Analyst believes a Nintendo Switch Pro will arrive this year

[midian182]

Forward-looking: What will be the best-selling console of 2021? Could the PlayStation 5 take the crown, or will the Xbox Series X gain momentum and beat its rival? According to industry analysts, neither Sony nor Microsoft will come out on top; it will be the Nintendo Switch, and we could finally see the long-rumored Pro version.

In GamesIndustry.biz's annual feature, analysts predict industry trends for the year ahead. Mat Piscatella from the NPD Group believes the Nintendo Switch will sell more units than its next-gen rivals in 2021, though he says this be the result of content and promotional efforts, rather than a new model of the hybrid machine.

Dr. Serkan Toto from Kantan Games agrees that the Switch will be the best-selling console of the year, the result of first-party games and "the device having developed into a lifestyle product for the mass market over the course of 2020."

One area where Toto and Piscatella disagree is the launch of a Switch Pro. Last year, Toto said an updated, 4K-capable Switch Pro would launch in 2020. "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Nintendo will launch a "Switch Pro" in 2020, my guess is at $399," he said at the time. Of course, that never happened, but Toto believes the device will arrive sometime during Nintendo's next financial year.

Elsewhere, both Toto and Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis believe the PS5 will significantly outsell the Xbox Series X. The latter analyst claims Sony's machine will outsell the combined total of Xbox Series X and S units globally, with around 8.5 million PS5 shipments by the end of March 2021. He also expects a new PSVR to arrive in 2022, which lines up with what Sony CEO Jim Ryan said in October.

Interested to know how Nintendo reached its current lofty position despite past missteps? Check out our Against All Odds: How Nintendo Made It feature.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/88186-analyst-believes-nintendo-switch-pro-arrive-year.html

 

[stewi0001]

Of course, after I bought a switch for Christmas.

 

[SirDigby]

Of course, after I bought a switch for Christmas.

This rumour has been flying around for the last 2 years, take it with a pinch of salt. I'm excited for it, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[Uncle Al]

LOL .... I'm glad my PC doesn't become obsolete in just 12-18 months!

 

[yRaz]

Sold my switch earlier this year knowing a switch pro was coming. I keep all the boxes, original packaging and even the receipts for almost everything I own so I got back what I paid for it and all the accessories

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I love my switch, easily gets the most gaming use from me. That is what convinced me to abandon the playstation altogether, as Sony bothered themselves with censoring anime games and dumping cash into The Worst of Us II, Nintendo was putting out fun games. It's great for parties and if it wasnt for backwards compatibility on PC I'd likely soley play games on the switch.

I look forward to the pro.

LOL .... I'm glad my PC doesn't become obsolete in just 12-18 months!

Yes, the contantly upgrading PC world is a GREAT example of how things dont go obsolete. LMFAO.

Also the switch will be 4 years old in march, not sure where on earth you got 12-18 months from. And the switch wont die, the 3DS took years after the launch of the new 3ds AND the switch to finally kick the bucket.

 

[stewi0001]

...Yes, the contantly upgrading PC world is a GREAT example of how things dont go obsolete. LMFAO...

I have not upgraded my computer in years. I do not remember how long it as been but I want to guess between 8 to 10 years. I keep telling myself that I am due for an overhaul but never get to it for one reason or another. I should also state that I do not play the latest and greatest games either.

 

[unclefumbles]

As a guess, I'd say a future 'Pro' edition in portable form would have a 1080p screen with a Tegra X2-lite architecture. I'm assuming this would keep battery life in line with the second revision Switch with enough of a boost to improve performance overall, 30-50% is all it needs.

Whether this architecture can actually push 4K in docked mode is unknown to me, but I suspect that compromises will need to be made to make the console viable in both modes. Even if it's magically capable of 4x the performance of a base Switch it would still very rarely hit 4K at a stable frame rate.

 

[George Keech]

As a guess, I'd say a future 'Pro' edition in portable form would have a 1080p screen with a Tegra X2-lite architecture. I'm assuming this would keep battery life in line with the second revision Switch with enough of a boost to improve performance overall, 30-50% is all it needs.

Whether this architecture can actually push 4K in docked mode is unknown to me, but I suspect that compromises will need to be made to make the console viable in both modes. Even if it's magically capable of 4x the performance of a base Switch it would still very rarely hit 4K at a stable frame rate.

Yeah I think it might be a case of HDMI 2.0 on the dock and the processor allows for 4K HDR streaming of video? that would make more sense. given the hardware limitations and lets face it the Switch has done extremely well for the least powerful console by far it doesn't need power just a relative upgrade I think that means game can still be ported too it at an acceptable level

 

[redhat]

I wonder why they dont go with AMD APU too. would not that be easier to port games from PS/Xbox to switch platform, in addition right now AMD GPUs seems more power efficient than Nvidia

 

[SirDigby]

I wonder why they dont go with AMD APU too. would not that be easier to port games from PS/Xbox to switch platform, in addition right now AMD GPUs seems more power efficient than Nvidia

While I think AMD APU tech is currently more efficient that Nvidia, it would likely mean re-optimising the whole back catalogue of Switch games, as they run so well (or not in some cases) because they use every drop of power possible. May not be a huge effort, but the differences would be bigger than between Xbox Series S and X, so may be more hassle than it's worth.

 

[Fearghast]

Third time is the charm, right?
Nintendo's speculations always makes me chuckle, it's like Samsung, Apple phone speculations all over again EVERY year - better SOC, better screen ... and what's next?
Nothing? I thought so.

As a Switch and PC owner I could not be happier - graphical intensive games on PC (or games like HoTS etc.) and Switch for more creative games and for my kids.
Nintendo does not need 4K, HDR ... but if the release new, better version, you can bet I will get one It will make multiplayer with kids more manageable.

 

[punctualturn]

Good for them, I guess.

I refuse to give Nintendo a penny, given how they hate even their own fans and their disney like shenanigans, like limited amount of licenses/downloads for digital games.

I mean, cmon, since when is such a thing justifiable to be limited?

 

[rmcrys]

As a guess, I'd say a future 'Pro' edition in portable form would have a 1080p screen with a Tegra X2-lite architecture. ... Even if it's magically capable of 4x the performance of a base Switch it would still very rarely hit 4K at a stable frame rate.

You won't see 4K here, Nintendo leaves such resource eating things to Sony and Microsoft. Though you may see a console with 1080p screen and more memory.

 

[defaultluser]

This rumour has been flying around for the last 2 years, take it with a pinch of salt. I'm excited for it, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Why?

All the easy ports to Switch are from the 360 -era, or are casual titles (Doom and Witcher 3 excluded).

Do you really expect ports of AAA games to keep flowing when they have maxed-out the hardware on 2016-era game ports? Doom Eternal took literally an extra year of development to make it run acceptably on such outdated hardware (and it looks identical in quality to the 2016 game port)

When you have new shiny consoles from both MS (starting at $300) and Sony (starting at $400), you're going to need faster hardware to keep folks / developers interested in this under-powered platform.

 

[SirDigby]

Why?

All the easy ports to Switch are from the 360 -era, or are casual titles (Doom and Witcher 3 excluded).

Do you really expect ports of AAA games to keep flowing when they have maxed-out the hardware on 2016-era game ports? Doom Eternal took literally an extra year of development to make it run acceptably on such outdated hardware (and it looks identical in quality to the 2016 game port)

When you have new shiny consoles from both MS (starting at $300) and Sony (starting at $400), you're going to need faster hardware to keep folks / developers interested in this under-powered platform.

I 100% agree, I think they should've done a pro version 2019 or 2020, and there were constant rumours, but they kept getting shot down. I'm not saying they shouldn't, I'm just saying don't bet on it because we've been burned before...

 

[defaultluser]

I 100% agree, I think they should've done a pro version 2019 or 2020, and there were constant rumours, but they kept getting shot down. I'm not saying they shouldn't, I'm just saying don't bet on it because we've been burned before...

Nintendo never adds anther SKU for mid-life-upgrade - the intent is to replace the old revision with the new (so they can maintain current high MSRP for a few more years). And, they never release a new faster hardware revision until at least 3 years f sales on the platform (add a little extra thanks to Covid delays).

The Lite becoming it's own thing (equivalent to 2ds) last year makes this a whole lot easier to pull-off (They can wait to introduce an upgraded Lite model until late,just like they did with the 2ds XL).

This year is the perfect time to update Switch.

 

[Nargg]

LOL .... I'm glad my PC doesn't become obsolete in just 12-18 months!

Um, I've got news for you...

 

[Nargg]

While I think AMD APU tech is currently more efficient that Nvidia, it would likely mean re-optimising the whole back catalogue of Switch games, as they run so well (or not in some cases) because they use every drop of power possible. May not be a huge effort, but the differences would be bigger than between Xbox Series S and X, so may be more hassle than it's worth.

Wasn't some same hype said about Apple M1? That was proved wrong. You should sit back and wait and see. We all could be surprised.

 

[SirDigby]

Wasn't some same hype said about Apple M1? That was proved wrong. You should sit back and wait and see. We all could be surprised.

I love being proved wrong/