Nintendo has teased gamers over the Switch successor’s release date – but fans may have to wait more than a year before trying the new console out.
The Japanese gaming giant‘s Switch console – which can be played on a portable handset or on a TV screen – was first released in 2017.
Speculation has grown in recent months over the release date for the console’s next generation, which is believed to be called Switch 2.
But in its financial results published on Tuesday, the Kyoto-based company said it will make an announcement before March 2025 – the end of the current financial year.
Nintendo gave no details about the announcement, including whether it would launch the successor before March next year or just reveal its plans for it.
“A lot of users will now hold off buying the current Switch as they know that the new model will come out some time in 2025,” said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.
Despite the scant detail over the Switch’s release date, some of the successor’s new features are already circulating in the gaming world’s rumour mill.
Spanish gaming news website Vandal reported last month the successor will be larger, but not as big as rival console Steam Deck.
The Switch’s distinctive controllers – which can detach from the console to form a new control to play over a TV screen – will reportedly lock onto the handset magnetically, instead of sliding into rails.
The distinctive Nintendo Switch controller. Pic: Reuters
Vandal also adds manufacturers believe games for the current Switch will be playable on the new version.
Nintendo has sold 141 million Switch machines worldwide, making it the third highest selling console ever.
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While the console has been on shelves since 2017, Nintendo introduced a smaller version in 2019 before launching its OLED model – with a higher-end screen – in October 2021.
And after the success of the new The Legend of Zelda game last year, Nintendo will release Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door later this month and Luigi’s Mansion 2 in June.
The Legend of Zelda has been a hit for Nintendo. Pic: Nintendo
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“The development of games has become more sophisticated, long term and complex,” Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said when asked how the market has changed since the Switch launched.
