Nintendo's Rumored Next Console Is Closer Than We Thought
The Switch is still popular among consumers and Nintendo hasn't yet announced a next-generation console to follow it. That may change soon, however, as multiple industry sources told VGC that Nintendo will release a new console in the second half of 2024. The same report claims that partner game studios have already received the new console in the form of development kits. As expected, Nintendo hasn't commented on the leak.
Assuming the sources' claims are accurate, the next-generation Nintendo console will share certain features with the Switch, including a portable form factor, support for game cartridges, and an LCD rather than an OLED. While OLED screens provide better picture quality, they are more expensive to manufacture and would therefore increase the cost of the console. It is possible that Nintendo will release an OLED version of this console at some point after the initial launch, however, in the same way that it released an OLED version of the Switch.
Not much is known about the next-gen console
The Switch is still highly popular among gamers, and Nintendo's most recent financial reports reveal that it has sold over 125 million units. That being said, the console was released in early 2017, making it more than six years old at this point, which means it is high time for Nintendo to introduce something new. This leak is in line with some other rumors and leaks that have surfaced recently, including a claim from Chinese publication MoneyDJ that sources in PixelArt Imaging claimed a Japanese company will be releasing a gaming console next year. As well, there was buzz in June 2023 about comments made by Ubisoft to Games Industry Biz hinting that a next-gen console is in the works.
What can we expect from the next-generation console? It's hard to say, though if dev kits are in the wild, it's likely that additional leaks will surface in the coming months. It's unclear at this time whether the next-generation console will be backward compatible with existing Switch games. We previously heard rumors about a Switch Pro variant, which was allegedly scraped due to supplier issues caused by the pandemic. Based on the VGC leak, it sounds like the next console won't pack the kind of high-end features consumers had hoped to get with a Switch Pro, but due to Nintendo's notoriously secretive nature, it's hard to say at this point.