Nintendo Switch OLED Price, Specs and Release Date

Nintendo announces OLED Switch model

Nintendo has finally announced a new Switch model sporting a “vibrant 7-inch OLED screen,”, set to release on October 8th.

Here's what we know about the price; it'll retail at £309.99 for either the Neon or White coloured variant in the UK, and $349.99 in the US.

That's a £30 increase in price over the base £279.99 Switch model, and then a £100 increase over the £199.99 Switch Lite.

OLED model overview

• Size: 4 inches high, 9.5 inches long, 0.55 inches deep with Joy-Cons
• Weight: Approximately 320g for the base unit, 420g with Joy-Cons
• Screen: 7-inch OLED Capacitive touch screen with 1280×720 resolution
• CPU/GPU: NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor
• Storage: 64 GB, expandable to 2TB (32GB for original Switch)
• Video output: 1080p via HDMI and 720p on built-in screen
• Battery life: Between 4.5 and 9 hours (Same as original Switch)

Skin-deep: The new OLED model does not make any drastic changes to the Switch hardware – in other words, this is not the rumoured Switch Pro that both press and fans have been speculating about. It's a hardware revision with a nicer screen.

Tech specs: The new model is a little heavier than the existing models, but otherwise functions identically. You can see the full technical specifications on Nintendo's website.

Nintendo's manager of product marketing, JC Rodrigo, was asked if it runs any better than the standard Switch, and he confirmed that it doesn't; "Nope. Not what it's for. Stick with the current one if you’re not digging the screen.”

What was the Virtual Boy’s codename during development?

a) Mobius
b) Project Reality
c) Flipper
d) VR32

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Rock and roll truly is the devil’s music

The Diablo expansion Hellfire features a particularly obscure Easter egg that will only be revealed if you drop a file named command.txt into the Hellfire folder and then make your way to Na-Krul.

Instead of his usual speech, he will promise you Aerosmith concert tickets and say “You'll be getting backstage passes, you'll get to meet Steven Tyler and the whole band. This Friday at the Coliseum. Thanks for getting me out of there. By the way, I'm gonna have to kill you.”.

Join our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

Reports “incorrect” of EA in-game ad deal

Electronic Arts has denied any partnership with the ad tech company Simulmedia after Axios claimed that a deal had been made.

Simulmedia recently launched a platform called playerWON which allows customers to check if a player has watch an entire ad, and issue rewards such as in-game currency or items.

Backlash: EA has courted controversy before by adding in-game ads to UFC 4 match replays, where UI overlays would display ads despite the game being a full-price retail release.

No ads please: “We wanted to clarify that in-game advertising for console games is not something we’re currently looking at, or have signed any agreements to implement,” EA stated to PC Gamer.

Pokémon Go celebrates 5th anniversary

How time flies! It has been 5 years since Niantic unleashed the augmented reality mega hit Pokémon Go and released wild Pokémons all around the world for you to catch and train. A special anniversary event marks the occasion, so expect to see Darumaka and Flying Pikachu with a 5-shaped balloon in the wild.

5th Anniversary event July 6-15

• Darumaka and Flying Pikachu with a 5-shaped balloon in wild
• 1 star raid: Darumaka, Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie, and Flying Pikachu
• PokéStops with active Lure Modules attracting:
  • Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie
• Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott in wild
• Field Research tasks for encounters with Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie
• Collection Challenge rewards Flying Pikachu with a 5-shaped balloon encounter
• In-game fireworks return to celebrate anniversary
• Real-time sky mechanic and additional Pokédex classifications for all
• Possible Shiny Meltan encounter activating Mystery Box
• Jump-Start Special Research for any who missed last year’s event
• 5th anniversary Gift stickers from spinning PokéStops
• Item Bag expands to 3,500 from July 5th
• Special Box, Ultra Box, and Adventure Box item change on July 5th

Fans in high places: Even Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto is a Pokémon Go fan. He said it was “a dream come true of playing a game with my whole family,” and joked that the average Go player in Japan “is probably around 60 years old.”

Opening up: Niantic has also started to roll back various changes introduced to make the game enjoyable despite the pandemic lockdowns, but some of them will stick around due to positive feedback.

We’ve got 5 Switch codes for Foodtruck Arena to give out this week

Foodtruck Arena is out now on Switch and Steam, mixing sports and food in unexpected ways – think Rocket League but with a tomato. Play dastardly tricks on your opponents to win, and enter into our giveaway to enjoy the game for free.

"Take part in an unforgettable tournament, battle against formidable opponents, discover new recipes, and finally, climb to the top of the culinary world"

• Pictures of Animal Crossing Monopoly has appeared on Reddit after a fan unearths some game boxes at Walmart
• Fan-made Pokémon board game invites you to build a team, collect 8 badges and win the Pokémon league in the Kanto region
• Nintendo wants to impose a permanent injunction against RomUniverse to prevent the pirates from returning
• UFC 4, Farming Simulator 19, The Medium and more are coming to Xbox Game Pass in July
• BioWare launches official Mass Effect body pillow merchandise featuring everyone's favorite turian and quarian

What was the Virtual Boy’s codename during development?

ANSWER: Tokimeki Memorial!

Nintendo is often ahead of its time, and the Virtual Boy was about 20 years too early to have even the faintest chance of being good. Known as the VR32 during development, it was Nintendo's first 32-bit system and featured stereoscopic 3D rendering. Pretty innovative for 1995 – so what went wrong?

Most obviously, it featured a monochrome display in red and black that may have been cheap but definitely wasn't cheerful and caused eye strain after mere minutes of play. In the end, Virtual Boy sold less than a million units and is the worst-selling Nintendo console ever. Still, there's a die-hard community attached to it that is still releasing homebrew games to this day. 

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Nick Akerman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!