Switch Pro Speculation Thread

There's yer dinner, Neil!



The rumours are stronger than ever that we'll get a new Switch model soon.  Of course, 'the rumours' have been whirling for ages: this is nowt new. What they haven't told you is that the new Switch will levitate: see above.

So, what do you think?  Will we be getting a Switch Pro?  If so, will it give us what we truly crave: folders on the home screen!?  Or will it just boost the numbers and send Buska to sleep?  And would it be a good thing, or would it just result in games that we can't play (or can't feasibly play without the frame rate dropping to a slideshow) on base units?  Discuss!  Or don't, you do you.

Not sure if this is controversial, but I reckon Breath of the Wild 2 will rollout alongside this. BotW2 will run on your current Switch, but will be better on the new one.

I'm well up for a Switch Pro, although if they don't address the Joycon Drift, there'll be drama!

By 4K, I feel like it what it'll mean is that the new Switch will be able to output at 4K but that the internal resolution of games is generally going to fall well below that. Graphics vs performance modes may become more common.

Not exactly a fan of it for the effect it may have for versions of the game on standard Switch consoles, for which there's already a crazy large install base.

It may seem like the large power difference between the next gen consoles and the Switch is going to become ever more stark in the coming years, but it's not like the Switch is directly competing with those consoles and it remains to be the most powerful handheld by a large margin. An upgrade is also probably not gonna come anywhere near close to bridging the gap.

Seems like we're heading the way towards a Switch Pro anyway though as the last few relevant consoles have had mid-gen upgrades and they seem to be an easy sell.

It's all very much meaningless words for me when people talk 4K and 1080p, that being said I'd be there for a Switch Pro day 1 regardless because I can't help myself. I do think gjones is right in thinking it'll launch alongside a long awaited sequel although I'd put my money on Metroid Prime 4 being that game.

Honestly my only real desires for a Switch Pro would be to have as many quality of life features that bring it in line with other consoles as possible. I want themes, an achievement system and a greater range of options for game capture. Bring back Miiverse too.

Treesmurf wrote:

It's all very much meaningless words for me when people talk 4K and 1080p, that being said I'd be there for a Switch Pro day 1 regardless because I can't help myself. I do think gjones is right in thinking it'll launch alongside a long awaited sequel although I'd put my money on Metroid Prime 4 being that game.

Honestly my only real desires for a Switch Pro would be to have as many quality of life features that bring it in line with other consoles as possible. I want themes, an achievement system and a greater range of options for game capture. Bring back Miiverse too.

All of this. While on one hand I don't really like it when Nintendo 'split the market' and confuses things like with the DSi, the New 3DS and now a Switch Pro, I think an upgrade is needed now. That's not only because I think it could do with being more powerful, but it's also because the original 2017 Switch is so physically knackered too.

Even though I take care of it, my Switch has cracks on the casing, scratches on the screen that were caused by the dock, a diminished battery life and an almighty case of JoyCon drift. That's probably a common tale for a lot of us. Don't get me wrong, I still love it and it's versatility and mobility, but it's quite a faulty product. Sorting the durability and technological issues out - and adding themes, Miiverse, etc - is what I want. 

"That being said I'd be there for a Switch Pro day 1 regardless because I can't help myself".

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I'll buy it day one even though there are no games and that I'm fussed about and then a month later they'll bring out a sick Monhan one or Zelda one or something and I'll be raging.

Basically what the Smurf and the Kid said. I don't think I'm getting one unless my existing console explodes or something. I've never caved in for a New 3DS / PS4 Pro / XBox 360 Slimline thing, and I don't think the difference is going to be noticeable for an old man like myself.

Same as lot of you, I'll likely get a Switch Pro as I'm a sucker even though my New 3DS didn't get much use from the New part but both my PS4 Pro and One X, did, and I have a 4KTV which I may upgrade where even an output or DLSS would be good.

I was thinking same this will launch next to BotW 2, but what did the DSi or New 3DS really launch alongside? Same goes for PS4 Pro or One X, which I remember Lucky being like the only new One X game.

My only real negative on it if Pro only games, be fine for me as I'll get a Switch Pro but what about the 80m users that won't upgrade.

mas wrote:

I was thinking same this will launch next to BotW 2, but what did the DSi or New 3DS really launch alongside?

Not sure about DSi but New 3DS launched alongside Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.

mas wrote:

My only real negative on it if Pro only games, be fine for me as I'll get a Switch Pro but what about the 80m users that won't upgrade.

This all depends on the style of upgrade it ends up being but considering how much of a success the current Switch is I don't see how Nintendo would make a choice that splits the user base like that.


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I'm not wanting or expecting much from a Switch pro to be honest, I do like the idea that I've seen floating about that is basically just an upgraded dock that boosts the base Switch's power. Maybe they can make one that doesn't have a chance of scratching your screen as well.

Wouldn't you have said that about the DS or 3DS before the DSi or New 3DS though? I've not looked but I'm now curious what the installbase of those before the upgrades launched.

Since we have two Switch players in my household, it's something we might get.

An OLED screen will look nice but I'd be paranoid about burn in, especially given the bright colours of many Nintendo games, so I would likely only ever use if docked. That makes it a little less likely that I'll get it though. That it could take advantage of my 4k TV, well that's cool, but I won't buy something just for that.

When I get a new machine it's either to replace a broken one or to get access to new stuff. So the question mark for me comes from the business model. Will it mirror the New 3DS, with its system exclusive games designed to take full advantage of the new model, or will it do what the other systems have, everything is a base model game that gets powered up by the newer model?

I like the former more, because then I know what I'm buying. With the latter, I wouldn't see a reason to upgrade unless the developers are basically allowed to shaft the base Switch version on every release. At that point it's a big upgrade in all but name, and that's kind of my problem; I only see the value if it shafts the original model.

That said, the New 3DS was a terrible name and probably a marketing nightmare so I'm not sure we'll see that strategy again. Everything about the Switch from a marketing perspective - the sleek design, the snaps at the start of each advert, the form factor - has been distinct and works! Would calling a new system the "Super Nintendo Switch" and following the new 3DS route muddy the waters too much?

Either way, just make sure Rufus Hound isn't allowed near one.

That's the thing if you make exclusives you shaft the current owners and if you don't can someone come along with a game that works on Base Switch but runs like soup? This hasn't happened with PS4's & One's, but it could.

Done some digging on numbers

DS pre-DSi 84.33m, DSi has 4 physical exclusives and 423 apps + digital games

3DS pre-3DS 52.05m, New 3DS has 4 physical games and about 50 digital games mainly due SNES VC

masofdas wrote:

Wouldn't you have said that about the DS or 3DS before the DSi or New 3DS though? I've not looked but I'm now curious what the installbase of those before the upgrades launched.

masofdas wrote:

That's the thing if you make exclusives you shaft the current owners and if you don't can someone come along with a game that works on Base Switch but runs like soup? This hasn't happened with PS4's & One's, but it could.

Done some digging on numbers

DS pre-DSi 84.33m, DSi has 4 physical exclusives and 423 apps + digital games

3DS pre-3DS 52.05m, New 3DS has 4 physical games and about 50 digital games mainly due SNES VC

That's a worst case scenario, right? If it never happened with DS to DSi or 3ds to New 3ds & even ps4/One then why would an upgraded Switch be any different, people lap up any kind of tech upgrade these days not because they need it but mainly because of that fear of missing out.

Oh, what a surprise, this thread is boring horrible numbers.

masofdas wrote:

That's the thing if you make exclusives you shaft the current owners and if you don't can someone come along with a game that works on Base Switch but runs like soup? This hasn't happened with PS4's & One's, but it could.

Making exclusives doesn't shaft anybody though.

Hypothetically, lets assume the Switch Pro has exclusives. It's reasonable to accept that a Switch Pro exclusive was designed specifically for the Pro, optimised specifically for the pro, getting the most the developers could out of the hardware. Therefore, it was never going to be for the base version. Therefore, nobody got shafted because the game wasn't coming to the base version.

Obviously a Switch owner who bought the system for BotW 2 might feel shafted if it was pro exclusive, and I think Nintendo shouldn't make any already announced software pro exclusive, but beyond that how is anybody shafted?

Now let's assume that exclusives won't exist. In this scenario, developers have to optimise for two systems, which is more work. How marginal that extra work is will be down to what the studio does and other variables I'm sure. This raises three questions:

1. If I'm a Switch Base user, how does having work done on a Switch Pro version benefit me? And of course, the same question in reverse. - the only positive I can think of here is that there's cross-play, but aren't the PS4 and the PS5 proving capable of that for now anyway?

2. There is an increase in production costs for developers who now need to optimise for two versions. How great that cost is, I cannot say, but it definitely exists in this ecosystem. How will these increased costs be passed onto the consumer?

3. If a studio puts minimal effort into a pro version: e.g., Pro version Overwatch just has higher resolution menu support, then how can a consumer make an informed decision about the benefits a Pro will bring to their home versus the base version?

Also, I'm not sure we can argue the case that there aren't howlers on the base version of the PS4, see Cyberpunk. And while true, it's bad on the Pro too, don't you think if pro exclusives were allowed that Project Red might have gone down that route? And that, potentially, PS4 & PS4 pro consumers would have got a better deal? e.g., a working version launched on the pro?

I'm not trying to feel sorry for CD:PR here, but giving developers a console split might give them better options to make informed development decisions, which could be particularly valuable given the difference in specs between all the consoles across Nintendo, Sony and MS.

Buskalilly wrote:

Oh, what a surprise, this thread is boring horrible numbers.

If you had to rate this thread by a percentage, what would it be?

Your not wrong Muss you have calls for Halo Infinite to be scrapped Xbox One versions because could end up like Cyberpunk. Now One and Series is to different gens then instead of a enhanced system where that be the case.

Guess we wait and see, I just know I'd like to see it like PS4 Pro or One X in terms what Switch Pro can and can't do, not what DSi & New 3DS did.

I've never bought a new model of a console I already own so I wouldn't get a pro. I did have a DS Lite and a New 3DS due to not buying either until those refreshes came out though

Muss wrote:

Making exclusives doesn't shaft anybody though.

This argument assumes that the teams developing the exclusives wouldn't be making anything else with that time and with those resources, doesn't it?  Surely if teams are spending time and money and manpower on making exclusives, it's reasonable to assume they'd otherwise be making games for the base Switch, so base Switch owners are getting shafted that way?  You might have to weigh that up against the extra costs from point 2, but I think it's fair to say those would be less.

At this stage I'm not overly troubled if there are exclusives.  When people were yelling about the Switch Pro two years in, I was thinking that'd be bobbins if devs suddenly devoted their resources to Switch-only games.  At this point, I think it's fair enough.  If I own a base Switch I may be indirectly getting shafted, but if I'm a PS4 owner who doesn't upgrade to a PS5 I have a similar problem, and the timescale difference isn't super huge.

Buskalilly wrote:

Oh, what a surprise, this thread is boring horrible numbers.

Is that a Nintendo way of looking at things? I know third party support on Switch is sporadic, but in theory a more powerful switch would encourage more ports from the other consoles that wouldn't make it to the regular switch?

Equally, with a Switch pro exclusive, you open up the possibility of games that just wouldn't work on the regular Switch. It looks like Bowser's Fury is at the edge of what the Switch can do. Is trying to push beyond that shafting Switch users, or is it just offering people something new?

Sounds like might as well be Switch 2 then or maybe market it like Xbox, where basically everything on both with the odd expectations which is up to devs like The Medium leveraging the SSD.

With it being the Switch ecosystem.

Balladeer wrote:

There's yer dinner, Neil!

Aww thanks

I'm going to buy it Day 1 whatever it is.

If I was making predictions...

- I always assume Nintendo is going to go for the lowest performance. Made the mistake of getting hyped for power parity before. So I'm not holding out hope for the new architectures that people on ResetEra are talking about. But I do think the 4K stuff sounds plausible. I don't even have a 4K TV so just some slightly shinier graphics is fine by me
- I reckon Nintendo is holding on to some game announcements they can use to sell this new model. I think the lack of first party in the last Direct backs that up. Breath of the Wild 2 is probably going to be a showcase for it as well.
- I saw an insider on ResetEra say there'll be some 3rd party games that release only for this new model. I reeeeeally hope it's something Resident Evil related

I'd take something Resi. Maybe a Revelations 3? Obviously a 7 or an 8 would be cool, but I'm not letting myself believe the Switch Pro will match xBoX oNe and PS4, let alone PS5.

Buskalilly wrote:

I'd take something Resi. Maybe a Revelations 3? Obviously a 7 or an 8 would be cool, but I'm not letting myself believe the Switch Pro will match xBoX oNe and PS4, let alone PS5.

Even if it's a bit weaker than Xbox One, it could maybe do RE7 or RE2 remake. But it's wishful thinking.

Apparently there is a new Resi coming to Switch, I think it was mentioned in that Capcom data hack.

Village is coming to Xbox One and PS4, so if the Switch Pro is close to PS4 which is the rumour then that is a game that could come and would open the Switch to bunch more games but then again would Village Switch be a Pro Only game?

Also, on that I remember one rumour was something like Village would be playable on Base Switch but via the Cloud like Control & Hitman and a native download on Switch Pro.

If I had a choice though I would sooner have Res Rev 3 then a port of Village.