Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch has been out in the wild for just over three years now, and you can expect it to remain relevant for a good while yet.

The console first launched on 3rd March 2017, signalling an early and rather abrupt end for its predecessor, the Wii U. Aside from the Wii U, Nintendo's recent consoles have usually stuck around for six or seven years before being replaced by something new - the Wii launched in 2006 before Wii U's arrival in 2012, and the Nintendo DS arrived in 2004, lasting seven years before the 3DS replaced it in 2011.

According to reports from a recent investor Q+A meeting, held just after Nintendo's fiscal year earnings release went live, the Switch will follow suit. David Gibson, an investment advisor who attended the Q+A session, relayed some of the key points of the meeting on social media, explaining that Nintendo's representatives described the Switch as being 'barely in the middle' of its life cycle.

For the current fiscal year spanning from April 2020 to March 2021, Nintendo expects to shift another 19 million Switch units worldwide, despite coronavirus-related concerns.

It's hardly surprising to hear that the Switch still has at least another three or four years left, but it never hurts to get confirmation from Nintendo itself. Is it too early to start thinking about what comes after Switch? We'll let you ponder that one over in the comments.

[source twitter.com, via ign.com]