Gamers know that Nintendo started the whole mid-cycle refresh trend. This is also the reason why the Switch is overdue for a slight upgrade. The portable hybrid console first hit store shelves five years ago and hasn’t really gotten a substantial upgrade. The closest thing we have is the Nintendo Switch OLED. Although believe that the Switch Pro is coming, some aren’t quite so optimistic.
The main conflicting reports come from “Moore’s Law is Dead” and Takashi Mochizuki.
Nikkei: there will be no new Nintendo hardware this fiscal year, which ends in March 2023. Not immediately clear whether that part of the article is from Nikkei's own reporting or what Nintendo President, who Nikkei interviewed for the story, said. https://t.co/HJVqk9Kbef
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) August 4, 2022
Moore’s Law is Dead is a trusted industry insider who’s had more hits than misses lately. In a Broken Silicon podcast, Moore’s Law says “dev kits are out” and that he’s already “letting the cat out of the bag.” No official and public info confirms Moore’s Law’s leak. But, it’s at least worth looking into what he just said.
On the other hand, Bloomberg reporter, Takashi Mochizuki, points out that a recent Nikkei interview with Nintendo president, Shuntaro Furukawa, highlights that the gaming giant will not release new hardware this fiscal year. However, Mochizhuki adds that it’s not clear if the info is from Nikkei’s own reporting or if it’s a comment from the Furukawa.
Then again, it wouldn’t surprise us if Nintendo holds off on new hardware releases. Earlier this week, Nintendo reported a significant drop in switch sales for Q1 due to limited stocks. This is in line with the earlier statement of Furukawa.
@xfire.com There are conflicting reports about an upgraded Nintendo Switch#Nintendo #NintendoSwitch #SwitchPro
For what it’s worth, you could also interpret these conflicting reports as corroboratory. After all, just because Nintendo won’t release the Switch this fiscal year, this doesn’t mean that it won’t come after March 2023. Previously, an industry analyst claimed that Nintendo could reveal the Switch Pro this summer. If we assume that this is true, Nintendo can still push back the game’s reveal date by a few months to make way for a Q1 2024 release. In this very ideal fictional scenario, the Switch Pro could come out right around the same time as the Breath of the Wild sequel.
