Nintendo Decided to Go From the Switch OLED to an LCD Screen for Switch 2 ‘After a Lot of Consideration’

Nintendo has responded to questions around its decision to go with an LCD screen for the $449.99 Switch 2, rather than an OLED screen, as it used for the OLED version of the OG Switch.

Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch wide color gamut LCD screen capable of outputting at 1080p (1920×1080). In size terms, this is a big upgrade from Switch 1’s 6.2-inch screen, the Switch OLED’s 7-inch screen, and the Switch Lite’s 5.5-inch screen.

There is also support for HDR10 and VRR up to 120 Hz, which means games can jump up to 120fps if they and your setup allow it.

But it’s the quality of the screen itself and the image players see that has sparked discussion among Nintendo fans. During a hardware-focused roundtable Q&A in New York yesterday, attended by IGN, Nintendo representatives were asked why the company went back to an LCD for the Switch 2, which could be seen as a “downgrade” from the OLED Switch.

Tetsuya Sasaki, General Manager, Technology Development Division and Senior Director, Technology Development Department at Nintendo, said the company did not take the decision lightly.

“Now there’s a lot of advancements that have been made in LCD technology during development,” Sasaki explained.

“We took a look at the technology that was available to us now and after a lot of consideration we decided to stick to LCD.”

Sasaki then made the point that the Switch 2 supports HDR, which the OLED Switch does not.

“Even with the OLED version of Nintendo Switch, we didn’t have compatibility support for HDR, but that’s something we have the support for now,” he said.

We’ve got plenty more from the Switch 2 hardware Q&A, including Nintendo’s responses on Joy-Con drift, and what it has to say about the Switch 2’s GPU and graphics tech.

And, in case you missed it, check out everything announced at the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.