Nintendo breaks the silence on the new console… sort of

Nintendo has finally broken its silence on the successor to its successful Switch – but don’t worry too much.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting news about the console for months, but little official information has emerged.

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has promised an announcement before March 2025.

But he also said there would be no mention of the new machine during the company’s Nintendo Direct event next month.

In a post on

He said next month’s Direct would focus on “the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the second half of 2024.”

“But please know that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during this presentation,” he said, adding that this information would arrive “during this fiscal year.”

The company holds several trailer presentations every year, and recent releases have sparked widespread speculation about the appearance of the “Switch 2” – as fans have unofficially called the new machine -.

Other announcements, such as the reveal of the next Pokémon Legends: ZA, were also announced. set the rumor mill in motion.

Fans may have to wait a little longer for news on Mario’s next major console game.

There was never any doubt that Nintendo was working on something: the original Switch has sold over 130 million units since its release in 2017.

There haven’t been many blockbuster releases since Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and last year’s Super Mario Wonder.

The company has released Mario Vs. Donkey Kong and Princess Peach: Showtime! this year, but beyond the remakes of Luigi’s Mansion 2 and the role-playing game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, no other in-house titles are planned.

There are also complaints that the seven-year-old console has difficulty running some newer games.

Piers Harding-Rolls, head of gaming research at Ampere Analytics, told the BBC that some Nintendo fans have been “demanding a more powerful Switch for at least three years.”

But, he said, the company refused to rush to launch a new machine and maintained customer interest through upgrades such as the revised OLED screen model released in 2021.

“From 2021 to the end of 2023, Nintendo sold an additional 60 million Switch consoles to consumers around the world and generated operating profits in excess of $10 billion (£7.98 billion) based on retail rates. changes today,” he said.

The message from company boss Mr Furukawa coincided with Nintendo’s release its financial results for the past year.

Even as its profits increased, software and hardware sales declined, but the company said the Switch had 123 million annual users despite being eight years old.

He also said he plans to expand the use of Nintendo characters to other areas.

These include the upcoming Mario movie, a Donkey Kong Country area of ​​its Super Nintendo World attraction at Universal Studios Japan, and a new corporate museum near its headquarters in Kyoto, Japan.

When it comes to the Switch’s follow-up, various rumors and alleged leaks about the new machine’s capabilities have emerged over the past year, but nothing has been confirmed by Nintendo itself.

Piers believes the follow-up won’t be a massive change in direction, unlike some of Nintendo’s previous console releases.

“Judging by the success of the Switch, we expect the new device to have a similar form factor and continue the legacy of the original product,” he said.

Piers said he expects the new console to be released in the first half of 2025.

But we can now say, with confidence, that we will know something by the end of this (financial) exercise.