Latest Switch 2 Leaks May Not Be a Hoax After All

Since its early days in the video game industry, Nintendo has always been an innovator in both game console and controller designs. While not all of the company's designs are amazing (the Power Glove and Virtual Boy were horrible in both concept and practice), the gaming giant has consistently released new consoles that stand out from their competitors. However, that hasn't been the case with the ninth generation of consoles, as while the Nintendo Switch stands out, it lags behind its competitors in some respects.

The Nintendo Switch was released in 2017, midway through the eighth generation of consoles, and received a console overhaul with the OLED Nintendo Switch in 2021. The OLED Nintendo Switch improved on the original console's graphics, but the console still lags behind both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in terms of hardware and visual clarity. Fortunately for fans, it looks like the Nintendo Switch 2 is finally nearing release, and it could fix the original console's issues. Gamers can only hope that this marks Nintendo's leap into the next generation of gaming.

Nintendo Switch 2 has often seemed like a dream

Nintendo has been stalling for years on a new console

When the Nintendo Switch was released in 2017, fans were thrilled with the new console. Its looks were sleek, its exclusive games were engaging, and the console's ability to be used on the go set it apart from its competitors. Unfortunately, the console lagged behind its competitors in many other respects.

For starters, the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons have a number of issues that haven’t been addressed with either of the console’s subsequent iterations (the Nintendo Switch Lite and the Nintendo Switch OLED). These dual controllers are notoriously small, and even with the Joy-Con grips attached, they still feel like they’re not intended for an adult audience. In addition to the lack of a comfortable size, these controllers also have an infamous issue with their joysticks, as even the most basic movements will cause them to start to drift over time.

While Nintendo does allow players to send in their Joy-Cons for repair to fix this problem, it’s a much less common issue among Nintendo’s competitors. The Nintendo Pro Controller is a viable replacement for this problem, but that hardware is quite expensive compared to the Joy-Cons, making the controllers so fiddly all the more frustrating.

Furthermore, The console has many visual flaws that its competitors don't regularly faceWhile this isn't an issue in first-party titles like Super Mario Odyssey AND The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, ports of AAA titles usually look much worse on the Nintendo Switch, to the point where these suboptimal games are undesirable for anyone to play. This was especially the case with the Nintendo Switch port of Mortal Combat 1as that door was known for its horrible visual defects that made the characters terrifying.

Since the Nintendo Switch's release in 2017, both Sony and Microsoft have released new consoles, with Sony releasing its first major revision of the PlayStation 5 in November. However, Nintendo has been teetering on the edge of a new console for years. Luckily for Nintendo, its exclusive games keep it on the market. However, new leaks suggest that the Nintendo Switch 2 could be on the way. Even if this sequel to the console doesn't fix all of the original model's problems, it would be a step in the right direction for Nintendo.

Nintendo's future looks promising

Nintendo Switch 2 Leaks Show Revision

With the PlayStation 5 Pro set to release on November 7, 2024, Nintendo needs to act fast to get gamers to take notice of its next-gen console. While the PlayStation 5 Pro is simply an expensive console overhaul, the Nintendo Switch 2 promises to be more than an overhaul of the original Nintendo Switch, and for the sake of innovation, fans are hoping that’s true. Anything less than a massive console overhaul would feel like a disappointment after nearly eight years of waiting, and based on recent leaks, it looks like fans are going to get what they want.

Earlier this week, images of the Switch 2 were reportedly leaked on a Chinese social media site and later confirmed as similar to what Nintendo intends for the Nintendo Switch 2. The original Nintendo Switch has been known for its lack of processing power and storage since its release seven years ago, and it would appear that the new console will address these issues if leaks are anything to go by. According to recent leaks, the Nintendo Switch 2 will be significantly better than its predecessor in both of these areas.

The Nintendo Switch 2 reportedly has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storagewhich is significantly more than the Nintendo Switch’s 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. This is a big step in the right direction for Nintendo, as both the Nintendo Switch’s store and processing power were far behind its competitors.

Additionally, the Nintendo Switch 2 is also said to have built-in support for HDMI 2.1, which will significantly improve graphics when using the console in its dock and playing it on a TV. HDMI 2.1 allows consoles to have significantly more bandwidth, a higher refresh rate, and better resolution. Many of Nintendo’s first-party titles have struggled to run at 30 FPS, and that issue will be greatly mitigated with HDMI 2.1 support. While only time will tell if games on the Nintendo Switch 2 will be able to run at HDMI 2.1’s 120 FPS, fans can at least rest assured that their games will run at more than the 30 FPS that some Nintendo Switch ports often struggle to reach.

Finally, some of the biggest Nintendo Switch updates would focus on screen improvements and new Joy-Con designs. Nintendo Switch 2 reportedly has an 8-inch screennearly two inches larger than the original Nintendo Switch. Additionally, this new screen is also said to have the ability to support 1080p, which will make games look much sharper than the original model. This will be most noticeable in handheld mode, but could also be a marginal improvement in TV mode.

Aside from the screen itself, the Nintendo Switch 2 reportedly features a massive upgrade to another piece of its hardware. The Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons do a great job with motion tracking controls, but not much else, as they’re pretty fiddly compared to traditional controllers. The Nintendo Switch 2's Joy-Cons attempt to mitigate this problem.as they've slightly tweaked the layout of the bumper buttons to bring it more in line with other gaming consoles.

These new Joy-Con are also a bit larger than the previous model, making them more comfortable to hold and use one at a time for multiplayer games like Mario's Party. Additionally, the new joycons are magnetic, making them much easier to reattach to the console than the current model. Overall, the hardware and software for the Nintendo Switch 2 are both significantly improved over the original, and that has fans excited for the future.

In early 2024, Nintendo stated that it would announce the Nintendo Switch 2 by the end of the fiscal year, which ends in March 2025. In addition, the gaming giant also emphasized that gamers shouldn't expect the console to launch before spring of next year, which is quite reasonable considering that the new console hasn't been announced at any official conferences yet. However, fans are hoping that when the Nintendo Switch 2 is finally released, it will be a big leap into the future of gaming for Nintendo.