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For years, there have been rumours that Nintendo had plans for a ‘Switch Pro', providing a mid-gen power bump to the console. This all came to a head in 2021, when ‘insiders' convinced fans that a new Switch was on the way, only to be met with the Switch OLED, which provided no internal hardware upgrades. At this point, it is believed that Nintendo cancelled plans for the Switch Pro to focus on new-gen hardware.
In a recent Digital Foundry video, the topic of the Switch Pro is brought up again. Following discussions with various unnamed developers, DF analyst, John Linneman, explained that “there was some sort of mid-generation Switch update planned” but it was scrapped along the way.
At this point, Linneman expects that Nintendo is focusing on actual next-gen hardware, but we're unlikely to see it in 2023, which will be another critical year for the Switch as the long-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will finally release.
This lines up with previous reports, claiming that Nintendo had sent out updated Switch development kits to a few developers. At this point though, the window for a ‘Switch Pro' has long passed and it would be best for Nintendo to focus on a new generation console – perhaps a ‘Switch 2'.
It has been theorised that perhaps Nintendo shied away from the idea of a ‘Switch Pro' due to its struggles with the Wii U. While the Wii was one of the most popular home consoles of all time, the Wii U did not catch on with consumers, in part due to its name, which confused consumers.
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KitGuru Says: At this point, it is too late for a Switch Pro but I do hope Nintendo sticks with its current format for its next-gen system. The portability of the Switch does mean compromises have to be made on the hardware front, but ultimately, the home console/handheld hybrid approach has really caught on and I couldn't ever see myself going back to the days of owning a home Nintendo console and a separate handheld system.
