A Nintendo Switch Pro console could be coming out in 2020, and that would make things very interesting for PlayStation and Microsoft. Some analysts are backing the Japanese games giant to launch an upgraded version of the Nintendo Switch console that is currently available. This would fit in with what we have seen in the past, although a Nintendo Switch Pro would be a big step up on those efforts.
Industry followers have been backing the company to do something like this ever since the Switch launched in 2017.
And now some are backing Nintendo to pull off the big move during 2020, and it’s easy to see why.
With PlayStation’s PS5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X pencilled in for launch later this year, Switch sales could be affected.
It’s unclear just how impacted the Nintendo Switch would be, with the handheld console offering something different from the others.
And it certainly would be interesting to see something like the Nintendo Switch Pro announced and available on the market around the same time as the PS5 and the new Xbox.
Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games shared the Switch Pro prediction this week, revealing what he thought would be happening this year.
This included the kinds of specs the new Switch console could boast, as well as how much it might cost.
As you might expect, the premium version will be more expensive and is predicted to retail for just under $400.
This will probably make it cheaper than the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and also offer 4K graphics as a sweetener.
“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Nintendo will launch a “Switch Pro” in 2020, my guess is at $399,” Dr. Serkan Toto wrote in a prediction made for GamesIndustry and shared in a post online.
“More specifically, I predict 4K support, bigger cartridge sizes, and of course beefed-up components.
“I also think the device will launch after the summer holidays to counter the roll-out of the PS5 and next-gen Xbox later in the year – along with a first-party, system-seller game.”
Toto also predicted that more Xbox games would be made available on the Nintendo Switch, without providing examples of what franchises that might include.
However, this developing relationship would be unlikely to extend to Project xCloud coming to the Switch, with Toto adding:
“The love affair between Microsoft and Nintendo is likely to continue, with more big Xbox games landing on the Switch.
“I am skeptical about xCloud coming to the Nintendo device in 2020, however.”
This isn’t a view shared by all analysts, with others predicting that Nintendo will not bother to ship a new Switch console in 2020.
This is the view shared by Piers Harding-Rolls of IHS Markit Technology in the same article, which reads:
“No real surprise, but Switch will again be the best selling console during the year. I think the likelihood of a higher-end Switch in 2020 has significantly diminished since the launch of an improved flagship Switch and the Switch Lite.
“2020 is also set to be Switch’s best hardware sales performance since launch. The Switch Lite will launch in mainland China.”
Whatever does happen in the coming months, 2020 is looking an exciting year for Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox fans.