E3 season is upon us and it feels like just about every developer is gearing up with exciting news to share. Nintendo especially seems to have some delicious announcements this year and I'm starting to feel like a kid at Christmas, dying to see what E3 Santa will reveal at this year's virtual event.
Of course, as with any big event, the closer we get to virtual E3 2021 in June, the more leaks and rumors whip around the internet. We've seen plenty this week alone. Some are credible teases from industry insiders while others are just fabrications created by attention-seeking agents of chaos. Still, whether real or not, they show us just how desperately the Nintendo community craves new hardware and games.
So what rumors/news am I talking about? The release of the Switch Pro or Super Switch is definitely the biggest Nintendo news this week, thanks to Bloomberg's report on Wednesday. Nintendo likes to keep tight control over its unannounced hardware and games, but the evidence for a new Switch has been mounting. According to this information, Nintendo intends to assemble upgraded Switch replacements this July and could release them by September or October. The new Switch will supposedly have 4K output when docked and feature larger Samsung OLED displays. More exciting still, it seems that Nintendo will likely announce this new system before or during E3.
As you can imagine, this set the Nintendo fanbase on fire with speculation and excitement. Then gallons of gasoline blasted the fire into space when Amazon Mexico created a listing for a "New Nintendo Switch Pro" and then took it down shortly thereafter (but not before some people took screenshots of it). Additional rumors are flying stating the new Switch will have an updated kickstand, more akin to that of a Surface Pro and that it will even feature an ethernet port. Whether there is any truth to these claims remains to be seen, though.
Now, rumors of a Switch Pro with 4K resolution and increased processing power have been circulating the internet basically since the launch of the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo itself has not confirmed anything, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest that Nintendo is actually making something and will likely announce it this year either before or during E3. We just don't know yet if this project is the fabled 4K system that some fans have been dreaming of or simply a slight upgrade to what we have already. Like how the Switch V2 is so similar to the original Switch.
Source: Sega (screenshot)Sonic Color Ultimate (left), New mainstream Sonic game (right).
In other major news, Sonic is about to celebrate his 30th anniversary in June, so Sega held a Sonic Central presentation on Thursday to announce several upcoming games and updates. From this, we learned that Sonic Colors is getting the remaster treatment and coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store this summer.
On top of that, a brand new Sonic game was teased for 2022. Although, we have no confirmation on gameplay or what this new title is even called. There's a lot of confusion on that score since the announcement ended by showing Sonic running around in an intentional pattern that might be a word, but as yet, people are unsure if it reads "Zap", "Zao", or something else entirely. Sega has yet to confirm the upcoming title, so we're confounded until they do.
Dragon Quest fans also got some exciting news this week with the Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary Special as Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate finally got announced. It looks as though this game is in very early development as no artwork was shown other than the title. However, it sounds like some changes will be made to the combat style and players will have big decisions to make. It's still unclear when it will release or even what platforms it will release on. However, considering several Dragon Quest games are already on Switch, including Dragon Quest XI S, it wouldn't be surprising for it to come to the handheld console in the next few years.
Woo! So many announcements and it isn't even June yet. Whether or not Nintendo wanted people to know about their upgraded Switch, it seems the plumber is out of the bag. The only way to steal Nintendo's thunder further would be to leak Breath of the Wild 2 or Metroid Prime 4 information. Even if more gets revealed without Nintendo's blessing the Japanese gaming company is known for going all out at E3. I'm sure we'll be blown away one way or another.
If Nintendo does make an official announcement for the Switch Pro, you can bet I'll be here to talk about it next week. In the meantime, enjoy your weekend and play your favorite video games.
Until next time!
- Rebecca Spear
