“Nintendo Switch Pro is no longer updated”

It didn’t take long after Nintendo launched its portable and dockable Switch before speculation began about an in-generation update with a focus on higher performance. This is not very different from what Sony did with the Playstation 4 Pro and Microsoft with the Xbox One X.

Once the update arrived in the form of the Switch OLED, the big news was a new screen and other improvements on the outside, but the inside remained the same. Despite this, the rumor mill did not stop spinning, but gained new momentum when it became clear that the new docking station that came with the Switch OLED was supporting 4K UHD and 60fps. Many saw this as a sign that Nintendo was paving the way for a high-performance Switch model.

So I think at some point internally, from what I can understand from talking to different developers, is that there was some sort of mid-gen Switch update planned at some point and that doesn’t seem to be happening anymore. And so it’s pretty clear that whatever they’re going to do next will be actual next-gen hardware.

When the experts at Digital Foundry sums up the year It seems that there may have been justification for the earlier information. John Linnemann says that in conversations with the developers, he’s realized there was a planned update for the adapter, but it no longer appears to be up to date, so the next step would be an entirely new generation.

Information from Digital Foundry cannot be taken as a definitive confirmation, but the statement should be taken with more than a grain of salt. On several previous occasions, Digital Foundry has been able to reveal in detail previously unknown information about upcoming game consoles and has also been given the privilege of testing new hardware from major console makers.

I don’t think it will be 2023, and I think Nintendo themselves are probably very nervous about this transition. Because let’s face it, the past few transitions haven’t gone so well. Gamecube was a flop and then they had the Wii which was a hit, then they tried to do the Wii U and that was a miserable failure. And now they are successful again. How do you make that transition while keeping the audience happy and exciting again? Like there’s a risk if they just make more Switch, like an improved Switch, you won’t necessarily get the same buzz, but if they go too far with that concept, they could alienate their fans again.

John Lineman goes on to say that it’s unlikely that the next generation of Nintendo’s game console will be released in 2023, but later. When the reasoning gets more speculative, he says Nintendo has reason to worry about the next generation, because they have a history of every other generation being less successful. After the Nintendo 64 came the Gamecube, which did not become a big seller, which was replaced by the Wii success story which was followed by the Wii U. Then they took their revenge today with the Switch, which to date has been sold in quantities of over 110 million units.

As credible as Digital Foundry is, it remains to be seen if there will be a Switch Pro. What counters that is that today’s generation will soon be six years old and that it is reasonably time to move on to something new. So the updated version comes a little too close.

Do you want to see a Switch Pro, or would you prefer Nintendo to come out with a whole new generation?