Reports that Nintendo's unannounced Switch successor may be subject to a behind-the-scenes delay suggest that the current console might have yet another Holiday season all to itself.
In March, Nintendo Switch will enter its eighth year, and scuttlebutt from industry sources had previously pegged 2024 as the year the long-rumoured successor — which we've all dubbed 'Switch 2' — might finally poke its head above the parapet. Now, though, rumours suggest Nintendo might need to pad things out longer than previously planned. March's Princess Peach: Showtime! is the only wholly new first-party Switch offering announced for 2024 so far.
It should be noted that no official announcements whatsoever have come from Nintendo itself, but that's the word on the grapevine according to multiple corroborated sources from respected outlets. With sales of the current Switch naturally slowing, investors, analysts, and fans alike are all awaiting official news of Nintendo hardware to get the ball rolling on the next generation.
What does this rumoured 'Switch 2' delay mean for Switch and 2024?
Image: Gemma Smith / Nintendo Life
First up, let's get one thing clear. Despite the excitement of the markets and impatience and anticipation for fresh news (hey, we all like the smell of new hardware, right?), we Switch owners could quite happily coast through 2024 on a wave of choice remasters and backlog flotsam. Everyone here on Team Nintendo Life has a To-Play list as long as your arm, so it's hard to believe that anyone with a Switch will run out of great games to play. Everything's going to be just fine.
Nintendo better have a decent reserve of new releases if Switch is going to surf through Holiday 2024 on yet another Mario Kart console bundle
However, marketing cycles and shareholders aren't likely to find comfort in backlogs — they thrive and function only on New Stuff™, so Nintendo better have a decent reserve of new releases if Switch is going to surf through Holiday 2024 on yet another Mario Kart console bundle. It's going to be a tricky balancing act between 'banking' good stuff for the next console while also propping up Switch with titles that are more than mere life support for a declining system.
What might Nintendo have up its sleeve, then? Let's take a look at a few potential options on the realistic end of the spectrum...
Zelda Wii U ports?
Image: Nintendo Life
This pair of Wii U refurbs is up there with the biggest Will-They-Won't-Theys of the Switch generation. With the console now home to the majority of Zelda games (seriously, there's only a handful missing at this point), we would certainly welcome these two very heavy hitters in the canon.
They'd also make sense as first-year fodder to flesh out the next console's lineup, but it would be immensely satisfying to fill another couple of gaps in Switch's Zelda library.
