This should surprise no one, but Nintendo is not going to exit the hardware business anytime soon. As part of the company’s latest corporate management briefing, the firm revealed that it’s working on new hardware, and that it will be released before the end of the century–which is to say, by 2099 or earlier.
A slide confirms that Nintendo’s “next gaming system” will launch sometime in “20XX,” which means it will be released before the year 2100. In reality, whatever this system ends up being, it will surely be released long before the end of the century, but Nintendo isn’t ready to commit to any dates. You can check out the graphic below, and have a chuckle that Nintendo decided to completely omit the Wii U. Nintendo’s previous console sold just 13.56 million units, but the system’s failure ultimately led to the Switch, which outsold its predecessor in 10 months.
The 3DS has been completely discontinued as of last week. The only Nintendo systems still in production are the Switch and Switch Lite. With the Lite essentially acting as its dedicated handheld, the need for a completely separate format seems to be gone. We’ll see if that remains the case once Nintendo faces competition from the next-gen systems.
The Switch is currently riding high with more than 61 million units sold worldwide as of June 30. The console is keeping up its momentum, too, as it recently set a new US record for the highest dollar sales of any console in history for an August month.
Nintendo is expected to release an enhanced Switch model in 2021, and whatever console comes next would follow sometime after. Nintendo’s console cycle periods usually run for 5-6 years, but Nintendo believes the Switch might enjoy success for a longer period than that.
In other Nintendo news, the company has also reaffirmed that the Mario movie from the makers of Minions remains scheduled to release in 2022. The company may also be working on other non-gaming entertainment extensions of its franchises.
Nintendo has also confirmed that more than 200 million Nintendo accounts have now been created worldwide, while the
Switch Online service now has 26 million subscribers.
Major Switch titles still coming in 2020 include Pikmin 3 Deluxe and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Last week saw the release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, with more still to come on the Mario front as the first game in the series celebrates its 35-year anniversary.
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