Six years after its launch, Nintendo is extremely discreet about the console that will replace the Switch. Today, an official document from the British government has revived rumors about him.
The document in question, which comes from the UK competition authority (CMA), deals with the proposed merger between Microsoft and Activision. Among the 43 appendix pages, we find who specifies that the Nintendo Switch Online “is only available on the Nintendo Switch and [texte coupé] ».
Nintendo in the starting blocks?
In this appendix, there is a lot of cut text, represented by the icon of a small scissor. The latter replaces confidential information and other internal company documents. It was enough to relaunch the rumors around the future game console which will have the heavy task of replacing the Nintendo Switch.
However, the word that caused the most reaction is not the one that is deliberately hidden, but rather the “and” that precedes it. Why ? Quite simply, because Nintendo Switch Online is currently only available on the Switch (logical). Thus, the text following the “and” could very well designate the next Nintendo console, which cannot be revealed in a regulatory file like that of the CMA.
However, this is not the first time that Nintendo has mentioned a continuity of its online account from its current console to a future model. In 2020, Big N already shared this information in a slide addressed to investors. The latter explicitly stated that the current Nintendo Account and its “value-added services”, such as Nintendo Switch Online, will continue to be available and will grow through the “next game system” which will be launched in “20xx”.
A console that is desired…
Clues that revive (once again) the rumors around a “Nintendo Switch Pro”, which according to some sources would have been simply canceled. Big N is obviously working on its next game console, but is being extremely cautious given the phenomenal success of the Nintendo Switch. The company therefore has enormous pressure on its shoulders and is walking on (golden) eggs.
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Going back to the document from the UK competition authority, the hidden mention could also refer to something other than a game console. For example, the arrival of classic Nintendo Switch Online games on smartphones or PCs.
The arrival of such a service would allow Nintendo to conquer new markets while offering an alternative to ROM download sites against which the company has been waging war for years. After the Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation exclusives on PC, Nintendo would thus play a little more on the ground of its competitors.
Launched on March 2, 2017, the Nintendo Switch will soon celebrate its six years. This is the time it took to move from the Wii to the Wii U. The latter not having met with the expected success, the Switch arrived less than five years later.
Nintendo is clearly at a crossroads and has to scratch its head to find the best way to launch the Switch replacement, which is well on its way to becoming its biggest success, ahead of the Nintendo DS.
Ars-Technica
