Nintendo‘s highly anticipated successor to the wildly successful Switch console, tentatively dubbed the Switch 2, appears to be gearing up for a launch as early as March 2025, according to recent reports surfacing within gaming circles. This revelation comes as a surprise to many, especially considering the initial projections had pinned the release for the latter half of 2024. However, industry insiders began to shift their expectations in mid-February, when murmurs of a potential delay started to gain traction.
Whispers of the Switch 2’s postponement began to spread like wildfire, with suggestions that Nintendo had already begun informing its major developer partners about the shift in timeline. It’s speculated that this preemptive briefing may have been the source of the leak, unraveling Nintendo’s plans inadvertently.
A report from Nikkei, a reputable Japanese outlet, has now lent credence to these speculations, shedding light on additional details surrounding Nintendo’s roadmap for the impending console launch. Nikkei, citing sources close to Nintendo, has honed in on March 2025 as the targeted release window for the Switch 2. However, there’s a caveat: the launch could potentially face further delays contingent upon Nintendo’s production capabilities leading up to early 2025.
Nintendo’s steadfast commitment to averting the supply shortages and price gouging that plagued the original Switch launch seems to be a driving force behind the potential delays. The gaming juggernaut is reportedly willing to push back the release date if it deems its production capacity insufficient to meet the anticipated demand for the new system.
Moreover, Nikkei’s report suggests that Nintendo’s decision to delay the Switch 2 might also be influenced by its aspirations to bolster the console’s launch lineup with a robust selection of first-party titles. The lackluster debut lineup of its predecessor, marked by a dearth of compelling exclusive titles, seems to have left a lasting impression on Nintendo.
Continuing in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Switch 2 is expected to maintain the hybrid design ethos that revolutionized gaming. Reports indicate that the new console will seamlessly transition between docked and handheld modes, a feature that has become synonymous with the Switch brand. Rumors further suggest that the Switch 2 will harness Nvidia’s mobile system-on-chip technology, mirroring the hardware blueprint of its predecessor.
Interestingly, while the original Switch was unveiled a mere four months prior to its launch, Nintendo may opt for a longer marketing cycle this time around. Brazilian journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe, who initially broke the news of the internal delay, speculates that Nintendo could potentially unveil the Switch 2 as early as June 2024, setting the stage for an extended build-up to the eventual release.