The article claims that by the time the OLED Switch officially launched in July, Nintendo had already distributed 4K development kits to third-party studios and asked them to start developing 4K-compatible games.
The expectations
Bloomberg claims that at least 11 companies, including Zynga, have Nintendo software toolkits that support 4K graphics.Â
The article claims that by the time the OLED Switch officially launched in July, Nintendo had already distributed 4K development kits to third-party studios and asked them to start developing 4K-compatible games.Â
Bloomberg alleged that Nintendo is still planning to release a 4K-assisted enhanced “Switch Pro,” scheduled for late 2022 at the earliest.Â
Nintendo’s Japanese arm immediately took to Twitter to publicly deny the report in a rare move. The company’s official Japanese corporate account posted a tweet just three hours after it was published, claiming it was false.Â
Nintendo in the report “incorrectly states that Nintendo provides tools to advance game development for a Nintendo Switch with 4K support” and insists that this is “not true.”
Regardless, there are no plans for a new Nintendo Switch other than the slightly refined OLED model hitting the market next week.Â
Reality
While there is always the possibility that language technically allows most of Bloomberg’s reports to be correct, there was a 4K Switch development kit, and Nintendo put pressure on developers to allow 4K content and that Nintendo just isn’t pushing it.
Already, Nintendo is trying to say that the entire report is not valid.Â
Bloomberg appears to defend their report, which is not a huge surprise. This report, which comes from respected journalists in the games/tech industry who have been very well curated in the past, is no exception: it quotes anonymous employees from 11 different game companies, all of whom say they have a kit development 4K Switch.
After Nintendo’s tweet, the release added a line about Nintendo’s rejection.Â
Compared to a statement from Nintendo with a bit of wiggle room, I’d be inclined to believe 11 sources about the company, especially when that company is under pressure from investors to get their new OLED handheld to perform well on launch day.
The latest model of the best-selling Nintendo Switch should go on sale on October 8. It will have a larger screen than current versions, use OLED technology for better colour and contrast, and cost $ 350 more than its predecessors.Â
But a system that can handle 4K gaming isn’t expected until late next year at the earliest, people familiar with the plans said.
The situation places Nintendo at a technical disadvantage over its competitors, whose shares have soared this year, while Nintendos has lost 20%.
There is also the risk of alienating developers who have spent months designing their games to take advantage of improved hardware features.
The lack of 4K-in next month’s product is significant, as it technically penalizes Nintendo’s system.
Microsoft and Sony Group have been offering 4K-capable consoles for several years and have released even more powerful hardware in 2020, which continues to see insatiable demand.
The Nintendo Switch, which came out in 2017, is still selling well, and early pre-orders for the OLED Switch in the US and Japan suggest it will be another hit.
However, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Sony’s PlayStation 5 will only do louder as more games come out that take advantage of its higher performance.
