLSS: Will the system assist newer DLSS options like body era? Will present video games be robotically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Whatever the precise implementation, DLSS upscaling might be an enormous leap over the rudimentary methods accessible to Nintendo Swap builders.
As for the show, there are lots of conflicting rumors. Early studies from stable sources urged 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 price. Some analysts have urged this might be an OLED display screen, whereas others have mentioned it will be a Mini-LED show. A Mini-LED show is mainly an LCD show that has a backlight manufactured from (shock!) mini-LEDs somewhat 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 regular 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 actually 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 value?
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 relation to 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 might be $400 have been additionally pretty sure it will be out by the tip of 2024 and, effectively, it seems to be like that ain't occurring.
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, effectively, numbers prefer to go up. A $400 price ticket would make it practically as costly as a PS5 and Xbox Collection X. That may additionally put it on the identical worth because the 256GB LCD Steam Deck.
Can we find out about any launch video games?
Nope! However it’s actually been a very long time since we’ve gotten a correct 3D Mario journey, proper? That may be one heck of a system vendor. Apart from that, your guess is pretty much as good as mine. Previous as prologue, we are able to anticipate 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 recreation that takes benefit of that. A twin launch of Metroid Prime 4, identical 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 at the moment. We'll replace this text with rumors we belief and with data we collect instantly from sources. Any modifications made to the article after its preliminary publishing might be listed under.
Replace, January 10, 2025, 12:40 PM ET: This story has been up to date with particulars in regards to the Swap 2's alleged "C" button, together with the Pleasure-Con optical sensors. We additionally wrote in regards to the announcement window and launch video games. Lastly, we coated bulletins from Nintendo and Genki relating to a possible leak.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-everything-we-know-about-the-upcoming-console-110023968.html?src=rss
