Because the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Swap is over seven years previous, so it wants a refresh. Nintendo Swap 2 rumors have been circulating for years, however now they’re actually warming up. A sequel to Nintendo’s most profitable house console ever is coming, and it is doubtless coming sooner somewhat than later.
Will or not it’s a direct sequel to the Swap with up to date specs whereas retaining the identical hybrid performance or will Nintendo go bizarre with it? Will it even be known as the Swap 2, or will the corporate go together with one thing just like the Tremendous Swap and even the brand new Nintendo Swap? You may by no means inform with Nintendo. Heck, possibly it will name the factor Swap U.
In any case, the previous few weeks have introduced feverish hypothesis about all features of the upcoming gaming console. Nonetheless, you will need to be aware that little or no info has been confirmed by Nintendo. The corporate operates in response to its schedule. With that stated, listed below are all of the rumors which can be almost definitely to return true, given business evaluation.
When will Nintendo Swap 2 be introduced?
As talked about earlier than, Nintendo marches to the beat of its personal drum. We do not know precisely when it can maintain an occasion to disclose the console. Many individuals mistakenly assumed it could occur on the finish of 2024, but it surely did not.
Even Nintendo has a tough time conserving the lid on a significant console launch, so we would study one thing earlier than the official reveal. There are elements to be sourced and deliveries to be made. A senior analyst at MST Monetary famous a rise in manufacturing gear spending by Nintendo assembler Hosiden.
If you need Nintendo Swap 2 come out?
As soon as once more, this is kind of a thriller. We’re not utterly in the dead of night, but it surely’s principally rumors and hypothesis. One factor we do know for positive is that Nintendo will announce the Nintendo Swap 2 (or no matter it chooses to name it) by March 2025, as the corporate confirmed in Could. Some say it can have a March launch date, which is smart contemplating the OG Swap got here out on March 17, 2017. Nonetheless, different experiences put the console’s launch window later in 2025.
Accent maker Genki, which has been a significant supply of leaks in latest months, claims the console can be launched in April.
Will it even be a correct Swap sequel?
Nintendo has a wierd historical past right here. The stunning Wii U adopted the huge success of the Wii. The Wii itself adopted the extra conventional GameCube. In different phrases, it is attainable it will be one thing out of left area and never precisely a real Swap sequel. Nonetheless, that is unlikely this time. As a lot as I might like to see bizarre VR goggles or a very bonkers console idea, all factors level to a extra conventional method.
Builders have already seen the {hardware}, albeit in a a lot earlier kind, and it seems to be a daily previous keyboard. Whereas Nintendo hasn’t confirmed hybrid performance, it could be an odd launch given the Swap’s absolute monetary windfall. We have additionally heard rumors of a Mini-LED show, which might trace at a hybrid keyboard. It will almost definitely be a straight Swap 2, or one thing related, paying homage to the Tremendous Nintendo.
To that finish, latest rumors recommend a design paying homage to the unique Swap. In line with the report of VGCphotos of the console have surfaced on-line they usually present an 8-inch show and magnetic Pleasure-Con controllers. There seem like SL/SR buttons and participant LEDs in entrance of those controllers.
Will Nintendo get a bit bizarre?
Every little thing leaked or rumored up to now on this console has been fairly, nicely, conventional. It seems to be like the unique Swap, however higher. That is nice, however will it have any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Perhaps! Latest experiences present two unusual additions that individuals cannot cover, not even their hair.
Genki, the accent producer, simply launched a touchdown web page for his or her Nintendo Swap 2 equipment. This touchdown web page encompasses a video that features a very detailed have a look at a Swap 2 mannequin. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ
— Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025
An adjunct maker named Genki by accident revealed a supposed mannequin at CES 2025 of all the console. If the Swap 2 comes sooner somewhat than later, it is smart for accent makers to have a lot of these fashions. There appears to be a mysterious “C” button on the underside proper and nobody is aware of what it does. Can it provoke voice chat whereas taking part in? Can it calibrate controllers? Can it create a room-sized Bowser hologram in your front room? We’ll have to attend and see, and there is at all times an opportunity the button will not even exist.
Now on the up to date Pleasure-Cons, the identical leaks appear to level to a brand new sensor on the connector aspect of every controller. It seems to be quite a bit like an optical sensor, which is what a pc mouse makes use of. This has led to hypothesis that gamers will have the ability to flip the Pleasure-Con round and use it as a mouse.
However why would anybody need that? I can consider three phrases. New Mario Paint. In any case, take all that Genki stuff with a giant grain of salt, as Nintendo has come out and stated the pictures and video had been “not official.” The accent maker has additionally acknowledged that its mannequin was not primarily based on an precise keyboard, however “leaked info circulating within the business”.
it is Nintendo Swap 2 backward suitable?
If it is a Swap sequel, the subsequent query needs to be about backwards compatibility. The Swap’s library is totally large and continues to develop, so avid gamers would rightly be upset in the event that they could not play Tears of the Kingdom on their new next-gen console. There may be excellent news on this entrance.
The corporate has formally introduced in a latest earnings report that the console can be absolutely suitable. There can even be entry to Nintendo On-line, so customers will have the ability to play all these previous retro titles.
What concerning the specs?
Rumors concerning the specs are all over, so it is arduous to pin down. We all know one factor for positive: will probably be extra highly effective than the traditional Swap machine, which was already out of date in 2017. An analyst is alleged to have acquired a spec sheet from United Korea Each day Information that stated the Swap 2 will boast an octa-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM and 64GB of inner eMMC storage. That is monitoring for me, as these specs are virtually as weak in 2024 as the unique Swap was in 2017. Nonetheless, some experiences point out that the console will embody 12GB of RAM.
One other supply means that the octa-core CPU can be packaged inside an NVIDIA-made Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Provided that the present Swap runs on an NVIDIA chip, this makes a number of sense. The CPU can be extra highly effective, but it surely’s the Swap 2’s new GPU that can be a key differentiator. The Swap 2 has been confirmed to assist DLSS, NVIDIA’s “deep studying supersampling” upscaling expertise, which can enable the console to show video games at a low decision internally whereas outputting a high-resolution picture . (Enjoyable reality: We really wrote about how excellent DLSS was for the Nintendo Swap 2 when the expertise was introduced alongside the RTX 20 sequence in 2018.)
There are nonetheless questions on Swap 2 and DLSS: Will the system assist newer DLSS options like body technology? Will current video games be auto-adjusted by NVIDIA’s algorithm? Whatever the actual implementation, scaling up DLSS can be an enormous leap over the rudimentary methods accessible to Nintendo Swap builders.
As for the show, there are a lot of conflicting rumors. Early experiences from strong sources urged the Swap 2 would have an 8-inch LCD show, however there have additionally been rumors of a 7-inch show with a 120Hz refresh fee. Some analysts have urged that this can be an OLED display, whereas others have stated that will probably be a mini-LED display. A mini-LED display is principally an LCD display that has a backlight product of mini-LEDs (surprisingly!) somewhat than edge lighting. This permits for native dimming, making blacks blacker. I am hedging my bets right here. I feel will probably be a normal LCD, to maintain prices down, with an OLED or Mini-LED mannequin coming later. Nonetheless, mini-LED screens are barely cheaper than OLED screens, so that is definitely a chance from the beginning.
As for decision, latest experiences recommend the console will output 1080p handheld and 4K when docked. That is approach higher than the OG Swap.
How a lot will the Nintendo Swap 2 value?
We do not have a lot details about the worth, however we’ve a number of historical past to work with. The unique Nintendo Swap launched at $300, which is just about the “magic quantity” on the subject of Nintendo console releases in recent times. The Wii U additionally got here in at $300.
Nonetheless, there are a lot of rumors floating round that Nintendo might elevate the asking value for the Swap 2. Many shops have reported that will probably be $400, or probably much more costly. Nonetheless, the identical analysts who say the console will value $400 had been additionally fairly positive it could come out in late 2024, and, nicely, it seems to be like that is not taking place.
Delving into historical past, there may be some upside to a value hike. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Swap went as much as $300 and, nicely, the numbers need to go up. A $400 price ticket would make it virtually as costly as a PS5 and Xbox Sequence X. That might additionally put it in the identical value vary because the 256GB Steam LCD Deck.
Do we all know of any launch video games?
No! However it positive has been some time since we acquired a correct 3D Mario journey, hasn’t it? This could be a system vendor. Moreover, your guess is nearly as good as mine. The previous as a prologue, we are able to count on one thing from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Swap.
If there’s any gimmicks or keyboard hits, we’ll additionally get a recreation that takes benefit of that. A double launch of Metroid Prime 4identical to Wild spirit AND Twilight Princess earlier than that, it is usually a chance. Lastly, there have been rumblings that the large launch title could possibly be none aside from Mario Kart 9.
That is all we all know concerning the Nintendo Swap 2 in the present day. We’ll replace this text with the rumors we imagine and data we collect instantly from sources. Any adjustments made to the article after its preliminary publication can be listed beneath.
Replace, January 10, 2025, 12:40 p.m. ET: This story has been up to date with particulars concerning the Swap 2’s alleged “C” button, together with Pleasure-Con optical sensors. We additionally wrote concerning the notification window and launch video games. Lastly, we lined bulletins from Nintendo and Genki a few potential leak.
