We have some new rumors about the next Nintendo console after the Switch, suggesting we may have to be a little more patient before it arrives.
A Nikkei Asia report claims to have a source close to Nintendo with the details. In their words:
“Development seems to be progressing well. But a product launch won’t happen before next spring at the earliest.”
Of course, the Nintendo Switch successor is quite conspicuous in its absence. Fans who hoped that the next console would launch alongside The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom already know that that isn’t happening.
Of course, that expectation wasn’t really reasonable to begin with. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild released simultaneously on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch because of unique extenuating circumstances.
In that situation, Nintendo did not expect to recoup their costs making The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild on the Wii U. At the same time, this was the platform the game was being built on, and Nintendo could not harm their reputation by removing the game from the Wii U lineup, especially for Nintendo fans that were loyal to them through the Wii U’s lifetime.
True enough, The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild sold spectacularly well on the Nintendo Switch. But most fans aren’t aware of or disregard the fact that it also sold over 1 million units on the Wii U. That justified its continued development on the platform, even as Nintendo was planning to sunset it.
Now, Nintendo is coming from a position of strength, but also mindful that they seem to go through boom and bust cycles and this next console might be a bust if they make the wrong choices.
The seemingly safe choice is to make a more powerful Nintendo Switch and call it a day. However, Nintendo is definitely mindful that the market for portable gaming handhelds has changed considerably since the entry of the Steam Deck.
While Nintendo can sell a ‘Switch 2’ based on their exclusives, it isn’t a formula for success. That’s essentially what happened with the Wii U. Subsequently, part of the problem with the Wii U is precisely that Nintendo didn’t do a good job with branding and communication that this console was a Wii 2, so to speak.
With the Steam Deck came small players delivering Windows handhelds, and now, a big player in ASUS with their own Windows handheld, the ROG Ally. Nintendo actually has a lot of incentive to make a different kind of console entirely, to differentiate them from this emerging product category they created.
Of course, as of right now, only Nintendo themselves know what they have planned in the future. Here’s hoping it’s something that will surprise us, and then win us over, once again.
