I guess a potential timeline could be the following : late December teaser/trailer similar to how the Switch was revealed (oct 20th 2016) followed by a March conference/showcase where Nintendo gives a lot more details regarding the hardware and the software lineup (January 13th 2017).
Following this Nintendo would start distributing even more devkits to developers who weren't parts to behind the scenes meetings and then in May/June the console launches (March 3rd 2017) so Nintendo can somewhat build up more stocks after the initial wave of purchases.
Otherwise maybe it'll be trailer/teaser in march followed by a conference in may/june and then release in September ? (slightly less condensed).
You shouldn’t compare this to Nintendo going from Wii U to Switch.
Wii U was essentially dead by 2016. 3ds sales were waning as well, and engagement declining.
Switch engagement has never been higher. Switch sales are still rivaling peak year sales for other consoles.
Nintendo is absolutely going to approach this different. I don’t care if you think this new hardware is a true successor or a Switch family of devices lifecycle extender…we should all agree they won’t treat this the same as the examples above.
They aren’t in the position they were with the Wii U and 3ds in 2016. They aren’t in the position Sony and Microsoft were with ps4/one in 2020
There is nothing motivating them to announce new hardware that far out. It only hurts the current Switch momentum. There is no motivation to need people to prepare that much lead time for this new model.
Nintendo only needs this to sell as much as the original hybrid model.
Or the OLED model.
@ILikeFeet @Thraktor
Why is TSMC 4N considered a strong candidate?
I think it was Samsung 8nm in data mining. The SoC needs to be redesigned, but is it possible?
The unit cost of TSMC 4N wafer is considerably higher than Samsung 8nm.
Sorry if my knowledge is incorrect.
Well, the original Switch SoC went from 20nm to 16nm in 2 years.
So, even if the 8nm rumors in 2020/2021 were accurate, they absolutely could have switched to a smaller node by 2024
Why bother spending millions designing a new console if the market doesn’t exist? This is a weird take.
2 main reasons;
1) Engagement. While I say there is a sizeable userbase that doesn’t care that much, there is also a segment that clearly does. And these gamers tend to be the ones who buy/play the most games every year.
The same reason Sony and MS made a more powerful upgrade, the idea is that you have to keep those who might drift off to more modern systems in your ecosystem by giving them a more premium hardware option. Many past Nintendo machines have shown them that the perception of extremely outdated hardware and performance can absolutely affect how much gamers engage with the system over time. Look at the Wii 2010-2012. The purpose of spending money on this new hardware is to ensure these gamers stay in the ecosystem and are satisfied for longer. Heck, I would argue that JUST the OLED screen upgrade in 2021 made me more engaged in switch gaming the last 2 years than I would have otherwise. Many others like me.
This new model will absolutely invigorate engagement in Switch game releases for the next 5-6 years.
And
2) Because DLSS is Nintendo’s future. So this piece of hardware allows them to start learning how to develop for that smart AI development now, in the midst of a strong brand and success.
Nintendo often has lamented that they waited too long to get into HD development. They probably should have come out with a Wii HD in 2010, but they waited and let the wii brand and engagement fizzle out to much. By the time they attempted to focus on HD development with the Wii U at the end of 2012, not only was it too late, but it affected their ability to release games in a timely manner. Both the output of the Wii U and 3ds suffered.
This would be addressing that problem. A new device in the Switch family to help keep and strengthen the current sky high engagement, while also allow them to dabble at leasure to develop towards Nvidia tensor/rt cores and DLSS. It’s a win/win.
Engagement and lengthening of a large userbase furthers future Nintendo software sales, and that’s all that matters.
You tell me Nintendo spent all this money and R&D to make cutting edge hardware to play Series S/ps5 type games…I’m telling you they invested in it to ensure the software they release in 2026 appeals to both the high end enthusiast gamer, as well as the indifferent consumer, low price conscious gamer who really doesn’t see the difference (like my wife and child).
They are doing this to maximize their active userbase, and this their revenue/profits.