Summary
The Switch 2 delay meansNintendois in for “a lot tougher” year than investors might have hoped for, an industry analyst said. This outlook was offered as part of a wider overview of the potential effects of the widely reported move, both forNintendoand consumers alike.
While the Japanese gaming giant still refuses to even acknowledge that its next console is on the horizon, rumors about the upcoming system, tentatively dubbed the Switch 2, have been swirling around for years. And while reports about Nintendo’s next hybrid device were sometimes contradictory, something resembling an insider consensus started emerging circa August 2023, when several sourcesclaimed that the Switch 2 would launch in 2024.
A newly surfaced report has nowsuggested that the Switch 2 will slip into 2025, with Nintendo supposedly aiming to release it in the first quarter of the following year. While the reasons behind the purported internal delay remain unclear, it is likely that the move will result in fewer Switch exclusives and a more challenging fiscal year for Nintendo. That’s according to Serkan Toto, the CEO of Tokyo-based analytics firm Kantan Games, who recently spoke withBloombergabout the implications of Nintendo refraining from releasing a Switch successor for the eighth year in a row.
Switch Owners Should Brace for a ‘Pretty Dry’ Year
Reflecting on the news of the Switch 2 delay, which Bloomberg itself has now also corroborated independently, Toto opined that Nintendo’s content pipeline is likely to be “pretty dry” this year. Elaborating on that point, the analyst predicted that Nintendo will plausibly hold on to its upcoming “blockbusters” until the next console is out. The Switch could consequently experience a somewhat lackluster year, during which Toto suggests Nintendo might intensify its focus on remakes, all the while original releases take a backseat.
2024 Is Likely To Be the Year of Switch Remakes
The current state of the company’s 2024 software lineup dovetails with the analyst’s forecast; of thesix upcoming Switch games that Nintendo recently highlightedto investors, half are remakes or remasters. Meanwhile, its original titles include niche puzzlerAnother Code: Recollection—released this Friday, February 16—andMetroid Prime 4, which is getting more likely to skip the Switch by the day, seeing how it was announced back in 2017 and is still waiting for a gameplay reveal, never mind a release date.
2024 will be a lot tougher for Nintendo without a new device.
Relying on the Switch for the eighth consecutive year is bound to result in a challenging period for the Japanese group, with Toto predicting that “2024 will be a lot tougher for Nintendo without a new device.” ASwitch 2 announcement, whenever it happens, will also ostensibly lower the already declining sales of the existing console. But the move might not substantially impact software sales if the upcoming system is immediately confirmed to offer backward compatibility.
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