Nintendo is expected to launch its next generation console at some point in 2024, but that doesn’t mean it will stop releasing games for the six-and-a-half years old Switch any time soon.
Speaking to Japanese publication Nikkei, translated by VGC, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa pledged support for the ageing Switch with games through to the end of the 2025 financial year. That means Switch owners can expect new Nintendo games until at least the end of March 2025.
“We are still working on software for the Switch for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025,” Furukawa said.
In the shorter term, Nintendo will focus on maintaining the momentum of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the Super Mario Bros. Movie, Furukawa said, and ensures the Switch meets holiday demand from first-time buyers as well as those looking for a second console or a replacement.
Nintendo has a number of Switch games in the works, including Detective Pikachu Returns, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, WarioWare: Move It!, a Super Mario RPG remake, and Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet DLC.
There’s also Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door HD for 2024, a Mario vs. Donkey Kong Remake due out in February, Princess Peach: Showtime! in March, and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD for summer 2024. Nintendo also still lists the MIA Metroid Prime 4 as a Nintendo Switch game.
Nintendo is reportedly set to release its next-gen console during the second half of 2024, with development kits now with partner studios.
Apparently this new next-gen console can be used in portable mode, like the Nintendo Switch, and has an LCD screen as opposed to an OLED screen in order to keep costs down. It also comes with a cartridge slot for physical games. However, the crucial question of backwards compatibility with Nintendo Switch games remains unclear. Nintendo has yet to comment on reports.
In May, Nintendo said it's the long-rumoured Switch successor wouldn't release until April 2024 at the earliest. Furukawa explained during an investors presentation that the company isn't considering new hardware in the 2023/24 financial year, which ends March 31, 2024.
This comes despite a decline in Switch sales. The console sold close to 18 million units in the last financial year, down from 23 million sold the year before and 28 million the year before that. Nintendo isn't looking to rush a new console out to tackle this decline though, as it has forecast another drop for the coming year.
"Sustaining the Switch's sales momentum will be difficult in its seventh year," said Furukawa during the presentation. "Our goal of selling 15 million units this fiscal year is a bit of a stretch, but we will do our best to bolster demand going into the holiday season so that we can achieve the goal."
In September, Nintendo said it had moved on to a brand new The Legend of Zelda game, ruling out Tears of the Kingdom DLC. It seems likely this new Zelda game will launch on Nintendo's next console.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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