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

[Sol]

So....

• Pokemon DLC leaker saying graphics patch for new Switch to be released alongside DLC2
• Eurogamer report earlier in the week from Tom Phillips saying Nintendo is "keen" on launching sooner than the second half of 2024
• Nate hearing vague mentions of "March 2024" among developers.

Seems to me like multiple points are starting to align for a launch in the first half of 2024.

 

[Concernt]

Nothing released between late 22 and mid 23.

Oh I was thinking of OLED Model.

 

[Herb Alpert]

So, with all these leaks, nothing yet on a “gimmick”. Could this be just a more powerful Switch?

The smell o vision will blow your mind

 

[P4bl0]

So....

• Pokemon DLC leaker saying graphics patch for new Switch to be released alongside DLC2
• Eurogamer report earlier in the week from Tom Phillips saying Nintendo is "keen" on launching sooner than the second half of 2024
• Nate hearing vague mentions of "March 2024" among developers.

Seems to me like multiple points are starting to align for a launch in the first half of 2024.

We also have MoneyDJ, TechInsights reports, @necrolipe confident about H1 and

 

[Concernt]

March 15th - white body with green and orange joy-cons confirmed!

Given what the orange represents, I doubt they'd do that.

But WOW would that be BEAUTIFUL.

 

[D36]

we already sorting into #teamreveal and #teamrelease huh?

#teamrelease

 

[Hocot8]

What an interesting video. I think in June/July I was mostly in the 2nd half of 2024 side of things, but something about a May-ish release nagged at me. I was probably 75% 2nd half and 25% 1st half. Can't say I still feel that way lmfao. I'd be surprised with a March release but we'll find out in the next 6-10 weeks lol.

 

[Hermii]

#teamneither

 

[Goblin_knight]

Honestly it feels like people had their expatiations way too low this time. 4K 60fps for BOTW a crossgen WiiU game doesn't seem that outrageous even without DLSS.

 

[BassForever]

If I had to guess I'd say

March reveal > March deadline to get titles done if you want to be available at launch > March release date

I think we'd be hearing a lot more concrete rumors if the hardware we being revealed in the next 6-8 weeks.

 

[Goodtwin]

And just like that March 2024 is back on the table. If March 2024 was a topic of discussion, then I feel like it leans towards a target release date rather than a reveal. If your briefing developers on the new system, its not really important to inform them on when the public will see the reveal, but they would need to be given some indication on when they were looking to release the system. I did find it curious that the idea of a January reveal and a March release was considered unlikely, but a reveal in March with a June release was considered reasonable. I stand by the idea that a teaser trailer in October would not have any meaningful effect on Switch sales. This news would not reach your average consumer who will be purchasing a Switch this year. Or perhaps Nintendo sees no need for a long build up of marketing ahead of release.

MVG made mention of developers needing about a year to have games ready and we first hear the rumors of dev kits going out in early July. So dev kits likely were in key partners hands no later than June of this year. Nintendo's internal teams would have had development hardware for much much longer and will have many titles ready to roll out over the months following release. Perhaps there are select third party titles that Nintendo wants to have for launch day, so they could partner with them offering assistance to speed up the porting process.

I would assume that when Switch started manufacturing there was a target volume to be manufactured and demand ended up exceeding what Nintendo had anticipated. Is it not possible for Nintendo to have its manufacturing partners positioned to manufacture far more units per month compared to what they had requested for Switch? Nintendo may not need to stock pile tons of SNG units ahead of launch if they can manufacture two million units per month. Have three to five million ready to go for launch day with capacity to manufacture two million units per month, allowing them to supply over twenty million units in its first year on the market. They have been able to manufacture over twenty million Switch units in a year multiple times years of Switch's life, so preparing for this type of volume from a manufacturing target may be well within their capacity to do so.

 

[Deleted member 2]

We also have MoneyDJ, TechInsights reports, @necrolipe confident about H1 and * Hidden text: cannot be quoted. *

Wasn't MoneyDJ proven entirely irrelevant?

 

[D36]

Team 2023 release date

March 2024 is the end of the fiscal year. IT COUNTS!!!!

 

[Deleted member 5146]

TotK DLC? Nah.

TotK Definitive Edition with new Master Mode? Jack_Nicholson_Yes.gif

I'm still holding onto the possibility of a significant expansion being part of a next-gen launch title lineup, primarily because Fujibayashi has only recently stated they're beginning to come up with ideas for the next Zelda while a few months ago Aonuma said they finished it last spring but spent the next year 'working on polish' (no doubt they did, but the entire work year? Nah)

So from Tears of the Kingdom being effectively completed to plans for the next Zelda transitioning from ideas to pre-production, there'll be between 15 to 18 months worth of unaccounted for time that could be spent on this launch expansion

 

[P4bl0]

Wasn't MoneyDJ proven entirely irrelevant?

No, just the second PixArt report was apparently their own speculation, but the first one about Foxconn metal cases supplier hasn't been debunked

 

[YolkFolk]

We genuinely could be looking at a 4K60 version of Metroid Prime 4.

Can you imagine?

 

[Deleted member 2]

No, just the second PixArt report was apparently their own speculation, but the first one about Foxconn metal cases supplier hasn't been debunked

Siiiick

 

[Hermii]

Honestly it feels like people had their expatiations way too low this time. 4K 60fps for BOTW a crossgen WiiU game doesn't seem that outrageous even without DLSS.

6 times the pixels, double framerate.It would be impressive without dlss.

 

[Concernt]

If I had to guess I'd say

March reveal > March deadline to get titles done if you want to be available at launch > March release date

I think we'd be hearing a lot more concrete rumors if the hardware we being revealed in the next 6-8 weeks.

??? We have extremely concrete rumours, though?

 

[ShadowFox08]

Honestly it feels like people had their expatiations way too low this time. 4K 60fps for BOTW a crossgen WiiU game doesn't seem that outrageous even without DLSS.

Question is if they were able to pull it natively and without using DLSS

I wouldn't be surprised if they have an RT mode.

We genuinely could be looking at a 4K60 version of Metroid Prime 4.

Can you imagine?

Yep! I personally imagine MP4 would target similar performance and resolution as MPR. Up to 900fps and targeting 60fps on Switch docked (600-720p on handheld). Didn't XB3 and Totk use some kind of upscaling FSR too btw?

4k 60fps with higher quality textures, shadows, particle effects, maybe even higher polygons.

I'm expecting a doom 2016 Switch vs PS4 scenario (not a.blurry mess like Doom Switch. Though )Except resolution is even better.

I think this game will be grounded on Switch most likely vs built for Switch 2 and down downscaled.

 

[oracion]

Mochizuki, you are next.

 

[Lancelot]

6 times the pixels, double framerate.It would be impressive without dlss.

A true generational leap, indeed. Drake should definitely hold 4k/60 on BOTW, they're just using DLSS to keep those 60s steady me thinks.

 

[Hermii]

A true generational leap, indeed. Drake should definitely hold 4k/60 on BOTW, they're just using DLSS to keep those 60s steady me thinks.

That, or increase settings

 

[LinkURL]

Honestly it feels like people had their expatiations way too low this time. 4K 60fps for BOTW a crossgen WiiU game doesn't seem that outrageous even without DLSS.

In fact, it's a jump of 11x the number of pixels per second, it's quite considerable.

 

[kvetcha]

??? We have extremely concrete rumours, though?

i feel like 'extremely concrete' and 'rumors' are mutually exclusive

 

[carbvan]

I can't go anywhere online with discussions about this system without seeing someone dismiss it with "it's Nintendo". I really don't think 3 different game journalism sites would all report the same thing if it wasn't true.

 

[Lancelot]

In fact, it's a jump of 11x the number of pixels per second, it's quite considerable.

Incredibly enough, I recall those were the discussed measures for the system when putting Ampere efficiencies and 3.4 TFLOPS on the table... 11x jump over the original in practice.

 

[mjayer]

March 2024 "BACK" on the table?! Psh! Some of us never took 2023 off the table, and I still don't!

My new calculus:

2023: 2%
H1 2024: 78%
H2 2024: 20%

 

[LiC]

The reason this is even discussed is because of how much they got right, which is everything apart from the last bit which is unproven. This wasn't just a "saw the presentation a few days early" thing either, the content they talked about spanned multiple months of reveals.

There's always the chance they're a good guesser, or tacked on the bit on the end just to be a troll, but I think it's worth keeping in mind.

I need a macro response to this...

The only things in their post that weren't part of that week's presentation were "new Terrastal appearance" (a vague, easy guess) and their claims about hardware, which are yet unproven. And even if new hardware launches in early 2024, but it doesn't include a graphics enhancement patch for SV, then the leak was still bullshit.

 

[kvetcha]

March 2024 "BACK" on the table?! Psh! Some of us never took 2023 off the table, and I still don't!

My new calculus:

2023: 2%

optimistic!

 

[eye0h]

So....

• Pokemon DLC leaker saying graphics patch for new Switch to be released alongside DLC2
• Eurogamer report earlier in the week from Tom Phillips saying Nintendo is "keen" on launching sooner than the second half of 2024
• Nate hearing vague mentions of "March 2024" among developers.

Seems to me like multiple points are starting to align for a launch in the first half of 2024.

We are so back.

 

[P4bl0]

I can't go anywhere online with discussions about this system without seeing someone dismiss it with "it's Nintendo". I really don't think 3 different game journalism sites would all report the same thing if it wasn't true.

Yeah, everyone is looking down severely on Nintendo and this is quite condescending, let's not forget that the turtle wins the race in the end.

 

[ShadowFox08]

A true generational leap, indeed. Drake should definitely hold 4k/60 on BOTW, they're just using DLSS to keep those 60s steady me thinks.

So they would need 5.76x pixels/computing power on pixels alone. And then we have doubling of the framerates.

We've seen a modded Switch run 60fps on botw. Not sure if it was mostly a CPU thing or CPU, and GPU. I'm thinking 1080p would have been possible if lpddr4x 33 GB/s RAM was available to use.

I mean in theory, if Drake is an 3 Tflops machine, I think should be able to to do 4k 60fps given the GPU, CPU and bandwidth, at least if its not emulated, right? But ported they should. I dunno about patched version..

 

[Ghostsonplanets]

DF Weekly: How plausible is the Switch 2 Matrix Awakens demo report?

With both Eurogamer and Video Games Chronicle discussing the behind-the-scenes demos of Switch at Gamescom last month, …

www.eurogamer.net

Relevant excerpts:

The new hardware will deliver a proper generational leap over the Tegra X1-powered hybrid, while the use of a more modern Nvidia architecture opens the door to a wealth of exciting opportunities. However, even if the stories concerning The Matrix Awakens running on target spec hardware with DLSS and ray tracing are true, that doesn't automatically mean we're getting a handheld with the ballpark performance on an Xbox Series S. As always with console hardware - especially Nintendo console hardware - Expectations need to be managed.

Of course, Switch 2 will have some advantages that the other systems don't have - and a lot of that is down to the Nvidia collaboration. Just like its predecessor, we should expect the new Switch to be a hybrid console, based on Nvidia's Tegra T239 - a custom off-shoot of the T234 used primarily by the automative industry (the various leaks and LinkedIn mentions about the T239 confirm that it does actually exist!). However, it will also be extremely power-limited by typical console standards, meaning performance expectations need to be couched by reality.

The use of technologies like DLSS and more potent ray tracing hardware may give the system a 'leg up' over AMD-based consoles, but I'd venture to say it's not enough to match Series S performance - sheer brute force compute and memory bandwidth is difficult to overcome in the mobile domain. On the flip side, it's eminently believable that The Matrix Awakens could run on a Switch successor, not just because of those architectual advantages, but also because the latest Unreal Engine 5.2 is so much more performant than the version used to build The Matrix Awakens back in the day.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's mooted tech demo is an altogether different proposition, sounding more like a practical example of how DLSS can be transformational for consoles - but again, context is king and we don't have any. Our understanding is that the demo runs at 60 frames per second with a 4K output target, but with DLSS's various quality levels, the native internal resolution could be anything from 720p upwards (Switch 1 runs at 720p30 in mobile mode, 900p30 docked).

 

[kvetcha]

So they would need 5.76x pixels/computing power on pixels alone. And then we have doubling of the framerates.

We've seen a modded Switch run 60fps on botw. Not sure if it was mostly a CPU thing or CPU, and GPU. I'm thinking 1080p would have been possible if lpddr4x 33 GB/s RAM was available to use.

All that aside, it sounds like the resolution/framerate weren't even the point of the demo. I don't know that Nintendo's expecting oohs and ahhs for that facet of the hardware.

 

[Deleted member 5146]

Would there even be enough Switch units to stretch out until later next year anyway? My understanding is some key components used in its production have since been discontinued over the last year or two so the material to produce whatever-million units Nintendo is likely to be still sitting on would represent a final stockpile, and I think we're starting to see a decline in retail availability in places, March 2024 makes sense not just because the Switch is approaching a saturation point, but because it may signal the end to the period where supply could easily accommodate projected demand

 

[Discostew]

A true generational leap, indeed. Drake should definitely hold 4k/60 on BOTW, they're just using DLSS to keep those 60s steady me thinks.

An 11x increase in pixels, but I honestly think DLSS is being used on 1080p60 output because of RAM bandwidth.

 

[Lancelot]

Honestly it feels like people had their expatiations way too low this time. 4K 60fps for BOTW a crossgen WiiU game doesn't seem that outrageous even without DLSS.

If anything, we grossly underestimated Switch's 2 power. As long as these results are indeed 4k/60, that's indeed 11x the pixels per second. Jesus.

 

[Skittzo]

From my understanding Nintendo decided on the Tegra X1 in 2015, when it wouldn't have been in the bargain bin by then.

Actually it was even earlier, in 2014 they supposedly helped Nvidia design the chip, or at least had some level of input with them on it.

 

[lemonfresh]

I wanna excuse myself, i am Team ASAP. So of course, i'm always on the next possible release time.

Its all about Team2024

 

[ILikeFeet]

DF Weekly: How plausible is the Switch 2 Matrix Awakens demo report?

With both Eurogamer and Video Games Chronicle discussing the behind-the-scenes demos of Switch at Gamescom last month, …

www.eurogamer.net

Relevant excerpts:

i would like to see them test an updated build of the demo (or maybe I'll download the 100GB project myself) to see how much more scalable it is

 

[Lancelot]

An 11x increase in pixels, but I honestly think DLSS is being used on 1080p600 output because of RAM bandwidth.

That, too. 1440p should be the internal res though, in order to have a near perfect DLSS Quality upscale. In practice, that's actually better than 4K.

 

[Coco98bisFR]

That's the craziest thing, they got basically everything right before the pokemon present except for this small thing at the end so people doesn't know how to make of it, is it real to help them seem more credible or fake as a prank or to let the people in charge off their scent.

I don't understand what you said but someone else answered me, so thanks.

 

[LiC]

If I had to guess I'd say

March reveal > March deadline to get titles done if you want to be available at launch > March release date

I think we'd be hearing a lot more concrete rumors if the hardware we being revealed in the next 6-8 weeks.

If you want to predict things based on vibes, go for it. But as far as precedent is concerned, there was one (1) single person who was able to give us any idea about the Switch's announcement timing ahead of time; everyone else knew at most 2 days before when an announcement went out widely within Nintendo. That one person was Emily Rogers, who teased an October reveal on September 13. We're not that close yet, we don't have an Emily around to tell us about it, and nothing says they have to reveal it in October anyway.

 

[Leo]

ray tracing might even be better than the PS5 and SeX

I can see ray tracing on Switch 2 being better than sex, but will it be better than ice cream?

 

[MadMarvainy]

I can see ray tracing on Switch 2 being better than sex, but will it be better than ice cream?

Don't be ridiculous.

Nothing is better than ice cream.

 

[qwerp]

I can see ray tracing on Switch 2 being better than sex, but will it be better than ice cream?

That's their new slogan right there:

Nintendo Switch 2, better than ice cream...

 

[Thraktor]

the only way I can see this happening is if they're using Nvidia's branch with RTXDI or something. they would need to talk specifics since this isn't something that can just be picked up by looking at it

I can't imagine Nintendo (or Epic for that matter, who must have been closely involved) would want to muddle things by using a non-Epic lighting solution in a UE5 demo. The point of the demo was to show developers "Yes, we can run the full suite of UE5 technologies, including nanite, lumen, hardware RT, etc.", not "We can run some UE5 technologies like nanite, but with a third party solution instead of lumen, and one that isn't officially supported on Xbox and PS".

Besides, as has been discussed before they've got much better RT hardware than PS5 and XBSS/X, which means relatively speaking, it's much cheaper to turn those features on. I'd wager, for the sake of a tech demo to developers, they're going to be more focussed on features than fidelity, so we're probably looking at a version of the game with reduced quality assets, much reduced internal resolution, etc., but with features like RT dialled up emphasise the advantages they do have.

 

[Giancarlo]

I can see ray tracing on Switch 2 being better than sex, but will it be better than ice cream?

if Switch sucessor is not chocolate ice cream, it dont count

 

[Salah Kalajo]

micro sd AND a new expandable form, much like how you can use a HDD and nvme SSD, but you can’t play switch 2 titles off the micro sd

if the Backward Compatible with Switch will run games better with "instant" loading time then using SD Card is not a good option even for old games ...