Fun fact
- Nintendo is said to be planning to start production of the new Switch model before the end of the year, with a release date set for the first quarter of 2021.
- According to the report, the new “Switch Pro” will perform better than Switch or Switch Light.
- Rumors have been circulating about the Switch Pro for years, but Nintendo boss Shuntaro Furukawa said in January that there won’t be a new Switch model in 2020.
Nearly four years into the Switch’s life cycle, Nintendo hasn’t shown that the models developed for its consoles work. The only model released since 2017 is the Nintendo Switch Lite, but it’s $ 100 cheaper than the standard model and doesn’t have the ability to connect to a TV. We are still waiting for a faster, stronger transition, and according to a report in the Taiwan Economic Daily News, we won’t have to wait any longer.
The report claims that the new Switch model is expected to enter production before the end of 2020 and Nintendo plans to launch the console in the first quarter of 2021. Details on the console are sparse, but reports suggest that the Switch Pro (as we call it) will have better rendering. It will be “more interactive”, but it is not entirely clear what it means (and it may just be an error in translation).
While Nintendo has been rubbish about the potential of the Switch Pro, rumors about the Switch Pro have been circulating the Internet for centuries. In March 2019, the Wall Street Journal published an article claiming that two new versions of the Switch had been developed. One of them is the Switch Lite, which ended its debut in September, but the second version never ends with “enhanced features aimed at avid video enthusiasts.”
The 2019 Switch Pro comes and goes without announcements, and during an early 2020 revenue call, the Nintendo boss made it clear that we shouldn’t expect a new model this year.
Regarding the Nintendo Switch, we believe it is important to continue the appeal of the Nintendo Switch system and expand its proven base. “Please note that we have no plans to release a new Nintendo Switch prototype during 2020.”
With only four months left in 2020, and with Sony and Microsoft’s new consoles dominating sales this holiday season, the chances of Nintendo launching a new Switch this year are slim. But Nintendo’s switch is already weak compared to the PS4 and Xbox One, and when the PS5 and Xbox Series X launch in the fall, these differences will be more pronounced. The arrival of the Switch Pro always seems inevitable, it’s only a matter of time when Nintendo will make the leap and put a more powerful hybrid console on the market.
