Nintendo fans have been anxious to find out when a new console will arrive and what it may look like. Will it be a Switch 2? Will it remain a hybrid system, or will the Big N go back to a split home console and handheld model? Rumors have swirled for years now about their plans ranging from a half-step upgrade to the Switch a la the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro to a whole new console. While nothing is concretely known, fans can rest a little easier knowing that the House of Mario has stated it intends to make the transition to its next system a clean and easy one.
In a recent shareholders meeting, translated by Robert Sephazon, a contributor to VGC, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa stated outright when asked about the company’s intended strategies for moving onto new hardware that the hope is to utilize users’ existing accounts. He said that “In the transition from the… Switch to the next generation console, we would like to make sure that customers can smoothly transition while still utilizing their Nintendo Accounts.”
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Nintendo Switch 2 On the Way?
It is tough to know when we will see a new console from the company at the current stage. While Microsoft and Sony tend to play cat-and-mouse with one another and release new consoles at around the same time lately, with the Xbox One and PS4 releasing the same month, as did the Series X|S and PS5, the Big N seems to want to do its own thing now. Gamers often find it difficult whether to label the Nintendo Switch itself as an eighth-generation console or ninth alongside the latest Xbox and PlayStation.
As such, we could see a new home for Mario at any time. Although Switch sales are on a downturn, with console sales between the last two fiscal years for the company seeing a 22% decrease, the Switch continues to sell exceptionally well, as does its software. The company still hopes to add another 15 million sales onto what is already their best-selling home console ever by the end of this fiscal year. Nintendo previously confirmed it will not release new hardware this fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2024, meaning the soonest we could possibly see a successor would be next April.
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In a shareholder meeting that took place in September 2020, Nintendo had already confirmed its intentions to continue working on new hardware, as well as its plans to utilize the growing userbase for its newly cemented online accounts in transitioning to the next generation of platforms.
Nintendo reiterated these same intentions in the most recent shareholder meeting. Furukawa stated that “Regarding the transition to the next generation, in the past, hardware was the only means for us to connect with our customers, and every time we released a new console, we had to rebuild our relationship with our customers; however, with the… Switch, we have been able to directly connect with various customers through the Nintendo Account system. The Nintendo Account is not only usable for those with game consoles, but also for customers on mobile devices, and the current number of accounts exceeds 290 million.”
It seems the company is now catching up to what Xbox and PlayStation have done for several generations now by allowing users to cleanly transition their existing accounts from one system to the next. Previously, the 3DS and Wii U utilized Nintendo Network IDs which were rather cumbersome to move over to the new account system.
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Furukawa also noted the rise and importance of digital game purchases, saying “Many of our customers have been playing on the Nintendo Switch with download software or download-only software, and compared to previous game consoles, the ratio of digital sales has been increasing.”
He goes on to add that “As a company, [they] would like to continue proposing unique gameplay through dedicated game consoles that integrate hardware and software in the future, so please look forward to it.” Hopefully for fans, this all leads to a new console that not only allows them to keep their account but also their existing games and subscriptions, such as the Switch Online service which allows players to access a library of classic titles.
Furukawa refused to elaborate at all about what form the next console will take. When asked, he said, “[Nintendo is] always considering various things about the specifications of future hardware, but at this stage, I would like to refrain from making any specific comments about future hardware.”
Nintendo always loves to innovate, with the Switch itself proof alone. The system took console-quality gaming and let users take it on the go, with detachable controllers for easier multiplayer tacked on, too. It is hard to know what direction they will take next, whether it be something brand new or a clever iteration of current hardware. Will we see backward compatibility, analogue triggers, or built-in voice chat? For now, it is anybody’s guess/
Whatever the future holds, it appears Nintendo is thinking seriously about its plans for its next-generation of gaming hardware. It will be interesting to see what sorts of new features it will support, and whether backward compatibility will be included in the hardware.
What are you hoping for from Nintendo’s next console? Would you like it to be backward compatible? Do you want to see the hybrid system get an upgrade, or are you hoping for something completely different from the Switch? Let us know in the comments and on our social media feeds!
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