A new report claims Nintendo’s next console will launch sooner than expected, in response to Sony’s PS5 Pro, while backing previous rumours about the machine’s price.
While Nintendo is almost impossible to predict, there’s been a groundswell of rumours over recent weeks suggesting a new hardware reveal could be imminent.
Nintendo has said its next console, nicknamed the Switch 2, will be revealed at some point before April next year, but a slew of rumours have pointed to the console being shown off within the next six weeks – something which, on the surface, seems unlikely considering that it would negatively impact Switch sales this Christmas.
A new report, however, suggests Nintendo may be accelerating their plans due to Sony’s PS5 Pro, with the Switch 2 rumoured to be on track to launch within the next six months.
When could the Nintendo Switch 2 launch?
According to a report on Taiwan Economic Daily News, via Google Translate, ‘internal executives’ at Nintendo have ‘decided to advance the launch’ of the company’s next console to ‘before the end of this year’, in a move ‘stimulated by the early launch of Sony’s PS5 Pro’.
‘It will go on sale around the world in the fourth quarter at the earliest,’ the report states, but frustratingly does not clarify whether it’s talking about the calendar year (i.e. by the end of December) or the financial year (by the end of March).
A launch this year seems highly unlikely though, even if the console is revealed in the next few weeks. It is Nintendo, so nothing is impossible, but the recent leak of a number of new Switch Christmas bundles seems to all but rule it out.
The most natural guess would be an early 2025 reveal and a late spring or early autumn launch, but if this new report is suggesting a release in January or February that would not be completely unexpected – not least because Nintendo ideally wouldn’t want to release the Switch 2 at the same time as GTA 6, which is assumed to be aiming for an autumn 2025 launch.
The most dubious part of the rumour is that the PS5 Pro would be a driving motivator in the decision. That console, priced at £699.99, looks set to be a relatively niche product by any standard and will have little overlap with Nintendo’s core audience.
However, it is possible Nintendo might want to capitalise on the current outcry over the PS5 Pro’s price, which would make the Switch 2 look even cheaper by comparison.
The same report claims the price for Nintendo’s next console will be around $400 (after tax, around £400 in the UK) in line with recent rumours.
What is rumoured about the Nintendo Switch 2?
Based on ‘market speculation’, the same Taiwanese report claims the Switch 2 will have a bigger screen and a ‘dual-screen design’ – although it’s unclear whether this relates to the same tablet and TV set-up as the Switch or a Nintendo DS style display.
It’s also claimed that the console will have improved battery life and performance, which is practically a given at this point.
This all lines up with previous rumours, including the allusion to dual screens, with other sources also talking about a bigger LCD screen, backwards compatibility, and an ‘iterative’ upgrade over the original Switch – rather than something completely different.
The most logical guess is still a reveal in early 2025 and a launch in May, at the earliest, but there’ve been so many stories about things happening earlier than currently assumed that this may be a case of no smoke without fire.
What are the known facts about Nintendo Switch 2?
The only concrete fact about Nintendo’s next console is that it will be revealed before April 2025, as confirmed by the company earlier this year. Other than that we know nothing for certain and even the name Switch 2 is just a fan invention.
However, while Nintendo hasn’t stated it explicitly, they have strongly hinted that the new console will be backwards compatible with the original Switch -which several unconfirmed rumours have also suggested.
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