If you were hoping that a new Nintendo console was right on the horizon after the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, think again. Nintendo has confirmed that it plans to release no new hardware over the next 12 months.
On May 9, Nintendo shared its financial results for the last fiscal year with investors. Console and software sales both lagged by a bit compared to the year before, with Nintendo crediting a semiconductor shortage and a weaker holiday season for that. Looking to the next year, the company hopes to sell 15 million new Nintendo Switch consoles on top of the 125.62 million that are already out there. Those forecasts are all based on existing hardware, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed as such on a call with investors following the release of Nintendo’s financial results, saying that “no new or upgraded hardware is factored into Nintendo’s annual forecast.” Industry analysts like Ampere Analysis’ Piers-Harding Rolls and NPD’s Mat Piscatella predict that Nintendo won’t release new hardware until the latter half of 2024, and this appears to line up with Nintendo’s own plans.
So, if you’re worried about picking up a new Nintendo Switch ahead of the release of Tears of the Kingdom would be made redundant quickly, you appear to have at least one more year until the next piece of Nintendo gaming hardware is upon us. Whether that comes in the form of a true successor to the Switch or something entirely unpredictable, we’ll just have to wait and see.
