‘Switch 2’ is targeting March 2025 and was delayed to avoid shortages, new report claims
Nikkei corroborates previous reporting on Nintendo’s successor console
![‘Switch 2’ is targeting March 2025 and was delayed to avoid shortages, new report claims](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.videogameschronicle.com/files/2021/07/HEGS_001_heroWA_03_R_ad-0-320x180.jpg)
Nintendo’s next game console is targeting a launch in March 2025.
That’s according to a new report by Japanese news publication Nikkei (paywalled), which claims that the Switch successor’s internal delay – reported first by VGC and others earlier this month – was partly so that Nintendo could avoid potential hardware supply issues.
Although Nintendo had planned a launch in late 2024 for ‘Switch 2’, according to Nikkei “priority was given to ensure the initial inventory of the successor console and a lineup of software titles at the time of its launch” in an attempt to avoid widespread reselling.
Nikkei says it expects the next Nintendo console to again be a hybrid portable-home device similar to Switch, as reported previously by VGC. The publication also corroborates that the machine will have a larger screen than the original Switch’s 6.2 inch display.
Nikkei notes that Switch 2 could yet slip beyond March 2025, dependent on manufacturing and how much software is ready for launch.
![‘Switch 2’ is targeting March 2025 and was delayed to avoid shortages, new report claims](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.videogameschronicle.com/files/2023/05/IMG_4304-e1708944081235-80x48.jpg)
As reported earlier this month, VGC heard from multiple sources who said Nintendo had told publishers its next console would now launch in Q1 2025. According to the sources, third-party game companies were recently briefed on an internal delay in Nintendo’s next-gen launch timing, from late 2024 to early the following year.
One publishing source suggested the delay was so that Nintendo could prepare stronger first-party software for the console.
Nintendo’s share price dropped on the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the report, dipping by as much as 8.8% before settling on an overall loss in value of 5.8%.
It’s possible the next-gen Nintendo console will now follow a similar timeline to the Switch, which was released in March 2017 but announced the previous year (in October 2016).