In short: We’ve heard a lot of speculations and rumors about Nintendo’s next console. According to a new report, fans will have to wait a while before it arrives: late 2024. Whether it will be a Switch 2, a Switch Pro, or something else remains unknown.
The Nintendo Switch has been an incredible success since it was launched in 2017. In less than six years, it has sold over 122 million units, making it the third best-selling console ever. Talk of a successor has recently increased, and the latest claim comes from a report by Ampere Analysis.
The report focuses on consumer spending within the video games industry and examines unit sales of each major console. It also contains a brief reference to a new Nintendo console scheduled to launch at the end of 2024.
Last month brought more news of a potential Switch successor from an unlikely source. Microsoft Activision’s takeover files with the UK government briefly mention the Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) subscription, which offers retro games and Game Boy titles. It says that NSO is only available on the Nintendo Switch and another device, the name of which has been redacted in the report. Many believe that this unnamed machine is an upcoming Nintendo console.
Speaking on The Digital Foundry Direct Weekly podcast in December, John Linneman said that a Switch Pro was planned by Nintendo but was canceled, in part due to the fear that it would become another Wii U situation – ie, following a successful which console has a total flop. He believes, however, that a next-generation Switch 2 (or whatever it will be called), which will likely pack Nvidia’s Tegra T239 SoC, DLSS, and more features, will arrive after 2023.
All this is unproven, of course; One claim is that an upgraded Nintendo Switch is coming as soon as this winter.
HUGE NEW LEAK
A leak on 4chan that correctly predicted everything revealed today claims that the new Nintendo Switch models will be released this year in the second part and the game will have its graphical improvements.
We have confirmed that this leak is real. pic.twitter.com/oWbnK9N176
— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) February 27, 2023
The Ampere Analysis report also revealed that global console spending will decline 7.8% year over year in 2022 to $56.2 billion, while gaming revenue will decline 9.3% to $32.6 billion. It’s been a good year for Sony, taking a whopping 45% market share for all money spent on console games, hardware, and services, helped by the PlayStation 5 reaching the install base which is 30 million. The Xbox Series X/S, meanwhile, is estimated to have lifetime sales of 18.5 million.