Nintendo could have unveiled the Switch 2 four years ago

It was recently we got confirmation on when Nintendo began working on the Switch 2, and now we are starting to hear about when the company finalized the hardware chip that's within the upcoming console.

Findings by Geekerwan and Kurnal, who managed to get their hands on a Switch 2 motherboard, sourced from an online retailer in China, put the board and the chip under the microscope, revealing that the hardware Nintendo decided on was finalized at least four years ago. The chip powering the incredible performance of the Switch 2 is the T239, which closely resembles NVIDIA's T234 but comes with a number of changes. Analysis by the tech experts over at Digital Foundry indicates the chip is running on an 8nm processor, which features that stretch up to a 10nm.

As for comparisons, the Switch 2 chip measures 40mm2 larger than the Steam Deck's. The size of the chip is the main factor as to why the Switch 2 has increased in size so significantly compared to the original Switch, with the Switch 2 being 75% bigger than the current-gen console. So, if the hardware was finalized four years ago, does that mean Nintendo could have revealed the console four years ago? Well, technically it could have, but simply it didn't need to.

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Digital Foundry points out that despite plans for the Switch 2 being outlined in 2019 and the chip being finalized in 2022, Nintendo felt no pressure to discuss the existence of the Switch 2 due to the original Switch selling extremely well at the time. In 2021/22, the original Switch was only four/five years old, which at the time had plenty of new software coming out for it to entice new buyers.