New Nintendo Switch Dock

Since the device that everyone was referring to as the Switch Mini is the Nintendo Switch Lite, then what everyone is referring to as the Switch Pro is the New Nintendo Switch with an additional clamshell mode of play. However, the New Nintendo Switch is much more of a diversion from a typical upgrade because it will include the New Nintendo Switch Dock.

Just like how the New Switch will retain all of the functionality of the original Switch while adding new or improved features, so too will the New Switch Dock retain all of the functionality of the original Switch Dock while adding new or improved features. The New Switch Dock will include additional cooling and a built in graphics processor. While the New Switch is docked, the graphics processor that is built into the New Switch Dock will be able to enhance the capabilities of the New Switch. Yes, The New Switch’s USB-C port will be Thunderbolt compatible, and it will connect to the New Switch Dock using a Thunderbolt connection.

Utilizing a Thunderbolt connection to enable an additional graphics processor combined with an efficient cooling system while drawing power from a wall outlet will allow the New Nintendo Switch to run at its maximum performance potential while it is connected into the New Nintendo Switch Dock.

New Nintendo Switch

Do you remember the first official reveal trailer for the Nintendo Switch? It started with a guy playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on a TV from the couch using a Joy-Con Grip Controller. Let’s start from there but rework it a little bit in order to come up with an idea of how Nintendo might reveal the New Nintendo Switch.

It starts with a Dad playing Pokémon Sword & Shield on a TV from the couch using a Joy-Con Grip controller. Then, his family wants to join in. His wife plays on her Switch in handheld mode while their two kids, one boy and one girl, each play on their own Switches. However, we see that the kids’ Switches have a new clamshell design, similar to a 3DS, with no Joy-Con connected. They all play a Pokémon Max Raid battle together. After they win their Max Raid battle, then it’s time for the family to all leave the house.

The kids close their clam shell Switches, stick them in their pockets, and head to the door. As the Dad gets up from the couch, he disconnects his Joy-Con, puts them in his pocket, walks over to the dock, and then he pulls his Switch out of the dock. We now see that the Dad had the New Switch docked in its closed clamshell mode. The Dad picks up the New Switch out of the dock and puts it directly from the dock into his pocket. Then, the Mom motions for the Dad to hand her the Joy-Con Grip.

The Mom puts the Joy-Con Grip into her purse, disconnects her Joy-Con from her Switch, and then puts her Joy-Con into her purse. Then, she opens the clamshell of her Switch rotates the top half 180 degrees so that the screen is now facing towards her instead of away from her. Finally, she closes the clamshell and puts her Switch into her purse. Yes, both the Mom and the Dad also had the New Nintendo Switch this entire time!

In the car, the Dad drives while the Mom gets her Switch from out of her purse. She opens the clamshell of her Switch, rotates the top half 180 degrees so that the screen is now facing away from her instead of towards her, and then she closes the clamshell so it now looks like an original Switch. Finally, she attaches her Joy-Con and starts playing The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

In the backseats, the kids are playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order together via wireless local co-op on their open clamshell Switches with no Joy-Con attached.

Changing the scene from the car to their future destination, we see another Dad, laid back, playing ASTRAL CHAIN in handheld mode on his Switch. His wife enters the room and informs him that his brother’s family has arrived. He then stands up, walks over to the TV, and places his Switch in the dock. He then picks up a Switch Pro controller and launches Luigi's Mansion 3 on the TV. His wife picks up her Switch, in handheld mode, while their two kids come in with their open clamshell Switches.

Next, the previous family enters as well. The Mom and Dad set up their Switches in tabletop mode, using the bottom half of the Switch as a foundation and rotating the top half to their preferred screen angle. There is no more need for the kickstand. The Dad is playing with a Joy-Con freely in each hand while the Mom is using a Joy-Con Grip. Their kids are still using the open clamshell Switches. While everyone plays the 8 player ScareScraper mode of Luigi's Mansion 3, we transition to the overview of the New Nintendo Switch.

Meet the New Nintendo Switch, a new way to play your way. You can still play at home on your TV, but now you can choose to turn the screen inward for added protection. You can still play anywhere in Handheld mode, but now you can choose to open the clamshell to use built-in controls while on the go without requiring the Joy-Con controllers. You can still play together in Tabletop mode, but now you can choose any viewing angle, up to 165 degrees, by folding from the flat base of the New Nintendo Switch instead of using a kickstand.

Nintendo’s message for the New Nintendo Switch is that it adds additional features while maintaining all of the functionality of the original Switch. You can use the New Nintendo Switch in exactly the same way that you currently use the original Switch, if you so desire. Anything that you can do with the original Switch, you can also do with the New Switch, except that the New Switch may do some of those things better, and it can also do more things.

99-1 Vs 50-50

Mario and Luigi each invest $100 into a mutual fund that earns 5% a year. After each year, Mario reinvests 99% of his interest earned and withdraws 1% of his interest earned. After each year, Luigi reinvests 50% of his interest earned and withdraws 50% of his interest earned. After how many years will Mario have withdrawn an equal amount of interest earned to Luigi?

New Nintendo Switch

Based on my previous predictions about what the “NX” could be like, we can see how they would apply now that we know what the Nintendo Switch really is. Games are already scaling their power and performance based on whether they are being played in docked or portable mode. The issue now is that they are not scaling enough.

Both the Nintendo Switch console and the dock could to be upgraded in order to provide enough enhancements for consumers to see significant improvements when switching from playing in portable mode to playing in docked mode. Nintendo could release a hardware revision using the Tegra X2 chip along with an upgrade from 4 to 8 Gigs of RAM for the Switch console. Along with that, they could also release a hardware revision for the dock that includes an integrated graphics chip that can boost the Switch’s capabilities, just like hooking up a thunderbolt external graphics card to a laptop.

These improvements should not only be feasible but also provide good value for the cost. The New Switch and dock can remain backwards compatible with all of the software that has already been released, while allowing new software to take full advantage of all of the capabilities of the new hardware. Previously released software should even be able to see performance increases when played on the new hardware. The upgrades would not be too drastic and would be similar to upgrading from the 3DS to the New 3DS.

Nintendo eXtreme System (NXS)

The Nintendo NX is a dedicated video game system that spans 3 different consoles. There is a portable console (NXP), a home console (NXH), and an expansion console (NXE). The NXP has power comparable to the Xbox One, the NXH has power comparable to the Xbox Scorpio, and the NXE functionally upgrades the NXP into the NXH.

 

The NXP and NXH share the same operating system and user interface. When the NXP is docked into the NXE, it becomes functionally equivalent to the NXH. The NXH can play all of the games that are made for the NXP, but some games may have enhanced performance and/or visuals when played on the NXH. Other games may be made to take full advantage of the higher specs that the NXH provides, so they can only be played on the NXH. However, the NXP, while it is docked into the NXE, can play anything that the NXH can play.

 

If the user owns both the NXP and the NXH, they will automatically sync when they are on the same wired or wireless network. All of the account information, games save files, and any other customizable data will be synced so that the user will have the exact same experience when switching from playing on the NXP to playing on the NXH. If the user owns the NXP and the NXE, then the user will have the exact same experience playing on the TV from the NXP docked into the NXE as they would if they were playing directly from the NXP or from the synced NXH.

 

If the NXP and the NXH each do not have an SD card or if they each have an SD card that is the same size or if the NXH SD card is larger or if the NXH has an external hard drive connected, then all of the data, including the digital game files, will be synced. If there is less storage available on the NXH than on the NXP, then the sync will prioritize the account data, game save files, and the most recently played digital games first before running out of space for the game data that has not been played as recently. The user can also customize how they want their data to be synced. The same rules also apply for syncing data between the NXP and another NXP that is docked into the NXE.

 

If the user owns the NXH and the NXE, then the NXH can stream gameplay to the NXE so the user can play any NXH game on the TV that the NXE is connected to (the NXE basically turns a second TV into a big GamePad monitor). The NXH can also stream to the NX GamePad controller or even to the NXP. Since the NXP docked into the NXE has all of the same functionality of the NXH, it too can stream to another NXE, the NX GamePad controller, or another NXP.

 

If the user has a second NXH that is on the same wired or wireless network as the first NXH, then If the user plays from the synced NXH, but the game has only been downloaded onto the first NXH, due to storage constraints, then that game can be streamed from the first NXH while the game is being downloaded locally onto the second NXH. Once the download and installation are complete, then the user will automatically be switched from streaming to playing the game locally. Since the NXP docked into the NXE has all of the same functionality of the NXH, it too can play a streamed game while downloading the game data locally, and then automatically switch to local play once the download and installation is complete.

 

If the user has the NXP and two NXE's, then they can undock the NXP from one NXE and dock it into the other NXE that is connected to a different TV. This way, they can always play locally without having to stream to another TV. If a game has been downloaded onto one NXE, but the user wants to play it on the other NXE, then, as long as they are connected to the same wired or wireless network, they can leave the NXP docked into the first NXE and stream to the second until the game downloads onto the second NXE. Once the download is complete, then the user can undock the NXP from the first NXE and dock it into the second to play locally.

 

If the user takes the NXP to a friend's house. They can dock it to their friend's NXE. The account information, games save files, and any other customizable data from the NXP will be used. If the NXP user owns a game that has already been downloaded to the NXE, then they can play it right away, using their own save data. If the game has not been downloaded to the NXE, then the user can download the game as a guest. The game data will be stored on the NXE, but it will be available to be overridden if the original user needs the space. Permissions on whether or not other users may download game data can be customized.

_ 

Disclaimer: This is a prediction based on speculation. I have no insider information, and this is not a leak.

Could Nintendo follow the same strategy with the Wii U that they are using for the 3DS?

Imagine a New Wii U. It would have a faster processor and more powerful specs in general than the original. Just like when comparing the 3DS to the New 3DS, the New Wii U would have faster navigation through its menu screens, Miiverse, eShop, downloads, and Internet in general. By the way, does the New 3DS achieve this solely through having a faster processor or does it upgrade from wireless N to AC?

 

The New Wii U would be completely compatible with all existing Wii U and Wii games and accessories, but of course there would also be games that take full advantage of the extra power and would be exclusively for the New Wii U. Other games may still benefit from the extra power, yet would still be capable of playing on the original Wii U (again, just like with the New 3DS). Another big change could be allowing the New Wii U to use the SD Card slot the same way that it can use external hard drives (perhaps even adding an extra SD Card slot and/or native SDXC compatibility).

 

Finally, released along with a New Wii U would be a New GamePad. Nintendo’s higher capacity 2550 mAh battery would be included, there would be less lag while playing Virtual Console games, and two GamePads would be able to play together on the same New Wii U system. When you think about it, anyone who upgrades to a New Wii U would have two GamePads if they don’t sell off their old system. Any changes to the physical design of the New Wii U GamePad is where I run out of ideas, however I’m sure that Nintendo would not release a New Wii U without making some significant improvements to the GamePad. Perhaps an exclusive game would be packaged in with the console that not only takes full advantage of the New Wii U’s extra power, but also allows multiple GamePads to be used to play it.

New Look

Apparently, blogs have more options than I thought. I have updated the Shadow Blog with a more dynamic look. Hopefully, it will continue to evolve. Meanwhile, I'll leave you with this: http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02699