Nintendo Switch 2 Will Have An 8-Inch LCD Screen, Says Analyst

26.01.2024 - 21:59 / thegamer.com / Switch Oled / Nintendo / Will

Details surrounding Nintendo's next piece of hardware have been few and far between, with only rumors, leaks, and the opinions of industry analysts to go off right now. We know that Nintendo probably won't rock the boat too much due to the overwhelming success of the Switch, and industry analysts have predicted that the console will most likely be an "iteration" rather than a drastic change in design.

Now renowned independent consultancy firm Omdia has dropped another potential bombshell, as industry analyst Hiroshi Hayase has claimed that the Nintendo Switch successor will launch later in 2024 with an 8-inch LCD screen (thanks Bloomberg). Hayase is a leading expert in the display market, and recently explained that he expects the console to double the amount of shipments of "amusement displays" in 2024.

Obviously, this won't be great news for those of you that prefer to play the Nintendo Switch handheld, as LCD screens are objectively worse than the OLED screen that the most recent version of the Nintendo Switch currently uses. It's been predicated that the Switch successor will already cost around $400 at launch, so it's possible Nintendo could be going with LCD screens to keep costs down.

It has also been claimed by analysts that the Nintendo Switch 2 will stick with cartridges like the original Switch, and that $70 games for the system will become the norm.

It also makes a lot of sense for Nintendo to have its Switch successor fitted with an LCD screen, given that it can release one with an OLED screen later down the line while not having to worry too much about the increased cost. Shipping a cheaper system first will always get more people on board, even though it's pretty crummy Switch OLED owners will have to get used to an LCD screen again.

There is some good news in all of this though, as if Hayase's claims do come to fruition, it will also mean that the Switch successor's screen will be a little bigger than both current Switch models. The launch version of the Nintendo Switch has a screen that is roughly six inches, while the OLED version's screen is seven inches, so the Switch successor will at least have a pretty decent size difference.

As for when we'll hear some official news, we're all currently waiting for Nintendo to announce the date for its yearly February Direct. There's always the possibility we could hear something there if the system is launching this year, and if not, we'll most likely get some official news or a reveal this summer. That's typically when the big three have revealed new consoles in the past, though we all know how Nintendo likes to march to the beat of its own drum.