One for Pokémon and one for Astral Chain.
After reporting a Switch revision was in the works for 2019, sources have indicated to the Wall Street Journal that there may in fact be two Switch revisions.
The report (subscription required) posits that the revisions would be announced at E3, and release later in the summer. One revision would be a less expensive option and would serve as an upgrade path for the 3DS, but would omit HD Rumble. The other would be a "Pro" Switch that may be more powerful than the current model, though not at the level of a PlayStation 4 Pro, and would include features more appealing for core gamers.
Reported in the same article is that Sharp is bidding to be the display supplier for the revisions, replacing a combination of three firms. Sharp previously was the display supplier for the 3DS.
Isn't the HD rumble within the Joycons? So what does a model without the feature mean? Does it not support it outright or does it just not come with rumble capable Joycons and that you could connect a pair of rumble Joycons to it? That would be a good deal if you were planning on buying an additional pair of Joycons for multiplayer anyway. You can save a few bucks by relegating your friends to using the rumble-less Joycons while your experience is uncompromised.
Sure, sounds like a typical Nintendo move. Their software is a bit lacking right now, so out come the hardware variants.
Perhaps it was foolish, but I was hoping Nintendo might have a bit more respect for the console audience than to try to pull the same cash-grabbing stunts they routinely pulled with their handhelds. Perhaps they still do. I suppose we'll find out at E3.
Perhaps it was foolish, but I was hoping Nintendo might have a bit more respect for the console audience than to try to pull the same cash-grabbing stunts they routinely pulled with their handhelds.
"Lite" Switch is cool
but I need more info on the Switch "Up".
extra power (TegraX2 chips?) is expected, but what kinda new features are we talking about here?
Is there a camera on the device? A front (and rear) facing camera could be useful for chat and AR games.
what kinda features would you guys expect that would appeal to "Core Gamers"?
Sure, sounds like a typical Nintendo move. Their software is a bit lacking right now, so out come the hardware variants.
Perhaps it was foolish, but I was hoping Nintendo might have a bit more respect for the console audience than to try to pull the same cash-grabbing stunts they routinely pulled with their handhelds. Perhaps they still do. I suppose we'll find out at E3.
Between the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X, this is apparently how consoles work now.
Isn't that what the Sega CD or N64 Expansion Pak essentially were? The difference there is that existing users could upgrade their existing hardware.
"Lite" Switch is coolBuilt in Twitch Streaming would be a good one.
but I need more info on the Switch "Up".
extra power (TegraX2 chips?) is expected, but what kinda new features are we talking about here?
Is there a camera on the device? A front (and rear) facing camera could be useful for chat and AR games.
what kinda features would you guys expect that would appeal to "Core Gamers"?
Isn't that what the Sega CD or N64 Expansion Pak essentially were? The difference there is that existing users could upgrade their existing hardware.
The Sega CD when it launched cost $299, versus the Genesis that cost $189 at launch.
You could see it as an upgrade, but it cost more than the system it was "upgrading". I'd argue that was overall much worse than what's likely to be done here.
Don't forget the Xbox One S.
Shorty's suggestion of limiting what the devs can do with the Pro tech has the side effect of making a Pro model essentially useless to those that do want to buy it. If you use the improved tech considerably then you're flipping the bird to every existing owner that reasonably expected their console to last longer than two years but if you don't make good use of it then you're ripping off the Pro customers that expect some justification for buying a more expensive model. No matter what approach you take you're going to upset some segment of your customer base. In short this approach SUCKS and there's a reason why consoles worked the way they did for 40 years and why they've been able to co-exist in a market with other devices that can play games but aren't specifically designed for that purpose.
What's annoying about this is that the moving goalpost approach to console hardware has already existed. Isn't that what the Sega CD or N64 Expansion Pak essentially were? The difference there is that existing users could upgrade their existing hardware. Now on a handheld that's not a very feasible idea so we get things like the DSi and New 3DS and to have access to a very small amount of games that need the updated tech you have to buy a brand new system. At least those were more affordable than a new console. The Switch is pretty damn expensive to upgrade as are the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. The Switch has the excuse that as a hybrid it would lose it's portability by offering an upgrade to existing hardware but the PS4 and XB1 in theory could have been designed to allow that.
At least with a PC you can upgrade your RAM or swap out a CPU or graphics card. You don't have to replace the whole damn PC for minor updates. The goalpost moves but you have to ability to make minor tweaks to accommodate that.
