Nintendo Direct, and all the anticipation it creates, has had people asking whether Nintendo is going to announce a new console. Nintendo President, Shuntaro Furukawa, may have the answer.
Is Nintendo Working on a Switch Pro?
In an interview with The Nikkei, a Japanese news site, the President of Nintendo, Shuntaro Furukawa, seems to hint that Nintendo is in fact working on a successor to the popular console.
The interview is in Japanese, but a translation of the interview will illustrate that a new, more advanced Switch model is potentially on its way. Whether we will see a new Switch in 2021 is another matter, of course.
Will the Next Nintendo Console Launch in 2021?
Currently, it is hard to say. We’re going to err on the side of caution here because Nintendo’s words on such matters are always incredibly vague.
However, when pressed on the roadmap for console development, Furukawa’s answers were interesting, to say the least.
The interviewer cites the DS and Wii as consoles that peaked at four years. When asked what the future of the Switch is, with this in mind (it is a four-year-old console), Furukawa replies (translation):
In the fifth year, what to do as the hardware life cycle becomes longer is one issue for us. It is very important for each customer to continue playing with the switch. Some customers have been from [launch], while others have been inspired by popular series of software such as [Animal Crossing].
So, here, Furukawa is acknowledging the importance of not alienating new Nintendo Switch owners. He also accepts the timeframe proposed by the interviewer, which is of interest.
When asked about a specific timeframe for hardware development in terms of a Switch successor, Furukawa has this to say:
I haven’t decided at all what year it will be released. However, I am always doing technical research. The hardware and software development teams are working closely with each other in the same building to think about what new entertainment proposals they can make. In order to make one piece of hardware, we have to make various preparations for several years, so the reality is that we are doing it without stopping.
This whole passage contains hints that Nintendo is working on new console hardware, aside from the obvious development team collaboration. “I haven’t decided at all what year it will be released” suggests that there is an “it” in development. “It” possibly being a new console.
Reading into those final few words “… we are doing it without stopping… ” we could see this as confirmation of sorts that Nintendo has something new console-wise that they are currently working on. However, doing so is obviously speculative. Furukawa confirms nothing concrete.
No New Nintendo Switch, Yet
However we read into Furukawa’s responses, we still have nothing solid, like a release date or hardware specs. However, Nintendo has been softening its language when it comes to a Switch successor, so perhaps we’ll hear more soon.
In the meantime, there is plenty to be doing with the current Switch models, and not just games!