Many Nintendo fans are hoping that the new Switch Pro will be announced at the end of the year. A strange thing happened last year when Nintendo announced new Switch hardware was coming to market. According to John Linneman of Digital Foundry, Nintendo was planning an updated Switch Pro to release in mid-generation. In a new podcast, Digital Foundry’s John Linneman stated multiple developers confirmed a mid-generation update for Switch was once planned, but Nintendo decided to switch its focus towards making a truly new console instead. John Linneman says that he has spoken with multiple developers who have revealed that a mid-generation Switch was planned at some point, but that console is not happening anymore.
John Linneman believes Nintendo is going to launch a second-generation Switch (or whatever that is going to be called) console, likely packing Nvidias Tegra T239 SoC, but we are not going to see that until 2023. In the latest Digital Foundry Podcast, John Linneman claimed that Nintendo had canceled its mid-generation Switch refresh, now shifting its plans towards the next-generation hardware, which is likely to be launched in 2024. Earlier this year, there were some rumors that the next-gen hardware would still be using Nvidia chips.
In fact, it seems that Nintendo has decided against producing any more versions beyond Switch OLED, instead thinking of a more defined vision for the future of their console. Holding out hope for the release of a long-rumored Nintendo Switch Pro has been dashed with the report by Digital Foundry, who claim the reported system has existed in the past. Digital Foundry, a gaming YouTube channel focusing on gaming tech and hardware reviews, claimed that Nintendo did indeed have plans for the Switch Pro, but it was ultimately scrapped.
There were countless industry sources that claimed that Nintendo was working on the Switch Pro, the “Switch” but that it was never made. It was as late as mid-2021, with many sources coming out on rumors about the existence, and the supposed final release, of the 5-year-old portable consoles Pro model, with better hardware and better performance being the things listed as improvements.
After almost six years in the market, Switch continues to do pretty well for Nintendo, and it is just a matter of time until Nintendo draws the curtain back on a proper new console. Despite being one of the most beloved game consoles of all time, Switch could still be haunted by Wii Us failings, as it was released in the wake of the Wiis massive success. According to Jon Linneman at Digital Foundry Digital Foundry, in a Q&A with The Outlet about the end-of-year uses, its discussions with developers indicated that, although a Switch Pro exists, a stronger sequel to Nintendos hybrid portable was shelved for future plans.
