Rumors about a successor for Nintendo’s Switch handheld console started circulating in September last year when a prototype was supposedly demoed for a select audience at Gamescom. Industry sources were suggesting that a commercial version could launch in late 2024, but the release window may have been pushed to 2025 in the meantime. Bloomberg, corroborating information obtained by VCG via O X do Controle, reports that Nintendo is now allegedly telling game publishers to expect a delay into 2025. Sources claim that the release window could have been pushed to March 2025.
Apparently, this delay is not due to any hardware problems, but rather related to Nintendo’s plans to launch the console with a more solid first-party game roster. As far as the hardware side is concerned, the Switch 2 is rumored to integrate a Tegra T239 SoC featuring an Ampere-based GPU with 1536 CUDA cores. According to Digital Foundry, this SoC may also come with 8 ARM A78C cores, 128-bit memory interface, 102 .4 GB/s max memory bandwidth and 8-12 GB total system RAM. Since the GPU is derived from the SKUs that powered the RTX 3000 series, it can handle DLSS and may even support ray tracing.
The Gamescom leak suggested that the Tegra chip could run the Matrix Awakens tech demo with DLSS, and the dock may add even more processing power in order to allow for a 4K DLSS experience on an external large screen. However, based on the approximations made by Digital Foundry, it looks like the Tegra T239 may not be powerful enough to run complex Unreal Engine 5 games at 30 fps, depending on the resolution of the handheld. Still, if the screen is capped to 1080p, the Tegra T239 could run Death Stranding at default quality settings with well over 30 fps. In order for the dock to handle 4K at at least 30 fps, Nintendo could include a specialized NPU to help offload some deep learning calculations from the GPU.
Nintendo’s upcoming earnings report scheduled for March could include a glimpse at the company’s plans for the next fiscal year, yet a Switch 2 official reveal might not happen this quarter given the alleged delay.
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I first stepped into the wondrous IT&C world when I was around seven years old. I was instantly fascinated by computerized graphics, whether they were from games or 3D applications like 3D Max. I’m also an avid reader of science fiction, an astrophysics aficionado, and a crypto geek. I started writing PC-related articles for Softpedia and a few blogs back in 2006. I joined the Notebookcheck team in the summer of 2017 and am currently a senior tech writer mostly covering processor, GPU, and laptop news.
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