Daily Debate: Do All the “Switch 2” Rumors Frustrate You as a Nintendo Fan?

Last week, Video Games Chronicle, Eurogamer, and Bloomberg, citing “multiple sources” and corroborating a report from Brazilian games journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe, reported that Nintendo had recently indicated to its third-party partners that it plans to launch its next console — colloquially referred to as the “Switch 2” —  in Q1 2025, seemingly delayed from the presumed release window of “late 2024.” A 2025 release is reportedly “designed to ensure Switch 2’s launch line-up features as many titles as possible.”

These reports in and of themselves seem plausible. Historically, the life cycle of a Nintendo console has been five to six years, and, well, the Switch will soon enter its seventh year. We’re due for a change, historically speaking. Meanwhile, the global pandemic and resulting market disruptions have made this current console generation a bit of an outlier, which makes a delayed release schedule much more believable. I have no reason to doubt that Nintendo is eyeing a 2025 release for its next console.

But, taken as the latest development in a long line of “reports,” “rumors,” and “leaks,” I’m more than anything frustrated by the discourse surrounding Nintendo’s next hardware release.

Just a month ago, the video game community was buzzing about the prospect — or, in some cases, the supposed certainty — that Nintendo would release its next console in 2024. Industry analysts insisted that Nintendo’s new machine would release this year, third-party hardware companies attempted to coordinate their own 2024 releases with the “Switch 2,” and mainstream news outlets, not knowing any better, quickly followed suit. Heck, days before the Q1 2025 reports came out, Reuter’s own sources were sticking with the 2024 story and clout-chasing “leakers” were insisting that a reveal of the new console was coming in March 2024.

Taken as a whole, I see a media landscape irresponsibly reporting on an unannounced machine and a community willing to believe every new “rumor” and “leak” with little to no critical consideration or incredulity. Even more credible outlets like VGC — who, through their sources, offer more than just “insider” hearsay and bogus rumors — continue to trot out industry analysts with bad track records when delivering reports. In reporting the supposed delay of Nintendo’s console to 2025, VGC, once again, quoted analyst Dr. Serkan Toto, who predicted last month that the new machine would “drop [in 2024] for $400 [USD].” VGC appealed to Toto’s authority on the console’s price, while conveniently leaving out his prediction on the release window. You can’t have it both ways, I’d argue.

This entire news cycle has been nothing short of exhausting, not only because new developments drop so frequently and with so much contradictory information, but because no one seems to learn any lessons in how to report or how to process the news itself. Not every news source should be given equal weight, predictions and educated guesses shouldn’t be confused with report and rumor, and “leakers,” “insiders,” and “analysts” have shown, time and time again, that they don’t actually know what they’re talking about. News outlets and layman gamers alike have, I’d argue, a responsibility to take these lessons to heart.

But where do you stand on this entire situation? Are you frustrated by the steady stream of “Switch 2” rumors? Are you just waiting for official word from Nintendo? Join the debate in the comments below!

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