Report: Nintendo’s next console ships late 2024, still supports cartridges
- Thread starter JournalBot
- Start date
Depending on what silicon they go with, it could be difficult on the GPU side. We haven't heard much from Tegra chips on a while, but the Switch Tegra uses a GPU based on Maxwell Nvidia architecture (9xx GPU generation). Nvidia architecture generations are not intercompatible. Either they go with a much larger Maxwell GPU, or maybe they go with an architecture more modern (like Ampere). If they go the more modern direction, some sort of driver level translation will be necessary for existing Switch games.
Last edited:
Upvote
10
(12
/
-2)
This reporting on "Project Cafe" (WiiU) seems pretty solid, although it's from 3 days before it was announced:
https://meincmagazine.com/gaming/2011/06/this-is-what-we-expect-from-nintendos-project-cafe/
On the other hand, remember this speculation from 2021 after a writer overheard a Nintendo employee mention "the thing after the Switch"?
https://meincmagazine.com/gaming/2021...rheard-chatter-led-to-a-nintendo-goose-chase/
Upvote
5
(5
/
0)
Given how backwards compatibility has worked for the PS4-PS4pro/PS5 leap and XBO-X/XBSX leap I don't think backwards compatibility is a given. That is to say work has to be put in (even when using similar architectures), and this is with larger companies that put more of a emphasis on it and have more to lose if they don't (because I don't see Nintendo really being in competition with sony/microsoft; more side adjacent).
Which is to say, it's possible old games will run on the new hardware (possibly physical and/or digital only games); but in either case I would 100% expect re-releases of all popular switch games to the new hardware. The only real question is will they take the Free upgrade, $10 upgrade, or full $70 upgrade price path.
Which is to say, it's possible old games will run on the new hardware (possibly physical and/or digital only games); but in either case I would 100% expect re-releases of all popular switch games to the new hardware. The only real question is will they take the Free upgrade, $10 upgrade, or full $70 upgrade price path.
Upvote
-4
(2
/
-6)
The graphics libraries are, would you believe it, statically linked to the game executable. They've built a cross for their own back.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH03ht2fVqI
Upvote
24
(24
/
0)
the Gameboy color, Gameboy advance, DS, 3DS, Wii, and Wii U were all backwards compatible.
The only consoles that weren't were the Super, 64, GameCube, and Switch, and all those had very good reasons for not being backwards compatible.
Upvote
27
(28
/
-1)
Welll... the Super NES had a bit less of a good reason for not being backwards compatible, considering the CPU was based on the WDC 65C816, which was essentially the 16-bit version of the MOS 6502, which the NES used a version of for CPU. There was even a legacy mode where it ran like a 6502. Nintendo is rumored to have been working on BC for the SNES, but cut it to save costs.
There's actually a NES emulator being developed for the SNES that can run some games, and it largely predicated on the idea that emulating the 6502 on the SNES is largely just converting from an 8-bit command to 16-bit.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TthFh27Mx5k
Upvote
12
(12
/
0)
I'll buy one on launch if it has a card slot so I can play my existing Switch games on it too.
Upvote
7
(7
/
0)
It's true that leak culture is absolutely nuts these days. Though I find once mainstream media, such as Ars, are willing to put things in "print" (versus just the leakers on Twitter and forums), it signals that there's probably a grain of truth or reliability to the rumor. Cool, maybe there will be a new switch to look forward to sooner rather than later. But to be on the edge of one's seat for the next year or two is just silly.
Upvote
3
(4
/
-1)
The only thing Nintendo needs to do is here:
- Throw a faster SOC in the same form factor
- Improve JoyCon 2 ergonomics if possible
- Name it something obvious (Switch 2) so there are no Wii/Wii U mixups
Upvote
26
(26
/
0)
My cousin's hairdrersser's belt buckle machinist is part of Nintendo's secret "crazy form factor brainstorming team". They say it's a six-screen foldable console you can assemble into a cube or flatten into a cross-shaped net. The top face detaches as a portable.
Upvote
16
(16
/
0)
Upvote
20
(20
/
0)
It did avoid the issue of having games break when you update the library, though. Important when games are distributed on read-only cartridges. The game is tested with the exact library it ships with, and never has to worry about changes to that library.
Upvote
28
(28
/
0)
Upvote
14
(14
/
0)
If they're planning to launch next year then third parties had better have at least preview dev hardware.
You do not want a repeat of the Wii U fiasco, where the console launched absolutely broken (remember the 12+ hour update, if you were lucky, when you plugged in your new console?) and 3rd party support was terrible because they didn't give it nearly enough time (we gotta get it out this Thanksgiving no matter the cost! Well, the cost was that your console was broken and did terribly, though they did eventually fix things).
That they're not targeting a 2023 Thanksgiving launch (thanks in part to the Switch still doing fine) suggests they learned their lesson.
You do not want a repeat of the Wii U fiasco, where the console launched absolutely broken (remember the 12+ hour update, if you were lucky, when you plugged in your new console?) and 3rd party support was terrible because they didn't give it nearly enough time (we gotta get it out this Thanksgiving no matter the cost! Well, the cost was that your console was broken and did terribly, though they did eventually fix things).
That they're not targeting a 2023 Thanksgiving launch (thanks in part to the Switch still doing fine) suggests they learned their lesson.
Upvote
-2
(4
/
-6)
This is not to say that Nintendo hasn't done dumb things--but failing to design a Switch successor without full backwards compatibility would be a gargantuan mistake. I don't see that happening.
Upvote
11
(11
/
0)
Pretty much agree, but "if possible" is a tall order. I think they're kinda stuck with the cramped cheap plastic joycons, given what they're used for (attached-only, or emergency-only detatched). If you want something better, the Pro Controller has always been there. The only improvement I can think of is to include a couple Pro Controllers so people don't feel obligated to attempt using the joycons detatched.
Upvote
2
(2
/
0)
Kind of an odd assertion given that storage prices have been plummeting this year.
Upvote
6
(6
/
0)
The Switch is just out of juice - very obviously for many third party games, but even for Nintendo's own games. Tears of the Kingdom is noticeably held back by the hardware (it can't even hold 30 fps, or 20 fps at times) and just plays so much better on a PC - yes, you can emulate a Switch game much faster (60 fps) and at a much higher resolution (4K), with much better graphical effects (AA and mods), on a mid-range gaming PC than the Switch can natively play its own game, and it does very much improve the game experience.
Now they don't have to go overboard - chasing PS5 would just be silly (especially if you're keeping it handheld) - but it could definitely use a bump in the CPU / GPU /RAM size while keeping it in the same family for back compat and simplicity. It's been six years, that should be trivial just thanks to Moore's Law. If the Switch 2 is as relatively powerful as the Switch was when it was launched that would be just fine. It would still be modest, but that's more than enough for another 5 years. And then we can see what Nintendo can do with that extra power! Imagine what they could have done with TotK if they'd been targeting Switch 2 only.
Upvote
16
(18
/
-2)
Upvote
1
(1
/
0)
It depends on the price point Nintendo is aiming for, and the amount of storage they want to include. Keep in mind that Nintendo's philosophy has always been to make money on the console sales as well, so they need a profit margin, while likely wanting to keep the same price point as the existing Switch.
Upvote
4
(4
/
0)
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Custo...itch-2-rumor-hits-the-4chan-fan.732467.0.html
It's been going around. Staying with nvidia should provide some backward compatibility.
Upvote
4
(4
/
0)
Upvote
9
(9
/
0)
Upvote
2
(2
/
0)
Probably a pipe dream but I'd love it if they went with a M2 2330 ssd and made it fairly easy to swap as a users. The space premium isn't bad compared to a typical M2 ssd and it would make upgrades relatively easy and probably much cheaper over time as well as potentially faster.
Upvote
6
(7
/
-1)
“My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw a Switch replacement with an LCD screen at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.”
Upvote
9
(9
/
0)
Mr.Mumbles
Ars Centurion
No matter what Nintendo ends up doing I hope they'll switch to hall effect joysticks. The Joycon drift issue is a bit bonkers. Also, there better be full backwards compatibility or I may just exit the console space entirely... I don't care about Xbox/Playstation as my PC covers most of the same space and more.
Upvote
17
(17
/
0)
Right, and that kinda proves my point. That chip uses Ampere graphics architecture. Since it's different than the currently used Maxwell, it's going to take some work to maintain backwards compatibility. Games from the online store can be recompiled so there's a new version, but existing cartridges will be a problem without a live translation layer.
Upvote
11
(13
/
-2)
Yes, there is that in its favour and it works.
However it was already limiting in the Wii days. Nintendo was the outlier with this design about 17 years ago, nowadays it's positively archaic. It's like in some aspects they've never progressed beyond the NES.
The eShop can push patches so there maybe some developers who will want to patch new drivers into old games for the next Switch, but it would have been much easier if the graphics library were dynamically linked and Nintendo did the work. Maybe a few games wouldn't be compatible initially but it's nothing that couldn't be fixed as Microsoft have shown.
Upvote
12
(12
/
0)
Hah, that works on multiple levels!
Gets the Wii in there, and can use the ii to represent 2, for Switch 2.
I like it! (Which means it will never happen ...)
Upvote
3
(3
/
0)
Considering how good Switch emulators are there's no reason it couldn't work even if they did switch architectures.
I suspect they won't switch architectures though. A new Tegra will meet all objectives.
Oh - carts have statically linked libraries you say? I'm confident Nvidia can design a stub for those that translates calls.
Last edited:
Upvote
11
(11
/
0)
Or, they simply make it so that starting an OG Switch game off the cartridge does a download/install of the recompiled New Switch game from the eStore, and toggle a bit that says "this game requires the cartridge to be in the slot to start".
That way, if you transfer your digital library over from the Switch, it installs the recompiled games onto the local storage. And it uses the same recompiled digital game when playing Switch cartridge games.
Not quite as nice as "insert Switch game cartridge, start playing game", but the end-result is the same.
Upvote
7
(8
/
-1)
Just like most people here, I'm all for an evolution of the Switch rather than some other gamble by Nintendo. Non-drifting controllers, BT audio support, backwards compatibility and an adequate spec update ("good enough" over "high end", like the original switch) would be more than enough to make it a first-day buy for me.
Upvote
9
(9
/
0)
Yea there's no way in an era of every combination translation layer you can dream of, that an Nvidia to Nvidia translation layer would pose a substantial problem.
Upvote
6
(6
/
0)
I would like to see some greater emphasis on accessories. "Pro" joycons, a dock with multiple game cart slots and an extra SD slot, that kind of thing. Every Nintendo console gets wacky first party accessories and I feel like the switch didn't get it's fair share outside of the cardboard stuff. We can expect the Switch 2 Rise of Electro to be basically a switch but better, so I think if they want to drum up some additional excitement that's the route to go.
Upvote
2
(2
/
0)
OrangeCream
Ars Legatus Legionis
Reading the previous Ars article on the subject says it isn’t true. The Switch included a driver stack with every game so back compatibility requires an emulator or at least a GPU driver that presents the HW as if it were the same as found in the Switch.
It’s certainly not impossible, it’s just not obviously simple. For example Rosetta was Apple’s solution for backwards compatible software. Rather than an emulator it was a binary translator that more or less recompiled x86 to ARM. A similar shim would map GPU code from one architecture to another without letting the Switch game know the new GPU exists.
Upvote
7
(7
/
0)