We’re just days into 2024 at this point, yet like clock-work, a fresh Switch 2 rumour is making the rounds.
Reports coming from long-time Switch hardware rumour source, Dr. Serkan Toto of Katan Games has stated via an article on GamesIndustry.biz that the next Nintendo system can be expected to be more of a iterative upgrade rather than going in a big, new direction. Additionally, it’ll allegedly be launching this year at a price point of $400.
Round and round the rumour mill we go
For the last few years, Toto has suggested that Nintendo was working on a Pro-like model of the existing Switch, something which he re-acknowledges in this latest report by stating it “actually did exist and certain developers were already working with the dev kit.”
Now, plans have apparently shifted in full favour of the all-new console, as Toto states that it “will likely be an iteration of the current hardware design, rather than a revolution.”
Of course, Nintendo isn’t unfamiliar with such a strategy, with past systems like the Super Nintendo and Gameboy Advance being good examples of the company building upon an established predecessor.
There’s still the matter of what the Switch’s successor will actually be called and what it’ll feature under the hood. In this recent report, Toto doesn’t go into any specifics surrounding either, but he does at least suggest that the company apparently plans to adopt the new industry-standard of a $70 pricing model for its games on the new system.
If this does end up being the case, the new system’s titles would have to be of truly similar fidelity to what’s coming out now on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. That said, it’s doubtful that the system would produce extremely similar visual results given its form factor.
The list continues to grow
Nevertheless, Toto’s report is yet another drop in the expansive bucket of rumours surrounding Nintendo’s enigmatic next system.
Other major rumours that have sprouted up over the last few months include the system allegedly being shown off to devs at Gamescom 2023, and that its power could be somewhere in the realm of the PS4 and Xbox One.
Unsurprisingly, Nintendo has ducked, dodged, and dipped past any attempts by curious personnel in the industry to get some real information about its future plans.
Just like during the lead-up to the Switch’s formal 2016 reveal, we should expect Nintendo to continue keeping its mouth cemented shut until its appointed time.
If the new system really is set to release this year, then there’s the matter of figuring out when that reveal will take place.
Again, looking to the Switch’s reveal strategy, it was first shown off to the world in October 2016, and was then released five months later in March 2017. Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if the next console sees a similarly short runway between reveal and release.
A spring time launch similar to its predecessor is now completely out of the question, suggesting that perhaps it could have a more traditional release slot at the very end of the year, perhaps November. But, still, anything is possible.
And, really, that’s the best way to describe the entire situation surrounding Nintendo’s next system—anything is possible, so all the gaming community can do right now is dissect what merely amounts to speculation.
That isn’t to say Toto’s reports shouldn’t be believed at all, but it’s all still hearsay until Nintendo finally breaks its silence.
After all, in addition to the validity of “leaked” information always being subject to change due to internal plans being in flux, there still might be a few genuine surprises surrounding this new system that the Big N has managed to continue to keep under wraps up until now, and will likely continue to do so until whenever this reveal finally takes place.
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