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When Nintendo went from the Wii to Wii U, they were at the top of their game. The Wii was an incredible success, and Nintendo no-doubt had huge plans for the Wii U. Unfortunately, the console stumbled right out of the gate, and never found its footing after. That made for some very rough years for Nintendo.

Thankfully, Nintendo later transitioned from Wii U to Switch, and it was about as far in the opposite direction they could hope for. The Switch launched strongly and continues to stand tall in the gaming market. Now Nintendo wants to make sure that the eventually transition from Switch keeps things going in a positive direction.l

In an investor Q&A, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa elaborated on just how important it is for Nintendo to follow up Switch with another successful platform, and to make that transition smoothly.

“We have already announced a portion of our software roadmap releasing up to next spring. Unlike the past, we continue to have a large variety of games scheduled to be released, even beyond five years of release. This is because the Nintendo Switch has had such a smooth launch, allowing us to focus all of our development resources on a single platform.

However, the question of whether we will be able to just as smoothly transition from the Nintendo Switch to the next generation of hardware is a major concern for us. Based on our experiences with the Wii, Nintendo DS, and other hardware, it is very clear that one of the major obstacles is how to easily transition from one hardware to the next.

To help alleviate this risk, we’re focusing on building long-term relationships with our customers. While we will continue launching new software on the Nintendo Switch, we will also provide services that also use Nintendo Accounts and other IP outside of gaming software. We intend for this to help build a lasting impact with our customers.

[Shuntaro Furukawa]

Obviously, Nintendo is going to do everything they can to make for a smooth transition when it happens, but as always, their fate is up to fans. Hopefully messaging is on-point, and whatever the Switch successor offers will catch the attention and interest of the general public.

Thanks to Sephazon for the heads up!

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Comments (6)

kuribo

2y ago

Sounds more like business concerns rather than technical ones.


foxhounder

2y ago

If it’s a follow up to the Switch, have backwards compatibility for a start, and just call it a Switch 2. Keep it simple.


thegreatking

2y ago

Whatever nintendo release ill buy it they have never let me down


noxide

2y ago

Well if they want a smooth transition for their playerbase they better allow us to bring our games and accounts over to the next gen.


kingbroly

2y ago

Backwards compatability...without the 45 minute transition time would be great.


vinlauria

2y ago

At least we probably won't be going back to disc and I can't see them hopping architectures again, so there should be no issue going from Switch to Nintendo 8...

Edited 1 time