Is the next-generation Nintendo Switch on its way? History suggests that it’s likely, given that the original Switch launched more than six years ago—and reports are piling up that suggest that Nintendo is paving the way for a launch next year. But Nintendo’s president is trying to pour cold water on such buzz.
During an online press conference Tuesday, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furakawa labeled reports about the so-called Nintendo Switch 2 as “inaccurate,” according to Mainichi, and specifically said that claims that the capabilities of the new hardware were shown to select developers in recent months were “untrue.”
“Rumors are circulating mainly on the internet as if they were public information, but they are inaccurate,” he said of Switch successor reports.
Leaked Activision documents from the FTC’s failed court case to block Microsoft’s acquisition of the game publisher suggested that Nintendo had shown off its next-generation hardware to Activision in late 2022. Multiple publications then reported that some game studios were given private demos at the Gamescom conference in August 2023, using an enhanced version of Switch hit The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
More broadly, reports implied that Nintendo is prepping a Switch successor to launch in 2024. The new system is expected to keep the hybrid handheld and home console approach of the current Switch, in some respect, albeit with substantially more power—reportedly along the lines of what the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 could handle.
Granted, those are 10-year-old consoles, but Nintendo has long dodged the battle for top-tier graphics in favor of more approachable prices, creative and experimental play options, and a focus on accessibility over raw hardware prowess.
It’s no surprise to see Nintendo try to bat down speculation around its next console. After all, the Switch is the company’s only current system, and it has to last through at least one more crucial holiday season before a potential successor can roll around. Gaming companies typically try to avoid overshadowing their current offerings by sharing the next big thing too far in advance.
But Nintendo has already been talking around its next console. Nintendo executives in both Japan and America, including Furakawa himself, have said that the company plans to make it easier to transfer games and data from the Switch to its next-generation hardware.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.