According to a report by VentureBeat, two different sources (which preferred to remain anonymous) revealed that the Nintendo Switch console will be powered by NVIDIA's last generation Maxwell architecture rather than the new Pascal one. As a result, the Nintendo Switch is expected to be less powerful than Sony's PlayStation 4 (the original model, which debuted over three years ago).
The report cites Nintendo's need to rush the product into the market as the main factor for choosing Maxwell over Pascal. The company known for Pokémon, Mario and Zelda just cannot wait for Pascal's version of Tegra to be produced by NVIDIA, between the dwindling Nintendo Wii U sales and the attempt to be the first truly hybrid console on the market.
Of course, there is a silver lining. A Maxwell-based Tegra chip will certainly be cheaper than a Pascal-based one, which in turn probably helped in keeping the Nintendo Switch price down. We don't have the official price yet, but last month we reported a listing by the Canadian Toys R Us website suggesting that the new system by Nintendo could cost $249.
This would be a lower price than both Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One at launch ($399 and $499, respectively). However, both console manufacturers have been able to lower their console prices since and you can now get deals like a PlayStation 4 Uncharted 4 Bundle for $249.99 via GameStop, or an Xbox One S Gears of War 4 Bundle for the same price via GameStop.
The price, full specifications and launch lineup of the Nintendo Switch are expected to be revealed during the January 12th, 2017 official live stream. In the meantime, Nintendo can take solace in having secured the first two spots of Google's top searches for consoles this year with the Switch and NES Classic Edition, while PlayStation VR and PlayStation 4 Pro got ahead of Xbox One.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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