It’s been over seven years since the hugely successful Nintendo Switch console went on sale.
But the Japanese video game company is finally ready with its next big product.
According to the president of Nintendo, an official announcement about the ‘successor to the Nintendo Switch’ will be made before April 2025.
Fans are calling the upcoming device ‘Switch 2’, although the official name has not been revealed.
It’s also unclear how similar it will be to the original £280/$300 Switch console, which revolutionized gaming with its 2-in-1 ‘hybrid’ design.
The original Switch – described as a hybrid console – is a tablet that can be docked for home console use or used as a portable handheld device
In a quiet post on Nintendo’s official
The original Switch – which is still on sale – is a tablet that can be docked for home console use or used as a portable handheld device.
In a after On Nintendo’s official
The Japanese fiscal year runs until March 31 next year, meaning the new console will be announced by then as long as Nintendo delivers on its promise.
Furukawa added, “It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of the Nintendo Switch in March 2015.”
The president also said that the company will hold a ‘Nintendo Direct’ presentation event in June, but this will focus only on games.
“Please note that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation,” he said.
It’s possible the new console will be announced later in 2024 with a release planned for the first three months of 2025, according to an earlier report from Eurogamer suggests.
Nintendo’s first-generation Switch was released in 2017 and after peaking in 2021, sales are now declining. Mario Kart is a best-selling game
People wait in line outside the Nintendo Store in Manhattan, New York on March 3, 2017 – the worldwide release date of the original Nintendo Switch
Meanwhile, there is a leaker who goes by the name ‘Zippo‘ says it will cost $399 (roughly equivalent to £320) – so more than the original Switch.
In February, Nintendo shares fell 10 percent after the company confirmed that Switch 2 would not be ready until Christmas 2024.
During an earnings call, Furukawa said Nintendo wants to “maintain the momentum of the Switch business” – suggesting this new console could be similar to the original.
It was in March 2015 that Nintendo announced the existence of the original Nintendo Switch – although at the time it was referred to by the codename ‘NX’.
At a hastily organized press conference in Tokyo, the console was teased as a “dedicated gaming platform with a brand new concept.”
It wasn’t until October 2016 that Nintendo officially announced the console under the name ‘Nintendo Switch’ – a successor to Nintendo classics such as the N64, the GameBoy and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
It hit shelves worldwide the following March and sold 2.74 million units in its first month, making it Nintendo’s fastest-selling home console.
Fans show off their new Nintendo Switch console at consumer electronics store Bic Camera in Tokyo, Japan, March 3, 2017
As of March this year, it has sold over 141 million units worldwide, making it the third best-selling console of all time, behind the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS.
Although a smaller Switch Lite and Switch with an OLED screen have since followed, Switch sales have been declining since 2021, suggesting a new Nintendo console is needed to fill the market.
One of Nintendo’s main gaming rivals, Microsoft, is reportedly set to launch new Xbox consoles by the end of this year.
A redesigned version of the Xbox Series
Sony is expected to release the PlayStation 6 in 2026 at the earliest.
Although Nintendo and Sony are bitter rivals today, the two once collaborated on a prototype of a console that never came to market – now called the ‘Nintendo PlayStation’.