Nintendo sure has come a long way since the Game Boy Micro, with its teeny-tiny two-inch screen. The Nintendo Switch arrived in 2017 with a 6.2in panel, and the OLED model upped this to 7. Now, according to Bloomberg and an analyst with knowledge of the supply chain, the upcoming Switch 2 will feature an 8in panel. Oh, and it will be LCD rather than OLED to keep costs down in a classic Nintendo move.
Officially the Switch 2 doesn’t exist, of course, but with the current model two months away from its seventh birthday, Nintendo is clearly working on something. The average lifespan of a Nintendo console is, after all, between five and six years, meaning the original Switch should be taking life easy on the (Mario) golf course now.
There’s non-numerical evidence, too. Not only was a prototype console shown off to select developers at last year’s Gamescom, but earlier this month GDC published its annual State of the Game Industry report. Eight per cent of respondents said they were working on content for the Switch 2 — meaning either 240 people were playing an elaborate prank on survey makers everywhere, or Nintendo has something up its figurative sleeve.
How soon can we expect this nominally hypothetical console? While the September 2024 release date seemingly revealed in an unrelated press release turned out to be pure guesswork, it may not be too far off the mark.
Recently, a Spanish leaker predicted a March reveal for the Switch 2. Given the Switch was unveiled in October 2016 and then released in March 2017, you wouldn’t bet against Nintendo offering the same long lead-in time for the Switch 2.
This doesn’t mean Nintendo is done with the current Switch just yet and it has a few games to get done before it’s put out to pasture, including remakes of Luigi’s Mansion 2 and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
Though, if the Switch 2 is backwards compatible, you’ll be able to play these on your shiny new 8in screen. Fingers crossed…
