- The Switch successor was previously expected to release in 2024
- Nintendo is delaying the console because it doesn’t have a strong lineup of new titles
- Bloomberg reported that the new console may not ship until March 2025
Shares of Nintendo fell on Monday after the video game maker announced its latest console won’t ship until after Christmas.
The Japanese company fell almost 10 percent after revealing it would delay the release of its Switch 2 console from the last quarter of 2024 to early 2025.
Investors are concerned that the slowdown will lead to poor earnings this year. Sales of the seven-year-old first-generation Switch have stalled, and the delay means no replacement will be ready to meet holiday demand.
The current Switch console costs about $300 plus tax. Analysts expect the new version to cost $400 or more, and games to cost around $70, down from $50.
An announcement for the new console, which has not yet been given an official name, is now expected in six months.
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
The company’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa (pictured), did not directly address the delays during an earnings call
Mario has been a star character in Nintendo games since the 1980s
Some of Nintendo’s publishing partners have been told that the game won’t be released until March next year at the earliest. Bloomberg reports this.
The original Switch was announced in October 2016 and released in March 2017. Although sales didn’t peak until 2021, when Nintendo sold almost 29 million units, they have been steadily declining since then.
This year they are expected to sell half of that, up from just over 15 million.
The company’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa, did not directly address the delays during an earnings call, but said Nintendo wants to “maintain the momentum of the Switch business.”
The delayed release was caused by a shortage of first-party games ready to ship with the new console, according to the Video Games Chronicle.
Nintendo Co. fell nearly 10 percent after telling game makers it would delay the next-gen Switch until early 2025
The Nintendo Switch can be used as a handheld device or connected to a TV
Nintendo is behind well-known video game series such as Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda, with decades-old titles that now give the company enormous value.
To boost sales of a new console, it will have to release new games in combination with the new console.
Last year, Nintendo financed the blockbuster Super Mario Bros movie, which had a massive worldwide opening of $377 million in five days, the biggest opening weekend ever for an animated title worldwide.
The company was ranked as Japan’s richest company last week after documents showed it had more than 11 billion in cash assets and no debt.