While Nintendo hasn’t officially confirmed a launch date for the Switch 2, other than saying that it will come out in this fiscal year – which is anytime before March 21, 2025 – new leaked images have revealed what appears to be the design as well as specs of the console.
The Nintendo Switch 2 appears to be in full production now and the images of the factory prototype have appeared on a Chinese website, as spotted by r/gamingleaksandrumours. The leaked images were corroborated by Video Games Chronicle.
It shows hardware that looks quite similar to the original Nintendo Switch. Some of the major differences are a larger screen, previously rumoured magnetic Joy-Cons with large SL/SR buttons, and USB-C ports on the top and bottom of the console, reported Digital Trends.
As for the specs, the console will have 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, significant improvements from the original.
VGC claims, citing a source, that the console could use a LCD screen rather than an OLED one to keep its price down, but that has not been confirmed by this leak or Nintendo yet.
Nintendo recently reported a sharp 55 per cent plunge in profits for the quarter ended June 30 as sales of its famous seven-year-old Switch console drops.
The Japanese video game company also reported revenue of 246.6 billion yen (A$2.58 billion), which was well below estimates by analysts of A$3.03 billion.
The fall in the company’s revenue could be attributed to the decline in its Switch video game console sales. It sold only 2.1 million units of its Switch devices in the April-June quarter, a decrease of 46 per cent year-on-year.
While Nintendo has said that it still intends to sell another 13.5 million Switch consoles – its second most successful console after the Nintendo DS – for the remainder of the year, analysts are now tracking the company’s announcements of the successor to the Switch.
