There’s the Switch. Then there’s the Switch Lite. What’s missing? The Switch Pro. And you bet you ass it’s coming soon.
A few months ago an Instagram-like picture full of digital stickers was spreading on social media. The person who originally posted it claimed it was a picture of the Switch Mini (Switch Lite as it was officially revealed to be called). People online had mixed opinions. Lo and behold, it was true. It was an actual picture of the turquoise plastic shell of the Switch Lite. After hearing countless whispers about a Switch Pro on the way, I will try to figure out all possibilities. The Switch Pro will be in one of the following forms. It’s only logical that one of these predictions will be true by the end of 2019.
A WHOLE NEW SYSTEM
This is the simplest prediction of them all. It’s going to be like the original Switch, just more powerful. All the work will be done by the beefed up Switch, with the dock taking on the same role as the original, just putting that image on the big screen. While it is the most requested type of upgrade, it is also quite risky for Nintendo. Consumers might be alienated if Switch Pro-only games start popping up. After all, developers nowadays tend to use powerful hardware to cut down on optimisation time, using the extra power to beat their game into running well. On the other hand, Nintendo could demand that all games be playable on all versions of the Switch. A bold move because developers already have to make 3 versions of each game run well on Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
A NEW DOCK
Another potential manifestation of the Switch Pro could be a dock that can be purchased separately and fit both the original Switch and Switch Lite, acting as an external GPU of sorts, aiming to give the Switch a boost in graphical fidelity and smoother gameplay. This seems more possible now that the Switch Lite was announced, a handheld-only portable console that officially can’t be docked, yet it retains the docking notch of the original Switch. Don’t you find that a tiny bit suspicious?
DOUBLE COMBO
That’s right. The Pro might come in the form of more powerful hardware under the hood of the tablet itself along with a dock with the ability to aid that new Switch. This is the least likely outcome simply because it would cost too much to manufacture and the consumers would be asked to pay 2006 PS3-level prices for it. I’m really hoping this is not the way Nintendo chooses to do it. But then again, they are incredibly stubborn.
THAT’S ALL FOLKS?
So there you have it. The Switch Pro will be released in one of the forms mentioned above. Of course Nintendo could pull a big Nintendo and just not release an upgrade at all, choosing instead to focus on a Switch 2 with backwards compatibility to be released in 2020. After they announced the upgraded classic Switch model with improved battery life and slightly brighter screen out of nowhere, half the analysts in the world just conceded that there’s no knowing what Nintendo will do next.