Nintendo is expected to launch the ‘Switch 2’ console this year. Japanese gaming giant Nintendo is looking to release of a new Switch console this year to capitalize on the interest in its characters ranging from Mario to Zelda, as per report. All signs are pointing to a proper Nintendo Switch follow-up in 2024, and according to industry analysts, it’ll be priced at $400 or less.
The Nintendo Switch first launched in March 2017 and marked a new type of hybrid console. Nintendo switch hybrid is where gamers could play on their TVs but then take their controller, attach it to a tablet, and game on the go.
Nintendo switch hybrid approach
This Nintendo switch hybrid approach, which combined the at-home aspects of console gaming with the portability of mobile games, proved very popular with gamers. Nintendo switch sales increased and it sold 132.46 units of the same, making it the company’s second-most successful console after the handheld Nintendo DS.
Nintendo shares
Since the Switch’s launch, Nintendo’s shares are up more than 200%. The console has helped the company sustain sales momentum over the years thanks to its steady and strong stream of first-party games and popular characters.
Games involving Mario, Zelda and Pokemon are among the Switch’s best sellers.
Nintendo Hybrid Switch sales drop
But there are signs that Nintendo sales are starting to slow and it needs something new. In its September-quarter results, Nintendo said revenue fell 4% year-on-year and profit dropped 19%.
“I think the new device will come out in 2024, probably in the second half of the year,” Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games, told on Nintendo Switch 2 launch.
“The original Switch is now almost 7 years old, sales are going down … So it’s absolutely high time for a new Nintendo system this year.”
Nintendo Switch 2 launch date speculation
Piers Harding-Rolls, research director of games at Ampere Analysis, expects the launch of the new Nintendo Switch 2 in the fourth quarter of this year.
For Atul Goyal, managing director at Jefferies, the timings of the launch will depend on recent Nintendo sales. If the Nintendo Switch Hybrid remained popular in the holiday quarter then the company could push a new console out to the fall of this year, Goyal said. If Switch sales dropped in the December quarter, the new device could come as early as spring or summer, he added.
Nintendo has not announced its December-quarter results yet.
Capitalizing on popularity
Launching a new console this year will allow Nintendo to capitalize on the popularity of a number of its key characters following movie releases. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has raked in more than $1 billion in box office sales since its April release. This has helped Nintendo see a bump in revenue in the June quarter of last year. In November, Nintendo said it plans to develop a live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, one of its most popular characters.
All about Nintendo Switch 2?
Not much at this point as the company has been tight-lipped on what’s next. Analysts are expecting what they’re dubbing the “Switch 2” to follow the hybrid approach set out by its predecessor.
Kantan Games’ Toto said he expects the successor to be a “new device and not just an upgrade.”
“Nintendo needs to drastically improve specs after 7 years, so they will absolutely release a successor,” Toto said.
Such an approach, building on the success of the Switch, makes sense to many.
Nintendo Switch 2 reception
Harding-Rolls said the performance of the new Nintendo Switch 2 console will be impacted by the availability of the product. He can see it “achieving similar levels to the original Switch during its first Q4 sales period”. This would equate to around 7 to 8 million units sold to consumers.
