In context: Anticipation for Nintendo’s next-generation handheld console continues to construct as the corporate faces its second consecutive quarter of declining income and falling Swap gross sales. Till not too long ago, Nintendo had maintained near-total silence concerning a successor to the Swap. Now, nevertheless, the corporate has confirmed that the brand new console will characteristic backward compatibility with authentic Swap video games and can assist Swap On-line video games on the upcoming Swap 2.
These hoping for an official glimpse of the next-generation Swap will possible want to attend till at the very least January 2025. The one confirmed element is that Nintendo plans to unveil the brand new handheld earlier than April 1.
When Nintendo initially said it will reveal the gadget throughout the present fiscal 12 months, ending on March 31, 2025, many speculated it will comply with the same promotional cycle to the unique Swap.
Nintendo introduced the unique Swap in October 2016, launching it in March 2017 – a schedule deemed unconventional on the time. The technique, nevertheless, proved extremely profitable, with the Swap reaching 146 million items bought as of this month, making it one in every of Nintendo’s most profitable consoles.
Nevertheless, Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda not too long ago advised that revealing a successor now may very well be a pricey distraction as the vacation purchasing season begins, particularly with Nintendo in a precarious place. This week, the corporate reported a year-over-year declines in each Swap {hardware} and software program gross sales and diminished its projected gross sales targets via subsequent March.
Nintendo possible hopes to keep away from additional cannibalizing Swap gross sales because the console enters its eighth vacation season, highlighted by titles equivalent to The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Knowledge, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, and Tremendous Mario Occasion Jamboree. With immediately’s announcement, Nintendo is reassuring clients they’ll buy Swap video games this vacation season, understanding these titles might be appropriate with the subsequent handheld console.
This stands in distinction to 2016, when Nintendo was keen to maneuver on from the underperforming Wii U. Yasuda believes January is probably the most possible window for a Swap 2 reveal.
That is Furukawa. At immediately’s Company Administration Coverage Briefing, we introduced that Nintendo Swap software program may even be playable on the successor to Nintendo Swap. Nintendo Swap On-line might be accessible on the successor to Nintendo Swap as effectively. Additional details about…
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Following the current monetary report, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa affirmed that the corporate’s plan to unveil the gadget earlier than April 2025 stays unchanged. Nevertheless, the launch window continues to be unsure. Earlier this 12 months, builders with insider information expressed hope for an April or Could launch to keep away from competing with the anticipated launch of Grand Theft Auto 6, which is predicted to dominate consideration in late 2025.
Nintendo’s subsequent handheld is anticipated to characteristic 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM with potential bandwidth as much as 102GB/s, an 8-inch LCD display screen, magnetically attachable Pleasure-Con controllers, and a customized chip primarily based on Nvidia’s Ampere structure from the RTX 3000 collection, with DLSS assist.
