The Nintendo Switch is the best-selling console in the company’s history. It has continued to sell in massive numbers, which means that whatever is coming up next has to live up to five years of success. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa spoke to investors at a meeting, as reported by Polygon, and said that the company wants to ensure a smooth transition to whatever the next hardware generation is, since there are over 100 million Switch users (yours truly included).
“While we will continue launching new software on the Nintendo Switch, we will also provide services that also use Nintendo Accounts and other IP outside of gaming software,” Furukawa said. “We intend for this to help build a lasting impact with our customers,” which they believe will help them minimize the risk of disrupting things in the transition to a new console.
Polygon also shared that in 2021, Furukawa said that the Nintendo Switch was currently in the “middle phase” of its lifecycle, and “that in whatever form Nintendo’s next hardware platform would take, it would likely incorporate the same integrated hardware-software approach as seen in the Nintendo Switch.”
Ever since the Switch Lite came out, I’ve been waiting to see what the best non-handheld console would be and holding off, finally getting the current version. I think that the OLED was a good buffer, but I’m interested in seeing the next phase and how it will maintain continuity between systems. Plus, it is not like there is any superior handheld device out there right now. (I’m still waiting on my Steam Deck, so we shall see.)
Regardless, I look forward to adding another Nintendo brick to my Nintendo brick house.
(via Polygon, image: Nintendo)
