The next Nintendo console is coming out around this time next year, according to the latest word on the grapevine.
Heading into the weekend, Discord user, SoldierDelta, revealed that Nintendo’s still-undisclosed ninth generation console, tagged internally as “NG”, is looking at a September 24 launch next year. However, Nintendo could delay it to as late as November 2024. But, that’s not all. At least two Nintendo Switch 2 models are coming out, with a “standard” model selling for $449 and a digital-only console for $400, as reported by wccftech.
A Holiday 2024 release window is a bit later than what the earlier leaks revealed but it’s still in line with Nintendo’s plans to release a new console by next year.
Nintendo’s plan to release two variants of the Switch 2 mirrors what Microsoft and Sony did with the Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5, respectively. The main difference is that gamers don’t trust Nintendo’s plans for a possibly all-digital future. The company has ruffled plenty of feathers over the years by effectively closing down the digital storefronts for older consoles. The inability to make new purchases from an older console seems counterintuitive when compared to what Steam does with digital media where you can literally play your games anywhere.
Furthermore, Nintendo is a more “casual” gaming brand compared to Sony and Microsoft. While the company isn’t shy about wanting consumers to purchase copies of their games digitally, switching to a digital-only console might prove a bit more confusing for its more less technologically-inclined audience. Most of the time, parents and older relatives will buy a Nintendo console because the platform and the games made for it appeal to a broader audience. It’s easy to see how adults can make the mistake of buying a cartridge only to realize that their console at home can only play digital copies.
It’s on Nintendo to clarify that one Switch 2 model isn’t like the other with proper branding, packaging, and marketing. But, if pulled off properly, Nintendo stands to make more by selling games digitally as opposed to manufacturing physical copies.
Cartridges require more onboard storage than ever and they cost more to make. Nintendo can save potentially billions in production costs in terms of first-party titles alone by funneling audiences towards making digital purchases. Using their storefront, where they take an industry-standard 30% cut, means that Nintendo takes home even more from third-party sales instead of that money going to other retailers.
Considering Nintendo plays a hands-on approach in bringing third-party games to its platform, it might be incentivized to bring more titles to the Switch 2 based on the potential increase in digital sales alone.
When you consider this and the fact that the company has previously told investors about wanting to pivot towards digital sales suggests that an all-digital Switch 2 console is within the realm of possibility.
For now, this is all speculation. Nintendo has its hands full with releasing games before the Switch’s lifecycle ends. There remains a handful of first-party titles scheduled to come out on the third-best-selling video game console of all time. A lot are taking this as a sign that a Switch 2 isn’t coming out soon, but it’s also possible that this proves that the Switch 2 will be backwards compatible. It’d be a waste for the next Nintendo console not to have access to the Switch’s library, much like with the Xbox Series S/X and the Xbox One or the PlayStation 5 with the PlayStation 4.
This scenario is a win-win for Nintendo as it lets it continue to sell more Switch units for the more economically-minded gamers while buying it more time to work on big first-party exclusives for the Switch 2.
Given the gap between the Switch and the PlayStation 2 is closing by the day, a 30 million jump between now and, let’s say, 2026, when Nintendo might finally decide to phase out the Switch 2, isn’t impossible at all.
