The Nintendo Switch 2 may have a considerable boost in power over its 2017 predecessor, but don’t expect a substantial difference in design philosophy.
CEO of Tokyo-based game industry consultancy Kantan Games, Dr. Sherman Toto, revealed in an interview with GamesIndustry that the Switch 2 console has been treated as an “iterative” design by Nintendo.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 release date planned for 2024, at least according to multiple sources including Microsoft, the Japanese company has stuck to the same handheld-console hybrid design philosophy that resulted in the current console’s success.
Toto explained that Nintendo did experiment with the long-rumoured Nintendo Switch Pro, but decided to instead focus on a traditional follow-up for 2024 with a higher cost of $400 RRP. Considering the company’s past with devices such as the New Nintendo 3DS line, this isn’t surprising in the least.
“The time is finally here for a Switch successor, even though I can say a ‘Pro’ model actually did exist and certain developers were already working with the dev kit,” Toto revealed. “I believe the next hardware will drop [in 2024] for $400.”
Toto also revealed that there could be an increase in the price of games on the system, saying there “is a high chance that games will cost more, too: $70.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 is said to be an “iteration rather than a revolution”. Toto explains: “Nintendo might add some bells and whistles to the device, but it will be similar to the current Switch.”
With the Nintendo Switch allowing the company to merge its handheld and console development output for the first time, the console has seen rampant success in both hardware and software sales. Even in the final years of the hardware, constant exclusive releases continue to come out at a rapid pace.
Powered by an all-new processor capable of handling DLSS image reconstruction and even ray-tracing, the Nintendo Switch 2 is looking to be a powerful handheld on the level of the PlayStation 4 Pro. With dev-kits now out in the wild, developers are hard at work creating the next generation of Nintendo games, and they should look far better than what came before.