Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has denied rumors that the company is working on a successor to the Nintendo Switch. He also dismissed a recent patent filing for a device with multiple screens, saying that it does not necessarily mean that such a device will be released.
In a recent interview with Japanese publication Mainichi, Furukawa said that the reports about a Switch successor are “inaccurate.” He also denied that Nintendo has briefed developers on plans for a new console. To quote Furukawa:
“Rumors are circulating mainly on the Internet as if they were public information, but they are inaccurate. There have been reports that Nintendo provided explanations about next-generation consoles to specific software makers in 2022 and that Nintendo demonstrated a new model at an overseas event in summer 2023. These reports are untrue.”
Shuntaro Furukawa
Furukawa’s denials come amid several rumors about a Switch successor. In recent months, there have been reports that Nintendo is working on a new console with more powerful hardware and 4K resolution support. Some reports have also claimed that the new console could launch as early as 2024.
Furukawa also said that the patent filing for a device with multiple screens does not mean that such a device will be released. “I applied with the understanding that (the patent information) would be made public,” Furukawa said. “It does not mean that it will be installed in a product.”
Furukawa’s comments suggest that Nintendo is not yet ready to announce a new console, not that one isn’t coming. The Switch is still selling well, and Nintendo has many new games coming out in the coming months, including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo may wait until sales of the Switch start to decline before releasing a new console.
VGC was one of the sites that said a new Nintendo Switch was coming, and they’ve pointed out that much after finding this news. I believe VGC personally just because of their track record and it makes a lot of sense for a Nintendo Switch successor to be coming soon.
