Delhi Delhi. Japan's Nintendo will launch the Switch 2 console, a successor to its hit Switch device, this year, it said on Thursday. The Kyoto-based gaming company did not release pricing for the new device and said it would provide more details at a Nintendo Direct event on April 2. The company said that existing Switch software will be usable on the new device, although some games may not be fully compatible.
Consumers and investors are awaiting details of the new console, which closely follows the playbook established by the hybrid home-portable Switch. “It didn't have the power of the original Switch,” said Serkan Toto, founder of Kanton Games Consultancy. “What we saw is it's like a 'Switch Pro' – an upgraded version that's bigger – compared to the Switch 2,” he said, adding that the launch would likely be after June.
The Switch turned around Nintendo's fortunes after the poor performance of the Wii U console and sold over 145 million units. Nintendo has extended the lifespan of the Switch, launched in 2017, with hardware refreshes and hit games from franchises like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. The company, whose shares have surged in anticipation of strong consumer demand for the new device, Has said it expects to sell 12.5 million units of the older Switch console in the fiscal year ending in March.
“The Switch 2 is poised to drive hardware sales again,” Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a client note ahead of the announcement. He said, “Even if Nintendo creates the capacity to manufacture 15 million Switch 2s for the year, demand is likely to outstrip supply for several months/quarters.” Nintendo is heavily dependent on its console business, even It has opened stores and featured characters in theme parks and movies. Along with PlayStation maker Sony, Japanese companies remain the leading console providers, even as technologies such as mobile and cloud provide alternatives for gaming.
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