Nintendo has confirmed that they will be unveiling their next-generation console sometime before the end of their current fiscal year, which concludes on March 31, 2025. This means we can expect an announcement about the successor to the wildly popular Nintendo Switch in the coming months.

The news comes in a statement published alongside Nintendo’s financial results. President Shuntaro Furukawa revealed the exciting news while also managing expectations.

Here’s the breakdown:

• New Console Announcement: Furukawa confirmed the company would announce the “successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year.” This means the official reveal will likely happen between now and March 2025.
• No Hardware Details at June’s Nintendo Direct: Don’t expect to see the new console at the upcoming Nintendo Direct in June. This presentation will focus on the software lineup for the latter half of 2024 for the current Switch.

Financial Performance and Market Trends

• Switch Sales Remain Strong: Despite being in its seventh year, the Switch continues to perform well. Nintendo sold 15.7 million Switch consoles in the year ended March 2024, exceeding their forecast and bringing the total to a staggering 141.32 million units sold to date.
• Sales Forecast for New Fiscal Year: However, Nintendo projects console sales to fall 14% to 13.5 million for the current fiscal year. This could be a strategic move to prepare for the launch of the new console.
• On the Software Side: Nintendo’s software side saw success with new releases like Princess Peach: Showtime! and Mario vs. Donkey Kong, both selling over a million units each. Even established games continued to be popular, with Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario RPG seeing their lifetime sales climb. To keep the momentum going, Nintendo plans to release a steady stream of new titles, including upcoming games like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD.

A Strategic Announcement

Furukawa’s decision to acknowledge the new console early is seen as a smart move to appease fans who have been eagerly awaiting news. While there’s still a lot of work to be done promoting the current Switch until March 2025, this announcement keeps the excitement simmering.

The wait for the official reveal continues, but one thing’s for sure: Nintendo is set to make a splash with their next-generation console. Stay tuned for further updates as we inch closer to the big announcement.

Sources:

Nintendo confirms it will announce its next console ‘this fiscal year’ | VGC