Nintendo reveals console but no price or release date

Nintendo has unveiled its next console after weeks of rumours and leaks about the machine.

Purported images and details of the successor to the Switch – one of the best-selling games consoles of all time – have been increasingly appearing online since the start of the year.

The Japanese video gaming giant finally broke its silence with a short video showing off the new console that confirmed some, but not all, of the unofficial information.

As predicted, the new machine will be named Switch 2 and closely resemble its predecessor, with similar, detachable controllers but boasting a larger screen.

No price or release date was revealed, but the company will release further details during a showcase on 2 April.

The company also repeated one of the few pieces of official information known prior to the reveal – that the new console will be backwards-compatible.

It means existing Switch games can be played on the new machine, but a disclaimer said that not all titles would be cross-compatible.

Switch 2 will remain a hybrid console, allowing users to play the machine “docked” to a TV or as a portable device.

A glimpse of what appeared to be a new Mario Kart game was also shown, and the video hinted that rumours about magnetic controller attachments and upgraded joysticks were true.

But Nintendo said further details would come at a Direct showcase on 2 April.

The first Switch has been a huge success for Nintendo – as of September 2024 it had sold 143 million units, making it one of the best-selling home consoles of all time.

Sales of the Switch marked a massive turnaround in Nintendo’s hardware fortunes.

The Wii U – its follow-up to the enormously successful Wii – was widely seen as a flop, and some analysts even predicted the company could follow former rival Sega into becoming a software publisher at the time.

But the Switch’s hybrid mechanic clicked with gamers.

Although the console was less powerful than the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Nintendo produced a number of “must-have” games in-house, including new entries in the Mario and Legend of Zelda franchises.

And, like other games companies, it got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, with cosy, escapist life sim Animal Crossing: New Horizons proving a runaway hit.

Nintendo suffered from “second album syndrome” with the 2012 Wii U, where its smash hit console was followed by a comparative failure.

BBC Newsbeat previously spoke to George Osborn, consultant and author of the Video Games Industry Memo newsletter about his predictions for the Switch 2.

He said plenty of keen gamers would rush out to buy the console as soon as it launched.

But, he said: “Nintendo has managed to establish a very strong audience of families buying consoles.”

If the Switch 2 wasn’t seen as a significant technological step up, George said, the challenge will be convincing the more casual audience to upgrade from the original.

“I think there’ll be a lot of families who are going, ‘Well, I’m perfectly happy with this family device, it serves my needs, I can keep up on this,” he said.

The sheer popularity of the Switch tapped into a desire for people to be able to take their games on the go with them, inspiring other companies to follow Nintendo’s lead.

Valve, owner of the huge PC game Steam store, has sold millions of its “handheld PC” Steam Deck, and Sony and Microsoft are also reported to be looking into releasing portable gaming devices.

Analyst George says there is more competition for the core gaming audience than there was in 2017.

“So there is that question about whether the Switch 2 can be enough of a step up to convince people who’ve maybe dipped into a Steam Deck as well to go, ‘yes, I want to buy a Switch 2 to go alongside it’,” said George.

Matching the sales of the original Switch will be a tall order, but it’s fairly safe to assume demand will be high when it’s released.

The launches of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles – during a global microchip shortage – were marred by scalpers hoovering up the few consoles that were available.

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furakawa previously told investors the company had held off releasing the Switch 2 to ensure enough launch units would be available.

Whether you’ll be able to get your hands on one remains to be seen.

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