Nintendo has ditched plans for its long-rumoured 4K-capable ‘Switch Pro’ system in favour of focusing on a next-gen console, according to Digital Foundry.
Citing multiple developers, John Linneman, the tech-focused gaming outlet’s senior staff writer, said on the Digital Foundry podcast that “there was some sort of mid-generation Switch update planned at one point and that seems to be no longer happening.”
He added that “it’s pretty clear that whatever they [Nintendo] do next is going to be the actual next-generation hardware. I don’t think it’s going to be 2023.”
For years now, rumours have surfaced that Nintendo would release some sort of improved model of the Switch, which first launched in 2017. Even credible sites like Bloomberg have reported on the alleged system. Throughout all of this, though, Nintendo has remained mum on any such plans, instead releasing the handheld-only Switch Lite in 2020 and an OLED-equipped Switch in 2021.
Elsewhere in the podcast, Linneman claims that Nintendo is “worried” about transitioning from the Switch to a successor. That apprehension is certainly logical, given how Nintendo went from the meteoric success of the Wii (over 100 million units sold) to the abysmally-performing Wii U (less than 15 million units sold). The Switch, meanwhile, is among the top five best-selling consoles to date at around 115 million units sold.
It remains to be seen what Nintendo might do with a successor to the Switch, especially considering how popular the system’s functionality as a console-handheld hybrid has been.
Source: Digital Foundry
