We’ve been hearing plenty of rumors suggesting that Nintendo is preparing for the Nintendo Switch successor’s launch sometime in 2024. One particular insider recently claimed that Nintendo is specifically targeting September 24, 2024 as a release date for the Switch successor.
Doug Bowser, President of Nintendo of America, recently spoke with Inverse regarding a variety of subjects related to Nintendo. With all the rumors circulating, the topic about the Nintendo Switch successor inevitably came up during the conversation.
“There have been reports that Nintendo showed off a successor to the Switch behind closed doors during Gamescom,” begun Inverse.
Indeed, there have been plenty of rumors that suggest that Nintendo had the Switch successor hidden at Gamecom 2023 to show off to third parties. Supposedly, an advance port of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Matrix Awakens tech demo were playable on this new console for the purpose of demonstrating Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling technology, suggesting that the follow up console will be dramatically improved compared to its predecessor.
As one might’ve expected, Doug Bowser wasn’t willing to go into details about this part of the question. “Well, first I can’t comment — or I won’t comment, I should say — on the rumors that are out there,” stated Bowser in response.
However, the rest of Inverse’s question was generalized enough for Bowser to comment on. This led to an interesting answer on the part of Bowser.
“Creating the Nintendo Account will allow us to communicate with our players if and when we make a transition to a new platform, to help ease that process or transition.” — Doug Bowser
“As we have discussed, the Switch has had a long lifespan and a huge install base. How — when you consider the idea of a successor to the Switch — do you think about helping those people who are on the console transfer to the next platform while reassuring them that the content and investment in the Switch will somehow transfer to its successor?” asked Inverse.
“One thing we’ve done with the Switch to help with that communication and transition is the formation of the Nintendo Account,” said Bowser. “In the past, every device we transitioned to had a whole new account system. Creating the Nintendo Account will allow us to communicate with our players if and when we make a transition to a new platform, to help ease that process or transition.”
Obviously Nintendo will eventually have to transition to a different platform to keep up with the current generation’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles.
“Our goal is to minimize the dip you typically see in the last year of one cycle and the beginning of another,” continued Bowser. “I can’t speak to the possible features of a new platform, but the Nintendo Account is a strong basis for having that communication as we make the transition.”
We’re starting to see a trend as Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said something similar back in June about wanting Nintendo accounts to carry over from the Switch.
“As for the transition from Nintendo Switch to the next generation machine, we want to do as much as possible in order to smoothly transition our customers, while utilizing the Nintendo Account,” said Furukawa back then.
This seems to be lining up with another one of the rumors that we’ve recently been hearing about the Nintendo Switch successor in that it will have backwards compatibility. In other words, games purchased on a user’s Nintendo Account on the Switch may end up being playable on the new console that has yet to be officially announced.
Fans have been eager for news about the Switch successor and have already begun analyzing the smallest of details for clues. Needless to say, it’s been pointed out recently that Nintendo recently made private their first Nintendo Switch announcement trailer.
This seemingly innocuous action is said to have precedent. Nintendo apparently has a history of doing this leading up to an announcement that’s similar enough to something in a video of theirs that was just made private. For example, the Switch Lite trailer went private shortly before the announcement of the Switch OLED.
Going into the holidays, this could just be Nintendo preparing for the Super Mario Wonder themed Switch or something similar. Of course, some fans are beginning to speculate that the Switch successor announcement could be coming sooner than expected.
Ultimately, we’ll have to wait for official word from Nintendo to know what’s going on with regards to news about the new console.
