Rumours surronding Nintendo’s next-gen console have picked up considerable pace in recent days. Multiple reports have claimed that Nintendo recently showcased tech demos of the Switch’s successor to developers at Gamescom, with the console allegedly sporting support for DLSS and ray tracing, enabling visuals quality on the same level as PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Now, more new potential details on those behind-closed-doors showings have emerged, courtesy of prominent insider NateTheHate on his podcast.
The leaker has reiterated that a “souped up” version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was indeed showcased, alongside Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 tech demo The Matrix Awakens. Where the former is concerned, the open world title was allegedly running at 4K and 60 FPS, though apparently, the main purpose of the Zelda demo in particular was to showcase the Switch 2’s significantly improved load times. As per NateTheHate, while it can take roughly 30 seconds to load a save in the game from the Switch’s home menu, the Switch 2 tech demo boasted near-instant loading, exhibiting a drastic improvement.
Crucially, however, the insider has stated that the tech demos showed off weren’t natively running on actual Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, but hardware with the system’s target specs- possibly a PC. Meanwhile, he also claims that version of DLSS used in the console will likely be DLSS 3.5, though it may not have the full featureset of its PC counterpart.
Previously, it’s also been claimed that the Nintendo Switch’s successor will have an 8-inch LCD screen and feature up to 512 GB of internal storage.
As for when the console might launch, NateTheHate has claimed that though he’s heard March 2024 was a date being discussed at Gamescom, he isn’t sure whether that’s for the console’s reveal or its release date. Given the fact that Nintendo has previously said it won’t be releasing any new hardware this fiscal year (which ends on March 31, 2024), it’s likely that that’s when Nintendo will be looking to reveal the console in full. Past reports have also claimed that the console is targeting a launch sometime in the second half of the year.
