Super Mario Switch
Image: Nintendo

The Nintendo Switch has just overtaken the lifetime sales of the 3DS, selling an amazing 79.87 million units in the space of four years. Thanks to titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons – which has sold over 31 million copies in less than a year – Nintendo's hybrid system is on-course to be one of the most successful gaming platforms of all time, and this performance could well delay any plans to release a "Switch Pro" in the near future.

The notion of a mid-cycle upgrade has been doing the rounds for quite some time now – hardly a shock when you consider Nintendo's track record (and the numerous rumours that have been floating around for many months) – and while Nintendo's denials mean little (it will only announce something when it's ready), the wording of its latest comment on the matter is interesting.

During the Q&A session following the company's latest financial for the nine months ending December 31st 2020, Nintendo was asked about the chances of seeing a "new model" this year.

Screenshot 2021 02 01 At 10.36.05

It's perfectly understandable that Nintendo would want to nix all talk of an enhanced Switch when it's planning on launching two new cosmetic variants in the form of the Super Mario and Monster Hunter Rise SKUs, but "not anytime soon" is an interesting reply. It doesn't shut the door entirely, but it can hardly be seen as a "smoking gun" which suggests the Pro model is inbound.

Of course, there's also the very real possibility that Nintendo has delayed plans for a revised model in the light of the fact that the Switch and Switch Lite are showing no signs of losing their momentum – clearly, releasing a new model now would make very poor business sense.

What do you make of this reply? Do you think we'll see a Switch Pro in 2021, or do you think Nintendo has perhaps changed its plans – if those plans were even in place to begin with?

[source twitter.com]