UPDATE
Would it disappoint you if the Switch successor is just an “iteration” of the system we have now? What would you want from it personally? Let us know below!
ORIGINAL STORY
Since it’s 2024, you can already “start the clock” on certain rumors and speculations about key events that will happen across all three major video game developers. For Nintendo, there are two events that everyone is already counting down to. For starters, gamers are already counting down to the first Nintendo Direct of the year, as that will “set the tone” for what’s coming in the Switch’s presumed final year. Then, there is the matter of the Nintendo Switch successor, which is rumored to be coming out this year at some point, and ever since that “estimation,” rumors aplenty have been bursting at the seams with “info” about the said system.
The latest rumor comes from a statement by Kantan Games, which is a consultancy firm within the industry. VGC reports that the CEO, Dr. Serkan Toto, had many things to say about the Nintendo Switch successor, including its price point and what one could expect from the system:
“The time is finally here for a Switch successor, even though I can say a ‘Pro’ model actually did exist and certain developers were already working with the dev kit. I believe the next hardware will drop [in 2024] for $400. There is a high chance that games will cost more, too: $70.”
The “Switch Pro” was one of the longest-standing rumors for the console during its lifetime. Many people expected Nintendo to bust out a “more powerful version” of their system to play games even better, especially in handheld mode. Even big-time publications like Bloomberg said that it was coming, and then it didn’t. If the next console really is just a “Switch Pro,” that might disappoint gamers quite a bit.
However, Dr. Toto wasn’t done there:
“The next system is also likely to be an iteration rather than a revolution. Nintendo might add some bells and whistles to the device, but it will be similar to the current Switch. And because there is Pokémon, and Pokémon is associated with handheld gaming, there is no way on earth Nintendo will drop the portability feature for their next big thing.”
On the one hand, there’s nothing inherently wrong with keeping things “like the Switch,” given its success. But the “bells and whistles” would need to be special to not confuse the market and repeat a Wii U situation.
As for the portability aspect, that helped the Switch succeed, so Nintendo would be foolish to drop it. However, as with ALL RUMORS, don’t take them as gospel until The Big N says something themselves.