If you tried to get a PlayStation 5 in the fall of 2020, you know just how difficult it can be to get a console at launch. Nintendo fans are understandably worried about a similar situation with the company’s next console, but there seems to be reason for some hope. According to a new rumor shared on the Famiboards by user ninspider (via Gaming Leaks and Rumors), Nintendo will have quantities of about 2.5 times the size that were made available for the original Switch. In March 2017, Nintendo made about 2.74 million consoles available. If ninspider’s information is correct, that would mean Nintendo will have nearly 7 million consoles available during the launch window.
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During an investor Q&A earlier this year, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa addressed the possibility of scalpers and resellers making it difficult to obtain the new console, as they had with PS5. Furukawa noted that “the most important thing is to produce a sufficient number to meet customer demand.” If ninspider’s estimate is correct, Nintendo really is trying to ensure there’s ample product available in that first month. Whether or not that will still be enough consoles to meet demand remains to be seen, but it sounds like Nintendo is making an effort.
As with any rumor, readers are encouraged to take this one with a grain of salt. At this time, there’s not much we know for sure about the so-called “Nintendo Switch 2.” Nintendo has been very secretive about the new console, offering just a handful of details over the last few years. We know that the system will be backwards compatible with current Nintendo Switch games, and that it will continue the current Nintendo Account system. Nintendo Switch Online will continue in this new era as well, meaning the existing apps for older consoles like Super Nintendo and Game Boy will remain playable on the new system. A full reveal for the console will happen sometime before the end of March 2025, and Nintendo has said that there will be a shorter wait between the console’s announcement and launch than we saw with Switch.
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At this point, we’re probably looking at a launch for Nintendo’s new system sometime in the second half of 2025. Many fans had hoped that the system would be released around the same time as the current Switch (which came out in March 2017), but that’s looking very unlikely. Nintendo has already announced plans to release Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition that month, and the company would probably have to have made an announcement at this point. Hopefully we won’t have to wait much longer to find out when the new console is actually arriving!
Are you hoping to get a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch? Or will you be waiting until after it’s been out for a while? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!