New Nintendo Switch Console In The Works? Device Could Release 2024: Analyst

Japanese gaming giant Nintendo is probably working on the successor of the hybrid console Switch and according to an industry analyst the Kyoto-based gaming company might introduce a new gaming console sometime in 2024.

The hybrid console Switch continues to be the goose that lays golden eggs for the Japanese gaming giant. While its year-on-year console sales saw a decline this year, it set several records including outselling PlayStation 4 sales in the U.S. and the Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming console in Japan.

Rumors about a new gaming console from Nintendo have been rife online since 2019 but instead of releasing the successor of the hybrid console, the company released its modified and upgraded version. Interestingly, Ampere Analysis ' Piers Harding-Rolls said a new device might come out in 2024 after the current one reaching 146 million unit sales and surpassing the record unit sales of 158 million set by PlayStation 2.

"Ampere is currently forecasting a next-gen Nintendo device to release in 2024," said Harding-Rolls. "By the end of that year Switch is predicted to have sold through 146 million units meaning it still has the potential to become the best-selling console ever by the end of its lifetime, selling over 158 million units and overtaking the PlayStation 2."

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa disclosed that one of the company's major focus area of concerns is the eventual transition from Switch to its next hardware platform.

"However, the question of whether we will be able to just as smoothly transition from the Nintendo Switch to the next generation of hardware is a major focus for us. Based on our experiences with the Wii, Nintendo DS and other hardware, it is very clear that one of the major obstacles is how to easily transition from one hardware to the next," the president said during a Japanese investor Q&A as translated by Robert Sephazon.

Nintendo previously said that the Switch is still in the middle phase of its lifecycle and the company is still gunning for the console's six-year growth with the help of the new OLED model. It is worth noting that Furukawa's most recent statement was in response to a question about how the Japanese gaming giant has maintained a strong game release schedule six years into its hybrid console's life cycle and his personal thoughts on transitioning to the next gaming hardware.