According to Digital Foundry, the Nintendo Switch Pro existed but was scrapped.

For those looking forward to a significant improvement in the performance of your Nintendo Switch, you may need to wait until Nintendo releases its next central console, whenever that may be. John Linneman of Digital Foundry claims that the Nintendo Switch Pro was in the works at one point for the company that manufactures gaming consoles. However, the project was eventually scrapped for unknown reasons.

At the 52:45 mark in Digital Foundry’s end-of-the-year lookback Direct Weekly, Linneman stated that he had talked to Nintendo developers and learned that a mid-generation upgrade for the Nintendo Switch had been canceled for the company to focus on developing their next-generation console. Linneman revealed this information after saying he had spoken to Nintendo employees about the situation.

It is unknown whether that will be some Switch 2 or a diversion to a traditional stay-at-home console again. However, we would guess that a portable hybrid successor would have to be in the cards for Nintendo to continue to bank off the success they have seen for almost six years.

Given Nintendo’s troubled past with selling video game consoles, Linneman said that he thinks the company is very thoughtful about its future path. Even though many people still have a lot of affection for the GameCube, it has been unable to compete in terms of sales with other consoles like the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox since 2000.

After that, they released the Wii, an undeniable commercial success; yet, with the Wii U, they managed to derail all of that progress completely. He wonders how Nintendo may continue its success while guaranteeing that its console is still intriguing enough for customers to want to buy it.

Linneman makes an excellent point when he says that any system Nintendo decides to release following needs to be seen as more than merely an improvement over the Nintendo Switch. The fact that too many casual gamers believed the Wii U to be nothing more than a tablet that enhanced their existing Wii was one of the primary reasons the console was such a commercial failure. These gamers were unwilling to put their money into something that appeared to be nothing more than a controller.

It doesn’t matter what direction they go with their future platform; if they don’t cover every element of the system’s release, they risk falling behind where they were before the Switch was released.