“There is Absolutely No Doubt” Nintendo Will Launch Switch Pro This Year, Says Analyst

A super-powered Nintendo Switch model may not be too far off.

In just under three years’ time, the Switch has become one of Nintendo’s most popular platforms, selling over 41 million units. The Nintendo Switch Lite, which made its debut last year, helped contribute to this success. But many fans are wondering “what’s next,” particularly with the much-rumored Nintendo Switch Pro.

Analyst Dr. Serkan Toto from Kantan Games, a consultancy firm that tracks Japan’s game industry, recently spoke with GamesIndustry International about what he expects from the gaming market in 2020. One topic that came up was the Pro, and he believes it’ll come to the market sooner rather than later—this year, in fact.

“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Nintendo will launch a ‘Switch Pro’ in 2020, my guess is at $399,” he said. “More specifically, I predict 4K support, bigger cartridge sizes, and of course beefed-up components.”

There had been talk about Nintendo producing a new 64GB-sized game card, which would make ports of hit games easier without secondary downloads to the system (like what Mortal Kombat 11 and NBA 2K20 experienced). Red Dead Redemption 2 was recently rumored to get a Switch port, and could help push the new format.

As to why this year would be an ideal one for the Switch Pro, Toto noted it “will launch after the summer holidays to counter the roll-out of the PS5 and next-gen Xbox later in the year—along with a first-party, system-seller game.”

This does make sense, though how this would affect the original Switch models has yet to be seen. Nintendo does like to keep the playing field pretty even when it comes to games, making them accessible to all players.

Another interesting note is that Toto sees more Microsoft games bound for the Nintendo Switch, following the success of Cuphead and Ori and the Blind Forest. “The love affair between Microsoft and Nintendo is likely to continue, with more big Xbox games landing on the Switch,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean all of Microsoft’s features will make the jump. “I am skeptical about xCloud coming to the Nintendo device in 2020, however,” Toto said.

There is word that it could announce a Nintendo Direct for this month, but nothing is confirmed yet. And there’s always E3, where the company always puts on a show.