Speculation over Nintendo’s new console, a successor to the wildly common Switch, reached a fever pitch Thursday with specialist media predicting an imminent announcement from the Japanese gaming large.
The Eurogamer web site stated it had heard “industry whispers” that the new gadget can be unveiled Thursday, the identical date leaked by an influential podcaster.
A reporter from tech outlet The Verge stated Tuesday on X: “I’ve heard it should be the Switch 2 reveal this week”, additional fuelling buzz amongst followers.
Players have lengthy been hungry for information on a follow-up to Nintendo’s hybrid Switch console, which will be handheld or linked to a TV display screen.
Since it hit cabinets in 2017, greater than 146 million items have been offered worldwide, making the Switch the third-best-selling console ever after Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s DS.
Nintendo estimates it has offered 1.3 billion copies of Switch titles, together with “Animal Crossing: New Horizons”, which grew to become a must-play amongst all age teams throughout Covid-19 lockdowns.
But because the blockbuster Switch ages and gross sales decline, the Kyoto-based firm stated final 12 months it could reveal its subsequent console by the tip of March 2025.
A Nintendo spokesman instructed AFP on Thursday that there was “nothing we can share” relating to the announcement.
In November, Nintendo promised customers that video games made for the unique Switch can be playable on the new one.
While the agency has saved tight-lipped on particulars of the new {hardware}, that hasn’t stopped a gradual stream of leaks.
Some purport to point out the gadget in manufacturing, or equipment designed to suit the following console.
A producer referred to as Genki even confirmed off a life-sized reproduction mannequin of the console, that includes an even bigger display screen than its predecessor, on the CES tech present in Las Vegas this month.
But the new Switch is probably going already being made at factories “to ensure there is enough stock, as demand for the new console will certainly be very high”, stated Darang Candra from sport trade analysis agency Niko Partners.
Gaming rival Sony confronted a provide bottleneck that led to empty cabinets when it launched the PlayStation 5 in 2020, one thing Nintendo will likely be eager to keep away from.
One fan, 29-year-old “Animal Crossing” streamer LottieRoseGames, instructed AFP her viewers is “particularly excited” given the most recent rumours.
“People are just looking forward to the prospects of what a new console will bring in terms of new features — and of course mostly new games,” she stated.
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