Gamers who have been waiting for years for Nintendo to release a successor to its popular Switch console finally got a clue about when to expect an updated device.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said Tuesday at a publication at X (formerly known as Twitter) that the Japanese tech giant will announce the new change within its current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025.
Nintendo did not provide any additional details, including a release date for the Switch 2, as the console is called. The company did not respond to a request for comment. In February, Nintendo told video game publishers that the device will be delayed until early 2025, Bloomberg reported.
The introduction of a new Switch system would strengthen Nintendo in a highly competitive video game market that includes Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's Xbox. The global video game market is expected to grow to $583.6 billion by 2030, according to business consultancy Grand View Research.
The Switch became an instant hit for Nintendo when it debuted in 2017 thanks to its unique design and plethora of games. The device looks like a tablet and has detachable buttons on each side that a player uses to control the game. It can also be connected to a charging station, allowing the user to continue playing on a television screen, a feature of its kind at the time.
Nintendo's first handheld gaming system, the Game Boy, was released in 1989, but the company didn't release another handheld system until 2004, when the DS hit stores in the United States. It was another 13 years before Nintendo introduced the Switch. In major US cities, customers camped out in long queues the day before Switch consoles went on sale in 2017.
In 2019, Nintendo introduced Switch Lite, a less expensive version of the gaming system. Switch sales soared in 2020 during the pandemic while Americans confined to their homes turned to games to pass the time.
Some of Nintendo's best-selling video game titles, such as Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Minecraft, Super Mario and Super Smash Bros., are available on Switch, making the device even more attractive to gamers. Nintendo will announce new games available for the Switch next month during a company event, but the upcoming presentation will not include details about the Switch's successor, Furukawa also said Tuesday.
Today, Switch is Nintendo's second best-selling console behind the DS. According to company data, Nintendo has sold more than 141 million Switch consoles.
In comparison, the company has sold 154 million DS consoles along with 76 million Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo has sold 101 million Wii units and 13.5 million Wii U units.
Nintendo posted a profit of $3 billion for the fiscal year ending March 2024, up from $2.8 billion a year earlier.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
