Nikkei: No new Nintendo hardware this financial year

[SMD]

 

 

Figured I'd start a new thread rather than try to piece the conversation together dotted around different threads (hi @Popo!) but yeah, not especially surprising news.

 

I still think barring a disastrous collapse in sales, Nintendo will hold on as best as they can until manufacturing eases up worldwide. A new Switch launching at the end of 2023 with a crossgen period to let them continue to sell the base Switch and Switch Lite makes sense to me.

[Stanley]

Interesting. I think BOTW2 will be a launch title for the next Switch whenever it launches, which makes me think we are not going to see that game until end of 2023 earliest. 

[DeDeDe]

I know this is about a Switch Pro or whatever, but I really hope Nintendo release some other kind of hardware like a Game Boy Classic or Nintendo DS Classic sometime in the near future. Nintendo retro gaming is in good shape overall, and I understand that the company may want to focus on the Switch, but the GB, GBC, and GBA libraries seem to be ignored these days (maybe because most of the games look too primitive?) and emulation just doesn’t cut it in when it comes to the DS.

[SMD]

Given the comments from Sega about the Mega Drive 2 mini, I don't think any new lines are viable for mass production, much less anything with its own screen.

 

My guess is that any new hardware will use existing form factors/peripherals and screens where possible.

[Popo]

It does make sense, given the ongoing global production issues, but if you look at Nintendo’s own release slate - there are no signs that Switch is entering its twilight years yet. 
 

New Pokémon this year, BotW 2 next year and the Mario Kart DLC tracks, which are scheduled for a drip-feed over the next 18 months… and you’ve got to imagine Retro are still working on Metroid Prime 4 (b4lieve). 
 

The question is whether Nintendo have chosen to push some of those release dates back, to extend Switch’s lifecycle. If Switch rides into the sunset by the end of 2024, with a successor on the horizon, that’s less than 8 years - which is longer than most, but not obscenely so. I think they have chosen to do this (or at least have taken a more relaxed view by giving the developers of Zelda more time to polish up), because circumstances have allowed it.
 

Had there been no pandemic or production issues, the alternative would have been a new system probably trailed this year for release next. So we are probably seeing 18 months added to the Switch - unless Nintendo fills the release schedule with lots of new titles, going on into 2025 seems unthinkable. The new system will need new games, and Nintendo will need to direct all efforts towards that, so there won’t be any new Nintendo games announced for Switch at this point, I think. 
 

What might happen is production of Switch going on into 2025, and possibly beyond, with budget third party support, to hoover up straggler sales - and this would make sense if the next system isn’t a handheld. But if it is there’s a risk that Switch will eat it’s lunch, and Nintendo will want to clear the decks in advance of that. 
 

I don’t think it’ll be called Switch 2 or Switch Pro or any variant of Switch, after the disaster of Wii U. 

[Jamie John]

There's another article on Nintendo Life saying that they have reconfirmed their release dates for their upcoming big games and BotW is still scheduled for Spring 2023.

[Popo]

27 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

There's another article on Nintendo Life saying that they have reconfirmed their release dates for their upcoming big games and BotW is still scheduled for Spring 2023.

Sorry, the way I phrased that was ambiguous - I think Nintendo chose not to rush out BotW 2, and were happy to let a small team give it the polish it needs, allowing it to slide backwards into the 2023 release schedule Switch needs if it’s to continue keeping the lights on in Kyoto. 
 

That being said, I don’t believe huge numbers of people inside Nintendo are developing Switch games anymore. If a new system is 18-24 months away, they’ll already be balls deep in development. 

[SMD]

Who are you referring to? In theory any game that was released I. 2017-18 and hadn't already seen a sequel released has that or a new IP ready for reveal and a short run up to launch. Also we're still waiting for Pikmin 4.

[Sarlaccfood]

9 hours ago, Popo said:

I don’t think it’ll be called Switch 2 or Switch Pro or any variant of Switch, after the disaster of Wii U. 

You’ve lumped Switch 2 in there with some other choices but they’re not the same at all. WiiU would have been a lot less confusing if it was called Wii2

[Stanley]

I can’t imagine Nintendo deviating from the hybrid design or Switch name, at least not for the foreseeable future. 
 

Wii U is an outlier, they never had any problems with SNES, Gameboy Advance, 3DS etc. They were all perfectly understood and accepted. 

[Keyboard Koala]

Indeed.

 

Ultra Switch 512 ftw!!

[Strafe]

Switcheroo would be a great name for it. Your mates come round and you ask them if they want to play PlayStation and then you pull out Nintendo’s console instead and they say “ah, the old switcheroo”.

 

I suppose it needs to be towards the end of the consoles lifecycle for that to work properly but it would be worth it.