The Nintendo Switch's successor has potentially had its release window leaked
It's been over six years since the Nintendo Switch was released on March 3, 2017 worldwide. Indeed, Nintendo's latest console is beginning to feel outdated compared to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, even though it sports its own unique gimmick.
The improved Nintendo Switch Pro was at one point planned, but ended up getting canceled. This means that we'll have to wait for the Switch's successor before getting anything more advance from Nintendo.
As of right now, Nintendo hasn't provided any sort of release date regarding the Switch's successor. Though we don't even have any official details about Nintendo's next console, plenty of rumors suggest that it's being worked on.
According to Tom's Guide, a Chinese investment site, MoneyDJ, has indicated the Switch's successor is planned to be released in the first quarter of 2024. Of course, this is likely referring to the first quarter of 2024 of Nintendo's fiscal year.
MoneyDJ has some credibility here as the site was apparently one of the first to reveal details regarding the Nintendo Switch, which was only known as "Project NX" back then. Those revealed details ended up being correct, so chances are looking good for this rumor as well.
Back in May 2023, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa stated during the company's financial report presentation that Nintendo has no plans to release any new hardware with this current fiscal year. Considering that Nintendo's fiscal year runs until March 2024, we shouldn't expect the new console until April 1, 2024 at the earliest.
If we take this rumor at face value, then it means that the next console should theoretically be released at some point between April 1, 2024 and June 30, 2024.
The trailer that originally revealed the Nintendo Switch aired on October 20, 2016. This was about five months prior to the release of the console itself on March 3, 2017.
Following a similar pattern, this means that we could potentially get a full announcement about the Switch's successor before the end of 2023, but early 2024 feels like a more plausible possibility.
It's worth noting that Nintendo's first-party holiday lineup at the moment consists of Detective Pikachu Returns (releasing October 6, 2023), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (releasing October 20, 2023), WarioWare: Move It! (releasing November 3, 2023), and Super Mario RPG (November 17, 2023). An announcement in December of 2023 is certainly in the cards.
An important feature that fans have been clamoring for with regards to the successor is backwards compatibility with the Switch. Implementation of this feature would mean that games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate could be played on the next console.
Of course, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has broken records by selling over 31 million units so far, making it the third best-selling title on the Switch after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Needless to say, Nintendo will likely want a new iteration of Smash to continue this trend of success that the series has seen.
Either way, we'll want to be on the lookout for GameCube controller compatibility with the new console as that will be a big indicator regarding Nintendo's plans with the Super Smash Bros. series and the new console.
Source: EventHubs
