Cognition Dissemination: What Do We Expect From Nintendo’s Next Console?

Nintendo’s new console is not planned to launch until spring 2024 at the earliest, Nikkei Asia reported this week. This is no surprise despite vocal gaming community members expressing their disappointment about it. We no longer live in an age where next-generation hardware launches within five to six years after prior platforms release. This was clear with PlayStation and Xbox platforms since the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, but Nintendo has now joined the pattern they established with their first successful HD platform. It’s possible there was an upgraded version of the current Switch outside the OLED model planned for release at one point, but the pandemic and related supply chain issues killed that plan.

Here’s a question for the current time: What exactly are we expecting from this Nintendo platform successor? The topic temporarily enters my mind whenever the upcoming hardware is mentioned by the enthusiast press. This time, I’m writing my thoughts down, in a post that will be fun to return to after several months to see how accurate (or inaccurate) this is.

I fully expect the system to be a true successor to the Switch, keeping its hardware form factor and console/handheld hybrid options. The format has worked out well for Nintendo, the current system being one of the best-selling pieces of hardware in their history. The system and its software have attracted a wide audience from varying age groups and demographics. They’d be fools to discard it.

My hope is that they’ll work on the accessibility methods for both. The Joy-Cons could be less prone to drifting, and more comfortable to hold for an extended time period. I’d also prefer a d-pad that’s actually usable for games that depend on it while in playing handheld mode, without having to resort to third-party accessory solutions.

It would be nice if the overall power was close to the Steam Deck, but it’s unlikely to reach that. Nintendo isn’t the kind of company willing to release a piece of hardware for the prices Valve is charging for their platform. I’m not the type that demands too much power for a system, especially in a hybrid from Nintendo, but I sure wouldn’t mind the system being capable of graphics slightly better than those on Switch with more stable performance and framerates. Nintendo appears to have utilized digital wizardry for the recent The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s performance, but that sure doesn’t apply to every game — especially those from third-party developers.

I can’t imagine this thing lacking backwards compatibility with all Switch software. It made sense that the Switch itself wasn’t backwards compatible with digital Wii U and especially 3DS titles, though whether the former was possible in a vein similar to Vita being compatible with digital PSP games is a question for a hardware engineer to answer. But if the newest system cannot play every single Switch title, they might as well take this thing out back and shoot it. I’m not even requesting that Switch games be playable on the new hardware with improved performance, though that would be swell too.

 

I’m still bitter about Nintendo killing the Wii U and 3DS digital stores with little fanfare beyond a bunch of internet corners. It was a bad move for software preservation, which made all digital purchases on both platforms feel unsecure in terms of ownership, regardless of how that software can be redownloaded for now. Switch software being backwards compatible on the new platform would keep the system’s eShop open for a longer time. It’s unlikely to live forever, particularly if Nintendo wants to resell a bunch of enhanced ports for a high price, but it could at least keep the stores around long enough that certain people wouldn’t feel cold about purchasing anything digitally.

My expectation is that the next Switch platform will be revealed later this year, ahead of a launch in spring 2024. It’s not farfetched to think Nintendo will follow the same pattern they did with the last platform down to the similar reveal-to-release timeframes. But I want to be clear that this post does not include predictions like those I provided on the first day of 2023, merely expectations. I imagine Nintendo already has a solid plan for what they want to do; seeing how it will play out will be entertaining, at least.

In the meantime, Nintendo perhaps has more releases in store for Switch. The schedule is a public blank slate beyond Pikmin 4’s planned July release. The timing will soon be good for a new Nintendo Direct, perhaps during the period previously known as “E3 Time.”