The rumor mill surrounding the Switch Pro has sparked up yet again, and this time Nintendo actually has done something to ignite it.
The company has recently, without warning, set both the trailers for the Switch Lite and Switch OLED to “Private” on YouTube. Considering that it’s just these two trailers in particular, the world of Nintendo fans is now once again embroiled in speculation that the long sought after, yet very illusive Switch Pro is on the horizon.
Nintendo’s silent actions didn’t go undetected for very long. As reported by GameXplain, users on Famiboards, such as one named Meelow, pointed out the change in the visibility status of the videos on Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Japan’s YouTube channel. Another user named Multiverse pointed out that Nintendo similarly marked the Switch Lite’s announcement trailer as “Private” just prior to the announcement of the Switch OLED.
As GameXplain points out, a possible reason for this is due to help the YouTube algorithm point traffic to the proper trailer; that being the potential new hardware, should it be announced.
Of course, despite this being a move done by Nintendo itself, this doesn’t outright confirm that the company is indeed about to announce new hardware. Yet, it’s also hard to come up with any other assumptions considering that that both the Switch Lite and Switch OLED trailers have been temporarily disabled.
Considering that we’re still in the heat of summer, which has traditionally been a key time for gaming hardware announcements, it certainly wouldn’t be an odd move for Nintendo to reveal a new Switch model at this time. Nevertheless, the company has repeatedly been very illusive when about discussing new Switch hardware, even as of recently.
A recent report from Bloomberg highlighted how when asked if a new Switch would be coming within the current fiscal year, Nintendo president, Shuntaro Furukawa, avoided the question. He was asked a similar question in 2020, but there he directly denied any claims. Thus, this change in the way of answering has been seen by some as an indication of Nintendo trying to keep its cards close to its chest.
The Switch family has done remarkably well in terms of global sales since the launch model first arrived back in March 2017. If you consider it to be an 8th-generation system, it’s the best-selling of the entire generation, with unit sales well over 100 million at this point. Thus, a new, upgraded Switch would only further push the platform’s success. That said, there are some fans who are preferring to wait for a fully next-gen Nintendo system altogether.
In recent times, Nintendo’s executives have repeatedly emphasized how the Switch is still in the “middle” of its lifecycle, despite now being five years-old. Seeing that an average console generation lasts about seven or eight years, this seems to indicate that Nintendo wants to keep the Switch going for several additional years. Thus, a Switch Pro would certainly help to fulfill that goal.
All things considered, we continue to wait and see exactly what the Big N’s strategy will be.
