Monday, July 13th 2026
Nintendo Considers Release of Switch 2 with OLED Screen
According to a display industry analyst from South Korea, Nintendo is considering releasing a Switch 2 handheld console with an OLED display. While there has been speculation that Nintendo will announce a Switch 2 OLED version, the company is currently evaluating whether this option is financially feasible. If Nintendo determines that it makes financial sense, the company plans to start development towards the end of this year, with mass production targeted for the end of 2027. This would set an early 2028 goal for the market launch. If the decision is made to proceed, it is likely that Samsung Display will supply a rigid OLED panel for the Switch 2 OLED version. However, there is a significant price difference between the current 1080p LCD panel and a potential rigid OLED touchscreen display, with the LCD version reportedly being much cheaper.
The current situation with tight memory and storage supply isn't helping either, as Nintendo has been forced to increase the Switch 2 cost by about $50, depending on the configuration. NAND Flash and DRAM pricing have been rising, forcing Nintendo to raise costs, which will take effect on September 1st of this year. Additionally, Nintendo would have to pass the extra costs of the OLED panel to consumers, which could range from double to triple digits by the time the Switch 2 OLED version hits the market. If the memory and storage shortage persists, we could see another price hike for the regular LCD version, and the OLED SKU might not make financial sense. Hence, the company is currently debating whether to start development or not.
Originally, the first-generation Nintendo Switch benefited greatly from upgrading from a 6.2-inch 1280x720p LCD HD panel to a larger 7-inch 1280x720p OLED panel when the Switch OLED SKU launched. This was a significant improvement in visual fidelity, with true blacks and deeper colors. However, with the current Switch 2, the LCD panel is already at 1080p resolution, meaning that OLED would only enhance visual fidelity without any resolution increase. The decision will be made in the coming months as to whether the added costs are worth it for Nintendo before going into production.
Source:
ZDNet Korea
The current situation with tight memory and storage supply isn't helping either, as Nintendo has been forced to increase the Switch 2 cost by about $50, depending on the configuration. NAND Flash and DRAM pricing have been rising, forcing Nintendo to raise costs, which will take effect on September 1st of this year. Additionally, Nintendo would have to pass the extra costs of the OLED panel to consumers, which could range from double to triple digits by the time the Switch 2 OLED version hits the market. If the memory and storage shortage persists, we could see another price hike for the regular LCD version, and the OLED SKU might not make financial sense. Hence, the company is currently debating whether to start development or not.
19 Comments on Nintendo Considers Release of Switch 2 with OLED Screen
Repeat after me: CONTENT IS KING.
99% of Switch owners don't give a rat's arse about specs. They care more about the ability to play platform exclusives: Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, et al. Same with DS owners. And Gameboy. And N64. And SNES. And NES. Start to see a pattern? You have to be completely oblivious to videogame history if you haven't picked this up by now.
There's a lot more to gaming about how many polygons a device can paint on the screen.
Look at the train wreck that is the Xbox Series X|S which run circles around both OG Switch and Switch 2. All that horsepower in the Series X and Series S consoles doesn't make up for the fact that the Xbox-exclusive portfolio sucks. If specs were all that important, Xbox would have crushed Switch like a termite. But actually the opposite happened.
And guess what? I bet Switch 2 outsells whatever next-gen Xbox console Microslop puts out regardless of how many more times powerful the Xbox is compared to Switch 2. It's about the software. Morons run Xbox Gaming Studios.
You have much to learn about videogaming.
And the SoC is actually fine, the efficiency is great, but it's tiny chip made on a process that was almost free to NVIDIA back in 2020. And you have all those shiny new games that you get to enjoy on a screen that's barely fast enough to display 30 FPS (and even if you only play on a TV, you still paid for that screen).
I hate Nintendo as a company. No innovation in their gaming portfolio, patenting game mechanics (and retroactive lawsuits over them), unjustified DMCA claims, game key cards. But my hate doesn't come from the company being a company, it comes from people who don't care about any of that and they simp for them no matter what, because Nintendo is a state of mind.
It has also created the metroidvania genre with hundreds of new releases spawning off of it.
And even as they sold side by side, Switch completely pummeled Xbox. Including the Series S which has a closer price point to Switch. And both Xbox Series consoles are still more powerful than Switch 2 which like its predecessor is stomping all over Xbox.
Worse, Microsoft/Xbox is trailing its more direct competitor SIE/Playstation.
And Nintendo makes far more profit from their software sales. Hell, even the Microsoft CEO clearly acknowledged that Xbox is not a profitable business unit.
And if you're in a different segment and still losing money that doesn't justify being there. If I am profitably growing & selling bananas and you are losing money growing & selling kiwis, why would you continue? That makes zero business sense.
Satya Nadella doesn't want to run a charity. He wants Xbox to stand on its own and validate its existence. He doesn't want the banana business unit subsidizing the kiwi business unit. That's the mandate he has issued to the Xbox division. He promoted Asha Sharma to be his hatchet woman to trim the fat off of Xbox. My guess is she has 2-3 years to bring Xbox to profitability and she will be reassigned regardless of her success/failure after that period.
Meanwhile, Nintendo is figuring out how/when they can upgrade the Switch 2 to entice more people to buy Nintendo software titles. Nintendo videogame consoles have very thin margins. It's all about content -- platform exclusive most importantly. Software drives hardware sales. If people want to play Zelda, they need Nintendo hardware. Remember that ALL videogames are developed on PCs. Nintendo could -- if they wanted -- release a PC version of Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, whatever. But that's not how you create and nurture a platform.
Microsoft lost their way. Incidentally, there's a pretty good Shawn Layden interview at Eurogamer that covers a lot of this.
I'm certainly just observer and I don't take it personally if TPU forum participants disagree with my opinions about the videogame industry. But Layden is a videogame industry veteran and he brings up many similar points about the industry.
The Western videogame console industry is a train wreck. Series X|S is a disaster because Microsoft picked the wrong software strategy. That decision was made 10-15 years ago and the course was set to where Xbox lives today: in their own self-made hell.
As for whole inspiration modern games use, I'm not sure of what they use as. However back in the day I'm sure that the Super CD-ROM² 's Akumajou Dracula X Reincarnation of Blood that released before and its also a more complex and large-scale game had more influence and importance back then, it also released before Super Metroid.