Nintendo Confirms Plans for New Hardware Beyond the Switch
Posted on September 17 2020 by Charles Xavier
Coming as no surprise, in Nintendo’s latest Corporate Management Policy Briefing for the fiscal year, which was made public yesterday, it was confirmed there are plans for new hardware beyond the Nintendo Switch in this century. Sadly, further details are under wraps; all we have is a vague idea of how Nintendo plans to move forward with the console, as outlined in the briefing.
In the file, on page 52 there is a “Future Outlook” slide with a depiction of former consoles, ending with a question mark for their “Next Console” which says it will be released in 20XX. It’s nothing too juicy; I’m sure we all figured Nintendo would release many new consoles after the Switch in this century.
Perhaps the biggest news here is that in addition to maintaining their current Nintendo Account service on the new console, they also have plans to broaden it with new features over time, thus adding more value to it for users. Another insight from the the briefing is that with the future console they will continue their “integrated hardware-software” model, which has been standard for the company since the Nintendo DS. As the future outlook slide reads, “In the future, Nintendo still plans to expand its business around the creation of unique integrated hardware-software products.”
Aside from this info, we know nothing else about the console. The technology slide of the briefing does mention that while investing and implementing new technologies for their consoles, they take careful consideration of potential negatives, both in terms of complexity of hardware to ensure an experience is as simple as possible, and to make sure it doesn’t put the console “at an undesirable price point.” From this, we can speculate their next console will be developed so it isn’t released at a high price range.
We’ll have to wait and see what further info they release in the future, and from the looks of it, that won’t be until they properly unveil the console. Typically a new Nintendo console releases after their previous console has had a 5 to 6 year lifespan. The Switch is currently a 3 year old system, so we should likely see a new console — besides the long rumored Switch Pro — in about 3 more years.
What are your hopes for the future of Nintendo consoles? Do you think Nintendo should continue on with hybrid consoles like the Switch, or should they move on and do something else with their next-gen release? Sound off in the comments below!
Source: Nintendo (via IGN)
Charles is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. He is a Visual Development artist focused on enviroments and pitch paintings. Check out his Instagram and Twitter to see his latest artworks, a lot of which is Zelda fan art! His favorite candy is Skittles – he feels the world should know this.
