Rumours surrounding the development of an upgraded Nintendo Switch – a Nintendo Switch Pro if you will – have been circulating pretty much ever since the console released back in 2017. This is hardly surprising really. The guts of the Switch were severely lacking in grunt at launch when compared to the base PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and, four years on, while Sony and Microsoft have moved on to the next generation of hardware, Nintendo are still rocking what is essentially the Wii U in a more streamlined form factor.
That hasn’t stopped both Nintendo and third party developers wringing every last drop out of the Switch hardware. It’s genuinely impressive to see the likes of The Witcher 3, multiplayer behemoth Overwatch and Ubisoft’s love letter to Breath of the Wild, Immortals: Fenyx Rising finding a home on the system. Unfortunately the Switch ports of such games usually offer a far inferior experience compared to their home console counterparts thanks largely to it’s anemic hardware.
However, if the latest rumours are to be believed, Nintendo may finally announce an updated version of the Switch before the end of the year. With that in mind, here are a few things that I personally would like to see included.
A 1080p OLED display
The screen on the original Switch is perfectly serviceable. But it could and should be so much better. A larger, brighter OLED panel would be a welcome upgrade. 720p in 2021 just isn’t acceptable.
Analog triggers
Nintendo seem to be allergic to analog triggers on their consoles. Despite them being commonplace on their nearest rivals, Nintendo always opt for digital triggers instead. Racing games in particular benefit greatly from them, allowing for more precise bursts of speed and incremental braking.
A bigger battery
Bigger, brighter displays and more powerful processors will certainly have an impact on battery life and, to be fair, the battery life in the current Switch is average at best. I would like to see a bigger, more efficient battery included from the get go that can offer at least 5 hours of straight gameplay without needing a top up.
More internal storage
Yes I know the Switch has the ability to increase storage space via a MicroSD card. But in this day and age it should be something that you might have to utilize eventually, not immediately. The 32GB of internal storage that the Switch comes with is laughable. An absolute minimum of 256GB of internal memory must be included in any upcoming Switch hardware revisions.
An overhauled UI
The Nintendo Switch’s UI is incredibly bare bones when compared to the PlayStation and Xbox. I would like to see the ability to live stream your gameplay to Twitch and YouTube incorporated into the UI, perhaps with an HD front facing camera into the unit allowing the user to include themselves into the stream.
I would also like to see those wretched Friend Codes scrapped and the ability to have longer user names.
Lastly, I think it’s high time Nintendo introduced a universal achievement system. Similar to both PlayStation Trophies and Xbox Achievements. This will give titles more longevity and replay value and players much more incentive to continue playing long after having seen the end credits.
Chris's Gaming Bit 