As the Nintendo Switch approaches its sixth anniversary of release, Nintendo is being very modest about the prospects for a true successor to the console (no, the OLED Switch doesn’t count). However, this week, miswording in a government document regarding a proposed merger between Microsoft and Activision led some industry watchers to speculate that the announcement of a successor to the Switch could be coming in the near future.
All of this speculation centers on a single hidden line in 43 long pages of attachments to a report from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority that recently ruled against Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Activision. When discussing services that could compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming features, the app notes that Nintendo Switch Online is “only available on one Nintendo Switch device and [redacted].”
Why are cookies interesting in Nintendo?
This “y” cookie is of course attractive because Nintendo Switch Online is currently only available on Nintendo Switch (as the name suggests). Spelling CMA after “and” could easily describe a future console that Nintendo does not want to officially announce via regulatory documentation (for example, “…available on the Nintendo Switch device and [another console currently being developed by Nintendo]” ).
In the past, Nintendo has also hinted at a future-oriented continuity of online accounts. In an investor presentation in late 2020, Nintendo shared a slide that explicitly states that the current Nintendo Account and its “add-on services” (such as Nintendo Switch Online) will continue to be available and will be expanded through “Hardware and software integrated into continuation”. games. “from the company. system”, which will be released in the amorphous “20XX”.
Rumors about the next generation Nintendo switch
Previously, there were rumors that the next-gen switch could be powered by the mysterious Nvidia Tegra T239 chip, which can support up to 4 teraflops of GPU processing power. Since the original switch manages 0.3932 TFLOPs (0.5 TFLOPs when plugged in), this translates to a performance increase of more than 10 times. However, a more conservative and perhaps plausible estimate was provided by @foxygames_uk, who believes that the Nintendo Switch 2 can offer performance in the region of 2.4 TFLOPs, which is about 6 times the current Switch, and where something between the GPU power of PS4 and PS4 Pro, which would be awesome for a Nintendo console. Additionally, the ray-traced Switch 2 can offer 4K upscaling from 1200p to 1440p on base and 1080p to 720p in handheld mode.
Regarding Nintendo Switch 2, I think you're pretty close.
I'd guesstimate between PS4 / PS4 Pro power (2.4TF or so), 1200p – 1440p max resolution upscaled to 4K via DLSS 2 while docked, and 720p upscaled to 1080p while portable.
Average 2.5 – 5hr battery life.
Doable. https://t.co/LUt9RD7e3j
— fguk_foxy (@foxygames_uk) February 21, 2023
