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Nintendo has kickstarted mass production of its feverishly-anticipated Switch 2 console — and an official reveal could be just a few weeks away, fresh rumours suggest. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa previously confirmed that an announcement about the successor to the Nintendo Switch will be made “within this fiscal year”, which means we'll need to hear something from the secretive gaming firm before April 2025.
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It's unclear whether Nintendo Switch 2 orders will become available in September or October, or whether this as-yet unconfirmed event would be an early glimpse at the next-generation console.
Driving the latest rumours, senior research analyst at MST Financial, David Gibson noted that Japanese electronics company Hosiden — which works closely with Nintendo to assemble its hardware — has dramatically increased spending on production equipment and automation. Splashing out on the supply chain suggest that it's gearing up to start mass production of a new product, with Switch 2 the most likely candidate.
No-one seems to have noticed the Nintendo assembler- Hosiden is spending ¥2bn on production equipment and ¥1bn on automation in FY3/25 for its major customer in amusement (Nintendo). I still expect Sept news and March 2025 release for next device. pic.twitter.com/APGEGGSyS8
— David Gibson (@gibbogame) September 4, 2024
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, David Gibson speculates: "No-one seems to have noticed the Nintendo assembler- Hosiden is spending ¥2bn on production equipment and ¥1bn on automation in FY3/25 for its major customer in amusement (Nintendo). I still expect Sept news and March 2025 release for next device."
What makes the timing of this multi-billion investment from Hosiden so intriguing is that Nintendo usually holds a major Nintendo Direct presentation in September. It's possible it will use the latest keynote, which is prerecorded and streamed online via YouTube, to offer an early glimpse at its Nintendo Switch follow-up.
Mr Gibson believes that Nintendo would unveil its next console between September 18-26 or early October to avoid a clash with the Tokyo Game Show. Microsoft has already plans to hold an online presentation with news about upcoming game releases as part of the Tokyo Game Show, so it's likely to be a busy period and Nintendo will want the news cycle all to itself.
Nintendo has already confirmed that it'll unveil the long-awaited Switch 2 before March 31, 2025
ALEXANDR SADKOV | UNSPLASHChristopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz sparked further speculation with a tweet about "industry whispers" regarding "something Switch 2-related happening this month". Other journalists, including VGC's Andy Robinson, corroborated these rumours, though all cautioned against absolute certainty.
The original Switch was unveiled in October 2016 with a surprise three-minute teaser trailer. Given that this home-cum-portable console has gone on to sell over 143.4 million units worldwide, it seems logical Nintendo would want to follow a very similar strategy for the sequel.
However, other experts have cautioned that we're unlikely to hear about the Switch 2 this side of Christmas as an announcement could hurt sales of the original console during the critical holiday sales period.
The next Nintendo Switch is tipped to sport a larger 8-inch touchscreen, compared to the 6.2-inch screen on the original Switch and 7-inch display on the OLED Model. Nintendo will opt for an LCD panel — despite the clear benefits of OLED — to keep the cost of its next console down, whispers suggest.
Unlike PlayStation and Xbox, which typically sell new consoles at a loss and recoupe costs on software sales, Nintendo likes to make a profit from hardware sales too.
From the outside, Switch 2 will most likely follow the same (winning) formula as its predecessor, with detachable Joy-Con controllers with motion-controls to let you play local multiplayer anywhere. Sliding the handheld console into the dedicated cradle will instanteously bring the action on-screen.
Nintendo has worked hard to redesign its Joy-Con controllers, which are said to attach to the console using strong magnets, replacing the current sliding rail mechanism. Industry insider Nate the Hate recently shared on Reddit that Nintendo's new console "has backwards compatibility support".
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This will enable players to access all of their existing Nintendo Switch games on the new hardware, and suggest all of the functionality from the original console will be replicated on its successor. It could also ease the transition for current Switch owners moving to the new generation.
Elsewhere, rumours point to at least 512GB of onboard storage — a significant upgrade from current Nintendo Switch models, and suggesting that game files will be larger on this next generation. The new console is also expected to run on a beefier processor, most likely from Nvidia, to boost resolution and graphics capabilities.
These improvements could bring the Switch 2 closer to the performance levels of the Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X ...while still maintaining Nintendo's unique hybrid console design.
The Switch 2 will be a pivotal movement for Nintendo. With the original Switch having sold over 143 million consoles worldwide, it's fast approaching the Nintendo DS as the company's best-selling console ever.
However, the Japanese firm has a reputation of fumbling the follow-up to its biggest hit, with the Wii U — the successor to the Nintendo Wii, a global phenomenon that sold 101.63 million units — managing just 13.56 million.
Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood is the first all-new entry in the turn-based Mario & Luigi series since Paper Jam back in 2015. The incoming Switch game looks set to bring an inventive new art style and plenty of platforming action
NINTENDO PRESS OFFICEPricing for the new console remains a complete unknown. The original Nintendo Switch launched at £259.99, whilst the OLED Model debuted at £309.99 four years later.
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Whatever happens with the next console generation, Nintendo has already announced a flood of new titles to bolster the current Switch during its final Christmas shopping rush. In the coming months, it will launch a new original Legend of Zelda game, dubbed The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the next mainline entry in the Mario Party series, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and a revival of the Mario and Luigi RPG series that debuted on Game Boy with Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
More games, including a remaster of Donkey Kong Country Returns and a new entry in the puzzle-adventure Professor Layton series have been confirmed for next year too, suggesting that Nintendo could support the millions of Nintendo Switch owners with new content for some time — even after the announcement of its successor.