Because the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Change is over seven years outdated, so it wants a refresh. Nintendo Change 2 rumors have been circulating for years, however now they’re actually warming up. A sequel to Nintendo’s most profitable dwelling console ever is coming, and it is doubtless coming sooner somewhat than later.
Will it’s a direct sequel to the Change 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 Change 2, or will the corporate go together with one thing just like the Tremendous Change and even the brand new Nintendo Change? You possibly can by no means inform with Nintendo. Heck, perhaps it’s going to name the factor Change U.
In any case, the previous few weeks have introduced feverish hypothesis about all points of the upcoming gaming console. Nonetheless, you will need to observe that little or no data has been confirmed by Nintendo. The corporate operates in line with its schedule. With that mentioned, listed below are all of the rumors which might be most certainly to return true, given business evaluation.
When will Nintendo Change 2 be introduced?
As talked about earlier than, Nintendo marches to the beat of its personal drum. We do not know precisely when an occasion shall be held to disclose the console, however rumors have been swirling about an announcement this week. A publish from Walmart appeared to counsel {that a} reveal would come on Thursday, January 16. The Verge’s Tom Warren has additionally reported that we’ll get an announcement this week.
Even Nintendo has a tough time conserving the lid on a significant console launch, which is probably going why there have been so many announcement rumors. There are components 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.
Once you need Nintendo Change 2 come out?
As soon as once more, this is kind of a thriller. We’re not fully in the dead of night, nevertheless it’s largely rumors and hypothesis. One factor we do know for positive is that Nintendo will announce the Nintendo Change 2 (or no matter it chooses to name it) by March 2025, as the corporate confirmed in Could. Some say it’s going to have a March launch date, which is sensible contemplating the OG Change got here out on March 17, 2017. Nonetheless, different studies 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 shall be launched in April.
Will it even be a correct Change sequel?
Nintendo has an odd historical past right here. The shocking Wii U adopted the huge success of the Wii. The Wii itself adopted the extra conventional GameCube. In different phrases, it is potential it’s going to be one thing out of left subject and never precisely a real Change sequel. Nonetheless, that is unlikely this time. As a lot as I would like to see bizarre VR goggles or a very bonkers console idea, all factors level to a extra conventional strategy.
Builders have already seen the {hardware}, albeit in a a lot earlier type, and it seems to be a daily outdated keyboard. Whereas Nintendo hasn’t confirmed hybrid performance, it could be an odd launch given the Change’s absolute monetary windfall. We have additionally heard rumors of a Mini-LED show, which might trace at a hybrid keyboard. This can most certainly be a straight Change 2, or one thing related, harking back to the Tremendous Nintendo.
To that finish, latest rumors counsel a design harking back to the unique Change. In response to the report of VGCfootage of the console have surfaced on-line they usually present an 8-inch show and magnetic Pleasure-Con controllers. There look like SL/SR buttons and participant LEDs in entrance of those controllers.
Will Nintendo get just a little bizarre?
All the pieces leaked or rumored up to now on this console has been fairly, properly, conventional. It appears like the unique Change, however higher. That is nice, however will it have any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Perhaps! Latest studies present two unusual additions that folks cannot disguise, not even their hair.
Genki, the accent producer, simply launched a touchdown web page for his or her Nintendo Change 2 equipment. This touchdown web page encompasses a video that features a very detailed take a look at a Change 2 mannequin. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ
— Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025
An adjunct maker named Genki by chance revealed a supposed mannequin at CES 2025 of your entire console. If the Change 2 comes sooner somewhat than later, it is sensible for accent makers to have these kinds of 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 all the time 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 appears rather a lot like an optical sensor, which is what a pc mouse makes use of. This has led to hypothesis that gamers will be capable 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 mentioned the photographs and video had been “not official.” The accent maker has additionally said that its mannequin was not primarily based on an precise keyboard, however “leaked data circulating within the business”.
it is Nintendo Change 2 backward suitable?
If it is a Change sequel, the subsequent query needs to be about backwards compatibility. The Change’s library is completely large and continues to develop, so players 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 shall be absolutely suitable. There may also be entry to Nintendo On-line, so customers will be capable to play all these outdated retro titles.
What in regards to the specs?
Rumors in regards to the specs are everywhere, so it is onerous to pin down. We all know one factor for positive: it will likely be extra highly effective than the traditional Change machine, which was already out of date in 2017. An analyst is claimed to have obtained a spec sheet from United Korea Day by day Information that mentioned the Change 2 will boast an octa-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM and 64GB of inside eMMC storage. That is monitoring for me, as these specs are nearly as weak in 2024 as the unique Change was in 2017. Nonetheless, some studies point out that the console will embody 12GB of RAM.
One other supply means that the octa-core CPU shall be packaged inside an NVIDIA-made Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Provided that the present Change runs on an NVIDIA chip, this makes plenty of sense. The CPU shall be extra highly effective, nevertheless it’s the Change 2’s new GPU that shall be a key differentiator. The Change 2 has been confirmed to assist DLSS, NVIDIA’s “deep studying supersampling” upscaling expertise, which is able to enable the console to show video games at a low decision internally whereas outputting a high-resolution picture . (Enjoyable reality: We truly wrote about how good DLSS was for the Nintendo Change 2 when the expertise was introduced alongside the RTX 20 sequence in 2018.)
There are nonetheless questions on Change 2 and DLSS: Will the system assist newer DLSS options like body era? Will present video games be auto-adjusted by NVIDIA’s algorithm? Whatever the actual implementation, scaling up DLSS shall be an enormous leap over the rudimentary methods obtainable to Nintendo Change builders.
As for the display, there are a lot of conflicting rumors. Early studies from strong sources recommended the Change 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 recommended that this shall be an OLED display, whereas others have mentioned that it will likely be a mini-LED display. A mini-LED display is mainly an LCD display that has a backlight fabricated from mini-LEDs (surprisingly!) somewhat than edge lighting. This enables for native dimming, making blacks blacker. I am hedging my bets right here. I feel it will likely be a typical 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 risk from the beginning.
As for decision, latest studies counsel the console will output 1080p handheld and 4K when docked. That is means higher than the OG Change.
How a lot will the Nintendo Change 2 price?
We do not have a lot details about the worth, however now we have plenty of historical past to work with. The unique Nintendo Change launched at $300, which is just about the “magic quantity” with regards to 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 could elevate the asking worth for the Change 2. Many retailers have reported that it will likely be $400, or doubtlessly much more costly. Nonetheless, the identical analysts who say the console will price $400 had been additionally fairly positive it could come out in late 2024, and, properly, it appears like that is not taking place.
Delving into historical past, there may be some upside to a worth hike. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Change went as much as $300 and, properly, the numbers wish to go up. A $400 price ticket would make it nearly as costly as a PS5 and Xbox Collection X. That may additionally put it in the identical worth 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. In addition to, 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-Change.
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, additionally it is a risk. Lastly, there have been rumblings that the large launch title could possibly be none apart from Mario Kart 9.
That is all we all know in regards to the Nintendo Change 2 at present. We are going to replace this text with the rumors we consider and data we collect straight from sources. Any modifications made to the article after its preliminary publication shall be listed beneath.
Replace, January 15, 2025, 12:10 PM ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate rumors of a potential console announcement this week.
