Ahead of its official announcement, alleged first images and specifications of the Nintendo Switch 2 leaked online.
The photos showed the new Joy-Cons and larger screen along with USB-C ports on both the top and bottom of the Switch 2, a report by Metro showed.
Rumours had been swirling around that the upcoming model might be revealed before the end of October, instead of April next year.
Now, images have appeared online which claim to show a prototype version of Nintendo Switch 2.
First uploaded to a Chinese website, the images soon made their way to social media platforms and are widely believed to be a follow-up to the earlier Switch.
One of the pictures shows the Joy-Cons showing magnetic connection, previously rumoured as a replacement for the slide-in controllers used in the original Switch.
A summary of today’s alleged Switch 2 images ‘leak’. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/Z4rfSGz4WQ
— Andy Robinson (@Andy_VGC) September 18, 2024
Additionally, the photos revealed that the console will have a larger screen and the lack of slide-in rails for the Joy-Cons.
The translation from the Chinese website also revealed the console has an 8-inch screen and a magnetic slide rail, 256GB of internal storage, HDMI 2.1 ports, and 12GB RAM.
ResetEra’s Neoxon maintained that the specifications would make the console slower than the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S in terms of speed.
However, the Nintendo Switch 2 have more RAM capacity than the Xbox Series S.
The latest development came amid reports that Nintendo sales of its aging Switch console almost halved in the April-June first quarter and profit slumped, falling far short of estimates.
The Kyoto-based gaming company sold just 2.1 million units of the Switch, which is in its eighth year, during the quarter but maintained its full-year sales forecast for 13.5 million units.
Nintendo has a modest pipeline of titles announced for this year, with upcoming games including “The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom” and “Mario & Luigi: Brothership”.
A new “Super Mario” film is due for release in April 2026. The company has also said it would collaborate on a live-action movie of “The Legend of Zelda”.
