It seems like everyone and their mail carrier is offering their opinions, hopes, and desires for a possible Pro-like beefed up Nintendo Switch model. So naturally, I figured why not toss my hat into the ring. Because that’s what I do.
I really only have a short list of things I would love to see in a beefier Switch model, ranging from probable to implausible. So without further ado, let’s do this thing.
More power to play more games (probable — nay, obvious)
This one is a no-brainer. Although the switch manages to perform admirably for a handheld/home console hybrid, the fact that it struggles to run even remastered versions of Xbox 360 games, to say nothing for last-gen or even current-gen games, doesn’t bode well for anyone that wants to play more than just first-party Nintendo games with any semblance of fidelity.
You offer a Switch that can run Red Dead Redemption 2 and I’m in, baby. Where can I send my money? Here, just take it.
With the ability to play larger games, so too should come the addition of Xbox Game Pass (improbable)
Nintendo and Microsoft have been bedfellows of sorts for some time now. And it would only add to the value of both Microsoft’s much lauded and Nintendo’s darling hybrid to offer Game Pass and all the games that come along with it.
Ideally, this would come at no additional cost, but if there was a slight increase in the Nintendo Switch Online subscription fee in order to play Fallout 76 or No Man’s Sky or any of Microsoft’s first-party games, it’d be well worth it.
I know this is something that would alter Microsoft’s plans for cloud-based, on-the-go gaming, but it would be oh-so-sweet.
Go one step further and offer Cloud-based streaming for PC games (improbable — or is it?)
Obviously, this desire as lofty as pie in the sky. But can you imagine? If Nintendo could leverage the Switch as a handheld streaming platform for playing high-end PC titles, it could really set it apart from its console contemporaries.
If I could fire up Valheim on my Switch Pro while on break from either of my jobs — boy, would life suddenly be worth living again! Nintendo already dabbles with cloud gaming, so this is actually less of a stretch than one might initially assume.
Of course, Nintendo would either need to partner with a third-party (which they’ve done in the past) or somehow overcome their online ineptitude and create an app/service themselves (highly unlikely), which maybe puts this back into the Jules-you-done-lost-your-mind category. But it never hurts to dream.
