Eurogamer has confirmed these rumours and has also spoken to sources close to Nintendo about what form-factor they’ll likely take as well as who they’ll appear to.
Nintendo look to be doing what they did with the Nintendo 3DS family at a similar point in the life cycle where they went in the direction of a cheaper Nintendo 3DS (The 2DS) as well as the New 3DS XL (a more premium experience).
The cheaper Nintendo Switch will aim to move casual gamers over from the 3DS, which means the Switch will be more sturdy, kid-proof and cheaper due to Nintendo removing several features. It was reported that one of these features would be vibration. It’ll also be handheld only, which could mean we’ll see the removal of the Joy-Con too.
The newer, more powerful Nintendo Switch: Reports have suggested that the bump would be to that of the PS4 Pro or Xbox One, but sources close to Nintendo have told Eurogamer that it’s a similar bump from that of the 3DS to New 3DS. This more powerful console won’t remove TV screen docking, which makes it sound like it’ll be a similar experience, but just a little bit more capable.
It’s an interesting time for Nintendo and it’d make a lot of sense to go down these two paths this year. With Animal Crossing, Link’s Awakening, new Pokemon games and Mario Maker 2, now is a better time than ever for more casual gamers to jump on board the Nintendo Switch, and this provides a cheaper and more portable option for people to do so. After all, games like Animal Crossing and Pokemon would be primarily played on the go, so it’s a pretty solid move.
