Video game fans, and especially those who game on Nintendo’s consoles, are looking forward to the Nintendo Switch 2.
Nintendo’s next console will be officially announced next year – something which has to do with Nintendo not wanting to steal the thunder from the original Switch, which is still selling strongly as we approach the holiday season.
Nonetheless, the company is talking about its highly anticipated console already, recently revealing that it will be backwards compatible with the current Nintendo Switch, via the company’s boss Shuntaro Furukawa. This is something that has given the company’s shares a boost in the Japanese stock market, as was recently reported on CNBC.
So it seems the iconic Japanese company is following in on the footsteps of its rivals Microsoft and Sony, and will let Switch owners run their current collection of games on the upcoming Switch 2 console.
Nintendo, then, will be abandoning its current strategy of reinventing things with every console generation – like it did with its earlier consoles the Wii and Wii U. It will instead release an improved version of its highly successful Switch console, perhaps next year.
Of course, besides backwards compatibility with original Switch games, the Nintendo Switch 2 will boast more horsepower. If the original Switch delivered performance on a par with an Xbox 360 while docked (that is, not being used in handheld mode), the new console could be as powerful as Sony’s PS4 Pro according to some sources.
Besides this, and backwards compatibility, the Switch 2 could also be compatible with some original Nintendo Switch peripherals like the Joy-Cons. This is something that can be gleamed from Nintendo boss Furukawa’s X post revealing that Switch games would run on Switch 2, and in which he also refers to “further information” about “its compatibility with Nintendo Switch” (via Forbes).
This is Furukawa. At today’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well. Further information about…
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) November 6, 2024
This would, of course, be great news for Nintendo Switch owners who are looking to upgrade when the Switch 2 becomes available, its release date being unknown at this point. The Nintendo Switch 2 will likely be announced in about five months’ time (next April, after the company’s current fiscal year ends), and surely fans will be waiting with bated breath for the announcement to finally see the next Nintendo console in action…
For the time being, though, Nintendo will not want talk of the Switch 2 stealing the limelight from the original Switch as the holiday season draws near, given that the latter is still selling strongly as stated earlier.
Actually, the Nintendo Switch is the third best-selling console of all time, behind Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s own Nintendo DS. It may yet take first place, as its lifetime unit sales were about 146 million vs 155 million for the PS2, but this is unlikely.
Nonetheless, the Nintendo Switch got some fabulous games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8, played by millions worldwide, so it would be a great thing if it continued to do well until its big brother arrives, likely sometime in 2025.
Nintendo Switch console OLED model (Nintendo of America)