How likely is a Switch revision/iteration in the near future?

I wouldn't count on it anytime soon.

Not happening this year, but 2019 holidays together with new gen Pokémon is possible.

Not as likely as the weekly Switch revision threads ;-)

Nah, honestly...
You wont get a Revision or price drop this FY.

Cant see a size revision due to how Joy Cons are being used. Just buy one OP if you are looking into it.

Nintendo Switch Royalty coming in 2019

Also thinking of getting one because of Diablo 3.

I have a wii u though so I've played most of its games so far. I should try selling that one and maybe buy a switch afterwards.

Second half of 2019 at the earliest, 2020 is realistic. I would also not rule out the possibility of never.

Chauzu said:

Not happening this year, but 2019 holidays together with new gen Pokémon is possible.

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Yep, Mariko is almost certainly going to be a 16nm or smaller node, offering a huge improvement to battery life and or performance. It won't give you 4K games, but we could see a Switch Mini or a faster Switch next year. At the very least, we will see more battery life. I'd expect it at the end of the year, and I think Mini makes the most sense IMO.

I would bet on one coming before this FY ends.

Who knows. Hardware wise, I think D PAD JOY CON might be next in line. Would be neat if they did some type of XL Joy Cons too.

Could be wrong, but I don't see a handheld only undockable Switch ever coming. Might go to the point where they just sell it without the dock, but undockable? Nah. More powerful system is a strong possibility. They did it with NEW 3DS. Hopefully theres no games that go exclusive to it if it does happen tho.

MauroNL said:

I mean there has been only one Wii model

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There has been more. The very first model supports GameCube games and peripherals, the later ones don't.

justiceiro said:

I would bet on one coming before this FY ends.

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I would bet the opposite. I think it'll come at the beginning of the next FY.

MauroNL said:

Okay so lately I have been thinking about getting a Switch, mainly for Football Manager which is a serious addiction by the way. I'm also curious to try out Odyssey and Tropical Freeze. I haven't really owned a Nintendo system since Nintendo 64 so I'm not really up to speed with how they usually handle hardware. I know Sony make slight tweaks and improvements to their PlayStation consoles, and release Slim models every few years. Microsoft also does this, though to a lesser extent. Nintendo does not really iirc? I mean there has been only one Wii model, and only one Wii U model as far as I can tell.

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There were actually 3 models, but first two don't differ much in appearance (but revision lacks GameCube BC) and third is Wii Mini which was not really good.
3DS on the other hand had revisions almost yearly, first of which came out a little over a year after original

There hasn't even been a price drop yet.

no revision. switch 2 in 2020 along side xbox 2 and ps5.

z0m3le said:

Yep, Mariko is almost certainly going to be a 16nm or smaller node, offering a huge improvement to battery life and or performance. It won't give you 4K games, but we could see a Switch Mini or a faster Switch next year. At the very least, we will see more battery life. I'd expect it at the end of the year, and I think Mini makes the most sense IMO.

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Isn't Mariko the revision that patches out the entrypoint for Fusée Gelée?

If, when Pokémon arrives in 2019.
Same form factor so that your dock and Joy-Cons still work but with some refinements to the design, the placement of the ports and of course a smaller fabricated chip for less power consumption. Maybe as a version without the dock and different colored back

original model will be in demand for another few years. should still be a hot holiday item this year and the next, even if it does fall short of projections

weirder things have happened but it's definitely not something i'd hold out over

justiceiro said:

I would bet on one coming before this FY ends.

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They're selling really well, I don't think they'll want to do anything for a while


I guess they'd revise it to get rid of the hardware vulnerability

Personally, I think a commercial release of a dock-less Switch is more likely to come before a full revision. Nintendo's said they want to sell multiple Switches to each family member, so having a more affordable way to do that would be a move to make. And with Super Mario Party's dual screen shenanigans and Pokemon 2019 on the horizon, getting Switch into one-per-person territory is going to be much more important for Nintendo going forward.

One would get a price drop to clear inventory before announcing a revised switch (especially if its a major revision )

however, If I am going to guess, I would probably think of a model next year or so that is smaller in hand. That is my guess.

You should know that Switch has gone under revision lately. The new models can't be hacked yet ( so if you want one for homebrew, you will need to act fast and go to some local store that doesn't sell Switch very often and buy an old stock )

Every successful consumer electronics product these days gets revised. I said it before, but the whole "this is the system and its not being changed for 5-6 years" is outdated 80s/90s thinking.

Today consumers expect and want new revisions, and significant ones too not just token revisions. People want new iPhones, Galaxy phones, iPads, PCs, Playstations, XBoxes, etc. etc. etc.

It makes the company money too. And Nintendo has become increasingly more profit focused, they can see the PS4 Pro and XBox One X are doing great for Sony/MS, in MS' case I think the X is pretty much saving the XBox this gen because it likely would be faltering hard by now without it.

I think there will be a significant Switch revision in 2020 and I think it will involve VR. The VR patent Nintendo has and the VR mode hackers have found in the Switch firmware are pretty strong tip offs.

FaulPern said:

Isn't Mariko the revision that patches out the entrypoint for Fusée Gelée?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tovPBY149I&t=5s
Nope that is still Tegra X1 (T210), not Tegra Mariko (T214). All we know is that Nintendo has a custom Tegra chip coming out for the Switch, currently they use an off the shelf part.

MauroNL said:

Okay so lately I have been thinking about getting a Switch, mainly for Football Manager which is a serious addiction by the way. I'm also curious to try out Odyssey and Tropical Freeze. I haven't really owned a Nintendo system since Nintendo 64 so I'm not really up to speed with how they usually handle hardware. I know Sony make slight tweaks and improvements to their PlayStation consoles, and release Slim models every few years. Microsoft also does this, though to a lesser extent. Nintendo does not really iirc? I mean there has been only one Wii model, and only one Wii U model as far as I can tell.

Now I remember reading some threads a while back about a possible newer or improved model of the Switch and I was wondering how likely this could happen. And when would this most likely release? I'm currently holding out for a sweet Black Friday deal to get back in the Nintendo ecosystem, but if it is likely to get a new model I might as well wait.

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My guess would be some sort of revision around October/November 2019. That said, if Nintendo view it more as a console than a handheld, it could be later than that.

Nintendo has a pretty consistent track record in terms of hardware. I bet by next year we'll see a smaller iteration for 199$ so that they'll have a killer Holiday 2019 season.

I would guess 2020. New console versions are used to reinvigorate sales, and Switch sales are still doing well from what I can tell. It's coming, but I think we still have a ways to go.

There won't be a major revision in my opinion. You try and make it more powerful and even slightly change the form factor, then the dock and joy cons won't fit from existing systems. Then you just start confusing your average consumer as far as what accessory works with what system. MS did a great job of driving home the point of how everything with the X works with the base system and vice versa. Furthermore, if you make a more powerful version, developers will need to make 4 versions of a game for Switch (Base handheld/Base docked/Enhanced handheld/Enhanced docked).

Now, will there be any revision at all? Sure. I can see one that has more storage included, better wifi, longer battery life, and lighter weight. That's sensible and I have to imagine will happen maybe 2 years from now or so. But anything more than that...not a chance.

TheCrackedJack said:

There won't be a major revision in my opinion. You try and make it more powerful and even slightly change the form factor, then the dock and joy cons won't fit from existing systems. Then you just start confusing your average consumer as far as what accessory works with what system. MS did a great job of driving home the point of how everything with the X works with the base system and vice versa. Furthermore, if you make a more powerful version, developers will need to make 4 versions of a game for Switch (Base handheld/Base docked/Enhanced handheld/Enhanced docked).

Now, will there be any revision at all? Sure. I can see one that has more storage included, better wifi, longer battery life, and lighter weight. That's sensible and I have to imagine will happen maybe 2 years from now or so. But anything more than that...not a chance.

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Nintendo has done much more than this in the past and have even confirmed a Switch product family, meaning multiple Switch devices. A Switch mini without joycons, would work just fine as long as it can play the same games as the Switch, heck there is no reason to make it unable to dock too, and tablet top mode could still be a thing for multiplayers as well. More powerful Switch devices will also happen, but the rumor going around that it would break compatibility starting next year, is a bit too crazy for me, I don't think that will happen until the 6th or 7th year.

My guess is next year. However, I think a cheaper alternative is just as likely as a traditional upgrade.

Nintendo have done multiple revisions of every one of their handhelds.

My guess is a switch mini for holiday 2019. A form factor closer to the 3ds or a Vita. Same library, same performance (perhaps using the docked performance profile), better battery life and cheaper price.

As in better specs? This has to happen when Sony and MS launch their new consoles, porting will be even harder then. A revision in terms of better battery life or better screen or something like this is to be expected from a handheld device from Nintendo.

TheCrackedJack said:

There won't be a major revision in my opinion. You try and make it more powerful and even slightly change the form factor, then the dock and joy cons won't fit from existing systems. Then you just start confusing your average consumer as far as what accessory works with what system. MS did a great job of driving home the point of how everything with the X works with the base system and vice versa. Furthermore, if you make a more powerful version, developers will need to make 4 versions of a game for Switch (Base handheld/Base docked/Enhanced handheld/Enhanced docked).

Now, will there be any revision at all? Sure. I can see one that has more storage included, better wifi, longer battery life, and lighter weight. That's sensible and I have to imagine will happen maybe 2 years from now or so. But anything more than that...not a chance.

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Again I think this type of thinking is outdated. In the modern era Nintendo will go for it, consumers not only expect it, they *want* it.

If you're not providing significant hardware refreshes in the modern world, your product is going to feel very dated in a few years. It's just the way things are. If there was any question, PS4 Pro and XBox One X let the genie out of the bottle for game consoles, there's no going back now.

A "Switch Pro" on 7nm-10nm node could very well also be about the same dimensions as the current Switch and work with current Joycons too.

Only expect internal tweaks in regards to revisions. Don't expect a major overhaul in the form of a New Switch or Switch Pro for at least 2 more years if at all. Nintendo rarely revises their console hardware and even then it only ever happens at the end of the system's life like the Wii Mini or Top Loader for the NES. Others have always relied on add-ons like the N64 or GameCube, but since the Wii they've forgone this for obvious reasons which is why you shouldn't expect something similar for the Switch. The only chance the Switch has at a revision is the fact that it's also a handheld and Nintendo loves releasing new iterations of them every few years, but given the tech in the Switch don't expect it, especially since it means they'd have to create entirely new joy-cons and dock for it and I imagine that wouldn't go over as well as 3DS revisions as you could still use the same stylus and charger. Slide-Pad was cheap there so it wasn't a major hassle, but imagine getting a pair of add-on Joy-Cons that can't work on a Switch Slim and cost you $80 because they were the color you liked, but you only play portable and they're too thick/tall for it. I imagine if a Switch Slim were to ever happen the joycons would basically be permanently bolted to the system and it would be a portable only version or something, but with revisions so it ran like it was docked. Imagine the short-battery life on that. :P

Im still waiting for my "Switch TV".

I wont use portable mode and I refuse to pay for it

copying a post i made a while back

"i expect absolutely no switch revisions (handheld only/console only) to be ever released. both of them will be very against what has made switch such a success, and i think nintendo knows it.
i also don't expect any "switch pro" type of revision. i don't think it's necessary, and the games that are now impossible to make/port on switch won't benefit in anyway because they would have to run on the base system anyway. i don't think a revision to run the current games at higher res/fps is that appealing to the nintendo base compared to ms/sony.
i expect a switch 2, fully backwards compatible with the current switch games, to be released late 2021/early 2022. and then maybe a year of cross generation games so switch 1 owners get to use their consoles for a little longer.
honestly i don't understand the obsession that people have with a switch revision considering a, it's so early in the system's life and b, the current hardware is such a success and it's moving massive amounts of software."

Probably some time next year.

Not until at least 2020. They'll want to remain somewhat competitive when PS5 lands in order to maintain their image as a portable home console instead of it being a handheld with TV out and to keep getting some sort of 3rd party support.

Until then though? There's no need.

ssnick37 said:

Im still waiting for my "Switch TV".

I wont use portable mode and I refuse to pay for it

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I feel you may be waiting for a very long time...

At earliest, November 2018.

At latest, November 2019.

My thoughts:

- 2019 holiday
- custom Tegra on smaller process node (7nm TSMC would be awesome)
- same form factor (JoyCon b/c)
- smaller bezels
-> bigger screen
- same resolution
- longer battery life
- higher clocks (think PS4Pro boost mode)
- passive cooling (?)

neilyadig said:

I feel you may be waiting for a very long time...

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Its fine. If they dont make it then I wont get a Switch. I am not hurting for games to play. Just that Ive been playing Nintendo systems since the NES but I decided to skip the Switch because it just wasnt for me.

UltraMagnus said:

Again I think this type of thinking is outdated. In the modern era Nintendo will go for it, consumers not only expect it, they *want* it.

If you're not providing significant hardware refreshes in the modern world, your product is going to feel very dated in a few years. It's just the way things are. If there was any question, PS4 Pro and XBox One X let the genie out of the bottle for game consoles, there's no going back now.

A "Switch Pro" on 7nm-10nm node could very well also be about the same dimensions as the current Switch and work with current Joycons too.

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Yeah shrink the bezel and offer a 7inch screen would be nice too, I could see them offering something that is as powerful as current gen consoles (base level) in order to get next gen ports but this will likely be a late 2020 thing, maybe even early 2021, next gen consoles won't stop support of the current Switch for about 2 years, because XB1 and PS4 will still see support while the newer consoles build a user base. I think that means Switch will be fine until after holiday 2022, meaning a Spring 2023 2nd upgraded switch could finally be a device that plays games that the current Switch cannot. They do have a very natural path to this, and 6 years of support for every game is fine for the current Switch, they can continue to target the current Switch long afterwards for games that are less demanding like Kirby games and even stuff like Mario Maker.

I see a 1TFLOP+ Switch coming holiday 2020 and a ~2.5TFLOP Switch coming Spring 2023 or later.

I also think Nintendo should introduce an enhanced dock that simply has a CPU/GPU and RAM inside of it, uses the Switch for wifi, bluetooth, portability and media reader, as well as account access. Basically it would be a cheap console that requires the Switch to function, but could be as powerful as a PS5/XBnext and come out anytime after the launch of next gen consoles. The main benefit of a device like this is that you could dock your current Switch and play newer games, if it comes out in 2021-2022, it could also be ~$199-$249 and be as powerful as a $399 10-12TFLOP PS5.

The Switch is not nearly the same type of "blue ocean, driven by casuals" type product the Wii or DS were either.

The Switch is being driven by the "wow, is this black magic?!" appeal of being able to play things like Zelda: BoTW and fully featured HD Mario Kart anywhere etc. In other words games you simply don't expect to play on a portable device.

For that concept to remain fresh and relevant I think a refresh is gonna have to happen around 2020 when PS5/Scarlett arrive, so that Switch can bump up the types of games it can play.

Final Fantasy VII Remake or GTAVI on a Switch Pro for example would be a "holy crap, I can't believe I'm able to play this while taking a poop!" moment for 2020 that would reinvigorate sales momentum for sure. And third parties would be eager to jump on board because by then the OG Switch will have been a proven commodity.

They could trim those 2007 size bezels way down

ssnick37 said:

Im still waiting for my "Switch TV".

I wont use portable mode and I refuse to pay for it

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I have bad news for you....

I still believe in the Switch TV dream.

One of the reasons I sold my Switch, other than there being nothing I cared about for like a year to come, was the hope that by the time there was enough I wanted to get another one that a revision would have hit.

UsoEwin said:

They could trim those 2007 size bezels way down

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With a bigger screen sure, I think they'll want to keep the frame the same size for the sake of the joy-cons. I'm not sure they will update the screen so soon but it wouldn't be out of step with previous portables if they did.

Third christmas as usual.