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[BlackTron]

Exactly. This is the first time we're about to witness a big graphical jump for Nintendo games, as the Wii U to Switch era is very minor in terms of raw graphical upgrades.

Well, biggest jump since early 2010s sure, but not the first. Much bigger jumps happened in the past than this. Once you get over the shift from 2D to 3D, the most insane jump of actual fidelity was probably from 64 to GameCube. Going from there to HD graphics on U was no small blip either.

Wii U to Switch was very much like GameCube to Wii though. Very samey.

SNES power over NES was probably a bigger deal to people in screenshots back then than Switch 2 over Switch will ever be.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Won't be higher than 30-50W imo.

You still have heat and noise considerations in docked mode.

I'm reading rumors the dock will have a fan and it has a 60W power brick.

Nintendo Switch 2 Might Have a Second Cooler and 60W Charger

There's a new batch of Nintendo Switch 2 rumors pointing at a second cooler (possibly placed on the dock) and a 60W charger being included.

wccftech.com

 

[KungFucius]

J/k. No idea why people insist on arguing about the power of the Switch either for or against it. Nintendo has already proven the way they will handle hardware and it works for them and their fans.

It doesn't work for all of their fans. It is serviceable but many complain. I absolutely loved TotK, but for the first hour or so I was disappointed by the graphics playing the Switch after playing something on PC gamepass. The Switch wasn't really noticeably better than the WiiU for games so we are talking 14 years of just barely HD hardware from Nintendo. Many of their fans have grown and had kids in that timeframe.

 

[Pandawan]

That is funny because it’s likely to be quite superior in many ways due to using modern Nvidia architecture with access to features the PS4 Pro does not. As a portable device, though, it’ll be limited in other, different areas.

So yeah, I'll translate from influencer speak into human language.

Linneman basically says: "Yes, the Switch 2 hardware will be less powerful than the PS4 PRO, but the frame gen tech will allow it to run games at a higher FPS."

 

[Robb]

but the frame gen tech will allow it to run games at a higher FPS

Nintendo Switch 2 rumor claims DLSS 3.5 capabilities but no frame-generation.

 

[elbourreau]

Retro Studios black magic

Their Metroid Prime Remaster is the best looking title I’ve played in the system. Hoping they treat Prime 2 and 3 with the same amount of love.

 

[SweetTooth]

Architecturally i would hope so

Well, Its going to be a disaster if you couldn't improve upon a 10 year-old design

 

[ArtHands]

New architectures are supposedly better/more efficient. Right?.

It seems the Switch 2 is going to rely heavily on ML upscaling. I think the only relevant aspect of the Switch 2 is how it will influence the dynamics of the "Handhelds Warz" price and third-party support.

I have to assume PlayStation is working on a handheld close in price to the Switch (still more expensive) but not as expensive as PC handhelds.

realizing that graphics are dead I just wonder if these handhelds will push devs to actually optimize their games.

Undoubtably better. More modern features, better power consumption and easier to port 95% of PS5 games over.

 

[Astray]

I'm reading rumors the dock will have a fan and it has a 60W power brick.

Nintendo Switch 2 Might Have a Second Cooler and 60W Charger

There's a new batch of Nintendo Switch 2 rumors pointing at a second cooler (possibly placed on the dock) and a 60W charger being included.

wccftech.com

Yep that 60W Power brick kinda tracks with what I said, you need to have headroom in place for the case of power consumption spikes.

Plus you need to have a brick that's fast enough to charge the switch quickly, considering that some people will probably use their dock for charging and not buy a separate USB-C charger.

 

[Trilobit]

This isn’t a system war thing. Idk what PS5 even has to do with the conversation.

It’s about releasing something, again, that is woefully dated tech the day it comes out. Switch games by and large run like absolute ass because it has the power of a damn tablet from 2011. Even Nintendo’s own games run like total shit. Echoes of Wisdom is terrible, Links’s Awakening not being much better. Tears of the Kingdom literally dropping frames into the teens. Really tame games like Kirby and Paper Mario being stuck at 30fps. And on and on.

I don’t need it to be a powerhouse. It doesn’t have to be a PS5 Pro. But I don’t want it to be quite literally a decade old tech the day it comes out either. We just had to deal with that.

If it means that Nintendo will have an easier time developing games and that the development time and costs don't balloon like they have this gen, then I have no problems with the tech being less powerful. I just want fun games to play even if they are graphically lacking. Breath of the Wild is still the best gaming experience I've had in the last few years and that includes my time with my PS5.

So no, not a system war thing, rather a games output thing.

 

[Astray]

If it means that Nintendo will have an easier time developing games and that the development time and costs don't balloon like they have this gen, then I have no problems with the tech being less powerful. I just want fun games to play even if they are graphically lacking. Breath of the Wild is still the best gaming experience I've had in the last few years and that includes my time with my PS5.

Newsflash for you, they're complaining about that too:

Nintendo battling rising development costs with creativity, says Shigeru Miyamoto

Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has stated the company's belief that unique creativity is more important than development c…

www.eurogamer.net

Rising costs are a problem for the entire gaming industry it seems. Gravity does come for us all.

 

[Trilobit]

Newsflash for you, they're complaining about that too:

Nintendo battling rising development costs with creativity, says Shigeru Miyamoto

Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has stated the company's belief that unique creativity is more important than development c…

www.eurogamer.net

Rising costs are a problem for the entire gaming industry it seems. Gravity does come for us all.

Yes, I know that, but it would be even more of an issue if they had to produce games on the level of XSX/PS5.

 

[Pedro Motta]

I would be disappointed if it wasn't more powerful than a PS4 Pro..

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

It won't be more powerful than PS4 Pro. It will be superior technically - I mean it is to be expected, the devices are years apart, plus Nvidia has DLSS - but people are in for a "performance" surprise We simply don't have battery technology to have a really performant handhelds within a certain price range.

 

[Astray]

Yes, I know that, but it would be even more of an issue if they had to produce games on the level of XSX/PS5.

We don't know that.

A lot of the rise in costs has been linked to retaining talent in the face of massive worldwide inflation. Japan has a dwindling population too, so the workforce is getting older (and thus things like healthcare etc have rising costs).

Nintendo knows that they need to manage things like scope (and they do it better than most), but even they aren't immune from the economic forces affecting us all.

It won't be more powerful than PS4 Pro. It will be superior technically - I mean it is to be expected, the devices are years apart, plus Nvidia has DLSS - but people are in for a "performance" surprise We simply don't have battery technology to have a really performant handhelds within a certain price range.

The battery is supposedly a 20-30wh thing too (compare this to Steam Deck that has 40wh, or ROG Ally X/MSI Claw 8 AI that has 80wh). If they don't manage power draw well, this thing could be a battery hog, esp since the screen is also LCD (which consumes more power than OLED).

 

[TNT Sheep]

I suppose the difference between the Switch 2 and the PS4 Pro will be similar to the difference between the Xbox Series S and the Xbox One X. In docked mode that is.

 

[Ozriel]

Over a decade later and Nvidia still can’t match the beastly AMD Jaguar netbook CPU

You don’t know the difference between a CPU and a GPU?

 

[Ozriel]

Nintendo cornered themselves with the switch 2.

When switch came out there was no competition. Ever since we have many type of steamdecks, xbox handheld is on the horizon, we ps portable, we have many other companies that try to mimick this type of console.

I just dont see how they can have the same success with the switch 2.

Also dont forget we went from wii u in 2012 to switch in 2017.

You would think they give you something new after 8 years but instead its just an upgraded switch.

And it will be down to first party games once again as i dont see why anyine would want to play any third party game on it when you pay full price like crazy as its nintendo and you will have a lot worse experience than anywhere else including steamdeck.

And how will you fit a black ops game with 200gigs on a card? What internal storage will there be? At least steamdecj has up to 1tb internal storage vs 32gigs on switch.


Even if its on par or stronger than a ps4 pro , it still wont have 16g gddr5 or 6 ram, or a large internal ssd, or whatever else is needed to take full advantage of the new gpu.

And the price will for sure hower in a high 400's for which in todays market you have many comparables. That are wastly better.

I feel this will be a mediocre success ala wii u or gamecube.

Why would you think this would be a worse gaming experience than a Steamdeck?

It’s likely to be more powerful, and will have DLSS as an additional crutch. Aside that, devs will tailor games for the device, a luxury barely anyone does for the Steamdeck, let alone the other Windows handhelds.

People play third party AAA games on the Deck and ROG Ally. The portability is the draw here.

Nintendo wisely seems to have chosen not to invest in further gimmicks. What the market wants is really a next generation Switch with much better visuals, better display and much more third party support. That seems to be what they’re delivering.

 

[Allandor]

My guess would be a bit below steam deck but with dlss.

The power envelope will be stricter though.

 

[scydrex]

Nintendo developed Tears of the kingdom with Switch hardware, I don't care about hardware, I care more about how it's used and what for.

Exactly i don't care about a switch 2. If they release it for switch would still play on swtich.

So Nintendo will release a more powerful handled than the steam deck for $400 or less? They will not sell it for $500 i don't think so. Also Nintendo like to make profit for everything at launch. They will not sell at loss or 0 margin. So if it's $400 and more powerful than the steam deck also selling for profit?

 

[Wolzard]

I believe that the main bottleneck will be the delivery of the resolution. Games should deliver things similar to the Xbox One S, running between 720p and 900p.

However, it should be able to do nicer things, like RT Shadows, global illumination, etc.

 

[Topher]

 

[Ronin_7]

Woooow holy shit dude 2025 hardware in many ways more powerful than hardware released in 2016.

Nintendo fans be eating this year!!

These guys have completely lost it.

 

[cormack12]

It's like buying a new pair of trainers but you still can't beat your mates in a race

Thank you. Please like and subscribe for layman's facts

 

[DenchDeckard]

Just give it to me now. My body is reggie

 

[Astray]

The salt and copium over the leaks is fantastic to behold tbh. Never have I seen any community lose it as hard as this on anything.

I'd be very doubtful if this even reaches Steam Deck levels, like consider that Nintendo has to compete on price AND guarantee their cut and Nvidia's, and nor should it, they've bowed out of the power race a while ago.

 

[PeteBull]

I would be disappointed if it wasn't more powerful than a PS4 Pro..

Raw power wise it might be roughly around ps4pr0 or even slighty below but since ps4pr0 is from 2016 so 9 years ago, nvidia features alone will make sure that docked switch 2 will be comparable, hell in some cases it might be even better.
Thats how ps4pr0 runs current gen multiplat games(no point to bring exclusives into the discusion coz cant compare those directly simply):

 

[cormack12]

The salt and copium over the leaks is fantastic to behold tbh. Never have I seen any community lose it as hard as this on anything.

I'd be very doubtful if this even reaches Steam Deck levels, like consider that Nintendo has to compete on price AND guarantee their cut and Nvidia's, and nor should it, they've bowed out of the power race a while ago.

Let's face it, how much rounder can Mario's nose get

 

[Kokoloko85]

I would hope so. Dlss has to help nintendo stay within current gen games to stay successful

 

[Astray]

Let's face it, how much rounder can Mario's nose get

That's exactly why this is funny.

Nintendo will have enough horsepower to render hundreds of pikmin on screen or whatever, and that's all they really need.

It's the Nintendo fanboys that built themselves up on the idea that the Switch 2 is some sort of definitive killshot on Sony and Xbox's console businesses, now we're seeing these hopes evaporate in real time.

 

[Ozriel]

The salt and copium over the leaks is fantastic to behold tbh. Never have I seen any community lose it as hard as this on anything.

I'd be very doubtful if this even reaches Steam Deck levels, like consider that Nintendo has to compete on price AND guarantee their cut and Nvidia's,

What does ‘Nvidia cut’ even mean? its all built in the BOM. Nvidia gets a ‘cut’ the same way the folks who make the RAM and storage get theirs.

This will be $350 - $400 and still lose no money on hardware.

they've bowed out of the power race a while ago.

No shit, it isn’t going to be anywhere near as powerful as the PS5.
That said, they do need specific power levels to guarantee much stronger third party support than the Switch got, and they’ve demonstrated that’s an increased priority this gen.

 

[Astray]

What does ‘Nvidia cut’ even mean? its all built in the BOM. Nvidia gets a ‘cut’ the same way the folks who make the RAM and storage get theirs.

This will be $350 - $400 and still lose no money on hardware.

If you think Nvidia won't be getting top dollar for their part in the BOM then you would be delusional, especially after they saw the money Switch 1 made.

No shit, it isn’t going to be anywhere near as powerful as the PS5.
That said, they do need specific power levels to guarantee much stronger third party support than the Switch got, and they’ve demonstrated that’s an increased priority this gen.

I mean yeah, but there's a lot of room between Switch 1 levels of power and PS4 Pro's.

 

[Ozriel]

If you think Nvidia won't be getting top dollar for their part in the BOM then you would be delusional, especially after they saw the money Switch 1 made.

If you think projection of units sold doesn’t play a major role in unit pricing of components, you’re delusional.
They’ve seen how many units of the Switch were sold, and projections of likely similar success for the next model. It’s using a custom Nvidia chip that’s nowhere near cutting edge, and will likely be made on a process node that doesn’t eat into Nvidia’s production of their money spinner AI and high end GPU chips.

If you assume that Nvidia would be price gouging Nintendo, that’s extremely ludicrous.
Both parties would have long since negotiated something mutually satisfactory

I mean yeah, but there's a lot of room between Switch 1 levels of power and PS4 Pro's.

Yes. Nobody’s saying otherwise. Even base PS4 levels in handheld mode is sufficient to guarantee strong third party support for years to come.

 

[Astray]

If you think projection of units sold doesn’t play a major role in unit pricing of components, you’re delusional.
They’ve seen how many units of the Switch were sold, and projections of likely similar success for the next model. It’s using a custom Nvidia chip that’s nowhere near cutting edge, and will likely be made on a process node that doesn’t eat into Nvidia’s production of their money spinner AI and high end GPU chips.

If you assume that Nvidia would be price gouging Nintendo, that’s extremely ludicrous.
Both parties would have long since negotiated something mutually satisfactory

Let's wait and see then.

What price point do you think Switch 2 is launching at?

Yes. Nobody’s saying otherwise. Even base PS4 levels in handheld mode is sufficient to guarantee strong third party support for years to come.

We are in agreement here then.

 

[Ozriel]

From Nintendo’s financial reports in Nov 2024. Third party software revenue has been at least half of total software revenue on the Switch since 2021.

Anyone telling you that the Switch 2 specs will be tailored towards Nintendo first party titles is just being delusional. They KNOW that 3rd party is of extreme importance now, and Switch 2 will be designed with that in mind.

They’re also recruiting for more third party support, including snagging Gio Corsi, and recently spoke about their work with expanding developer relations

Nintendo Highlights Strong Third-Party Relationships Ahead Of 'Switch 2' Reveal

Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Epic Games and more...

www.nintendolife.com

We don’t know the specs at all, but comments about “they don’t need powerful hardware to make Mario look good” are ignorant.

 

[NahaNago]

This is mostly fine. We got infamous second son, horizon zero dawn, and the order 1886 from base ps4 so it will be nice to see what Nintendo can do with that level of power. As long as they can get it as close as possible to the xbss for all third party games then it should be good for the next 5 years.

 

[Ozriel]

Let's wait and see then.

What price point do you think Switch 2 is launching at?

Certainly no cheaper than the Switch OLED price of $350.

I suspect $399, personally. They’re rumored to have 256Gb fast internal storage for the first time, and rumors claim a significantly bigger display.

$350 - $399, with the Switch OLED discounted.

It's the Nintendo fanboys that built themselves up on the idea that the Switch 2 is some sort of definitive killshot on Sony and Xbox's console businesses, now we're seeing these hopes evaporate in real time.

not remotely a ‘kill shot’, especially with GTA on the horizon. But I suspect that GTA release month might be the only month where the traditional consoles outsell the Switch 2 in the next 2 years post release.

Software wise, it’ll smother everything else in Japan.

 

[PeteBull]

My guess would be a bit below steam deck but with dlss.

The power envelope will be stricter though.

 

[K' Dash]

it's going to be more powerful than what we have now and that's good enough for me

 

[Astray]

Certainly no cheaper than the Switch OLED price of $350.

I suspect $399, personally. They’re rumored to have 256Gb fast internal storage for the first time, and rumors claim a significantly bigger display.

$350 - $399, with the Switch OLED discounted.

My money is going to be on something closer to $450. That would still undercut the big consoles, the portability factor will enable it to be priced above Series S, while still being an MSRP that is trading blows with the Steam Deck and all the other PC handhelds.

Unlike the Tegra X1, which probably had existing stock lying around that can be bought for cheap off Nvidia's hand and had a cheap manufacturing node, this is a custom-made chip (at least afaik) with a more recent node process, and I honestly don't see Nvidia not wanting to take a bigger cut of the Switch 2's MSRP, this is not in-line with their behavior, especially when they have the upper hand.

Remember, Nintendo are kind of over a barrel here (and so is Sony/Xbox with AMD), if they want guaranteed and easy to implement backcompat, then they have to make the deal with their existing chip partner.

This is the same reason Sony went with AMD instead of Intel for their next gen of devices, despite Intel starting to get super competitive with AMD in terms of performance at the lower TDPs:

Intel reportedly lost a PS6 deal worth $30 billion to AMD, with Sony eyeing next-gen backwards compatibility

On the heels of the PS5 Pro, the PS6 looks to be AMD-powered

www.gamesradar.com

(I personally would have gone with Intel because their AI and upscaling tech is >>> AMD's, and I don't really care about backcompat as a selling point, but business gotta business I guess).

not remotely a ‘kill shot’, especially with GTA on the horizon. But I suspect that GTA release month might be the only month where the traditional consoles outsell the Switch 2 in the next 2 years post release.

Software wise, it’ll smother everything else in Japan.

It's gonna be trading blows with PS in each region because the latter half of the gen's PS software is looking more steady than the 1st (which was decent enough imo).

Japan is absolutely a wash tho like you said, at least until Xbox and PS get a dedicated handheld out there.

 

[Woopah]

The typical Nintendo buyer doesnt care about third party games. It's all about a great price, first party games and in Switch's case, a hybrid system.

Nobody has cared about third party games since SNES. The second N64 came out and since then third party games have always been majorly gimped in terms of releases or gameplay. Even EA (the biggest milkers of franchises) doesnt even bother making a lot of EA Sports games for Nintendo systems for decades. And if they do, it'd be some weird shit like Wii Madden All stars instead of just a regular Madden.

People wanting great third party games will go other platforms.

But one problem remains.

Lets just say most people here own another console next to switch. Why wouldnt you.

But they still play 3rd party games on other systems not just for performance reason but also social aspect of it .
And those third party games are either on gamepass or on sale down the line , like few months in.
On nintendo you dont see those type of discounts.

I guess what i am getting at is , i believe there will be some support at the beginning for third party but later it will be very selective.

As is the case for the last 10 plus years.

So even if it would as powerful as a ps5, third party sales on it would be still very low.

Most games sold on Switch are third party, so people do care. It doesn't have to sell as many third party games as PS to get support.

It will probably have a power envelope similar to the Switch.
There isn't much room in a tablet like console to have a big heatsink or power delivery system.
Unless Nintendo wants to make a stand that has more in it, like a fan and a power supply.

Still, with newer process nodes and GPU tech, it will be a significant jump over the original Switch.

The stand does have a fan I believe.

 

[tkscz]

Does the RTX 4060 beat a 1080ti?

Yes


Even with the extra 4GBs of RAM the 1080Ti has, that RAM is significantly slower than the GDDR6 on the 4060.

 

[PeteBull]

Yes


Even with the extra 4GBs of RAM the 1080Ti has, that RAM is significantly slower than the GDDR6 on the 4060.

The difference in power draw is roughly 2x, not close to10x like switch2 vs ps4pr0 that had 155W powerdraw even in infamous ss dlc first light:

switch2 gonna have around 20-25W powerdraw, if that
Edit:

PlayStation 4 Pro CUH-7200 review: the latest, quietest hardware revision

Two years on from its initial launch and PlayStation 4 Pro has been quietly tweaked once again, with new hardware that …

www.eurogamer.net

God of War is our title of choice for testing here and its ability to spin up the fans is almost legendary amongst PS4 Pro gamers.

With all three Pros run through the watt meter, power consumption is essentially the same in the 170W region. Curiously though, the launch model spikes to 177W around 15 minutes in. The CUH-7100 and the new CUH-7200 are fairly solid, though the former shaves off 2-3W in comparison to the freshly minted console revision. This may well be down to variations in the silicon (every Pro should be subtly different) or the new power supply may have different characteristics to the old one.

 

[ResilientBanana]

I like how the tweet says "Architecturally Superior" which doesn't mean it will be more powerful than PS4 Pro. It just means that they used newer technology to create it, which is a given.

 

[Ozriel]

My money is going to be on something closer to $450. That would still undercut the big consoles, the portability factor will enable it to be priced above Series S, while still being an MSRP that is trading blows with the Steam Deck and all the other PC handhelds.

It won’t undercut the digital PS5, though. And that’s key.

Also, it’s meant to be a mainstream device unlike the Deck and the other handhelds, so it has to be price competitive. Not to mention Nintendo is probably getting a lot more discounts compared to the likes of Valve.

$450 would really be pushing it. Especially if they keep the OLED switch around for a lower price.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

The salt and copium over the leaks is fantastic to behold tbh. Never have I seen any community lose it as hard as this on anything.

I'd be very doubtful if this even reaches Steam Deck levels, like consider that Nintendo has to compete on price AND guarantee their cut and Nvidia's, and nor should it, they've bowed out of the power race a while ago.

The funniest to me was in the run-up to Wii U, seeing Nintendo fanboys trying to convince themselves it would be on par with the (yet unannounced) PS4 and Xbox One, even after Shigeru Miyamoto himself said games wouldn’t look dramatically better than current gen. The copium on the GameFAQs Wii U board was a sight to behold, just glorious.

 

[Ozriel]

The typical Nintendo buyer doesnt care about third party games. It's all about a great price, first party games and in Switch's case, a hybrid system.

Nobody has cared about third party games since SNES. The second N64 came out and since then third party games have always been majorly gimped in terms of releases or gameplay. Even EA (the biggest milkers of franchises) doesnt even bother making a lot of EA Sports games for Nintendo systems for decades. And if they do, it'd be some weird shit like Wii Madden All stars instead of just a regular Madden.

People wanting great third party games will go other platforms.

incorrect. Nintendo buyers care about third party games.

And this is with a lot of the major third party stuff either absent or gimped on the Switch.

With Switch 2, you’d be getting a popular Fortnite outlet. Full featured Call of Duty and Warzone. A ton of other GaaS titles. And much more third party support.

Switch 2 also opens the door to Capcom’s AAA titles, AAA RPGs from Atlus and Square Enix and most likely ports from From Software and others. Switch’s power profile blocked quite a lot of Japanese games from the system…the next gen model will remove this blocker.

I’m not arguing that it will be a powerhouse comparable to current flagships, mind you.

 

[Beechos]

This thing will be weaker than a steamdeck. 256gb steamdeck is already 399 and is bulky as fuck with poor battery life. The switch 2 would be a steamdeck series s/lite if it ever existed.

$350 for a smaller/lighter/longer lasting system that's comparable to steamdeck performance which is more than enough for what nintendo does and it's consumers need. There's no way nintendo will be putting anything above a 5k mah battery in it. Hell as bare bones as the ps portal is thats already $200.

 

[mckmas8808]

It will have some advantages over PS4 Pro and some disadvantages. Especially with things like DLSS, raw power won't be the only thing that matters.

So what happens when those games need to run in "Mobile" mode?

 

[tkscz]

The difference in power draw is roughly 2x, not close to10x like switch2 vs ps4pr0 that had 155W powerdraw even in infamous ss dlc first light:

switch2 gonna have around 20-25W powerdraw, if that
Edit:

PlayStation 4 Pro CUH-7200 review: the latest, quietest hardware revision

Two years on from its initial launch and PlayStation 4 Pro has been quietly tweaked once again, with new hardware that …

www.eurogamer.net

I know that, I said it in my first post.

You mean to tell me architecturally, Ampere has a bigger feature set than Polaris?

Most likely what would hold it back are clock speeds and FLoP rates due to running at low wattage. I mean to save on battery it'll probably run at around 8w at the lowest.

Like I said, in handheld mode it'll most likely run at 8watts at the lowest.

I was talking about comparing a RTX 4060 to a GTX 1080Ti.