The Nintendo Switch has been released over 4 years ago, and it seems like the console will continue to be supported for longer than anticipated.
Speaking during the company's 80th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, president Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed that Nintendo wants to extend the Switch's life cycle so to maximize the advantages of having to develop software for a single system.
Our current generation system, Nintendo Switch, has entered its fourth year since launch, but its momentum is increasing. We believe there are two factors behind this. First is the existence of two hardware configurations with different characteristics, in Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite. The second factor is that Nintendo’s development resources are concentrated on developing for a single platform, Nintendo Switch. We want to extend the life cycle of Nintendo Switch while maximizing such advantages.
Ko Shiota, Senior Executive Officer, added that the company made some discoveries through the Nintendo Switch about where a dedicated video game platform can fit into the consumer's daily life. This, as well as the console's hybrid factor, will influence the form future game consoles will take.
In addition to the performance aspect (higher technical specifications), Nintendo’s dedicated video game platforms are developed with a focus on providing a comfortable environment for consumers to play fun software. From the perspective of playing with the image displayed on a TV, we believe that because consumers can play Nintendo Switch on a TV or the game console screen itself, it has greatly increased the opportunities for gameplay in various scenes in their lives, compared to previous consoles. Through Nintendo Switch, we’ve made many discoveries about where a dedicated video game platform can fit into a consumer’s daily life. We see scenes on social media of children and their families sitting around a game console to play, which gives us a renewed sense of value of our dedicated video game platform. We will utilize these experiences in carefully considering the form our future game consoles will take.
The Nintendo Switch is among the most successful consoles ever released by the Japanese company, so it is not surprising to learn that its unique hybrid form will influence future Nintendo hardware. Judging from these statements, it's also unlikely that Nintendo will go back to regular handheld hardware, so it definitely feels like the era that started with the glorious Game Boy has indeed come to an end.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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