Nintendo President spills major Switch 2 details, reveal expected this fiscal year
This week, Nintendo released its Q2 2024 earnings report revealing exciting news about the highly-anticipated Switch 2.
In a post shared on X, alongside the earnings report, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa gave some concrete info about when we will receive a Switch 2 announcement. He also confirmed details about the upcoming console that Switch owners will be more than happy to hear when upgrading to the next-gen Nintendo handheld.
Here's a look at the top takeaways from this week's Nintendo earnings report and what to expect from the red brand in the months ahead — including the Switch 2.
Nintendo President hints at Switch 2 announcement in earnings call
On Tuesday, May 7, Nintendo released a quarterly earnings report that, along with a Q&A call and social media posts, gave us some exciting details on the upcoming Switch 2.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa broke the company's silence on the Switch 2 on X, commenting: "We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year."
This is huge news for Nintendo fans as it confirms earlier rumors regarding when we could finally get to see the reveal of the long-awaited successor to the beloved Switch.
However, this doesn't mean you'll be able to pick up a shiny new Switch 2 by New Year's. The fiscal year doesn't match up with the calendar year, as such Furukawa is implying that we will likely get a Switch 2 announcement anytime from now until early 2025, possibly in March or April.
That's still great news, though, since Nintendo fans can now plan accordingly. If you've been on the fence about upgrading to an OLED Switch, you might be better off waiting until next year to get the Switch 2 instead.
However, this might be what some Nintendo fans are already considering. Nintendo's earnings report revealed that Switch sales are down from last year, even though the Switch console line-up has more annual playing users than ever before. Current Switch fans, eagerly waiting for the new console, will be happy to hear some more details Furukawa shared about the Switch 2's specs in a Q&A call after Tuesday's earnings report release.
Nintendo Switch 2: Backward compatibility confirmed?
If you were holding out hope that Nintendo would unveil the Switch 2 at its big June Nintendo Direct presentation, unfortunately, that isn't going to pan out. Furukawa clarified in his post on X that this summer's Nintendo Direct will focus on software and won't include any mention of the Switch 2. However, we did get some new details and rumors this week about the console's specs.
In an earnings call with investors, Furukawa confirmed that the "Successor to the Switch" will use the same Switch Online account system — meaning you'll likely be able to transfer your library of digital Switch games over to the Switch 2 without too much hassle.
Furukawa also confirmed that Nintendo is going to continue selling physical games. That's a big deal for the Switch in particular given the growing size of game files and the Switch's limited storage.
Nintendo Switch 2: Specs spotted in the wild
While not confirmed by Furukawa himself, some exciting rumors emerged this week about the Switch 2's potential specs. A user on the Nintendo fan site Famiboards claimed to have accessed information from shipments relating to the Switch 2, including data on the console's hardware.
According to this leak, the Switch 2 could have 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That's a big upgrade from the current-gen Switch, which only has 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
Hopefully, the Switch 2 will also snare some rumored upgrades to its display with ray-tracing capabilities to take advantage of its added processing power. Of course, those upgrades could also mean a price bump for the Switch 2 compared to the current model.
We'll have to wait for the official announcement from Nintendo early next year to get the final details on the Switch 2. We will be covering all the latest news and rumors surrounding this highly-anticipated console, so stay tuned for more info.
