According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Nintendo is working on two new versions of the Nintendo Switch that could be released within a couple of months. These two versions will differ from one another in terms of specs and hardware. One of the versions is reportedly named Nintendo Switch Mini which comes with the smaller display.
One of the models is said to be a cheaper variant, while the other device reportedly has “enhanced features targeted at avid video gamers.”
The Wall Street Journal report also says the cheaper model will not have the vibration feature, this omission suggests that it won’t have detachable Joy-Con controllers at all. The cheaper model will be seen as a successor to the 3DS.
We also got to see a report earlier this year by Nikkei which said that Nintendo was planning to release a smaller Nintendo Switch Mini with a “focus on portability”.
Although the report doesn’t have any solid details on the higher-end model of the Switch, one source has implied that there is more to the revision than just a simple performance boost.
The current gen Switch uses Nvidia’s four-year-old Tegra X1 processor. There have clearly been some developments within these four years in terms of hardware. It’s possible Nvidia might get back into mobile chip development for Nintendo, if Nvidia does, it could make major gains in power and efficiency.
Earlier this month we learned that the new Xbox Live SDK will allow developers to bring Xbox features to other platforms but the SDK isn’t coming to the Nintendo Switch as of yet. We might see further development in this regard in the future.
Another possibility is that Microsoft and Nintendo could partner in some way for games and crossplay features sometime this year.
The Wall Street Journal says the new Nintendo Switch hardware is likely to be announced at E3 which takes place in June. Stay tuned for more updates on Nintendo and Switch.
