Are you digging the new Nintendo Switch OLED? Well, don’t worry if you’re not, because Nintendo’s manager of product marketing has advised to “stick with the current Switch” if the Switch OLED doesn’t light your fire.
Nintendo made a surprise announcement of its redesign of the popular hybrid console on Twitter on July 6, and while some were undoubtedly pleased about the model’s new 7-inch OLED screen, others haven’t been impressed by the console’s lack of technical upgrades, specifically that it won’t output at 4K resolution when connected to a TV.
When asked on Twitter by a user if the Nintendo Switch OLED runs games any better, Nintendo’s manager of product marketing said “Nope. Not what’s for [sic]. Stick with the current one if you’re not digging the screen.” (Thanks, VGC.)
Nope. Not what’s for. Stick with the current one if you’re not digging the screen.July 6, 2021
While Rodrigo certainly has a point – you don’t need to rush out to upgrade to the Switch OLED if you already own the original Switch or a Nintendo Switch Lite – it’s not exactly the type of bullish confidence you expect to see from a new product launch. It also strengthens that argument that the Switch OLED really isn’t the significant upgrade that many were hoping for.
Xbox, rewind
The comment is reminiscent of the notoriously controversial Xbox One launch, which came under fire after its initial reveal for needing to be continuously online. Microsoft’s Don Mattrick, who left shortly after the console’s reveal, was asked by Summer Games Fest’s Geoff Keighley at E3 2013 about the console always being online, to which Mattrick said: “Fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity, and it’s called Xbox 360.”
When Keighley said: “So stick with 360. That’s your message if you don’t like it?” Mattrick responded by saying, “Well if you have zero access to the internet, that is an offline device. I mean, seriously, when I read the blogs and thought about who’s really the most impacted, there was a person who said, ‘Hey I’m on a nuclear sub’. I don’t even know what it means to be on a nuclear sub, but I’ve got to imagine it’s not easy to get an internet connection.”
Needless to say, Mattrick’s interview did not go down well, and Microsoft later backtracked on numerous Xbox One features shortly before and after the console launched, including the need to be always online.
The Nintendo Switch OLED launches on October 8, 2021. It features a 7-inch OLED screen, 64GB of internal storage, a wider kickstand and improved speakers and a redesigned dock with a dedicated LAN port. In terms of technical specs, it’s an exact match for the original Switch, which means it outputs at 1080p when docked and has a 720p display.
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