Nintendo Switch 2 leak claims console has been complete for years

Leaker Moore’s Law is Dead claims to have more information on Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2, such as a doubling-down on specs, and claims that the console has been complete since late 2022.

The Nintendo Switch 2 rumor mill keeps spinning, and the latest on the table is from hardware leaker Moore’s Law is Dead, who claims to have further insights into the Switch 2’s specifications, with some rationale as to why Nintendo has chosen the hardware it has to manufacture the upcoming console, which is not slated to debut until 2025, according to the latest rumors.

Firstly, Moore’s Law is Dead’s sources at Nvidia, who is manufacturing the Switch 2’s SoC claim that the hardware has been done “for a very long time” and that the “ball has been entirely in [Nintendo’s] court for years now regarding when they want to launch it…”

This correlates with the previous reports we have heard about the Switch 2 slipping to 2025, to ensure that the software lineup at launch is as robust as possible. Moore’s Law is Dead further claims that this could be due to Nintendo wanting to just sell through the remaining stock of the original Nintendo Switch to fully clear the market before introducing a successor.

Switch 2 specs doubled-down

Nintendo/Gamefreak

The previous reports that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be running on Nvidia’s T239 chip have been corroborated here, with two sources from Nvidia claiming that the 8nm Orin chip will be used in Nintendo’s upcoming handheld console.

The first source states: “Samsung 8nm is a perfect match for Nintendo. It’s the lowest cost/transistor node on the market, and it’s not expected to be as competitive for capacity as more modern nodes over the next few years.”

Interestingly, the source also claims that the design Nvidia supplied to Nintendo could be selected with several LPDDR5 RAM configurations: 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB respectively. It’s just down to Nintendo to choose one.

A second source also confirms the T239’s usage, noting that the company could have chosen a more advanced chip based on Lovelace, the architecture powering the RTX 40-series GPUs. However, the company instead chose a cost-optimized version. They also note that AMD made a play to create the Switch 2’s chip, but lost out to Nvidia.

If you cast your mind back to 2020, the Samsung 8nm node is the same as Nvidia’s RTX 30-series chipsets. With demand for RTX 40-series and beyond growing, with additional uses for the company’s burgeoning AI market, this could mean that Nintendo has chosen wisely, as there is much less demand for these wafers than more modern nodes. This could mean that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be available in good supply when it finally launches.

Power & pricing speculation

Based on the power of the Nvidia T239 chip, Moore’s Law is Dead estimates that the Switch 2 could be priced at anywhere between $349-499. The $499 estimation appears to be if Nintendo chooses to opt for higher VRAM, and higher clocks for the Switch 2, which could potentially put the console within spitting distance of the Xbox Series S in terms of pure power.

However, it’s more likely that the Switch 2 will end up being slightly more powerful than the Steam Deck, instead, since Nintendo will want to instead focus on efficiency and affordability for their next home console.