It’s been more than five years since the release of the Nintendo Switch. Since then, Nintendo’s current-generation console has amassed a robust library of titles and become the company’s bestselling console of all time with more than 103.54 million units sold as of last year.
If you’re wondering what Nintendo has in mind for the Switch’s eventual successor, you’re not alone — as Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa himself as recently expressed that the transition to a new hardware platform is a “major concern” for the company.
Speaking during a Japanese investor Q&A meeting this week, as translated by VGC, Furukawa said that the company wanted to make the transition to a potential new console as smooth as possible for its 100-million-plus Switch users.
“To help alleviate this risk, we’re focusing on building long-term relationships with our customers,” Furukawa said during the meeting, according to VGC’s translation. “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.”
In an investor Q&A back in 2021, Furukawa stated that the Nintendo Switch was currently in the “middle phase” of its lifecycle, and that in whatever form Nintendo’s next hardware platform would take, it would likely incorporate the same integrated hardware-software approach as seen in the Nintendo Switch.