What year will the Switch successor release?

[mjk45]

RolStoppable said:

Right now I am thinking holidays 2024. Nintendo has been very slow at getting new Switch games out and their planned expansion of human resources is only beginning to materialize now in 2022, so it will still take at least a couple of years until that can really benefit Nintendo's overall software output.

Next gen hardware is supposed to have prettier games for many of Nintendo's key IPs, so when Nintendo is already struggling to get games out for the current Switch in a timely manner, there's absolutely no point in targeting a launch timeframe for Switch's successor any earlier than holidays 2024. People have to remember that Nintendo will have to build the new installed base almost exclusively by themselves again, so Nintendo needs to be well-prepared. Also worth noting is that many third parties took quite some time to get around to support Switch properly, so from that perspective there's no point in rushing out a Switch successor either. They are too occupied with game development that targets late 2022, 2023 and even 2024 to be remotely close to being prepared for an early Switch successor launch.

They will have to rely on building the base by themselves as usual but this time unless they have some radical design change that precludes BC they have the Switch software to help support that building, but having said that I agree it not just about having the hardware ready, it takes years to prepare the software development so you aren't just selling hardware, it can be seen in the expectations put on both the PS5 and Xbox Series with the early gen conversation being less about 3rd party and more about first party enticement and keeping customers or should I say consumers locked into those platforms with those being seen as the important drivers in building up the next gen.