Rumor: Switch 2 Launches This Year With 8-Inch LCD Screen - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 February 2024 / 7,229 Views
The successor to the Nintendo Switch is reportedly launching later this year and it will have an 8-inch LCD screen, according to Japan-based Omida analyst Hiroshi Hayase reported by Bloomberg.
The analyst, who focuses on small and medium displays, says the Nintendo Switch 2 is the reason for amusement displays to double its shipment figures for the year.
If the Switch 2 does have an 8-inch LCD screen it would be bigger than the screens that come with the different Switch models. The Switch OLED has a 7-inch OLED screen, the original Switch has a 6.2-inch LCD screen, and the Switch Lite has a 5.5 inch screen.
Kantan Games CEO Dr. Serkan Toto previously predicted Nintendo would release the successor to the Nintendo Switch for $400 later this year with a chance the price of games will increase to $70.
"The time is finally here for a Switch successor, even though I can say a 'Pro' model actually did exist and certain developers were already working with the dev kit," said Toto. "I believe the next hardware will drop [in 2024] for $400. There is a high chance that games will cost more, too: $70."
He says the Switch 2 is likely going to be more of an iteration of the Switch rather than a revolution. He says that while Nintendo might add "bells and whistles" to the next-generation console, it will keep the portable functionality.
"The next system is also likely to be an iteration rather than a revolution. Nintendo might add some bells and whistles to the device, but it will be similar to the current Switch. And because there is Pokémon, and Pokémon is associated with handheld gaming, there is no way on earth Nintendo will drop the portability feature for their next big thing."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Please have backwards compatibility
If they work digitally, they should work physically as well, even if a patch may be needed. So unless they go with a very different cartridge format, it's hard to see them not making room for Switch cartridges. Feels like that would have to be deliberate and malicious, in which case I imagine they expect that to not go over well at all with people, so I dont think they'll do something like that at this point, when BC is standard on other systems. Part of why competition can be good for everyone.
It would be outright suicide not to. People wouldn't want to migrate without knowing their existing library is secure.
I’m not only in agreement, but I’d like to add, based on my experience as a Wii U owner who used the console for Wii gaming most of the time. And simply put, Nintendo has to do better than they have in the past.
The Wii U backwards compatibility felt intrusive and hacky with the segregation of the Wii content and features, the loading time to switch back and forth. After that experience for 4 years or so, I’d say backwards compatibility should be qualified of full platform integration, similar to most other modern devices. That means, when I load up my Switch 2 menu, my Switch 1 software should be accessible from there.
Because of the Wii U loading, Wii Mode felt like a downgrade to just keeping the Wii hooked up and switching over using a TV remote. The transfer of my Wii software to Wii U was something I regretted doing throughout the last generation. But I have a lot of faith in Nintendo’s current hardware strategy that they’ll do better this time around.
I want original wii backwards type of compatiablility!
Nintendo has done well with backwards compatibility this century. The GBA was BC with Game Boy games, the DS was BC with GBA games, and the 3DS was BC with DS games. The Wii was BC with GameCube games and the Wii U was BC with Wii games. The Switch was their first system since the N64 to have no BC, but it had the excuse of having a completely different form factor than either the 3DS or the Wii U, using small game cards instead of discs or more conventional cartridges. Since it's pretty much a given that Nintendo's next system is going to be a Switch 2 and thus have roughly the same form factor, it should be backwards compatible with Switch games.
I think that's more of an analysis/prediction than a rumor, but it sounds like a fair observation.
I remember the "Pro" rumors.
It never was announced.
I'll stay optimistic and keep an eye out for a Nintendo official announcement.
It is still fun to speculate and talk about a successor.
And we were mocked when back in 2019 some of us said there would be no Pro. I was insulted in saying that the Switch was already a "WiiU Pro" for the 8th gen, because it was nearly the same thing except that the few meters max distance for playing in portable was indefinitely extended, and they managed to accomplish the absurd miracle to make people buy a same game twice.
Im still mad that they ported WiiU games to Switch. I own a WiiU and those games are amazing. I had a struggle buying Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it wasn’t until the DLC that brought in a “game” of tracks, and a 50% discount for the game.
Honestly I hope they don't make the system bigger. Switch OLED (7 inch screen) is plenty.
I feel the Switch Oled is a pretty great balance between console size and screen size. I'm not sure I want a bigger screen and bigger console. 7" is fine.
I don't know what kind of Switch OLED you have... But there is a 1cm bezel on each side.
Bezel-less displays have been a thing for awhile.
8" from the start of one corner of a joycon to the next would take up the entire face of a Switch OLED main body.
That would look awesome, the chonky bezels on the Switch don't do it any favours.
I did bother to actually run the measurements before commenting you know. Expanding the screen over the bezels would result in approximately a 7.46" screen. A 16:9 8" display is 6.97" wide and 3.92" tall. That is slightly wider than the Switch tablet. They could get close if they did a 100% screen to body ratio tablet but that is never going to happen. If the Switch 2 has an 8" screen it will be bigger.
https://i.imgur.com/hlTgXwj.png
sigh and I used a measuring tape, I didn't use doctor google.
But if we go with your image, you can see that the measurement isn't done edge-to-edge, but current bezel to current bezel, there is room to grow.
Yes it will be bigger, but it's not going to be noticeable, just like the OLED Switch was bigger than the LCD switch.
I.E. OLED is 9.53 inches wide, LCD Switch is 9.41 inches wide.
No one noticed. Wasn't the end of the world.
"I'm a Switch, 6.2 inches, many call me a good size."
"I'm a Switch Lite, 5.5 inches. It's the national average. I'm sometimes called fun size."
"Switch 2. 8 inches :)"
" :( I'm a GBA Micro............."
How its utilized would be more important than the size.
Some say that’s just a polite way to say the screen is small.
On the other hand, some say that getting above 7 to 7&1/2 inches might be too big. Sure you got bragging rights, but it’s hard to fit a large device into tighter pockets.
I miss the days when handheld consoles could fit in your pocket
That increases the chance it's actually a 1080p display (instead of 720p).
I think that would be a waste of effort. 720p looks just fine on a screen like that (if the game internal resolution matches that 720p that is). Besides, whathever hardware is inside the Switch 2, I doubt it will be powerful enough for developers push for 1080p on portable mode (at least on the most demanding titles). Also also, the battery would drain way faster.
We must consider that they don't have to use a 1080p resolution. It can easily have something like 900p or less as a sweet middle point between 720p and 1080p to compensate for the new screen size.
The power budget of LCD screens is overwhelmingly the backlight, however, not the liquid crystal switches. The impact of resolution alone (and refresh rate, for that matter) on power consumption is small.
Somehow I doubt that would be a major consideration if they're already going for an 8' display.
The more liquid crystals you have packed into a display, the more energy it takes to switch them all on.
You get two laptops or tablets with the same size display and peak brightness, the lower-resolution panel (If all else is kept equal) will always use less energy.
It's really that simple.
You are however correct that a chunk of power usage is the backlight... But that is not the sole driver of energy consumption.
We are at a point where LCD technology has gotten very good, especially high refresh Vertical Alignment panels with a polarizer... So it's not the end of the world to have LCD.
1080p would be a very crisp image and very welcome, even if not essential. A whole bunch of smaller titles will probably be 1080p in portable and images can be upscaled to 1080p even when not native.
That vast majority of Switch releases are not that demanding. For example the most recent big release on Switch (Prince of Persia) would probably achieve 1080p. The Mario RPG remakes look stunning on Switch already, many games do not need art styles which demand Switch 2 hardware all be spent on pushing more polys, effects and frames.
Imho, 8" screen Works "ok" at 720p.
Backwards compatibility, please.
If it's $400 as rumored, then it leaves space for a 6.5inch model for less money down the line.
I'll probably get Switch 2 three months to a year into its release. It's not too soon, I'm ready for it to drop Q4 2024.
How are we this close to the Switch's successor and the base Switch is still $300 and games are still full price?
How did the Wii U stay at $300 its whole life?
I DEMAND a good button layout, which no one else is doing. People are not even asking for analog triggers on the Switch 2…..so as usual, one of the worst thing about gaming is gamers themselves who don’t even ask for good things for themselves.
What I demand is good for every gamer, but watch the insane downvotes from people don’t want good things.
Bigger screen is good, but cheaping out on the screen quality is typical Nintendo.
It definitely does feel like many are only discussing the specs and ignoring the various other foibles that Switch has. For starters, they badly need to make the joycons (and the joycon like area of the Switch 2 Lite) wider, so that the face buttons (ABXY) can be offset to the side somewhat, people who play on Xbox and PS have muscle memory for their right thumb traveling up and right to access the face buttons, not straight upwards like on Switch, makes it very awkward to transition between systems if you are a multiplatform gamer.
Then they need to replace those very unsmooth tiny sticks, on my switch lite at least the sticks feel like you are moving around the inside of a half polyhedron instead of the inside of half sphere, why are there noticeable edges and corners, and just so much all around resistance when moving the sticks around? I tried playing a shooter on my Switch Lite once and my aim was just utterly abysmal compared to when I play shooters on PS/Xbox controllers. They need to make the sticks a bit bigger and make them much smoother.
Analog triggers would be great to see for sure, on that I agree, they really do help some game genres such as racing since they allow you to do only partial throttle, much like the actual gas pedal/acceleration pedal of a real car. In some shooters they can allow you to fire a full auto weapon in single fire mode by only doing a partial trigger pull instead of full trigger pull.
Switch 2 is reminding me a lot of ds
I think they will have backwards compatibility, and they can charge money for patches that improve the experience on the new console. If they dangle in front of you, $20 for 4k/60 patches, will you bite?
8" is a good size to be honest. In every sense.
