Rumours first surfaced about new Nintendo hardware earlier this year which claimed that the company had started negotiations with suppliers for its next-gen console. The report came from reputable source Nikkei, which has now provided an update on the development of the next Nintendo console. According to the site’s sources, it’s “progressing well” though we shouldn’t expect the new console to launch until at least spring 2024.
A Nikkei Asia source close to Nintendo recently claimed that development on the company’s next console is progressing smoothly. “Development seems to be progressing well,” they said. “But a product launch won’t happen before next spring at the earliest.”
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This report arrives in light of Nintendo’s recent statement which forecasted a slowdown in Switch hardware sales for the next year or so. Nintendo also stated that it had no plans to launch new hardware before April 2024. After selling 17.97 million Switch consoles last fiscal year ending in March, it has brought the lifetime sales of the console to 125.62 million. Nintendo says it expects to sell 15 million more units in its current fiscal year (ending March 2024), though Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa says the company isn’t completely confident it can hit that target.
The company’s statement reads:
“Nintendo Switch has entered its seventh year since launch, and while it will become more challenging to maintain the same sales momentum as before, our goal is to have more consumers continue to play Nintendo Switch for longer, leading to maximized sales.”
With The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom just a few days away from release, the major anticipated exclusive might lead to a spike in Switch hardware sales though it probably won’t be enough to carry the momentum forward consistently to the end of its current fiscal year.
That said, it seems like plans are in place for Nintendo to smoothly transition into its next-gen console sometime next year. Video Games Chronicle‘s Andy Robinson added that we shouldn’t expect to hear much from Nintendo during the upcoming summer game events.
Source: Nikkei Asia
