Could Nintendo keep the Switch going until the launch of the 10th gen consoles?

[PAOerfulone]

By "keep going" do you mean keep selling and manufacturing it? Or do you mean keep it as its main platform until the launch of its successor?
If it's the former, then maybe they could. I mean the 3DS got discontinued in September, then PS5/XSXS launched in November, so it just barely missed the mark. And depending on when PS6 and the next Xbox come out, if it's as late as 2027, it may not last until then either.

If it's the latter, then no; And it's got nothing to do with Sony and Microsoft.
Every console has its shelf life and has a saturation point where they start to steadily decline and soon need to be replaced. And the original Game Boy was approaching that point in late '95-'96. Then Pokémon happened and took the world by storm. Add the Game Boy Color on top of that and it was like the Game Boy got this second life or a 1-Up 'shroom and it reached unprecedented heights at the time. But that was the one and only time something like that happened and the chances of that happening again are slim to none. Unless the Switch experiences another Pokémon-like phenomenon (Although some would say Animal Crossing: New Horizons fits that bill) the Switch is not going to have that same luxury. I do think it'll enjoy a longer life cycle than past Nintendo handhelds like the DS and 3DS, which each got 6 1/2 and 6 years respectively before their successor came out. But they're not going to for Sony and Microsoft to announce and release their next systems because the Switch is not going to last that long and its just not a financially smart decision to keep all their eggs in that basket when the basket is starting to fall apart from the bottom.

Last edited by PAOerfulone - on 21 January 2021