Hard to believe, but theNintendo Switch 2has already been here for a month. We’re starting to get a feel for just how well the console has performed so farthanks to some, possibly inaccurate, Nintendo numbersleaking, but the company isn’t interested in fielding questions about how long we’re going to be playing its latest console.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has been making headlines for the past week or so due to comments made during Nintendo’s recent shareholders meetings. Last week, Furukawa caused a bit of a stir by noting thatthose who can’t afford a Switch 2 can experience Nintendo’s character in other ways.
He meant movies and theme parks, by the way, rather than the less legal and more nefarious ways some of you have been suggesting. I’ve seen the comments.
After the original Switch’s lifecycle wound up being the longest in Nintendo history for a home console, it’s understandable that early adopters, and perhaps even those still on the fence, of the Switch 2 might want to know just how long Nintendo plans to support its new console. Furukawa was asked for an estimate of the “business lifecycle” of the Switch, but the question was quickly brushed off.
Nintendo isn’t ready to talk about the Switch 2’s lifecycle yet
Maybe ask again after Bananza
“Nintendo Switch 2 has just been launched, so it is not yet time to discuss its lifecycle,” Furukawa responded (thanks,Stealth40k). Furukawa then pivoted to point to the ongoing support for the original Switch, not just via its games being compatible with the Switch 2, but also the continued development of games specifically for both the Switch and the Switch 2, such asMetroid Prime 4andPokemon Legends: Z-A.
It’s easy to see this question and response from both sides. The question was asked because it would be an interesting and helpful piece of information to know. It was more than eight years between the launches of the Switch and the Switch 2, and it would be nice to know if that’s going to be the Nintendo norm from now on. From Nintendo’s point of view, that question may as well have been, “The Switch 2 is great, thanks. So, when can we expect the Switch 3?”
Not only is the Switch 2’s lifecycle not set in stone, but it might not be something Nintendo has even discussed. Support for its last two consoles - the Switch and then theWii Ubefore it - was and continues to be dictated by sales. The Wii U was a flop that very few people bought, so Nintendo fast-tracked the Switch. The Switch, on the other hand, continues to be a massive success, and with both the console and its games continuing to sell in the millions right up until the launch of the Switch 2, there was no rush to get a new console out there.
