StarTopic Future Nintendo Hardware & Technology Speculation & Discussion |ST| (Read the staff posts before commenting!)

[Terrell]

If I recall correctly, one of the reasons for the excitement over RISC-V is that, like ARM, they are both RISC-based chips, so while there are different ISAs, there's less friction in conversion there than there would be jumping between ARM (RISC) and x86 (CISC). Nintendo's familiarity with RISC designs is probably why the jump from Wii U's PowerPC architecture (also a RISC ISA) did not see all that many hiccups. It's a lot more doable, is what I'm saying.

But as mentioned, it's a very VERY future-looking topic. RISC-V's current benefits to electronics makers is cutting into ARM's currently massive piece of the ASIC/microcontroller market (basically, the Cortex-M series), which is moving at an exceptional clip, but moves to get it running for broader application use (and competing with Cortex-A, for example) seem to keep stalling out or falling behind.

 

[LiC]

The video creator claims it's a patent for the next gen controller but I'm thinking it's more along the lines of a mini or NSO console. Thoughts?

This is what's known as "clickbait."

I didn't watch the video, but I did find a source link to a blog buried in the depths of the description. I couldn't find an actual filing on a patent site, but the blog does have the PDF uploaded: https://nintendoacademy.com/wp-cont...089702A1_Original_document_20221206190037.pdf

It appears to be a patent for a button and/or d-pad contact design. No mention of analog sticks. And there's absolutely nothing about that it makes it especially likely to be for a next-gen controller or a mini/NSO console. It could be used in any future controller Nintendo makes, or it could never be used at all.

Edit: Here are some listings.

https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/applications/17464597

https://trea.com/information/contro...lication/e3d8d6c6-a8c3-4b06-938b-b7ad6dfb4a34

It was filed on September 1, 2021 May 12, 2021 and published on November 17, 2022.

 

[Procheno]

I'm really surprised there hasn't been any critical detail since last year basically. If it's coming anytime soon, you'd think leaks/hearsays would be more rampant, not less rampant

 

[Pokemaniac]

If I recall correctly, one of the reasons for the excitement over RISC-V is that, like ARM, they are both RISC-based chips, so while there are different ISAs, there's less friction in conversion there than there would be jumping between ARM (RISC) and x86 (CISC). Nintendo's familiarity with RISC designs is probably why the jump from Wii U's PowerPC architecture (also a RISC ISA) did not see all that many hiccups. It's a lot more doable, is what I'm saying.

But as mentioned, it's a very VERY future-looking topic. RISC-V's current benefits to electronics makers is cutting into ARM's currently massive piece of the ASIC/microcontroller market (basically, the Cortex-M series), which is moving at an exceptional clip, but moves to get it running for broader application use (and competing with Cortex-A, for example) seem to keep stalling out or falling behind.

RISC vs CISC hasn't been super relevant to software development for ages now. A lot of the differences between the design philosophies sort of stopped mattering as hardware got faster and hand-written assembly became more of the exception than the rule.

Insofar as the RISC vs CISC distinction even exists anymore, the main benefits of going RISC are the size and efficiency of the resulting CPU cores.

 

[Concernt]

RISC vs CISC hasn't been super relevant to software development for ages now. A lot of the differences between the design philosophies sort of stopped mattering as hardware got faster and hand-written assembly became more of the exception than the rule.

Insofar as the RISC vs CISC distinction even exists anymore, the main benefits of going RISC are the size and efficiency of the resulting CPU cores.

That reminds me. How long did it take ARM to integrate DIVISION?

 

[Kevin]

I'm really surprised there hasn't been any critical detail since last year basically. If it's coming anytime soon, you'd think leaks/hearsays would be more rampant, not less rampant

That's because it's likely not coming anytime soon. I would say 2024 at the earliest.

 

[Hermii]

That's because it's likely not coming anytime soon. I would say 2024 at the earliest.

if we don’t get anything soon, I’m inclined to agree.

 

[the_marmolade]

That's because it's likely not coming anytime soon. I would say 2024 at the earliest.

Spot on. We most likely hear more around spring 2023

 

[LiC]

Don't make me tap the "there were zero leaks about NX until July 2016, zero leaks about manufacturing until November 2016, zero leaks with concrete specs until December 2016, and zero leaks about games until January 2017" sign.

We've known so much more about the upcoming new Switch model for so much longer than we did with the original Switch, even though the original Switch was something Nintendo had announced ahead of time and there was huge mainstream interest in rumors and leaks for it. It's hilarious to see people claiming that a lack of info is why they doubt a release window an entire year ahead.

As for predicting 2024 based on nothing but your gut feelings while you ignore all actual evidence... We'll see.

 

[Magic-Man]

Don't make me tap the "there were zero leaks about NX until July 2016, zero leaks about manufacturing until November 2016, zero leaks with concrete specs until December 2016, and zero leaks about games until January 2017" sign.

We've known so much more about the upcoming new Switch model for so much longer than we did with the original Switch, even though the original Switch was something Nintendo had announced ahead of time and there was huge mainstream interest in rumors and leaks for it. It's hilarious to see people claiming that a lack of info is why they doubt a release window an entire year ahead.

As for predicting 2024 based on nothing but your gut feelings while you ignore all actual evidence...

I don't post in this thread often, but can we not mock people for having their own opinions about this thing? We've been hearing about this damn device for a few YEARS now. It never seems to get any closer. We have no evidence for it releasing next year, just as we had no evidence of it releasing this year, just as we have no evidence in it releasing in 2024. All we know are specs that may or may not be still accurate. NONE of us know any better than the other.

 

[lucapfstr]

It doesn't really matter what it is, we can definitely expect new hardware next year. Nintendo likes do do iterations, but it could also be time for a new generation. Either way, new hardware has released every two years since the Switch launched, so it's reasonable to imagine that continues.

 

[LiC]

I don't post in this thread often, but can we not mock people for having their own opinions about this thing?

I don't think a catty GIF is that offensive. But okay, I edited it out.

We have no evidence for it releasing next year, just as we had no evidence of it releasing this year, just as we have no evidence in it releasing in 2024. All we know are specs that may or may not be still accurate. NONE of us know any better than the other.

Somebody says "it's not coming before 2024" and I say "yes it is." We're both stating opinions.

We've been hearing about this damn device for a few YEARS now. It never seems to get any closer.

Well... yeah... It can't "seem to get any closer" because you don't know when it's going to happen. The whole point of what I just said is that there is no replicable pattern of public or leaked information that you can expect to follow the development of Nintendo hardware projects. Sometimes we get leaks, sometimes we don't. Using the supposed absence of certain info, with no basis in what actually happened ahead of the release of other Nintendo systems, to predict a release window doesn't make any sense.

As for hearing about it for years and the malaise that's causing people, I'll just quote myself:

But being in this thread every day and talking every day about how it's not happening yet and thinking about it all the time will stretch that timeline into an eternity. Let's acknowledge that while speculation and discussion and debate are fun, there is a level of spiraling engagement with a subject like this that can become exhausting, and color perceptions of the hardware situation itself.

 

[the_marmolade]

It might be stupid to ask, but do we even know Dev kits are in hand with third-party devs? Besides the Bloomberg report in 2021, I haven't seen any reputable site or journalist mentioning that devs have gotten hands-on with the machine.

I believe OLED Dev Kit could output 4k though that wasn't meant for retail how back in the day PS3 Devs kit could output 1200p or 1440p natively just for Dev benefits.

 

[Magic-Man]

I don't think a catty GIF is that offensive. But okay, I edited it out.


Somebody says "it's not coming before 2024" and I say "yes it is." We're both stating opinions.


Well... yeah... It can't "seem to get any closer" because you don't know when it's going to happen. The whole point of what I just said is that there is no replicable pattern of public or leaked information that you can expect to follow the development of Nintendo hardware projects. Sometimes we get leaks, sometimes we don't. Using the supposed absence of certain info, with no basis in what actually happened ahead of the release of other Nintendo systems, to predict a release window doesn't make any sense.

As for hearing about it for years and the malaise that's causing people, I'll just quote myself:

I didn't mean to sound annoyed. My apologies. I have just become exhausted by all the "Switch Pro/2 is coming soon guys it's right around the corner get hyped" and the evidence is just a bunch of leaked specs that are probably outdated and insiders saying that dev kits are in publishers hands despite those claims being pretty old now. It feels like we've been claiming this thing is happening in a few months for several years now, taking speculation to extreme lengths (AKA rumors like Mario + Rabbids footage is from Switch Pro or something is at unlocked framerate to take advantage of future tech). I personally think this is coming in 2024. We'd have a lot more RECENT evidence if it was launching sooner.

 

[Terrell]

I didn't mean to sound annoyed. My apologies. I have just become exhausted by all the "Switch Pro/2 is coming soon guys it's right around the corner get hyped" and the evidence is just a bunch of leaked specs that are probably outdated and insiders saying that dev kits are in publishers hands despite those claims being pretty old now. It feels like we've been claiming this thing is happening in a few months for several years now, taking speculation to extreme lengths (AKA rumors like Mario + Rabbids footage is from Switch Pro or something is at unlocked framerate to take advantage of future tech). I personally think this is coming in 2024. We'd have a lot more RECENT evidence if it was launching sooner.

I mean... you don't walk up to a dev kit, push a button, dev kit go brrrr and a game pops out. Games take several years to make now, sometimes half a decade depending on the game. So hearing about dev kits back in 2020 or so is pretty much expected behaviour if you want a game device with 3rd-party games on it. And honestly, if the CPU and GPU info we got is out of date, when we consider that such info blew past most expectations from the reasonable folks around here, you'll forgive me if I fail to see the negative.

You can't paint everyone here with the same brush you use for people unrealistically saying "any minute now" for the past 2 years or so. I know I've been pushing 2023 (and 2024 if something goes horribly wrong) for over a year now, if only because that conformed to the cadence with which Nintendo releases new hardware and the information we had, even back then. Impatient nail-biters are going to do what they do, but let's get real, there's plenty of highly reasonable people around here who are quite steadfast in their expectations, timing, etc. And all information received since has been pretty well exactly what we thought was happening outside of the spec nitty-gritty.

 

[arsen]

if we don’t get anything soon, I’m inclined to agree.

Did we got any solid info about what was the Switch OLED right before it was announced? Because from what I remember on Era everyone was expecting Dane (or whatever it was called back then) until the actual announcement.

 

[Link_enfant]

If it is possible to download patched and improved versions of some major games published by Nintendo that you already had on the original Switch, this will make one more reason for the strong installed player base to "switch" to the new generation.

Being able to play Zelda, Xenoblade or Bayonetta in better conditions can't hurt. from a marketing point of view.

This time around, Nintendo won't be able to rely as much on Wii U games that a lot of people haven't played to fill in the gaps in the schedule.

I wonder if at some point they will include Gamecube and Wii games in NSO but only on Drake. That would suck, but unfortunately it seems plausible.

Proper "ports" like Mario Sunshine & Galaxy in 3D Collection could work, but emulation as it's currently used for NSO titles would be hard to optimize on current Switch as far as I know.
Maybe not as problematic as SNES on standard 3DS, but it could still be a reason - and a selling point - to make those Drake exclusives.
They've allowed pretty bad N64 emulation state though, especially at release, so I really don't know if they'd go for it.

 

[bixente]

It might be stupid to ask, but do we even know Dev kits are in hand with third-party devs? Besides the Bloomberg report in 2021, I haven't seen any reputable site or journalist mentioning that devs have gotten hands-on with the machine.

I believe OLED Dev Kit could output 4k though that wasn't meant for retail how back in the day PS3 Devs kit could output 1200p or 1440p natively just for Dev benefits.

Tbh that Bloomberg report is the only report necessary given how reputable they are.

Also in September we had that info from the Linux kernel that according to posters like zomble, indicates the chip is in a production state.

 

[Hermii]

Did we got any solid info about what was the Switch OLED right before it was announced? Because from what I remember on Era everyone was expecting Dane (or whatever it was called back then) until the actual announcement.

Yea the oled was daamined but nobody wanted to believe it. Especially after Bloomberg.

 

[Seboss]

If it is possible to download patched and improved versions of some major games published by Nintendo that you already had on the original Switch, this will make one more reason for the strong installed player base to "switch" to the new generation.

Sony and Microsoft have been doing it since the PS4 Pro / Xbox One X and it's a clear win-win between player's experience and marketing the new platform, and that's exactly why I don't see Nintendo doing it.

Nintendo loves sitting on their games and reselling their audience the same stuff over and over again. They had the opportunity twice to offer players to keep their VC games and cross-gen games when transitioning to the new platform, first with the Wii U then with the Switch. They never did. Instead, they pivoted to a subscription system for VC which means you never own the games in the first place. Since the release of Switch, they have been publishing HD versions and Remasters left and right that sometime do only the bare minimum, generally at full-price and they've been massively successful.

The "patched and improved" scenario assumes Nintendo markets Drake as a continuation of the Switch brand, an iteration. If they market it at its own next-gen platform, I'm pretty damn sure they'll do everything to make sure Switch games don't run significantly better on Drake if at all, and then proceed to sell us full-priced ports or HD/remastered versions.

As more time passes and the closer we get to the inevitable end of the Switch lifecycle, the more pessimistic I become about BC, Switch games running better and let alone "next-gen" patches. I hope I'm wrong, I know Nintendo is not entirely immune to change, but the odds are not looking so good to me.

 

[Bosintang]

Tbh that Bloomberg report is the only report necessary given how reputable they are.

Those are the same people who mixed up the OLED model with the next generation model. And who mixed up the Mariko revision for a model geared toward enthusiasts in 2019 (a switch "pro").
While they do have, probably, pieces of real information, there's at least a pattern of diluting those info with their own speculation and not labeling as such the said speculations.

 

[arsen]

Yea the oled was daamined but nobody wanted to believe it. Especially after Bloomberg.

Totally forgot about the datamine, but other than that I don't recall anyone outside of bloomberg that had anything about Nintendo's future hardware. Other than a random article about the specs of the new dock which turned out to be true.

 

[Vash_the_Stampede]

RISC-V
Worrying about BC in 2035

I just want to get 2023 Drake right

 

[HankyPanky]

a data breach
points the way
legends in the sky

 

[Hermii]

Totally forgot about the datamine, but other than that I don't recall anyone outside of bloomberg that had anything about Nintendo's future hardware. Other than a random article about the specs of the new dock which turned out to be true.

There was definitely articles/ leaks about Oled panels, most just assumed they were for the DLSS model.

 

[Skittzo]

I'm really surprised there hasn't been any critical detail since last year basically. If it's coming anytime soon, you'd think leaks/hearsays would be more rampant, not less rampant

This... Is not even remotely true though? We just had a major leak in August confirming T239 has 8 CPU cores.


Reminder: major hardware leaks do not happen this time of year, everyone in the supply chain is way too busy trying to sell the things they currently have on the market to worry about leaking something that's coming soon.

Mid January is when I think we might start hearing a bit more.

 

[Serif]

Nintendo loves sitting on their games and reselling their audience the same stuff over and over again. They had the opportunity twice to offer players to keep their VC games and cross-gen games when transitioning to the new platform, first with the Wii U then with the Switch. They never did. Instead, they pivoted to a subscription system for VC which means you never own the games in the first place. Since the release of Switch, they have been publishing HD versions and Remasters left and right that sometime do only the bare minimum, generally at full-price and they've been massively successful.

Wii VC purchases could be played on the Wii U without a fee. There was an upgrade fee for the 'native' Wii U version, but it didn't require rebuying the game.

The Wii U ports on Switch - I mean, it makes sense to me. The Wii U was not a popular platform, there is no existing compatibility between it and Switch. The dev time invested in porting those games over would have been worth it. For many people including me, these were basically new games. Meanwhile the Switch is a successful platform with its games still selling at full price. It would be a waste of dev time to push out new SKUs for every single popular Switch game out there, as the chances of folks rebuying them shrink. I'm just not convinced. They can spend less dev time, waste less plastic and still sell the same seven-year old games at full price by providing upscaling patches which would still be the 'bare minimum'.

Also the whole 'reselling their audience the same stuff over and over' idea... the only examples I can think of are VC and the Wii U ports. They otherwise didn't do this sort of thing with the BC on Wii -> Wii U, DS -> 3DS, GB -> GBA, etc. It's not like enhanced BC would stop ports or remasters.
And as I've said there was a transfer fee between the Wii and Wii U VC, there may be a fee between the Switch and Switch 2.

As more time passes and the closer we get to the inevitable end of the Switch lifecycle, the more pessimistic I become about BC, Switch games running better and let alone "next-gen" patches. I hope I'm wrong, I know Nintendo is not entirely immune to change, but the odds are not looking so good to me.

Some Switch games like BotW have already been patched to use the CPU boost mode for better loading times. I think this sets an interesting precedent for them to improve a select few games with patches when there is no 'need' to do so - this patch was in 2019. I also do not think these 'next-gen' patches will be so involved i.e. I don't think they'll suddenly add raytracing to XC3, but they can tweak the values already present in the game engine like LoD and AA. I think this will vary per developer. The unfortunate part is that I think this will be limited to a few evergreens and recent titles. Homebrew overclockers stay winning :'(

 

[daybreak]

If they market it at its own next-gen platform, I'm pretty damn sure they'll do everything to make sure Switch games don't run significantly better on Drake if at all, and then proceed to sell us full-priced ports or HD/remastered versions.

...of Switch games? That's a very cynical take on what Nintendo's strategy has been with remasters.

WiiU titles got enhanced ports to the Switch because no one played them - they are brand new games to 90+% of Switch owners. It was a good mix of "this makes perfect business sense" for Nintendo and genuinely nice for people like me who didn't own a WiiU.

Wii titles that are now being remastered are a decade+ years old and trapped on a system reliant on an odd input method. Again, it's a logical business case to port favourites to Switch to sell a bunch of copies and make those games more accessible.

I agree on the Virtual Console stuff, but I also think the easy answer is that a) the contracts weren't written with future platforms in mind and b) it simply was not anywhere near as popular as people think.

Virtual Console aside, I definitely would push back on "Nintendo likes to sell their customers the same product over and over" as I don't think that's true at all. They won't try to re-sell Switch games on a Switch 2 - the WiiU is the only time they've really done that in immediate subsequent console releases, and it made perfect sense for them to do it.

 

[manfromthedam]

It might be stupid to ask, but do we even know Dev kits are in hand with third-party devs? Besides the Bloomberg report in 2021, I haven't seen any reputable site or journalist mentioning that devs have gotten hands-on with the machine.

Digital Foundry's Rich Leadbetter mentioned on one of the live streams / DF Directs that dev kits are out and have been for a while, and new Nintendo hardware after 6 years isn't unexpected.

 

[Hermii]

This... Is not even remotely true though? We just had a major leak in August confirming T239 has 8 CPU cores.


Reminder: major hardware leaks do not happen this time of year, everyone in the supply chain is way too busy trying to sell the things they currently have on the market to worry about leaking something that's coming soon.

Mid January is when I think we might start hearing a bit more.

Technically not a leak though. Those Linux commits are public.

Just good old fashioned detective work.

 

[Seboss]

Wii VC purchases could be played on the Wii U without a fee. There was an upgrade fee for the 'native' Wii U version, but it didn't require rebuying the game.

I forgot about this, probably because I didn't bother to do it and there's been so much moaning about having to re-buy VC games, I wrongly assumed there was no other options.

The Wii U ports on Switch - I mean, it makes sense to me. The Wii U was not a popular platform, there is no existing compatibility between it and Switch. The dev time invested in porting those games over would have been worth it. For many people including me, these were basically new games.

It does perfectly make sense. I'm not implying Nintendo did anything scummy here. But they did sell bazillions of copies of previous-gen games mostly at full-price. I agree the Switch is an entirely different situation, but it might be very tempting for accountants to try and pull the same trick again.

Some Switch games like BotW have already been patched to use the CPU boost mode for better loading times. I think this sets an interesting precedent for them to improve a select few games with patches when there is no 'need' to do so - this patch was in 2019. I also do not think these 'next-gen' patches will be so involved i.e. I don't think they'll suddenly add raytracing to XC3, but they can tweak the values already present in the game engine like LoD and AA. I think this will vary per developer. The unfortunate part is that I think this will be limited to a few evergreens and recent titles. Homebrew overclockers stay winning :'(

It's true. They even added VR support to a few games (for what good it did for Labo sales...) which probably was more effort than using CPU boost mode for loading. It certainly demonstrates that Nintendo is not against revisiting some games to improve them and/or promote another product. Like a new console. Ok, all things considered, the odds for some improved games on Drake might not look so dire.

...of Switch games? That's a very cynical take on what Nintendo's strategy has been with remasters.

WiiU titles got enhanced ports to the Switch because no one played them - they are brand new games to 90+% of Switch owners. It was a good mix of "this makes perfect business sense" for Nintendo and genuinely nice for people like me who didn't own a WiiU.

Right. I already admitted as much. Not porting actually good games that just flew under everyone would have made zero sense, and probably angered a lot of people. I am being cynical for the sake of conversation. However, Nintendo is in a very good situation right now, and I'm definitely worried that they might abuse this position and make some silly decisions.

Virtual Console aside, I definitely would push back on "Nintendo likes to sell their customers the same product over and over" as I don't think that's true at all. They won't try to re-sell Switch games on a Switch 2 - the WiiU is the only time they've really done that in immediate subsequent console releases, and it made perfect sense for them to do it.

I sincerely hope that's true. At this point, I believe some form of BC is a given but not that Nintendo will go to extreme lengths to improve Switch games on Drake. I also wouldn't be surprised to see next-gen remasters of early Switch games in the next two years if Drake does come out in 2023.

 

[AxkilAvenger]

I forgot about this, probably because I didn't bother to do it and there's been so much moaning about having to re-buy VC games, I wrongly assumed there was no other options.

It does perfectly make sense. I'm not implying Nintendo did anything scummy here. But they did sell bazillions of copies of previous-gen games mostly at full-price. I agree the Switch is an entirely different situation, but it might be very tempting for accountants to try and pull the same trick again.


It's true. They even added VR support to a few games (for what good it did for Labo sales...) which probably was more effort than using CPU boost mode for loading. It certainly demonstrates that Nintendo is not against revisiting some games to improve them and/or promote another product. Like a new console. Ok, all things considered, the odds for some improved games on Drake might not look so dire.


Right. I already admitted as much. Not porting actually good games that just flew under everyone would have made zero sense, and probably angered a lot of people. I am being cynical for the sake of conversation. However, Nintendo is in a very good situation right now, and I'm definitely worried that they might abuse this position and make some silly decisions.

I sincerely hope that's true. At this point, I believe some form of BC is a given but not that Nintendo will go to extreme lengths to improve Switch games on Drake. I also wouldn't be surprised to see next-gen remasters of early Switch games in the next two years if Drake does come out in 2023.

Gimme ARMS remaster with a couple new characters and a proper story mode

 

[Dakhil]

Nintendo has had an ARM chip in every handheld since the GBA - they'll move on only if ARM-The-Company puts them in a position where they feel they have to, or if RISC-V makes huge leaps. And RISC-V is most likely to make huge leaps if ARM, Holdings screws a lot of people over, which it would very much like to do.

Although not applicable to Nintendo right now, Nvidia's attempted acquisition of Arm, and Arm's lawsuit against Qualcomm and Nuvia, certainly isn't doing Arm any favours.

 

[Serif]

I sincerely hope that's true. At this point, I believe some form of BC is a given but not that Nintendo will go to extreme lengths to improve Switch games on Drake. I also wouldn't be surprised to see next-gen remasters of early Switch games in the next two years if Drake does come out in 2023.

I appreciate your response. I'm also concerned about the degree of improvement for possible Drake patches, but it's been an exercise in frustration and excessive hyperbole when trying to discuss Nintendo BC in other places, so I'm glad that's not the case here.

I could see a BotW Drake patch being a straight 4K upgrade and a BotW DX edition being a proper next-gen remaster with texture / model upgrades, 60 FPS, ray-tracing and all the DLC. But we'll have to wait and see how TotK pans out, and if it comes out with Drake, how big the cross-gen improvements are.

 

[Bonejack]

Nintendo will surely release pro-patches for their evergreens, dunno if i would expect patches for other Nintendo games though.

 

[Seboss]

Gimme ARMS remaster with a couple new characters and a proper story mode

Isn't it basically ARMS 2 at this point?
I had a lot of fun with the game, including online up to the point where everybody was just spamming grabs and eventually lost interest just like everyone. I'd pay $60 for a new game with a story mode as you say. New characters would be nice, but I'd rather have new mechanics and special moves for the existing ones.

Getting a little off-topic there, sorry.

I could see a BotW Drake patch being a straight 4K upgrade and a BotW DX edition being a proper next-gen remaster with texture / model upgrades, 60 FPS, ray-tracing and all the DLC. But we'll have to wait and see how TotK pans out, and if it comes out with Drake, how big the cross-gen improvements are.

I wonder about that. Maybe a few months after TotK release, otherwise that could cause some confusion.

 

[Hermii]

I appreciate your response. I'm also concerned about the degree of improvement for possible Drake patches, but it's been an exercise in frustration and excessive hyperbole when trying to discuss Nintendo BC in other places, so I'm glad that's not the case here.

I could see a BotW Drake patch being a straight 4K upgrade and a BotW DX edition being a proper next-gen remaster with texture / model upgrades, 60 FPS, ray-tracing and all the DLC. But we'll have to wait and see how TotK pans out, and if it comes out with Drake, how big the cross-gen improvements are.

I dont think Nintendo would want botw1 to look better than botw2 in any circumstances.

 

[Serif]

I dont think Nintendo would want botw1 to look better than botw2 in any circumstances.

I agree, like I said we'll have to wait and see how TotK pans out. I am fingers crossed not just for Drake + TotK Day 1, but for the next-gen version of TotK to have all the bells and whistles, 60 fps, some form of raytracing etc. One can dream.

----

For anyone interesting in improving current Switch IQ, here's a good vid analyzing the two popular upscalers.
I don't think this video shows the mClassic in a favorable light, the differences don't come across when viewing it on a small screen.
(also I'm glad this video encourages just turning up TV sharpness to a reasonable extent, feels like folks are allergic to that)

 

[Concernt]

I appreciate your response. I'm also concerned about the degree of improvement for possible Drake patches, but it's been an exercise in frustration and excessive hyperbole when trying to discuss Nintendo BC in other places, so I'm glad that's not the case here.

I could see a BotW Drake patch being a straight 4K upgrade and a BotW DX edition being a proper next-gen remaster with texture / model upgrades, 60 FPS, ray-tracing and all the DLC. But we'll have to wait and see how TotK pans out, and if it comes out with Drake, how big the cross-gen improvements are.

It would be an insult to have those changes be Deluxe only. However I could definitely see a Witcher 3 approach. The base game gets updated with all the next gen assets and a new version, Complete Edition, comes out with all the DLC, costumes, extras, and the next gen patch on disk (or on cartridge in this case).

Maybe I am being too hopeful, I would buy Deluxe anyway.

 

[LiC]

We'd have a lot more RECENT evidence if it was launching sooner.

I just don't agree. There's no pattern that you can expect where, if you don't see it happening, that means hardware isn't happening. And even if there was, if we base this theory on what actually happened ahead of other Nintendo hardware launches, there's no reason to conclude that this one is missing some sort of milestones that the others hit.

Original Switch:

Event	Date	Before Reveal	Before Release	After Development
Development starts	August 2014	26 months	31 months	---
Announcement	March 2015	19 months	24 months	7 months
Hybrid/Tegra leak	July 2016	3 months	8 months	23 months
Reveal	October 2016	---	5 months	26 months
Production leak	November 2016	-1 month	4 months	27 months
Specs leak	December 2016	-2 months	3 months	28 months
Games leak*	January 2017	-3 months	2 months	29 months
Release	March 2017	-5 months	---	31 months

*And this one only happened because Nintendo had to set up physical demo spaces with the games in them.

We are currently at somewhere between 24 and 35 months since development of the new Switch model began, and if it's releasing next year, somewhere between 1 and 12 months away from its release. We already had our equivalent to the July 2016 leaks (and then some) last year, and the next two, production and specs, were much closer to launch than we likely are now.

So even if we indulge in the belief in patterns to the maximum extent, it still doesn't mean that we're missing some kind of leak timeline to indicate hardware is happening.

 

[Kingpin722]

Just personal feelings, but I think it’s still very possible for the 2023 release of the new Switch. With all the momentum from the Mario movie, Super Nintendo World, and Tears of the Kingdom, Switch 2023 seems to be a great setting.

Plus, Nintendo has made it routine to only announce things that are imminent during the Switch life cycle. The past few years we have rarely had a clue of their upcoming release schedule beyond 6 months, and those years generally turned out great. And it’s basically the same for 2023. I wish more publishers would take this approach as announcing games that are practically 2+ years out makes no sense.

We’ve heard about Switch 2 for a while now so I wouldn’t be surprised if the announcement and release were just a few months apart.

 

[Josh5890]

Just checking in. I'm still on team March 2023 for no other reason than my gut.

 

[arsen]

for no other reason than my gut.

Just like anyone else posting a specific date at this point (minus botw2 timing theory)

 

[Dakhil]

The question is how soon is Nvidia and/or Nintendo going to shift from Arm to RISC-V?

Qualcomm talks up RISC-V, roasts 'legacy architecture'

Sees opportunity on one side, dictatorial control on the other

www.theregister.com

 

[Bonejack]

Just checking in. I'm still on team March 2023 for no other reason than my gut.

Aka the second best reason after facts.

 

[Hocot8]

Don't make me tap the "there were zero leaks about NX until July 2016, zero leaks about manufacturing until November 2016, zero leaks with concrete specs until December 2016, and zero leaks about games until January 2017" sign.

We've known so much more about the upcoming new Switch model for so much longer than we did with the original Switch, even though the original Switch was something Nintendo had announced ahead of time and there was huge mainstream interest in rumors and leaks for it. It's hilarious to see people claiming that a lack of info is why they doubt a release window an entire year ahead.

As for predicting 2024 based on nothing but your gut feelings while you ignore all actual evidence... We'll see.

This is the arrogance that I was talking about before. It's this shit that makes this probably the worst thread on this site. I really don't think at this point anybody should be confident in their OPINION about what may or may not be coming soon lol. There's a lot of great speculation here, but there's also a couple of you that are supermetaldaving it.

 

[Truno]

Opening of Super Nintendo World, premiere of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the launch of their biggest game seems like a lightning in a bottle marketing scenario. If it doesn't launch during that period, then I guess Nintendo is very confident

 

[Brofield]

Just checking in. I'm still on team March 2023 for no other reason than my gut.

March 2023 is my hope, prediction and deadline for an announcement

I just want to know the damn thing exists through official channels before I bow out of here completely for the sake of my sanity lmao

 

[Aether]

Opening of Super Nintendo World, premiere of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the launch of their biggest game seems like a lightning in a bottle marketing scenario. If it doesn't launch during that period, then I guess Nintendo is very confident

They... don't need to.
If its a switch but better, it will sell. They wont manage to fulfill orders in the beginning. So either they sell out in 10 minutes or in 5, no difference.

What they need is
a) showing that it does look way better (--> having some games for that)
b) showing that it can support current gen ports
c) being better then the steam deck for less money

with those fulfilled it will be out of stock for probably the first year.

 

[Hermii]

If one of the main benefits of RISC-V is more freedom to do your own designs, I don't see Nintendo jumping ship from ARM, as they don't seem interested in that anyway.