Games Inbox: Is the Nintendo Switch 2 leak real?

The Thursday letters page tries to work out if the leaked Nintendo Switch 2 photos are real or not, as one reader is impressed by Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PS5 Pro.

To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]

Fake truth
So, there it is. We were all expecting a Switch 2 leak from a Chinese factory and now we’ve got it but… are they real? Obviously, we won’t know for sure until Nintendo says but I find the images to be very strange. I don’t understand what the practical purpose of the 3D ones would be, unless they’re someone trying to build a model of what they saw – but it seems the origins of the images are already lost to the internet.

The apparent photos of the Joy-Cons and the circuit board look a lot more convincing, but nowadays can you ever truly trust your eyes? There are no people in any of the photos so they would be relatively easy to render if you know your stuff.

And yet… trusted people are saying that it looks like what they’ve heard. My feeling is that the images are fake but that they’re giving an accurate picture of what the Switch 2 looks like, because they’re based on real leaks. Now wait and see me be completely wrong and the real thing has four screens and uses a sink plunger for a controller.
Gaston

GC: If it had been just the 3D images, we would’ve dismissed it instantly, but those photos of the magnetic Joy-Cons look very difficult to fake. If they are then someone has dangerous amounts of time on their hands.

Unbelievably sensible
I don’t know about those leaked Switch 2 photos. The reason they look fake to me is that they’re just too good to be true. It looks like exactly the sort of sane and sensible iterative upgrade that fans would want. But Nintendo never gives people what they want, only what they didn’t know they need.

I won’t be disappointed if the images are real though, quite the opposite. It’ll give me great encouragement that Nintendo is changing their game and starting to go for the jugular when it comes to Xbox and PlayStation, and their constant mistakes.

If the leaks are real and the Switch 2 is just a normal console, then I think Nintendo have it in the bag for the next generation and an even more prominent role in the games industry. Officially we still know nothing, so it’s silly to get too carried away, but I’d say the future was looking very promising.
Austin

Return trip
I know we say this every time, but can we please have a new Spider-Man game set somewhere other than New York? I know that’s where he lives but I live in London and I went to Majorca for my holidays, I don’t spend every waking hour of my life in the same city.

I get it though, it’s cheaper to use basically the same map but jeez… I just hope they don’t use it for the Venom spin-off as well. At least have that set somewhere else, so we get a bit of variety.

Although, to be honest, I’d rather see Insomniac do something new, and not just another Ratchet & Clank game. They’re a talented developer but I feel they’re being restricted by having to make the same games again and again.
Keej

Email your comments to: [email protected]

Name in lights
The Rubber Keyed Wonder documentary about the Spectrum computer is now finished and the film-makers are going to have a screening of the film at the BFI IMAX in London, the biggest screen in the UK. Anybody can go who buys a ticket, there is 500 seats. The premiere has a Q&A afterwards hosted by Jason Bradbury from The Gadget Show. The screening is on Thursday, 3rd October 2024. Here is the link to buy a ticket.

I backed the documentary on Kickstarter, so my name will be in the credits on the IMAX screen! I will soon receive a Blu-ray of the film for backing the film on Kickstarter. I expect you will be able to buy a copy if you are late to the Kickstarter.
Andrew J.
PS: DuckTales: Remastered is £2.49 currently on the Xbox Store. Will be picking that one up for that price myself.

Constant updates
I’m not really a fan of Call Of Duty, I haven’t been since the days before it became predominantly a multiplayer experience, years ago. Anyway, I was short of things to play so I installed Modern Warfare 3 as it’s on Game Pass and essentially ‘free’ to me.

I am aware it got hammered in the reviews but it isn’t as bad as I was expecting. The single-player campaign is short but decent enough and I’ve had a bit of fun online, also, although I’m done with it now.

However, has it become the norm for these games to require constant large updates almost every time you turn it on? It’s a game where I might want a quick 20 minute blast, but it was impossible to achieve. These updates take one to five hours.

Anyway, I’ve binned it, back to real single-player gaming.
Razzledazzle

GC: Yes, that has been very much the norm for the last several years.

Underground hit
I agree with Gunfrey that it is interesting how EA constantly give second chances to the Battlefield and Need For Speed franchises. For Battlefield, there are a number of massively popular alternatives to play if you want to scratch that first person shooter itch, such as the usual suspects of Call Of Duty, Apex Legends, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, etc. However, I don’t see the alternatives for Need For Speed.

Which is strange, because two Need For Speed games in Underground 2 (2004) and Most Wanted (2005) were both Christmas number ones. Admittedly, this was before Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare arrived on the scene, but these two games were still up against FIFA at the time and people continued to buy the series during this subpar period of FIFA games (2006 and 2008 saw FIFA 07 and FIFA 09, respectively, become Christmas number ones) and football games are still, of course, hugely popular.

So, where have all these arcade racer fans from 20 years ago gone? If you’re on the Xbox, then the Forza Horizon games fulfil some of the criteria, but I can’t use spike strips and EMPs to take out my rivals. The same goes for The Crew Motorfest on both the Xbox and PlayStation. There are some good destruction-based racing games in the criminally underrated TRAIL OUT, FlatOut 4: Total Insanity, and the excellent Wreckfest, though. As for proper arcade racers, I’m guessing smaller indie titles are the only rivals?

Thus, I guess EA see that there is still a gap in the customisable arcade racer market and so they will continue to release Need For Speed games because no one is releasing anything comparable.
NatorDom

GC: What’s also strange is that they still haven’t made Underground 3, despite constantly teasing around the edges.

Dark Side
I didn’t realise the current state of Star Wars games was quite so bad, until GC laid it out. I don’t think we’re ever seeing that strategy game or Knights Of The Old Republic remake. I don’t know about Eclipse or the other unknown game, but I wouldn’t surprised if it didn’t happen either.

These games are too expensive to make and they don’t sell enough – because they’re too safe, because they cost too much to make. It’s a Classic-22 situation.

I can see after the failure of Star Wars Outlaws that EA and others give up. I don’t think it’ll be any different for Marvel. I don’t really see why they’ve started the ones they’ve already announced, given everything but Spider-Man has always been a flop.
Focus

Apples and oranges
I just watched Digital Foundry’s YouTube video on the PS5 Pro version of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and it’s a more convincing account of the benefits of a Pro. Essentially delivering the remit of the console to provide fidelity mode level graphics/image quality at 60fps.

PSSR, Sony’s version of AI upscaling like DLSS, seems to be doing the legwork. Providing the crisp image of the higher resolution quality mode but at a lower, less resource sapping native resolution with less artifacting than, say, AMD’s FSR.

This gen has been a big improvement for frame rates on the base machines from last gen. Rebirth’s performance mode may not be a rock solid 60fps but it’s up there. Unlike last gen where many games couldn’t get close to 60fps on either the base or Pro units.

So, I still don’t think the PS5 Pro will have a chance of taking a 30fps games to 60fps with its CPU. But as that’s been so few games so far this gen it’s less of a problem.

Personally, I intend to move over to PC, but I don’t think there’s as much of a crossover in customers as people think when doing these PC/Pro comparison.

I want to game on PC for a variety of reason, not just for better frame rates. Similarly, console gamers want to game on consoles as they offer a more user friendly gaming experience than PC.

That you could build a PS5 Pro-beating PC for £911 (that’s how much the one I built on PC Part Picker cost) is of no concern to console gamers. Not least because to get that I price I have to build the thing and set it up. That price also doesn’t include Windows, a controller, mouse or keyboard.
Simundo

Inbox also-rans
Interesting that PC gaming was down 4% in that video game survey thing. I wonder why that is? I thought they were properly taking over from consoles but it seems the bubble may have burst already. Maybe it’ll go back up after the PS5 Pro reveal?
Denko

If that Switch 2 leak is real I will be loving it. The same thing but more powerful is exactly what I wanted. It’s going to be crushing if it turns out to be fake and something wacky instead.
Penfold

Email your comments to: [email protected]

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE : Games Inbox: Astro Bot better than Super Mario, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 love, and Half-Life 3 in 2024

MORE : Games Inbox: Arrogant Sony and the PS6, Switch 2 announcement, and Space Marine 2 breakthrough

MORE : Games Inbox: Selling Xbox Series X to get a PS5 Pro, Flappy Bird nostalgia, and Concord positivity