Switch Pro rumour keeps coming back

Nintendo keeps denying that a Switch Pro is in the works, yet the rumour just keeps cropping up like a bad penny. This time, Bloomberg is reporting the company has asked third-party developers to make their upcoming games 4K-ready.

Digital Foundry speculated earlier in the year that this may be possible, using Nvidia’s proprietary Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology to upscale the image rather than being true 4K. True 2160p rendering requires far more horsepower than what most ARM based SoCs are capable of.

Call us skeptical though, as this particular rumour seems to have cropped up once a year since the Switch launched in 2017. Everyone assumes that because both Sony and Microsoft have split their product lines into a cheaper standard and more powerful pro version, that Nintendo will do the same thing. However, this is Nintendo we’re talking about, a company which is notorious for not following industry trends.

So does this rumour have any legs? Well, no more than the last one did back in February. Which is to say, none.

However, we do know that Nvidia is working on a new Tegra chip codenamed “Orin”, which will feature Ampere graphics. DLSS does require at least a Turing or Ampere GPU, assuming that is the method they’ll use to get 4K visuals. With Orin due out in 2021, that also fits in with the rumoured release window for the Switch Pro. At least according to reports out of Taiwan. So from a technical standpoint, it’s possible. Assuming it uses that SoC, which is being designed for automotive automation rather than consumer applications.

Our good friend, and world class bull shitter (not to be confused with the YouTube channel), Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games also returns to suggest that the new console will cost $399, and also support bigger cartridge sizes. He made a similar claim at the beginning of this year, where he believed it would be due out sometime in 2020. Which is now being pushed to 2021. Right… Then again, that story broke before the Communist Orchestrated Viral Infection Disaster, so who knows, maybe he’s still correct and it just got delayed. Though I’m going with Occam’s Razor on this one.

I’ve also been seeing another rumour going around that it’ll be a conventional console rather than a hybrid portable unit like the current vanilla Switch. Which I’m not sure how I feel about. The whole point of the Switch is portability. So I’m not sure if a tethered unit is going to appeal to a lot of people. Especially at $399. Personally, I’d go for the vanilla model if that were the case, since it gives you the choice even if it doesn’t feature those sweet performance gains.

As with any Nintendo rumours, you should always take them with a big grain of salt. The company likes to keep a tight lid on what its up to. Never trust anything until you have the thing physically in your hands. That said, ARM SoC performance has improved significantly since the Tegra X1 released in 2015. High end smartphone GPUs are now outperforming the original PS4, though they are still very expensive. It’s possible, just unlikely in my opinion.

Would I like a Switch Pro? Heck yeah I would. Despite its shortcomings, the Switch is still my favourite console of this generation. Nintendo has finally struck gold after years of floundering with gimmicks. However, I’ll believe it when I see it.