I think this then will be the peak sales year for the Switch (fiscal year), probably in the range of 19 million or so and then you'll see declines each successive year there after.
Not asking for much. I'm okay with overclocked Switch. Finally logic prevails with some factual info to support it. Those in other threads saying new more efficient chips just for 1-2 hours increase of battery life never seemed logical to me.
WSJ could have easily mistaken the original model, with production briefly overlapping with the refreshed Switch and Switch Lite, for this. These are the three models: Lite, Refresh, OG.
Or there are three Lite colors and supposedly two Refresh Switch colors.
I assume this refreshed switch starts shipping this summer, 9/20 at the latest with no mention of the change by Nintendo a la internal PS4 changes in the past
So the outlet that got everything right got that one thing wrong. Unlikely
The Pro has varied in performance since we speculated on it but nothing in the tweet is new. DF already did a video on this with new top line clocks for Mariko at 1.26 GHz vs 9xx MHz on Switch
Meh, that isn't enough for me to get a new one, I don't use my Switch enough for that small of a difference. If a true "Pro" version comes out I will probably get one then, if one doesn't then the original will last me until a Switch 2.
"There are two new Nintendo Switch colors that will be available this fall. They will have larger storage capacities to hold more games."
That's how. This isn't the kind of upgrade that gets a new name. This is one of the countless PS2 or Xbox 360 revisions that is purely under the hood and just so happens to give a little boost here or there to improve QOL (faster loading, better frame rate, that kind of thing). Only us fanatics on message boards will ever know there's a "big" different beyond new colors and a larger hard drive. Microsoft didn't advertise the Xbox 360 Jasper units as being any different from the Xbox 360 Falcon units, this will probably be the exact same thing.
It appears that the plan is to switch to 4Gb RAM chips, instead of the 2x2Gb set up they currently have. Devs need more RAM to cover debugging tools etc, and it makes far more economic sense to stick a second 4Gb RAM chip in (Nintendo is buying them in bulk, after all) instead of buying 2Gb RAM chips exclusivity for the dev kits.
It mentions support for both 4gb and 8gb, not 6gb, so switch most likely sticking with 4gb for the consumer version and switch dev kit is getting 8gb revision now
I would be extremely hesitant to claim that it'll be remotely comparable to over clocking. I think KojiKnight is right here: it's equivilant to one of Sony's PS4 revisions (and no, I'm not talking about the PS4 Pro here): chip changes to reduce the cost of manufacture, with any performance benefits (or power draw reduction) being an incidental side-effect and not a main target.
Along with the two new consoles, Nintendo is also moving some of the production of its current Switch console outside China, suggesting the three models will coexist for a period of time.
I honestly think people are still overestimating this by calling it a switch+ or a Xbox S tier upgrade... It really is less than that.
The S added HDR support, 4k output, a slight clock boost to the GPU and a 4K Blu-ray drive as well as cut costs and lowered energy use as well as an SKU with 2TB storage.
This model switch adds a slight clock boost to the GPU (that we don't know if any games will ever take advantage of) and reduced power usage with the option for higher inbuilt storage.
This is when Sony releases a X1XXX revision of a console. The only difference is that we've (as a community) been hyping up this. I tried down playing this, but the final result is looking even more bottomed out than my original downplay.
The fact is Nintendo likes parity, i don't think we'll see a big performance boost at all, i think most likely we'll see a 1080 handheld switch but otherwise performance won't increase much (maybe faster loading)
This model switch adds a slight clock boost to the GPU (that we don't know if any games will ever take advantage of) and reduced power usage with the option for higher inbuilt storage.
So the outlet that got everything right got that one thing wrong. Unlikely
The Pro has varied in performance since we speculated on it but nothing in the tweet is new. DF already did a video on this with new top line clocks for Mariko at 1.26 GHz vs 9xx MHz on Switch
I mean yes? It's not that outrageous to mess up that one detail since technically there are three switch models now: Refresh, Lite, OG. All three could have been in production at the same time.
Mike Heskin, known hacker and dataminer who has worked on a big number of Nintendo Switch hacking projects, has revealed on Twitter a number of details of the upcoming new Nintendo Switch models, as information about them has been in the OS for a long time now.
(Click tweet to view thread)
(Twitter appears to be down right now so I archived the tweets)
Interesting things to notice:
Since firmware 5.0 there has been support for three hardware lines, one with the original Tegra 210 and two for the new Tegra 214 (Mariko)
Those two hardware lines are Switch Lite and Switch "New".
The original Switch has 4GB of RAM and 6GB for the devkit. The new models have support for both 4GB and 8GB of RAM.
Both Switch Lite and "New" use LPDDR4X DRAM which grants a small battery boost due to lower voltages.
Switch Lite has a smaller screen and non-detachable controllers while "New" Switch should have the exact same form factor.
The GPU in the "New" Switch is clocked at higher values than Switch Lite, potentially giving a modest performance boost.
Larger than 32GB memory is possible in the "New" units. Two models have been found in the firmware (codenames "Iowa" and "Calcio") and is speculated that one will have more internal storage.
There's absolutely no evidence of an actual "Pro" version. At least not in the sense that it would be based off of the Tegra X2 or have massive performance and/or memory improvements.
Considering that Nintendo released firmware 5.0 in March 2018, it will be 18 months between initial support in the OS and actual shipment of the new models, so even if Nintendo were planning to do a real "Pro" upgrade in the future, you shouldn't expect one for at least 18 months.
With every new detail we learn, we see it's less and less than what people were looking for. You can check my post history, I was leading the charge on it being JUST a die shrink aimed at a most 50% or so boost to clocks, but with the FCC filing making it clear there isn't going to be any significant new features and the leaks via currently released firmware showing the limits of what the hardware could be or do it's becoming increasingly clear that this is a minor revision that was blown up.
The fact is Nintendo likes parity, i don't think we'll see a big performance boost at all, i think most likely we'll see a 1080 handheld switch but otherwise performance won't increase much (maybe faster loading)
The fact is Nintendo likes parity, i don't think we'll see a big performance boost at all, i think most likely we'll see a 1080 handheld switch but otherwise performance won't increase much (maybe faster loading)
The 'new' 3DS says otherwise and while the power increase obviously won't be that much it could still be enough to see dynamic resolution games such as Doom and Wolf 2 stick at 720p more often.
I would be extremely hesitant to claim that it'll be remotely comparable to over clocking. I think KojiKnight is right here: it's equivilant to one of Sony's PS4 revisions (and no, I'm not talking about the PS4 Pro here): chip changes to reduce the cost of manufacture, with any performance benefits (or power draw reduction) being an incidental side-effect and not a main target.
I think we'll end up seeing a difference in either battery life or performance anyhow.
And if there's no bump in performance, not even XBOS levels, then I kinda expect a really significant bump in battery life. Switch Lite, which presumably uses the same chip, has a considerably smaller battery yet lasts considerably longer.
This is literally not how the Switch works. The switch works on profiles, and the games sets the profiles (both when docked, and portable). Games will have to be programmed to take advantage of any new profiles (or a hacker can manually set the clocks).
This means existing games will have to be patched, and new games will have to be both okayed by Nintendo to use them and be programmed for it as well.
Or at the very least, Nintendo would have to have the system override games, which wouldn't be the best idea since games can behave unpredictably if they aren't thoroughly tested at the clockspeeds.
that 8gb RAM model sounds like a "pro" to me. Will be interesting to see how Nintendo markets the revision to the Switch. "Introducing the Nintendo Switch, now faster and with a longer lasting battery."
Expecting we see some upgrades from the games that take advantage of dynamic resolution
Sounds like a mid gen upgrade to me, really hoping that the CPU gets a bit of an upclcock too, just because it may help stabilise frame rates, boost load times and even help with running that mobile voice chat app natively in the background. I swear if "now you don't need that stupid mobile app for voice chat on this Switch" as the front and center selling point I admit I'll be disappointed.
This is literally not how the Switch works. The switch works on profiles, and the games sets the profiles. Games will have to be programmed to take advantage of any new profiles (or a hacker can manually set the clocks).
This means existing games will have to be patched, and new games will have to be both okayed by Nintendo to use them and be programmed for it as well.
Are they accessing profiles the games aren't programmed for? I seem to recall some tests with clocks beyond docked mode's, with results, although I'm not certain.
supporting 8GB doesn't mean they're gonna mass produce a switch with 8GB of ram. honestly it would be pretty pointless since i don't think many games would take advantage of if they still have to run on the base switch. my money is on 4GB of ram for the revision.
This is literally not how the Switch works. The switch works on profiles, and the games sets the profiles (both when docked, and portable). Games will have to be programmed to take advantage of any new profiles (or a hacker can manually set the clocks).
This means existing games will have to be patched, and new games will have to be both okayed by Nintendo to use them and be programmed for it as well.
Or at the very least, Nintendo would have to have the system override games, which wouldn't be the best idea since games can behave unpredictably if they aren't thoroughly tested at the clockspeeds.
This is not necessarily true with dynamic resolution or framerate.
Edit: nvm caught your edit. Yeah a boost mode would be all Switch needs for this. But would Nintendo bother to take the time to make one is the question I guess.
supporting 8GB doesn't mean they're gonna mass produce a switch with 8GB of ram. honestly it would be pretty pointless since i don't think many games would take advantage of if they still have to run on the base switch. my money is on 4GB of ram for the revision.
Oh hell yeah. I'm in for this model as I wanted new JoyCon anyway. Might as well just get a new unit with better performance and a new warranty while I'm at it. Hope they finally give us some new colors.
Nintendo can do as they please but I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening in the second half of the Switch's product cycle if they don't have a legit Pro model.
By March of next year they're going to have spent basically all their top IP and making sequels to Mario Odyssey and Zelda BOTW is not going to provide the same kind of sales boost since you're basically now just selling to the same audience that's already there.
You know I've thought about that as well. By March, all their heavy hitter IPs are already out. Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Smash, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, etc. On one hand, it's a good thing, because it means the system has a great catalog. But you also have to wonder what they have in store going forward if they've already burned through new titles on their major IPs.
And at this point I don't think we're getting a Switch Pro. I think they'll go straight to a Switch 2 in 2021-2022.
Are they accessing profiles the games aren't programmed for? I seem to recall some tests with clocks beyond docked mode's, with results, although I'm not certain.
Sorry, I edited my original post, but not fast enough. The way hackers do it is through overriding the games built in profiles. Nintendo can do this too, but it'd be a bad idea to do this as a blanket approach. Developers built their game with their profiles in mind, and while most games will probably work fine, it could have unexpected consequences without it being tested beforehand. Nintendo isn't going to have every dev of it's more than 2000 games test before releasing the system, so I just don't see them overriding the defaults of the base model.
Ideally, Nintendo will have an option to enable it like the PS4 Pro does for non-enhanced games, but Nintendo hasn't been known to support things like this with previous models (neither DSi or New 3DS had built in options to do so despite hackers having the ability to force it).
Well, if this simply allows games like BOTW and Xenoblade 2 to run at a solid 30fps, even with no resolution bump, I'll be trading in my launch switch and buying this.
Can we expect games to just run a little better like I said or no upgrades or more major than just getting things to 30fps? I'm sorta confused about what this is going to actually do over the current switch?
I'm the same, if this allows more games to run at a solid 30fps at least, I'll most likely be trading mine in. What would really seal the deal, would be a boost in available storage for digital games as well.
supporting 8GB doesn't mean they're gonna mass produce a switch with 8GB of ram. honestly it would be pretty pointless since i don't think many games would take advantage of if they still have to run on the base switch. my money is on 4GB of ram for the revision.
Possiblity. Samsung's LPDDR4x modules can be clocked as high as 2133Mhz while the regular LPDDR4 modules in the original Switch are maxed out at 1600Mhz. So we're looking at up to 33% more bandwidth.
I'd gladly upgrade my switch if it they apply all the energy savings from die shrink, LPDDR4X to battery life. I can dream of 5 hours + standard. (Expect 4 standard vs 3 Lite and 2.5 OG)