Back in March 2019, there was a rumour that Nintendo would be releasing two new models of the Switch, one a premium upgraded version, the other a cheaper successor to the 3DS. We certainly got the latter with the Switch Lite, but Bloomberg is now reporting that the former is still on track, and is due in 2021.
The report says this will be an “upgraded model of its Switch console”, and while it doesn’t go into specifics (particularly when it comes to specs, size or price) it adds that “the Kyoto-based company has looked into including more computing power and 4K high-definition graphics.”
It’s the second time this week an industry outlet has reported this news, following a similar story in Taiwan’s Economic Daily News.
On the one hand, this would be…weird? Chasing the high end of the market isn’t very Nintendo, and I don’t think anyone is clamouring to play Switch games in 4K, at least not enough to need a whole new console for it.
Then again, creating different models of hardware with different abilities is also very Nintendo, something the company has not just already done on the Switch, but also on everything from the DS (the DSi) to the Wii (ditching GameCube support and hardware ports) to the 3DS (the 2DS).
And with both the PS5 and Xbox Series X due soon, maybe they feel that a 4K upgrade and performance boost is just what the Switch needs to stay on top for a few more years.
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