Big news for gaming fans!
The Nintendo Switch 2 could be released this month following on from a big new leak that has supposedly revealed images of the new console.
This comes as multiple reports suggest that the Japanese gaming company might be bringing forwards the launch of the console, originally slated for release in April next year.
Allegedly, the early release of the Switch 2 could come as a result of PlayStation announcing the release of the PS5 Pro which was announced last week and will be dropping on 7 November.
To further the rumours, images claiming to be the new Nintendo flagship console have been circulating on the internet while reportedly the Switch 2 has entered manufacturing in China.
As reported by Metro, an article in the Taiwan Economic Daily News, via Google Translate, claimed that “internal executives” at Nintendo have “decided to advance the launch” of the company’s next console to “before the end of this year”, in a move “stimulated by the early launch of Sony’s PS5 Pro”.
The report claimed that the Switch 2 would go on sale in the fourth quarter, however did not specify a date or whether it was talking about the calendar year or financial year.
Even if consoles don’t hit shelves in the next month, it is increasingly possible that the Switch 2 will at least be revealed soon.
Meanwhile, pictures have been circulating online of what is rumoured to be the new console.
Reports suggest the new console will be larger than the current model, with a smaller bezel for more screen space while coming in a black and white colour scheme, potentially to give it a more universal appeal.
The pictures were posted to X (formerly Twitter), but came from a Chinese website, although their origins are unclear.
The sophistication of the images suggest there could be some validity to the leaked images, notably with a sort of magnetic connection on the joy-cons which had previously been rumoured to replace the slide-in connection system, used in the current Switch.
Back in May, the Japanese video game company confirmed that a successor to the Switch would arrive soon with a release date for the device to 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, even if the rumours don’t yield fruit, 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.
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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.
