Back in May, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa revealed that a full announcement for the company’s next video game system will happen at some point before the end of the fiscal year. Fans have been eagerly awaiting an announcement ever since, but details on the tentatively titled “Nintendo Switch 2” have been largely nonexistent. Fans might have worried that the announcement has been pushed back, but it seems that is not the case. During an online press conference this morning (via Reuters), Furukawa said that nothing has changed. That means we can still expect an announcement between now and the end of March 2025.

Fans had been hoping that an announcement would come before the end of 2024, with a release sometime in early 2025. Nintendo Switch launched globally in March 2017, and that window proved very successful for the company. It’s still possible we could see the system in the first half of 2025, but that will largely depend on when the announcement happens. Nintendo Direct presentations have frequently happened in February, so it’s possible we could see something similar next year, with a full reveal for the platform. Back in 2023, Furukawa said that there will be a shorter window between the system’s announcement and release than we saw with Switch, so an announcement in January or February with a launch in May or June would not be inconceivable.

At this time, additional details about the system are very slim. Most publishers and developers have avoided announcing any games for the platform, likely holding off until the reveal from Nintendo. Developer Playtonic recently announced its game Yooka-Replaylee for unspecified “Nintendo platforms,” basically implying that the game will be coming to Switch 2 as opposed to the current system. However, we know nothing from Nintendo itself, outside of rumors about games like a new 3D Mario, and the next iteration of Mario Kart.

At this time, we know very little about Switch 2, but the 2025 lineup for the current console has started to come into focus. January will see the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, while March will see the arrival of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Both of those are remasters of existing games, but Nintendo also has two original titles confirmed for next year: Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4. However, neither game has a set release date as of this writing.

The press conference from Furukawa came alongside Nintendo’s latest financial results. Sales of the current Switch have fallen below expectations, but that’s not surprising for a system that’s nearly eight years old. Switch software continues to find success, however, with games like the recently released The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom having sold 2.58 million copies since launching in September.

Posted: Nov 09, 2024 8:50 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/nintendo-switch-2-announcement-window-update-furukawa/