Nintendo's Investor Q&A Promises Switch Isn't Dead After Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

It seems to be slowing down to me. I’m betting the successor comes out at the end of this year or beginning of next

Of course Nintendo is going to release more switch games after TOTK. I'm expecting some more stuff like Metroid Prime Remastered and the Mario Kart Booster Pass though. More Remasters/Remakes and DLC than big new games.

A 7 years old video game machine is already considered old / outdated.
Nintendo should prepare a new successor of Switch when Switch is 7 years old.

Could also mean they might look at the possibility of making games to be released on both the Switch and it's successor, similar to some games did when Nintendo did the jump from Gamecube to Wii and Wii to Wii U (and that Sony often has done with their playstations).
The "drought" that was the final period of the Wii U before the Switch was released is something I believe Nintendo wants to avoid

Successor in 2027 let's go

Furukawa is hardly going to admit that they have nothing. Perhaps they do have something, but until they say something, easier to assume nothing. As much as I enjoyed the recent direct; all of Nintendo's stuff were games and DLC announced previously with one new announcement of an admittedly decent remaster. Perhaps they are waiting for Zelda to pass, perhaps they are preparing a new console, perhaps they have dropped the ball; it's all irrelevant anyway; we still going to have to wait until they finally decide to say something.

Great! Now where is the next Mario game that isn’t a sports game??

@WiiWouldLikeToPlay you won’t hear me complain if we FINALLY get those Wii U HD Zelda ports!!

As they have just releasing Metroid Prime 1, there will be 2 and 3 in the works, to milk it for all it's worth.

If the successor is coming by March 2024, we'll hear about about it in May 2023 (even in the form of just a codename and release month) at the latest because of the shareholders meeting about the fiscal year ending March 2024.

If you want to sell more Switch just announce a new starfox, fzero, donkey kong, new DLC for smash, game cube in the online expansion for example

Mario Movie, Zelda TOKT O-led , Direct Hype GB/GBC/GBA metroid it's only februari so more to come sales will be fine.
2024 march "new switch"

@TheBigK I think that’s the most realistic approach.

wished they had announced switch lite oled

It’s a roundabout way of saying “we have nothing to announce at this time” That is also not saying that they have nothing they’re working on. Nintendo always has new hardware in development, they’re just waiting for the right time to announce it. And right now still isn’t the time to them, I guess. Maybe because of parts, technology, market, maybe all 3? Once sales drop to, say, 12 or 13 million we might get a teaser. Then a full blown announcement definitely when it’s below 10. But 18 million is still damn good for a 7 year old system.

Share up by 0.81% today and down 19.01% in total for the year so far and 5.15% over the last 5 years. Still, as a fairly clueless investor in general, I like to have some "skin in the game" of Nintendo, it's sort of fun owning a bit (tiny tiny bit). I have faith in the company's longevity so we shall see where this little nut is in 10 years time. I can be fairly confident there will be some amazing games in that time

PS - just give me the Switch Lite Pro - I'll buy it day one. The Big Old is too big, and it clacks and creaks like an old man walking up stairs.

A Switch Lite Pro to me would be OLED screen, and HDMI. Done!

@Anguspuss 1000% yes. OLED + HDMI. I'll sign your petition

@KorGonia Good list! Love folding, waterproofing and the solar ideas. Dislike cameras (parent who is sick of them here).

I want a Switch Micro that I can slip into my pocket. Sure, some text-heavy games will be virtually unplayable on it, but puzzlers, AAA multiplats, Nintendo exclusives in a tiny form factor? Yes, please!

Idk how the investors thing the Switch is just done right once Zelda releases. Pikmin us already confirmed for July, Splatoon is gonna still get updates, and they still most likely have some smaller titles coming soon. It's obviously gonna slow down after Zelda, but not go away completely

This little guy has brought seven years of joy, I think it’s a good time as any to have a successor in the next year.

“new titles will continue to be proposed going forward”

Very vague. After all, you can make all the proposals since there's no guarantee they'll be accepted.

@KIRO yeah forgot about the hdmi as well

That is good. Very good.

I was thinking of a Luigi’s mansion 4/next level games the other day and I’d be surprised if they hadn’t moved onto Nintendos next gen now after Mario strikers, what with how long some games take to develop. I think Nintendos output will noticeably slow over the coming year to the benefit of the next console

Switch 2 won't be announced this year. I still think 2025 is earliest release for that with Metroid Prime 4 being a launch title.

We'll no doubt have a Pokémon announcement in February and then a specific Zelda TOTK Direct in March/April.

Then in June/July they'll do another big Direct announcing their Autumn/Winter line up.

There's bound to be a big Nintendo game (Super Mario Bros The Movie maybe) and of course another Pokémon released by the end of the year.

I still expect Yoshi's Woolly World to be ported at some point along with Zelda WW HD. And now also Metroid Prime 2 and 3.

I just hope we don't have a whole console generation without a new Star Fox.

i think they will reveal the successor next year at about this time. for now they have software to sell and prolly more software in production already. metroid 4 might be the game that will release on switch and be a launch title for the next console. hopefully its gonna be backwards compatible

They can see hardware is starting to drop off which is no surprise after this length of time, in the Q+A he mentions numerous times this is new territory for them. But I can't see them announcing any possible new hardware plans until the end of the financial year.

My prediction is a continuation of the Switch brand much like Apple does with its products, with Switch being the OS going forward.

I hope that in the successor, if we had a library of Switch games to be transferable to the new library and not pay for them again. Like for example in Android / iOS systems. Keep the compatibility and pump up the hardware!

@farrgazer Yeh, 'proposed' seemed bit of a giveaway word to me. Proposed and pushed aside quite possibly.

'Titles under development' can just be announced games yet to release (TotK, Metroid Prime 4) and DLC/expansion passes (Splatoon 3, MK8D).

Well, it's not like he's going to come out and say "Yeah, we're just stalling for time", is he?

Switch has been out for 6 years, that's a ripe old age for any game console (Commercially, anyway), but Nintendo won't admit that things are winding down (Killing sales in the process) until the next console is almost there.

@gcunit Perfect weasel words that reveal nothing about the near future, unless there is more context, and I figure those directors are being quite careful with how they're wording their responses.

I just think when the Switch is selling really well and there are so so many games already available on the Switch, they don't need to overload the calendar with massive first party hard hitters.

Also as made evident by the Metroid Prime Shadow drop, they're just sitting on a few finished games that they're planning to release strategically.

And let's not forget the direct was focussing on games coming out in the first half of this year. That's a pretty packed schedule until July.

@MS7000 Nintendo started working on the successor of the Switch before the Switch got released.

It’s a massive company after all…

@MysticX They aren't going to say that until the day the announce their next console. Which will happen either late this or early next year.

Metroid Prime 4 will be the last game on Switch and will be a dual release like Breath of the Wild was. Metroid Prime 2 & 3 remasters will come in Q3 & Q4 this year. With some new Pokémon DLC. (and maybe a new game / remake)

The next console is going to be a lot like the Switch but more powerful. And will run Switch games natively (and improved with updates) and will have it's own exclusive neww games that don't run on the Switch.

“and new titles will continue to be proposed going forward.”

Well considering it took them 6 years to turn Zelda dlc into a sequel and 8 years to release nearly complete Pikmin 4 now is the time to be proposing new games for the Switch 3, as the games for Switch 2 better have already been proposed. We’ve been waiting 10 years for a new Mario Kart and 5 years for a new 3D Mario. The time for proposals for this gen Switch games is well past.

That said, I do expect a June Direct w/ some fall games and maybe 1 or 2 for winter/spring. Stuff they just kinda release like a Paper Mario. But yeah, announce Switch 2 at some point for a March 2024 launch w/ new games, maybe dual releases.

But no more proposals, release what you got and the moving on needs to be getting on.

@roboshort Do you really think that soon? 🤔
I would say late 2024 or even early 2025.

@Grumblevolcano Seems so extremely unlikely…
I would say late 2024 or early 2025.

To think even investors would seemingly learn the futility of asking Nintendo about potential hardware releases before we fans ever did.😅

After pikmin 4 they’ll probs stop making 1st party games for the Switch and leave indie devs to make games for the console in its last year of life, while Nintendo works on Switch 2 titles. I’m betting Metroid Prime 4 is being saved for a Switch 2 title

@ActionPanther exactly what I was thinking. I’m very stoked that we know absolutely nothing about the 2nd half of the year. No game release after Pikmin 4 (not counting Sea of Stars which will be good probably).

Nintendo is free to do whatever they want, including a new system.

There will be a point when everyone that wants a Switch has one. There is a ceiling, and it’s probably no more than about 140 million (we’re at 120 million now). That doesn’t mean they need to release a new console as long as the games continue to sell well. Hardware sales are never very profitable for Nintendo, and Zelda is certain to reach record highs.

The first half of the year has first and third party games announced and dated. They'll reveal the majority of games for the latter half (July - Dec) in the next Nintendo Direct. They rarely show their hand early bar a few mishaps like MP4 & Bayo3.
Plenty of games to keep people occupied until summer, not taking into consideration backlogs. As for hardware, I'd hope for a Tears of the Kingdom OLED and possible a Mario movie themed one, but that's about all I would reasonably expect until the new system is released in the future.

@Friendly It looks to me like they're trying a new approach. Look at Fire Emblem Engage. Announced in September, released in January.
Old Nintendo would have announced a new Fire Emblem game at least a year before release.

They're definitely doing things a bit different than before.

The fact that we have Mario Kart 8 DLC till the end of this year then Splatoon 3 DLC till the end of 2024 spells an early 2025 release for Switch 2 to me.

@marcelominucelli Exactly!!! I was just having this conversation with my son last night, what more could Nintendo offer right now with hardware? Their constant theme has been introducing new ways to play with each generation and frankly, I think that Nintendo fans would rather remasters of their old favorites as well as new entries into series they're passionate about playing. With the OLED there's not much benefit to another gen console given the nature of Nintendo artwork.

@nhSnork it's called "in camera" the part of the meeting where they're allowed to stop recordings and transcriptions and kick everyone not associated, out of the room.

@brunojenso excellent statement, are younold enough to remember how it hit on SNES? Walmart Tournaments?

with two years of declining sales and going into the 7th year hardware WILL drop even further despite Nintendo trying to convince themselves it won't and next gen hopefully sometime next year the big games have to be saved to release alongside that hardware otherwise you will have a Wii U situation all over again

Well Nintendo supported the 3DS quite well until the end of 2018 (the last game they released for it was Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn early march 2019), so we COULD see a Switch successor launch as early as november this year imo.

I was also impressed with the latest Nintendo Direct initially, but then I compared it to the one a year ago, and I ended finding it quite underwhelming.

The 2022 february direct had a much better line up imo, with games like Portal 1 & 2, Assassin's Creed the Ezio collection, Fire Emblem Warriors Three hopes, No man´s sky, Splatoon 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Kirby and the forgotten land and Nintendo Switch Sports.

Sure this year there were a relatively meaty trailer for Zelda TotK, demos for various upcoming games instantly available, the shadow drop of Metroid Prime Remastered (also instantly available) plus various DLC packs got release dates etc.

But in hindsight it composed of a lot of remasters of rather niche old games plus a few new also rather niche titles; like that rhythm game or the fashion game.

I still think Nintendo will reveal/announce the Switch successor late june/early july for a late november launch, as I think Nintendo is saving the real big hitters for that one (plus of course a frame rate/screen resolution boosted next gen version of Zelda TotK)

Nintendo promised a 2-year lifespan for Splatoon 3, meaning it's going to keep getting new seasons until September 2024. We have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC releasing through the rest of this year. Metroid Prime 4 is still in development, and I'm sure there are other games that Nintendo hasn't yet announced. Of course the switch isn't dead, but it does seem like we have a slow year ahead of us after Pikmin 4. It would be nice if Nintendo gave us a teaser for any other games that are currently in development. I liked having a sequel to Breath of the Wild, Bayonetta 3, and Metroid Prime 4 to look forward to, despite only seeing teasers for those games.

Now, I have to go look up the word, schtum. XD

"but it is likely that the company will keep schtum on such matter until an official announcement is revealed somewhere down the line."

@WiiWouldLikeToPlay well they still have Metroid prime four.

I hope they can finally dripfeed us some older titles people have been asking for. WW/TP, Paper Mario TTYD, Maybe Pikmin 1 and 2 so we'd have all 4 on one system.

Honestly I will hold all opinions until after Totk releases, this could be a serious HW booster. It still baffles me how people act like Nintendo is going to close up shop after TotK though. That is not how dev pipelines work...at all.

@roboshort
Me too I have not touched my Switch other than check on my Villagers from time to time in Animal crossings. I have been mostly using my PS5 and also barely touched my Xbox (massive drought of games).

I may even skip this Zelda with the price increase. I would bet money they are making a of version of Zelda for next gen remastered and probably did it along side this one already. I would buy it for a new system. You know they are trying to double dip on this game and probably why they have not announced next gen. Most would buy it twice.

@shgamer

Yea I was super underwhelmed. A bunch of DLC, ports and remasters. Most of the stuff that wasnt didnt look that good to me. Zelda was pretty much it for me.

Q4 2024 is my prediction for new hardware

@KBuckley27 Wii U sold poorly from day 1. The Switch is one of the top-3 bestselling consoles in history. Nintendo continues to dominate software sales (they went 10 for 10 this week in Japan), while no Wii U game sold more than 9 million units. The two are not comparable at all. A Wii U situation would be betting everything on a new console that most Switch owners don't feel is necessary without a compelling launch title or a revolutionary new feature. With only 4 of Nintendo's 7 home consoles actually being successful, that's not at all out of the question.

2026 or later.

@Hyrule That's a thing a lot of commenters don't take into account, the vast majority of Switch owners don't tear through games in a weekend then jump onto the next one, or spend more time playing games in a week than most people spend working 9-5. A lot of them will see tons of games from years past that they haven't even dipped into. There's a huge difference between people who post in here and people who pay Nintendo's bills. Any new adopters have a 5 year backlog at their fingertips.

Switch successor March 2025. 8 years later.

@WiltonRoots Exactly this. I'm envious of brand new Switch owners. The library is ridiculous. Myself I have backlog of games across PC and Switch. I can just about manage two games at time as I'm juggling FE Engage & Hogwarts Legacy atm.

Everyone plays their own speed. Some enjoy the art of gaming for fun. A concept missed in the gaming back and forth. As to no mention of Switch neXGen - that I find very suspicious. Everyone already know the neXGen needs to come out. And just because it comes doesn't negate the v2 OLED Switches.

I predict switch 2 will come out in either November 2023 for the holiday season or March 2024

While not as predicable and definite, I have a feeling a new switch could be announced next year or even late this year. Expecting it to be out either next year or else the year after.

But I feel it's all less certainly and predictable at the moment.

I just don't see Switch lasting by itself too much longer, but I suppose it could do.

Still a great console but graphic updates and shorter loading times is nice, that would be good to have going forward.

It's a bit puzzling how coyly they comment on this - stating "this is uncharted territory" and "it might be hard to increase unit sales with hardware-related initiatives alone" sounds very passive. I can only imagine they have something (= big software titles), but it's too early to reveal. The wording is not exactly reassuring though.

A new console is inevitable. They likely won't ANNOUNCE anything until early next year. My guess is that they have one or two more first party titles ready for a fall / holiday release and they don't want to lose that momentum by announcing a console too early. Probably a major series + one surprise / off beat title. Mario seems unlikely but Mario movie is coming out so who knows... Metroid Prime 4 will be on the next system for sure... There is no way that thing is exclusively for the Switch.

I would take a calculated guess that the new consoles' release date will be firmly planted in calendar year 2024. Or in other words, FY25 (April 1st 2024 - March 31st 2025).

They need tech to drive it and mass consumers to have appetite for hardware, which may be tough to deliver right now considering all the larger issues in the tech industry.

I'm not sure if the new switch, assuming its still hybrid, will leverage Nvidia Ampere / Ada Lovelace Tegra chips but it would be interesting to see.

I'd rather them push in a different direction and let the Switch be a Switch but we all know they want that revenue stream from handheld + home consoles.

@Hyrule I still have stuff in my wishlist spanning a few years that I haven't bought, plus a stash of games on my Switch I still haven't finished, only started Link's Awakening the other week and need to get back on it, there's far too much software out there yet you'd think the way people are going on that there's gonna be a massive drought. All they did in this past Direct is cover the start of the year - they're always sitting on stuff!

Nintendo is all about innovation and HOW do you want to play. Homerun with the Switch...freeing gamers from being tethered to the couch. But what is the next innovation? That is the void the next console will fill. My only guess would be augmented reality....

I'm going to admit that I was expecting Switch's successor to launch along this game.

nintendo clearly did not think it would lose the lead in japan in console sales not this early into the year. they though they could get away with another banner year in japan in console sales.. does not look to be the case..

@Sethdedun I am certainly old enough and probably bought it day one 'cos 3D on-rails space shooters are still rare now, but were near non-existent before Star Fox - but I'm a UK'er which is a Walmart-free zone

I'll believe it when I see it, it certainly looks like it's dying now when we have absolutely nothing but DLC confirmed for after July. This could very well be smokescreen, we could get a handful of Switch titles after July while at the same time the successor is announced and we're really moving on, there's always cross gen titles and late exclusives, they've done that with past gen devices such as the GBA, GC, DS, Wii, and 3DS. The more accurate question here isn't "Are we getting any more Switch titles?", it's "Are there titles being held back for next gen hardware?". And the way the lineup's been looking lately I don't see how you can say no to the latter.

Ya basically they are saying there will be cross generation titles on nextgen which means they can get away with some white lies as Nintendo usually does.

I get the investors concerns. The arrival of a second new Zelda game is normally the death knell for a Nintendo console.

@Jokerwolf Just like when Nintendo said, "There is no new revision planned (DS/3DS)" because they wanted to sell the old stock first.

Welp, end of an era?

@NintendoByNature You'll know that just 3 weeks earlier with a Nintendo Direct announcing the new hardware 😂.

Good. Graphics don't make games any better.

Plus the threat of a third world war looming overhead daily isn't exactly the smartest time to release a new couple hundred dollar console.

@Banjo- exactly. "We have no plans to announce any new hardware this year."
Also them: super switch ds launching this holiday season!

@bluedogrulez
With the wii and wiiu (to a lesser extent) the systems felt more a case of playing the specific way nintendo wanted you to play and tbh for me im hoping they dont go back to that kind of mentality.

The switch's base concept wasnt particularly new (portable consoles with TV-output have been around a while, the psp-go even had a dock, switch refined the hell out of the idea though) my favorite aspect was the amount of choice the player has in how they get to play the games, giving the players a choice of controllers.

its especially relevent nowadays when it comes to accessability, not only does a choice of controller mean that players can play the way they feel the most comfortable but with adaptive controllers becoming more of a thing, it also means its the most accessible nintendo system in over a decade.

im really hoping the follow-up keeps the hybrid aspect with an emphasis on choice rather than the more restrictive wii and again to a lesser extent wiiu (wiiu did have more games which supported multiple controllers at least)

I am willing to bet Nintendo is going to use Metroid Prime 4 as their leverage for keeping the Switch alive. The Switch doesn't end until Metroid Prime 4 comes out.

This is coming off of Nintendo's previous obligatory game releases, and just obligatory releases in general. Breath of the Wild, Persona 5, and Twilight Princess are examples where the publishers did not necessarily need to release it on previous consoles, but chose to do so anyways.

I don't have an exact guess for when the successor is dropping but I think 2024 will be the last proper year for the Switch. 2 years of support for Splatoon 3 ending in late 2024. The successor will probably be either shortly before or after that.

@theModestMouse
"graphics" is a very loose term.
There are several technical aspects which definitely have an aspect on how a game plays and so many aspects which make up a game. there are aspects which can be measured like resolution and framerate (with the latter having an impact on how responsive a game is) but there are also many other variables such as stability.

@Banjo- Exactly, I can't blame them as a corporation, they don't want to step on their own sales. As a consumer it sucks when they do stuff like that.

@Jokerwolf Right. I also remember that they delayed one revision, I don't remember which one in this region for being released after Christmas.

of course Nintendo Switch would have more games after Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, i dont know why everyone is panicking, Nintendo
woundt reveal it entire release schedule in the first Nintendo Direct of 2023, Nintendo have a dozen of already finished games as proven by Fire Emblem Engage and the Metroid Prime remaster, they can slowy release this already finished games to extend the lifecycle of Switch, dont expect the sucessor of Switch until 2026

@Piyo did you forget Metroid Prime 4 is still in development for Nintendo Switch?

@Bolt_Strike can we stop with all this doom/gloom? how can we be certain that 2023 is Nintendo Switch final year, Nintendo is not gonna end the console when it still selling well, beside in a previous fiscal report, they stated they planned for the console to have a 10 year lifecycle, based on this 2026 Nintendo would release the Switch sucessor, beside Splatoon 3 have suport up to setembre of 2024

@Bolt_Strike Nintendo is not gonna anounce the sucessor of Nintendo Switch this year or the next, everyone know that if Nintendo do that the Switch sales will be impacted signicanty and Nintendo dont want that, they want a smooth transition for it next hardware.

I think they are just waiting for the right moment to officially announce the next hardware which is after the big games have been released. Perhaps some games, Zelda for one, could see an upgraded version that could get us buying twice if we want the better version. Whenever the next hardware launches, it won't kill off the games from the Switch so of course the Switch won't be dead for another good while yet.

@ActionPanther waiting 3-6 months before release to announce new games should be the industry standard 👍

I think the successor will show up 2024 at the earliest. 2023 is way too early, and the content they were putting out is insane. I

I reckon if the Mario movie is as big a success as I reckon, then there is going to be an awfullly large amount of people hoping for a new Mario announcement on the back of it. Maybe for the holidays.

Next big title- The Super Mario Bros. Movie: The Game: The Ride: Live! 3D Deluxe

From a marketing/sales standpoint its dumb to announce a new console, people will likely wait for the new hardware and sales for the current one will drop drastically. They will hold their cards to the chest as long as they can. (Which is what they always have done)

People acting like Switch will suddenly shut down on the game output once Tears drops lol. Switch is still a money maker and they haven’t even announced the next console let alone released it.

For reference the 3DS was still supported for awhile after Switch dropped for those of you here hazy with the memory.

Hell just look at the PS4 and PS5 where PS4 still gets PS4 games to this day.

I don't know why anyone would think that Nintendo wouldn't have anything after Zelda TotK. It was a silly rumour to begin with. Not as bad a the stupid Switch pro rumours that have been floating around for the last couple of years with zero evidence to back them up. There's no way Nintendo are done with Switch yet. I bet we see plenty of Switch support from Nintendo going into 2024.

And this is to no ones surprise for those with common sense.
People expecting a successor are going less (or none at all) on facts and moreso out of their personal want.

And I'm here for the ride. I haven't been this satisfied in gaming since 3DS rebirth. So many games to enjoy.

If investors don't say that they loose out why would they not do PR damage control. Also remember this is market pricing and some greed to come along. Sony and Xbox shouldn't be exclude from this high price game compliant but seems like the popular console is the main target here.

Was hoping Nintendo would honestly take the apple model going forward. Launch a Switch 2 and have most games that come out still be playable across both and so forth…

@old-dad 100% agree. Down with announcing games 5+ years before we can play them

I'm honestly not ready for a new console yet. As a dad, I can't sit down and play something very often right now, and when I do get free time I wanna lay in bed, so the switch just works perfectly for me. The portability is just amazing

do you guys think, the switch will ever become more succesful then the ps2?

it is possible with a great momentum i guess. Q2 pikmin 4
q3 zelda q2 2024 metroid prime 4- mario odyssey 2 perhaps?
trowing some remasters inbetween such as Windwaker, metal gear solid.

i also do not underestimate the effect of final fantasy pixel perfect in japan, ff6 is one of the most beloved ff game, and never had a decent upgrade.

i believe anything is possible. and as long there is expectation for momentum, nintendo should NOT annouce a new console.

we are now at what? 120 million units sold, ps5 150 million.

not a specific brand lover, but i wish them the best of luck to achieve this historical moment in gaming history.

GO NINTENDO!!!!

if nintendo decide to make a new console, i hope it will be based on apple M-technology.
not android, intel or Amd based.

lets trigger developers creativity. i also hate 1 on 1 cpu ports, games need to be hardware dedicated again.

The current Switch may not die after TotK is released but in all honesty, it should. Nintendo would be much better off if they had a console that could do 4K 60fps with 2x anti-aliasing and is backwards compatible with current Switch cartridges. A modern SoC that supports DLSS could make that a reality. They need a console that can run at smooth frames rates when paired with a modern day 4K TV.