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[SmokedMeat]

64GB of storage would be typical tightwad Nintendo. It really kills them to put a useful amount in.

 

[CrustyBritches]

120Hz screen would be the only good news here as it allows for 30/40/60fps with lower input latency.

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

I call:

 

[shamoomoo]

120hz is pretty standard on phones these days so it wouldn't be that surprising that their screen would support it. Doesn't mean there'll be many, or any, games running at 120hz on it. It would open the door for 40fps nicely though.

8GB ram is about what I expected, PS4 to PS5 doubled the ram, Switch to Switch 2 doing the same. If they're targeting $400 it makes sense though 64gb internal is lower than I would have thought.

Nintendo could've went with 12GBs ram as splitting the difference between last gen and current gen.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

Perhaps it won't affect anything, but I think the price increase to $400 is going to hurt Nintendo and actually increase Sony/MS marketshare.

 

[magnumpy]

imagine how good Mario will look with all those gigaborks of extra memory

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

So a PS4 with maybe a slightly better CPU and some upsampling sauce. 64GB of storage is fine - Nintendo carts will probably be 64-128GB anyway.

In a portable form factor with 3-4 hours of battery? Sign me up!

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Perhaps it won't affect anything, but I think the price increase to $400 is going to hurt Nintendo and actually increase Sony/MS marketshare.

I doubt it. I think Nintendo's long been the second console for many of us, to accompany our primary high-end PS or Xbox console that can play all the big AAA 3rd party games in the best fidelity.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Sounds Nintendo Like.

Outdated already day one.

RAM and Memory are cheap…

Outdated how? Not outdated compared to what Nintendo currently offers . Which is really the only point of comparison that is of any use.

 

[ManaByte]

Outdated how? Not outdated compared to what Nintendo currently offers . Which is really the only point of comparison that is of any use.

Outdated to the people who thought it'd outdo a Steam Deck and be a handheld PS5.

 

[xrnzaaas]

You can always expand the storage yourself, but only 8 gigs would be disappointing for a new device from 2024, even if they're primarily targetting a reasonable price.

 

[cash_longfellow]

If this is true, imagine how sad this will be with 8 in 2030 or later. This has to be wrong.

 

[Alexios]

There are still flagship phones costing like $1k+ with 8GB ram and bloated OS, sure you can also find some cheap stuff with 12 or 16 but it's probably both slower and doesn't change anything with the rest of their specs, being there just to impress with higher numbers in the given budget range.

 

[alucard0712_rus]

8GB is enough for 1080p. Also hardware itself will be much more modern and effective than PS4 + have SSD.

120Hz screen would be the only good news here as it allows for 30/40/60fps with lower input latency.

But it's more energy consuming. It doesn't make any sense on a handheld (especially when dropping OLED for 120hz). And there was no latency problems that came from hardware. I personally don't believe in 120hz screen.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Well the next Apple headset has 256GB storage for a cool 3.5k price and they're the richest company on the planet?

 

[schaft0620]

The Steam Deck has 16GB of Ram.

The ROG Ally has 16GB of Ram.

The Lenovo Go has 16GB of Ram.

The next phone i am going to buy in a month from now is rumored to have 16GB of Ram.

For Switch 2 - i am expecting 16GB of Ram.

To be fair, the OS on all of those devices is probably going to take 4GB of RAM while Nintendos OS likely won't take resources away from games.

Unless you mean video RAM which OP isn't clear on.

 

[cormack12]

imagine how good Mario will look with all those gigaborks of extra memory

Moustache hairworks

 

[Silver Wattle]

Hopefully this is wrong.

 

[CamHostage]

Internal storage doesn't matter that much when microSD cards are so cheap.

Eh, not if they plan to go with high-bandwidth/rapid access IO express features to stay up with consumer expectations in the SSD era.

I know it's not Nintendo's style to "compete" for features, but access speed is in Nintendo's best interest, more than graphics or horsepower or most other matters it might try to improve upon.

Load times are of course an ugly blemish which will only build as games get more complex (and Nintendo notoriously hates loadtimes, even if some of that was lip service reasoning for why they dropped Sony's CD and went with proprietary cartridges and then DS carts again instead of optical media.) But perhaps more importantly, fast IO allows a platform to take advantage of development features not possible without the ability to rapidly find, pull in, dump, and pull in again as needed.

(Unfortunately, this fundamental hardware evolution hasn't resulted in the visible gameplay or revolutions as hoped for, most think of SSDs as having trimmed down loadtimes out or at best led to cool Rift Apart gimmicks, but it's doing important work and there's lots more promise to what can be done with this data access speed.)

Putting an SSD on Switch 2 would be lovely but prices just have not come down that far fast enough that I'm not sure what Nintendo will do. (Then again, they don't say what the onboard device would be in this report, just "64GB of storage"... maybe that's why the storage space is so small?) Either way, removable new memory cards can range from 1 to 4GB/sec or more if they adhere to PCIe / NVMe standards depending on the specification, and I don't see how Nintendo gets by without IO being a priority. Fast data features hit a wall once it needs to pull from another source if it searches and reads at Switch speeds. Be it SD Express or CF Express or something proprietary, a new Nintendo platform would need the offboard storage to be in the same speed range as its onboard to be viable.

SD cards prepare to double in speed with a jump to PCIe 4.0

With the new SD Express 9.1 standard, the SD Association wants to increase the speed of SD cards and at the same time introduce four new memory classes.

www.pcworld.com

(...We can get into the tested throughput of SD Express if need be, as apparently the SD consortium fucked up and anybody serious about this uses CF instead if they can; both formats are also very spendy for even middle-range specs. But still, I don't think anybody would stand ground that older standards are good enough.)

I don't see Nintendo's next hardware saying that whatever couple of gig sticks you have in your drawer is good enough for the next platform. That speed is core to PS5 and Xbox Series and new technology concepts, and even though Nintendo will be playing in its own playground as it always does, this is an area I can't see them skimping on without drastic drawbacks.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

I doubt it. I think Nintendo's long been the second console for many of us, to accompany our primary high-end PS or Xbox console that can play all the big AAA 3rd party games in the best fidelity.

I'm thinking more for parents and what consoles they buy their kids. If they see a cheaper xbox or playstation (sub $400) I could see them being swayed.

 

[StereoVsn]

I mean I have a spare 512GB Micro-SD but its still feels really bad to having to buy more SD-cards in 2024/5 (whenever it releases) for a brand new machine.

The issue also is that SD cards are fairly slow unless Nintendo ponies up for a faster SD card reader. And that ain’t happening.

 

[tr1p1ex]

take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Deerock71]

120hz??? Nintendo WTF???

It'll be 3D, and 60 fps to each eye.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Only reason to do 120hz is to get 60fps 3D games. Maybe this device will be the Switch 3D. 120hz on such a tiny screen is completely useless for a lot of reasons but 3D.

It takes battery, power, more cpu and gpu requirements for zero visible improvement on a carry device.

So in short, I don’t believe the rumor because 3D seems pretty dead nowadays even though I love it personally, and 120hz is just useless for a gaming handheld

My dream

but sadly it will never happen, because all the people with depth-retarded eyes ruined the 3DS ("derp my eyes can't even tell the difference when the slider is on", or "I can't find the right position to hold it" -- thanks, we lost the greatest screen innovation in ages now and I have to look at ugly flat screens).

 

[Kumomeme]

honestly i expect 12gb minimum of ram

but 8gb is not suprising lmao

 

[CamHostage]

It'll be 3D, and 60 fps to each eye.

8K resolution and depth-sensing cameras are going to bring that to you...

This 8K 3D Stereoscopic Monitor is a Wild Look at the Future of Displays

The first time we've actually been excited about 3D.

petapixel.com

(*Actually, n3DS was ahead of the game in tracking viewers with cameras to "aim" 3D at them, albeit at far less DPI and refresh rate.)
I heard somebody say though that MicroLED hits a threshold where 3D is worth thinking about again because you have so much more control down to the pixel... problem is, it only would sell as a feature for monitors since it can't track and display glasses-free TV to multiple users at a time, so a family TV can't be a family 3D TV. But the resolution and framerate and accuracy of the 3D effect is said to be thrilling, and although MicroLED is still painfully expensive, 3D might get thrown in just to justify the price, and then if MicroLED 3D becomes an expected feature, maybe it will stick as prices come down? Switch of course won't have MicroLED, but it doesn't need to be that resolution/accuracy/nits to work. Heck, as I said, n3DS was basically into this approach at just lesser fidelity.)

 

[Jesb]

Nintendo can put 2gb in this thing and it would sell a shit ton. So they can put whatever they want in it. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if they’re targeting PS4 level. I don’t see them having a device anywhere near PS5 levels, not even the level of Xbox series S.

 

[Beechos]

Only reason to do 120hz is to get 60fps 3D games. Maybe this device will be the Switch 3D. 120hz on such a tiny screen is completely useless for a lot of reasons but 3D.

It takes battery, power, more cpu and gpu requirements for zero visible improvement on a carry device.

So in short, I don’t believe the rumor because 3D seems pretty dead nowadays even though I love it personally, and 120hz is just useless for a gaming handheld

Sounds very logical. I guess this will be its gimmick. Nintendo does seems to have a affinity for 3d. Virtual boy, 3ds, even the switch had the labo vr kit. I can really now see Switch 2 with oculus 3 like performance that can double as a vr headset. Nintendos creativity/games would really translate well to 3d. I can imagine a steady flow of vr games with astrobot vr quality.

Remember all those rumors and threads about the super powered handheld with dlss, raytraying, yadda yadda. Looks like as we are getting closer to reveal the specs/rumors are looking more and more underwhelming.

 

[BacklashWave534]

Give me OLED or give me death.

100% agree.

 

[systemr123]

My dream

but sadly it will never happen, because all the people with depth-retarded eyes ruined the 3DS ("derp my eyes can't even tell the difference when the slider is on", or "I can't find the right position to hold it" -- thanks, we lost the greatest screen innovation in ages now and I have to look at ugly flat screens).

I know right? 3D is absolutely fantastic when implemented well

 

[ResilientBanana]

Not always, only since Wii era. Prior to that with GameCube and before they were at parity or ahead of the competition. And changing from that approach was out of necessity to survive financially, it wasn't because they stopped liking new technology, or something like that. No one was buying their powerful hardware because of all the other reasons outside of graphical fidelity back in those days that caused those systems to be unattractive to people outside the super hardcore Nintendo fan/ kids.

I'm well aware not to expect amazing graphics, but 4K has been around for a long time at this point, and Nintendo's philosophy is not to ignore trends, it's to wait to adopt them until they can accommodate them in their own products, in a cost-effective way. Nintendo clearly since the Switch generation began has shown some signs of being interested in more state-of-the-art (like the old days) than they have been the last 17 or so years, so I think that trend will continue. Lots of new leadership at the top of Nintendo these days.

I really don't think implementing the possibly of 4K upscaling for some games/apps in TV Mode when battery is not a concern, is out of the realm of possibility. I think it's quite likely to happen.

The only 4k you’re getting is upscaled from 1080p

 

[Dorfdad]

Only reason to do 120hz is to get 60fps 3D games. Maybe this device will be the Switch 3D. 120hz on such a tiny screen is completely useless for a lot of reasons but 3D.

It takes battery, power, more cpu and gpu requirements for zero visible improvement on a carry device.

So in short, I don’t believe the rumor because 3D seems pretty dead nowadays even though I love it personally, and 120hz is just useless for a gaming handheld

Not if it can output to tv! Cod and most multiplayer games are at 120hz this would actually be a good thing for those kind of players meaning the switch will get on our games with the current GEN.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Assuming such rumors are true, and these should be taken with giant grains of salt, then it sounds like Nintendo is still going to use eMMC/microSD storage instead of SSD. That will severely hamstring the machine's ability to load modern games with any decent amount of speed. I don't really care about 8 GB of RAM, it's going to be a hybrid console which upscales 1080p to 4K anyways. But I am going to be unhappy if I still have to put up with slow-ass eMMC/microSD in 2024.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Will be $400+ Nintendo does us dirty.

 

[sinnergy]

Sounds overpowered for a Nintendo Handheld/console! Amazing games ahead. Total sarcasm.
But regardless it is a step up, and Nintendo will produce amazing games with amazing graphics.

Some here never learn

 

[EDMIX]

So long as I can out it to a TV....I don't give a fuck lol

 

[Chittagong]

Sounds like two Switches duct taped together

 

[Moses85]

Outdated to the people who thought it'd outdo a Steam

Deck and be a handheld PS5.

Partially

Outdoing a Steam Deck for sure

A handheld PS5?

What are you smoking?

 

[Hohenheim]

I don't really care / have any expectations for specs on this thing, but just hoping it will have Metroid Prime 4 for launch!

 

[Raonak]

Expecting low texture quality on a lot of games.

 

[deriks]

The only realistic thing that sounds to me is the 8gb of ram.

120hz is very normal on phones right now, but is this console taking advantage of that?

64gbs of storage on a PS4 level console is not very smart because it could only fit a game, but where's the OS? I guess that we can turn our SDs into cartridge if Nintendo go all-in to digital

I can see if they do two versions. One with OLED, having the better refresh rate screen and maybe 256gb of storage, and one cheaper without those things

 

[gundalf]

If true, my theory is that it is simply the only 7" OLED VRR display on the market but Nintendo would keep it locked at 60Hz (and 90Hz in VR Mode ).
But 8GB of RAM? 12GB should be minimum for the long term.

 

[ManaByte]

What are you smoking?

Not me. A purple place "leaker" was trying to claim it was PS5 quality.

FF7R looks and runs like a PS5 game on Switch 2 devkit. Port took no time I'm told. Could be a launch game, not sure yet.

 

[Bernoulli]

Partially

Outdoing a Steam Deck for sure

A handheld PS5?

What are you smoking?

You are not ready
The Switch 2 will have at least Series S Graphics and better upscaling

 

[Aces High]

Sounds like a classic Nintendo move.

I just hope they make it more comfortable to hold and OLED.

 

[RoboFu]

Sounds about right. Nintendo doesn’t want a hand held that last only 2-3 hours.

Though I still wish they would incorporate a m.2 in the dock or something

 

[Moses85]

You are not ready
The Switch 2 will have at least Series S Graphics and better upscaling

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Damn...
This is a huge problem to Nintendo.

MSI Claw have 16 GB of RAM.

 

[systemr123]

Damn...
This is a huge problem to Nintendo.

MSI Claw have 16 GB of RAM.

It’s all about how you utilize the RAM. If the idea is to use it SSD style you can do much more with less RAM. It’ll probably be impossible though because SD cards don’t have a really high speed so I think this rumor to be false, for many reasons, but this is one of them.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

There's no way they don't try and compete at least with the base level Steam Deck, which is $349-399 right now and crushes these leaks for every possible metric (sometimes by a factor of 2, except refresh rate), right?

Valve is only one successful marketing campaign away from the Deck blowing up massively in popularity. Instead of buying a weaker, more expensive Switch 2, one could just buy an old, base model Steam Deck and emulate their entire catalogue at 60-90 fps that also supports all of its controllers.

Hopefully, but Nintendo is all about that profit. What I wonder is, how much profit do they make off the Steam Deck? I’m assuming Nintendo will design the architecture and console on the Switch 2 to try to make an admirable profit which is why I think they could hold back with specifications a little. We’ll see.