Nintendo Change 2: All the pieces You Must Know

The Change is Nintendo’s best-selling house console of all time, and extensively beloved for its wealthy library of video games—a dramatic flip from the middling Wii U earlier than it. However it’s been over six years for the reason that Change launched, and followers are getting antsy for Nintendo’s subsequent massive factor.

Fortunately, it is probably not far off. Rumors and reviews level to a Change successor that can pack in additional energy than the unique whereas sustaining its profitable mix of house console and handheld performance. We’ll name it the Change 2 for now.

Studies counsel that main recreation builders have already been proven the brand new {hardware}, which—if true—might counsel a not-too-distant launch window. Right here’s all the things we’ve heard up to now about Nintendo’s subsequent handheld recreation console, and keep tuned as we are going to replace this story recurrently with new particulars and hopefully future official bulletins, too.

What’s the Nintendo Change 2?

Nothing’s official but, however leaks and reviews from main publications level to a extra highly effective recreation system that maintains the identical convertible method. Nintendo’s present Change is actually a conveyable console that may be plugged right into a dock and performed in your TV, though the Change Lite variant is solely handheld.

Bloomberg reported in Could 2023 that show producer Sharp was engaged on screens for an upcoming handheld console. Sharp has labored with Nintendo earlier than, and Nintendo is by far the most important participant nonetheless making moveable gadgets which are purely targeted on taking part in video video games—though Sony has a brand new PlayStation Portal that may play video games from a paired PlayStation 5, plus Valve’s Steam Deck is standard amongst PC die-hards.

And Nintendo is clearly desirous about what’s subsequent. In response to a fan query in June 2023, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said, “As for the transition from Nintendo Change to the next-generation machine, we need to do as a lot as attainable with the intention to easily transition our prospects, whereas using the Nintendo Account.”

When will the Nintendo Change 2 come out?

Nintendo has but to formally announce a next-generation Change, however reviews level to a late 2024 launch goal—which might be about seven-and-a-half years after the unique.

A July 2023 report from VGC factors to a launch goal of the second-half of 2024 for brand spanking new {hardware}, citing a number of sources aware of Nintendo’s plans. The report means that Nintendo is keen to keep away from the kinds of {hardware} shortages seen with many previous console launches, and the Change successor is more likely to see vital demand, given the recognition of the unique.

There’s no indication of pricing, nonetheless. The Change launched for $300 in 2017, with the purely handheld Change Lite rolling out for $200 in 2019. With some premium enhancements (together with a bigger, bolder display screen), the Nintendo Change OLED mannequin shipped for $350 in 2021.

The VGC report means that Nintendo might use LCD screens as a substitute of OLED panels to maintain down prices, nevertheless it doesn’t point out what sort of value level Nintendo is focusing on with its subsequent console. Nintendo’s final three console techniques have averted utilizing the most recent, cutting-edge tech to maintain costs down. Will that maintain true once more this time round?

How highly effective will the Nintendo Change 2 be?

Persevering with the above thread, reviews counsel that Nintendo will certainly not attempt to compete with the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Collection X because the standard-bearers for house consoles and as a substitute ship a gaming expertise with a bit much less constancy. Even so, it seems like a major enchancment over the Change.

In September 2023, leaked paperwork from main recreation writer Activision confirmed that the corporate had evaluated the {hardware} in late 2022, in the end surmising that the Change successor could have comparable energy to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One {hardware}.

Whereas these are 10-year-old house consoles, it nonetheless can be a notable step up from what the unique Change can deal with. The Change’s hybrid home-plus-handheld mannequin additionally implies that Nintendo has to bear in mind a slim kind issue and battery life expectations, so it’s unlikely that we’d even see a Change-like gadget with top-end internals at an affordable value. VGC additionally reported that the Change 2 is anticipated to maintain a cartridge port for bodily video games.

Eurogamer reported that Nintendo confirmed off non-public tech demos for the Change 2 to builders on the Gamescom convention in August 2023, and that it used an upgraded model of 2017’s hit The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as an illustration of the brand new {hardware}’s capabilities.

VGC supported that report and added that Nintendo additionally used Epic Video games’ The Matrix Awakens tech demo for Unreal Engine 5, with capabilities like ray tracing (reasonable lighting results) and AI-driven visible upscaling tips enabled.

Which will level to {hardware} that’s really extra succesful than the PS4 or Xbox One, even when it doesn’t fairly match the benchmarks of the current-gen PlayStation 5 or Xbox Collection X.

What video games will the Nintendo Change 2 have?

We don’t have any clear indication of Change 2 video games at this level, however you may guess that we’ll see Nintendo’s tried-and-true franchises like Tremendous Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, and lots of others within the combine earlier than lengthy.

As talked about above, Nintendo is reportedly utilizing an upgraded model of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to showcase the system’s tech capabilities to builders, however there’s no sense at this level that Nintendo will really launch an enhanced port of the 2017 smash.

However it begs the query of whether or not the Change 2 might be backward-compatible with authentic Change video games, and in that case, whether or not they’ll profit from the elevated energy of the brand new {hardware}. Think about when you might pop in your Breath of the Wild cartridge and see a way more lavish rendition, just like how PC video games can scale to match their {hardware}.

It’s loads of hypothesis for now, however for individuals who adopted the event of the unique Change forward of its launch, lots of the early leaks and reviews proved to be true—and in the end coalesced into Nintendo’s triumphant return after the Wii U flop.

We’ll comply with the Change 2 story within the coming months as increasingly particulars emerge, so watch this area.