Don’t Expect a New Nintendo Switch in the Xbox X, PS5 Launch Era
In a revelation to investors, Nintendo has effectively shut down talk of a new upgraded Switch console in the net-gen era. | Souce: Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP
- Nintendo aims to extend the life cycle of the Switch as long as possible.
- The hybrid console continues to grow in popularity according to the company’s president Shuntaro Furukawa.
- The Japanese video game giant has no plans to announce a Switch successor anytime soon.
If you’re hoping for a successor to Nintendo’s phenomenally popular Switch console, don’t hold your breath. Nintendo has no plans to launch a new console anytime soon as it aims to extend to the life-cycle of the Switch as long as possible.
Nintendo Switch Growing in Popularity
Speaking in a financial briefing with investors held yesterday, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa explained as much . The Nintendo boss suggests there is currently no need to develop and release a new console. The reason: the Switch continues to grow in popularity despite launching back in 2017.
Furukawa says:
Our current console, the Nintendo Switch, is living its fourth year now, but its popularity is still increasing. We believe there are two factors behind this.
Furukawa then goes on to detail these two factors pivotal to the Switch’s ongoing success:
First, there’s how we have two hardware with different characteristics, the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch Lite. The other reason is the fact we only have the Nintendo Switch as a platform, so we can focus all of our firm’s development resources to make software for it. We want to make the most out of these factors and extend the Nintendo Switch’s life cycle as much as we can.
Stock Shortages and Best Selling Games
By all accounts, the strategy is working. Buying a Switch in this pandemic-era is nigh on impossible as retailer stocks are often depleted in a matter of days. As for the games, Switch titles continue to dominate sales charts thanks to a steady stream of popular releases , most recently Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Senior executive officer Ko Shiota echoed a similar sentiment, explaining:
Our consoles are based on how to make fun software for our customers rather than high specs. New ways for game machines to interact with the customers’ daily lives have been discovered thanks to the Nintendo Switch. We see that all the time on social media, with customers sharing videos of their families and children all playing together. It made us realize once again the value of our game consoles.
While Microsoft and Sony prepare to usher in the next-gen consoles, Nintendo appears more than happy to chart its own distinct path, as it has always done. Now, if only that path included fixing the Joy-Con drift issues plaguing Switch owners.
Cynicism aside, it’s worth noting that Nintendo produced these answers in the context of an investor meeting. The Nintendo execs naturally gear their response to that audience and pad them out with assurances that Nintendo is still racking in cash. The subtext is clear, though – the Japanese giant has no plans to announce a Switch successor anytime soon.
