New Nintendo Switch Is Coming Next Year, Reports Claim

By Dana Cruz Aug 25 2020, 05:24 AM EDT

Nintendo Switch Preview Event — Nintendo of America, A guest enjoys playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the groundbreaking new Nintendo Switch at a special preview event in New York on Jan. 13, 2017. Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Nintendo of America

Nintendo is set to release an upgraded version of the highly popular Switch game console next year, said reports from Taiwan's Economic Daily News and Bloomberg.

The new Nintendo Switch model is going come out in early 2021, according to sources in supply chain stores. The new release could be the first serious performance upgrade to Switch since it was released in March 2017.

According to Bloomberg, Nintendo is hoping to include more computing power and 4K high-definition graphics. Economic Daily also mentioned of improved visual to the expected release.

Two new models were released by Nintendo last year, but they used a more power-efficient version of the original hardware.

That upgrade enabled a smaller form factor and better battery life, but it did not have notable performance improvements, reported The Verge.

The hardware upgrade is based around Nvidia's Tegra X1 system-on-chip that was first announced five years ago. Since then, the mobile processor technology has gone through a lot of advancements.

The improvement in mobile processors is what makes many believe that there is going to be major Switch speed boosts for the new version. But its might need a new custom design for Nvidia.

Nvidia no longer makes general-purpose mobile system-on-chips for third-party tech makers.

New Game Releases Too

Other than the new console, Nintendo is also expected to release a new set of games. Sources believe the new lineup will be stronger than what Nintendo had previously offered.

The new game release can also explain why Nintendo had a light software schedule for this year.

On the other hand, the company did not announce any big titles for the holiday season. During that period, it is most likely that the company's attention is on the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

There are still many great titles that gaming fans are awaiting from Nintendo. Some of those titles have been announce years ago, like Metroid Prime 4 and the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Tech enthusiasts think these long-awaited game titles are going to be promoted alongside new, more powerful hardware units.

Switch Has Great Sales

For this year, Switch has seen great numbers when it comes to sales. The release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons drove millions of hardware sales this year.

In a three month period ending June 30, the Nintendo Switch hardware cleared 5.5 million units, representing a year-on-year sales increase by more than 160%.

Nintendo has sold over 61 million Switch consoles by the end of July this year. These numbers put the FamiCom System and Nintendo Entertainment System at touching distance from Switch.

Unconfirmed rumors on a slightly more powerful switch have been around for the past few months, courtesy of some publications such as The Wall Street Journal and DigiTimes.

A firmware update on the handheld home console has referenced to a new hardware model named 'nx-abcd', said Mobile Syrup. There were also codenames for the standard Switch and Switch Lite on the update.