I would be so happy if the improved Switch model (which should 100% be called Super Switch I will take no substitutes) comes out in the next few months. I'm itching to get a Switch but with new models on the horizon I'm gonna wait.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
WSJ: Nintendo shifts part of production from China to SEA, and starts production for two new Switch SKUs
- Thread starter Zedark
- Start date
Nope, they don't. The pricing problem exists here too. I have basically given up on physical.
I will never understand this thinking. 😅
If 340 or 400, what does it matter? It's a console, hardware, that you're supposed to have and use for years with hundreds of games and thousands of hours of playtime. An upgrade will improve your gaming experience with every future title, where you will have better graphics, better fps and a better resolution because of a better handheld screen for every single game you play in the next years and you would skip out on that because of 60 bucks?
What are 60 bucks in comparison to what you get with this? Peanuts.
There's been some rumors about a new Shield device on the way, so it may not just be a custom chip for Nintendo.
Agreed. People keep on assuming that WSJ's "improvements for gamers" (or whatever) equals a more powerful system but I think it's a little early in the system's life to be introducing a new performance profile.
I'm expecting a revised Switch with some quality-of-life improvements, particularly a larger screen, to keep it fresh alongside the smaller Switch. It would be a little odd to have a Switch mini with, say, a 5.5-inch screen and small bezels and then have a significantly larger Switch with only a slightly larger screen and a fat border around it. That would make the more expensive model look old in comparison.
I think we'll see things like "longer battery life!" and "less flimsy stand!" before "play games in TV mode on the go on a 1080p screen!"
X2 as its called doesn't actually exist. Its Tegra Parker. Its just picke dup the name X2 because Tegra X1 was a thing. Technically following that idea Tegra X3 does exist but its certainly overloaded with a lot of stuff Nintendo would have no need for. Any future Mobile chips Nintendo needs will almost certainly be heavily customized.
Actually there's a quite bit pointing to something called "Mariko" being a new chip that Nintendo may be utilizing in these models.
But Mariko is not a custom chip as it turns out, it's a multi-purpose design it looks like.
My guess is Mariko is similar to the X2/Parker chip but on a 12nm node with possibly another similar kind of performance/power savings boost and can use LPDDR4x RAM.
Last edited:
It'll definitely provide performance benefits & such to games. The term Pro may just oversell the idea if people expect some 1080p screen Switch that rivals a PS4 in performance. I maintain the belief it'll be enough to boost current games from 540p to 720p type upgrade. Basically 2-2.75x upgrade.
Parker does the trick but chips after that it will require a hefty amount of customization. Xavier is loaded with tech for cars. Xavier does give you an idea of the kind of gpu power is possible though. Xavier is a 1.4Tflop GPU on a 12nm die
I don't think Xavier will be utilized, but "Mariko" on 12nm would probably make sense.
Nvidia is apparently prepping that chip for other devices too (tablets?), it's not a Switch specific chip.
I think Nintendo realized using non-custom parts for Wii and Wii U especially killed their margins and manufacturing flexibility. Why pay for a custom design when Nvidia has a new chip every 2 years.
Yeah I was thinking more along the lines of a next gen switch. They will have to go pretty much fully customized solution as The Tegra line has deviated so far from a multi-purpose chip. Parker is pretty heavy in the automotive direction but still manageable with changes to be used as a base in making Mariko.
A chip that's comparable to a Parker but on a 12nm would probably have really nice power savings for Nintendo.
It would probably allow for a Switch Mini with no need for an internal fan/venting and a smaller battery for instance.
On a "pro" model it probably could open the door to things like previously docked performance possible in undocked mode and allow the chip to run closer to full clock when docked.
I think people also jumped the gun assuming Nvidia was just going to stop making consumer-grade Tegra chips. I don't think they ever said that. It's just more of a hush hush thing now that Nintendo is the main vendor.
That's still a huge upgrade basically going from last gen to current.
I think the issue is people are forgetting how long this gen was. The mid gen upgrades this time were massive
That sounds about in line with what a Pro model did for the other platforms, well for the PS4, at least, the XB1 had a more drastic boost in performance with the XB1X. I'd definitely upgrade in that case via a trade in
Even if it was a "Pro" upgrade I don't think Nintendo would use such term. Also, Pro would imply there's an standard model and I don't see Nintendo having three models (Pro, standard and cheap/mini). What we'll likely see is a new standard model (the so-called Pro) and a cheaper alternative.
We go through this a lot.
1) nobody is paying $1999 for an iPhone
2) phones do a lot more than play games, they're not just purely entertainment products
3) people can buy phones with essentially interest-free installment plans
4) people still grouse about the cost of phones
People here are sometimes like "why shouldn't the new consoles cost $700, after all people spend that much money on their phones!" and that just looks out of touch. You might as well say something like "Oh, people spend $1000+ on a laptop computer, but suddenly $500 for a plaything is too much for these people?!?" and the answer is, yes, it is, because computers aren't just toys.
Phones are computers now. And cameras. And phones.
Last edited:
This, I dont understand why people keep calling improved Switch version "Pro" when most likely we talking about "New" 3DS upgrade type.
No. The most expensive iPhone in history, the iPhone Xs Max fully loaded with half a terabyte of storage, is $1449.
Or $60/month on your phone bill, or an even cheaper lease or subscription plan. Almost nobody walks into an Apple Store and drops $1500 for an iPhone.
lol I buy my phones cash. But it lasts like 5-6 years. It's not that big of an investment. I got iPhone x for 1000 bucks I think. I use it daily, way too much... but still anything else you can use daily for 5 years that's 1000$? That's pretty good value imo.
Parker is the followup to Erista, but I guess they called it X1 because it sounded better, same as they call the Jetson TX1 followup with Parker, Jetson TX2.
Between this year's lineup and the fact that Nintendo sent me back a warped Switch after they repaired it (minor, but it really makes my eye twitch because it was pristine before that), I am ready for an upgraded Switch. Bring it.
(please)
(please)
My guess is that both Pro and Slim/Lite will have the same innards to save costs while Pro will use the same casing/housing as the original Switch with a better screen (less bezels).
Main difference will probably be
1. Both will run at docked performance in undocked mode but Pro will run at a higher performance in docked mode. Slim/Lite will be the same
2. Pro will have a bigger battery and will last an hour or more than the Slim/Lite
3. Pro will have a screen with smaller bezels
4. Pro will probably have 6GB ram instead of 4GB for additional video and screenshot saving and better multitasking
Main difference will probably be
1. Both will run at docked performance in undocked mode but Pro will run at a higher performance in docked mode. Slim/Lite will be the same
2. Pro will have a bigger battery and will last an hour or more than the Slim/Lite
3. Pro will have a screen with smaller bezels
4. Pro will probably have 6GB ram instead of 4GB for additional video and screenshot saving and better multitasking
Not to mention they can easily make a better looking/performing Zelda just by the fact that it's gonna be Switch only and not made for the Wii U initially.
I think it's relatively established that Nintendo wants to have a "smooth generation" model with development based on strong middleware and APIs that allow for compatibility across generations, just like Microsoft.
Therefore, they really have no reason to pull back on the hardware, they can simply release what they think is the best machine they can make (Like Microsoft did with the XBOX One X) and charge full price for it.
I am a Yank and the only people who think June- August are the only summer months are school children who have "summer vacation" from early June to late August.
So I'm unsure what the other guy was going on about.
Yeah, that's DEFINITELY not happening. Not even sure how that could happen, really
isnt Switch docked like ~0.6TF? XBoneS is 1.3TF.
You tell me that after 3+ years they cant double their specs?
I don't think the Switch Pro will achieve visual parity with, say Xbox One, in all aspects. Switch versions of current generation games generally have lower quality assets to save on storage and RAM usage, as well as different settings in some cases, stuff like that. Mortal Kombat 11 has lower quality assets and lower quality lighting, for instance. So even if the GPU power when docked can approach Xbox One S (With 7nm and Turing it could come close) the games would not look the same.
This actually has a fun implication: If the Switch 2019 is a strong upgrade both in CPU and GPU, perhaps many games that run at 30FPS on Switch could be improved, not to get an upgrade in the resolution department that would be wasted on low resolution textures, but rather to run at 60FPS. Imagine that a Switch Pro took games like DOOM, Wolfenstein, Hellblade, The Witcher 3, or Dragon Quest 11, and the patch simply let them run at 60FPS. I think that would be awesome, even with the poorer graphics.
Switch docked is 0.4TFLOP, which does indeed equate to a GCN GPU of 0.6TFLOPs.
It'd just be about double it's current power. Not inconceivable in the least.
Im expect the Lite model and the normal replacement (which some call the pro) to both use an X2 chip which should mean the Lite can preform the same as the current model and still keep the heat and battery life the same. The replacement (Pro) will have a slight boost being the leg room from the X2 (smaller die) chip keeping the battery life the same and keeping heat the same or lower.
I reckon Nvidia will be making 2 SKU of their next gen tegra chip , 1 for cars and 1 for switch 2.
I reckon Nvidia will be making 2 SKU of their next gen tegra chip , 1 for cars and 1 for switch 2.
Oh no, the power increase isn't exactly unbelievable. I'm talking about improving the graphics of the game to such a point that it matches the XB1/PS4 version...for just the Switch Pro. I'd imagine they'd need to do something specific for just that one model or something. A boost in resolution and performance is much more likely there, tbh
That's a bigger boost than PS4 to PS4 Pro in less than a 3 years. games on switch will definitely look really bad compare to the new model.
Last edited:
With the supposed reduced price of the "portable" model I doubt it will have the upgraded internals... Probably use any surplus of the X1 production nodes. I'm sure nVidia is still producing the X1 chip.
Maybe the "pro" is the actual game scaled back up to its original or close to its original settings?
If the game is just pared back and not a total switch specific build it's possible.
Is the chip that's being referred to as "X2" actually available in die-sizes that are useable in smart portable tech? Iirc, that thing has only been used in smart car stuff and was too "big" for smaller devices. But i'm not really following the tech, could be wrong or outdated.
Prepare to get "The Look".
The Pro/New version doesn't really have to release with a "showcase" game, it's for more enthusiast people, and showing improvements on available/future games might be enough.
But i think we can all agree on one thing, the cheaper, more portable version has to be available prior to Pokemon, or launching alongside Pokemon at the very latest.
Prepare to get "The Look".
The Pro/New version doesn't really have to release with a "showcase" game, it's for more enthusiast people, and showing improvements on available/future games might be enough.
But i think we can all agree on one thing, the cheaper, more portable version has to be available prior to Pokemon, or launching alongside Pokemon at the very latest.
I honestly wouldn't know how practical that is, at least by the time the Pro model comes out. I sort of get the feeling they'd need to offer an update for something like that, seeing as, for example, not every PS4 game takes advantage of the PS4 Pro's power