Nintendo Denies Rumors of New Switch Pro Model (axios.com) 24
A Bloomberg report claiming 11 game developers have access to Nintendo Switch 4K development kits is sparking confusion about the existence of the rumored Nintendo Switch Pro. Axios: Bloomberg published a story yesterday in which it says that employees at the game companies, including Zynga, claim to have the dev kits. That system wouldn't be out until at least late next year, Bloomberg reports. Nintendo has disavowed the report on Twitter, saying that it has "no plans for any new model other than Nintendo Switch -- OLED Model." The report "falsely claims that Nintendo is supplying tools to drive game development for a Nintendo Switch with 4K support," Nintendo said. "To ensure correct understanding among our investors and customers, we want to clarify that this report is not true." A Zynga spokesperson told Axios that the company "does not have a 4K developer kit from Nintendo."
Sounds exactly like... (Score:3)
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There are some pretty terrible technical limitations that stop an 4k switch from existing, such as not being able to get the required memory bandwidth for that, as that would need a lot of memory chips in parallel that would absolutely wreck the battery life.
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Not to mention that 4k in a handheld that size is kinda pointless.
The only way it would work is if it only did 4k docked & powered, but then you are just creating a needlessly clunky experience.
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Considering how it's impossible to get an nVidia GPU, just imagine a 4K switch coming out that someone can jailbreak and run their crypto software on.
Realistically, the amount of GPU power required to do 4K is just slightly over a RTX 3060 with 8GB with most current games.
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Being that most of our smartphones support 4k display already, I don't think that is the biggest issue, but trying to keep it under $300 it might be.
The advantage of consoles over PC Gaming (or even Mobile Gaming) is that the hardware is created and balanced for playing the games it wants to push. A new console is released when they want to change the type of games it wants to sell.
The NES: was for platform games.
The SNES: Was for more complex platforms, and rudimentary 3d games.
The Nintendo64: Was for Cart
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I think you have that arse about face. Games are tailored to the capabilities of what the hardware can do. The NES' gimmick was fast hardware scrolling and sprites. Platform games benefit from that, but you can hardly claim Zelda 1 was a platform game, nor things like Punchout. The SNES's gimmick was better graphics and sound and the famous mode 7 scaling and rotation. They looked for games they could develop to show that off, and that's why F-Zero was a launch title, and Mario Kart began life as a multipla
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Nintendo chose their hardware on basically min-maxing the cost/benefit and building everything else around it.
Even the original famicom was a massive "impossible deal", with nintendo going after the chip plant in worse financial condition and offering em a order of 7 million chips for a bargain price.
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Having a 4k display and being able to actually render 3D graphics at this resolution are very different things.
Most mobile games runs at a much lower resolution than the native screen.
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And the switch is already a custom architecture.
The switch was built on an NVidia architecture that was targetted for the embedded market. So in a sense nintendo was reusing R&D cost of NVidia for its architecture.
If you produce a switch pro, you are going to want backwards compatibility. And so you would need a "bigger" version of the same architecture. But providing hardware level compatibility may be hard since it was kind of a strange architecture.
So nintendo may have to pay for architectural develo
I don't need 4k (Score:2)
Don't have a 4k TV and have no plans on buying one since I am pretty sure there is not a dumb 4k TV out there.
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That is more with the developers rather than console power alone.
There are plenty games on the switch where they choose to target 1080p/60 but not all of em.
Try google (Score:2)
You could always try doing an internet search for "4k dumb tv", they're out there but you will be buying an off brand.
Or you could just buy a smart tv and not allow it on the internet. That's what I've done.
They have to do something. (Score:3)
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When the Steam Deck is released, the only thing Nintendo will have is their exclusive game lineup. The Deck will come out of the gate with thousands of games right off the bat. I'm sure Nintendo's shitting their pants right now, especially since the Deck is scheduled for release just before Christmas.
The Deck will only be released for the earliest of preorder customers in 2021. Most preorders aren't even going to be filled until Q3 of 2022.
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The Deck will only be released for the earliest of preorder customers in 2021. Most preorders aren't even going to be filled until Q3 of 2022.
The reviews will be forthcoming from those preorder customers when they get their unit, and that will most likely impact the sales of the current Switch in a big way, especially those that were planing on purchasing one for Christmas but can't afford both. Nintendo is behind the curve on this new Pro model, and it won't be released until after the Deck, so, again, their sales will be impacted. Sure, people will buy this for the exclusive Nintendo content, and for their kids, but I'd be willing to bet more
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When the Steam Deck is released, the only thing Nintendo will have is their exclusive game lineup
Exactly the reason I'm perfectly content with my Switch and have zero interest in the Steam Deck. I don't need a second, crappier platform to play the games I play on my PC all the time. Meanwhile with the Switch I get access to the games of one of the best game developers out there and that can't be played anywhere else.
I'm sure Nintendo's shitting their pants right now, especially since the Deck is scheduled for release just before Christmas
Very seriously doubt it. Pretty much anyone I know who owns a Switch buys it specifically for the exclusive games. The mobile feature on the Switch is all well and good but plenty of consol
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Just like how that XBox Series X and PS5... (Score:2)
I'd love to be proven wrong, but I don't see it as a viable threat to Nintendo, especially considering h
Re: They have to do something. (Score:2)
When the Steam Deck is released, the only thing Nintendo will have is their exclusive game lineup.
Nintendo's exclusive game lineup is what makes Nintendo Nintendo, good grief. When Nintendo pulls a good console out of their butt, that's just a bonus.
Here is the Bloomberg story. (Score:3)
It's written better and has more information. [bloomberg.com]
Yes, it's paywalled. No, it doesn't matter. [github.com]
Nintendo denies rumors... (Score:1)
They should know (Score:2)
I wont buy a new console until they announce the switch pro. I'd like my hardware not to be obsolete instantly from a new console.
They are trying to fight the Osborn effect (Score:1)
Pandemic supply issues no doubt (Score:1)