It was widely reported that Nintendo showed off its Switch Successor at an invitation-only event at Gamescom in Germany. However, the company’s president Shuntaro Furukawa has denied the reports saying they are “untrue”.
Unsealed correspondence during the long legal battle between Microsoft and the US Trade Commission also suggested that Nintendo briefed Activision Blizzard about its next-gen console late last year. However, according to a Japanese publication Mainichi, Furukawa denied both reports during a private earnings call on Tuesday.
In addition to that, it was also reported that Furukawa denied the recent patent filing by the company with dual screens. He said the detailed plans were not necessarily for any future device.
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“We are aware that patent information is published upon application. However, this does not necessarily mean that it will be featured in future products,” the president said as translated by Robert Sephazon, a VGC contributor.
When the said private showcase of the Switch successor happened at Gamescom, Nintendo was approached by different media houses for comments but declined. However, it must be mentioned that Nintendo has denied several press reports in the past that later turned out to be accurate.
Nintendo has a culture of keeping its plans under wraps and has not officially commented on the Switch successor. However, there are reports that the company has already dispatched a development kit for the Switch successor to key partners. According to reports, the launch of the Switch successor is planned for the second half of next year.
Speaking to VGC, Dr Serkan Toto, a Tokyo-based consultant, said a 2024 launch of Switch successor made sense for the company considering the fact that it is projected that the company’s hardware and software sales will suffer a double-digit decline this year.
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“I would generally say that looking at Nintendo’s financials, it seems clear that it’s time for a new piece of hardware in 2024,” Toto said. “Hardware is already projected to fall 16.5% year-on-year in the current fiscal, while the minus for software is expected to hit 15.9%. The only way to stop these losses from totally ballooning next fiscal is a new device, and the second half of 2024 sounds like a realistic release window.”
Nintendo Switch crosses 132 million lifetime sales
It was also revealed through the earnings call that Nintendo Switch has now crossed 132.46 million lifetime sales. This puts the console in close proximity to becoming the company’s best-selling hardware ever. That record is currently held by Nintendo DS which sold over 154 million units.
The only console that has ever outsold Nintendo DS was Sony’s PlayStation 2 which had lifetime sales of 155 million. In the last quarter ending September 30, Nintendo reported a revenue of 334.9 billion yen (approx. $2.2 billion) and an operating profit of 94.5 billion yen (approx. $628 million) according to Bloomberg reports.
The company enjoyed a higher profit margin, thanks to the weaker yen. This is because the bulk of the company’s earnings come from overseas. While the company kept its hardware forecast at 15 million, it raised its software sales outlook by 5 million units to 185 million.
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“The Switch is different from past hardware,” Furukawa was quoted as saying in a conference call after the earnings report. “It has the ability to give rise to different kinds of new demand.”
Despite being in its sixth year on the market, the Japanese company sold more Switch consoles (+2.4%) and games (+1.8%) in the first half of this fiscal year compared to the same period last fiscal year. This is considered strong for a console nearing the end of its lifespan.
“For hardware, by continuing to convey the appeal of Nintendo Switch, we try not only to put one system in every home, but several in every home, or even one for every person,” Nintendo said in its forecast statement.
The best-selling Switch games
*As of September 30, 2023 (compared to Jun 2023)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 57.01m (+1.55m)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 43.38m (+0.59m)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 32.44m (+0.67m)
- Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 31.15m (+0.5m)
- Super Mario Odyssey – 26.95m (+0.51m)
- Pokemon Sword/Shield – 26.02m (+0.1m)
- Pokémon Scarlet & Violet – 23.23m (+0.57)
- Super Mario Party – 19.66m (+0.27m)
- Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 19.5m (+0.99m)
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – 16.7 (+0.53m)
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