Big news for gaming fans!
Fans of the Nintendo Switch have finally received the news they have been waiting for.
The Japanese video game company have confirmed that a successor to the Switch is on the way, and that a release date for the device will be announced this year.
In an announcement made on the official Nintendo Twitter/X account, president of the company Shuntaro Furukawa said: “This is Furukawa, President of Nintendo. We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year.
This is Furukawa, President of Nintendo. We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct…
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) May 7, 2024
“It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this June regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024, but please be aware that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation.”
While many fans were hoping more details about the device, and possibly a trailer, would follow at next month’s Nintendo Direct event, President Furukawa instead clarified that the showcase will focus on the “Nintendo Switch software line-up for the latter half of 2024”.
However, fans can take some solace in the fact that if the Switch 2 pipeline is similar to that of the original Switch, we could have the new console by early next year.
The first trailers for the Nintendo Switch were released in October 2016, and the consoles hit the shelves just a few months later in March 2017.
The original Switch has sold more than 130 million units since it was released seven years ago, and it’s most recent big title drops include Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Wonder, both of which hit shelves last year.
The company has released Mario Vs. Donkey Kong and Princess Peach: Showtime! this year, but beyond remakes of Luigi’s Mansion 2 and role-playing game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, no further in-house titles are planned.
With the heightened anticipation of the Switch 2 building in recent months, various rumours and alleged leaks about the new machine’s capabilities have inevitably emerged, but nothing has been confirmed by Nintendo itself.
According to Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at Ampere Analytics, Nintendo will likely keep things pretty similar to the original device, considering it’s sustained success since it’s release in 2017.
“Judging by the success of the Switch, we expect the new device to be a similar form factor and to continue the legacy of the original product,” he said.
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