By Sam Nussey
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Nintendo will release the Switch 2 console, successor to its hit Switch device, this year, it said on Thursday.
The Kyoto-based gaming company did not release pricing for the new device and said it would provide more details at a Nintendo Direct event on April 2.
The company said that existing Switch software will be usable on the new device although some games may not be fully compatible.
Consumers and investors have been waiting for details of the new console, which appears to closely follow the playbook established by the hybrid home-portable Switch.
“The reveal did not have the punch of the original Switch,” said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.
“What we saw is more like a ‘Switch Pro’ – an upgraded version that is bigger – than a Switch 2,” he said, adding the launch will likely be after June.
The Switch transformed Nintendo’s fortunes following the poor performance of the Wii U console, and has sold more than 145 million units.
Nintendo has extended the lifecycle of the Switch, which launched in 2017, with hardware refreshes and hit games from franchises such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda.
The company has said it expects to sell 12.5 million units of the ageing Switch console in the financial year ending March.
“The Switch 2 is poised to reinvigorate hardware sales,” Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a client note ahead of the announcement.
“Even if Nintendo builds up capacity to manufacture 15m Switch 2 for the year, the demand is likely to outstrip supply for several months/quarters,” he added.
The Switch is the company’s second best seller, topped only by the handheld Nintendo DS which sold 154 million units in total.
Nintendo is heavily dependent on its console business, even as it has opened stores and with its roster of characters featuring in theme parks and film.
Along with PlayStation maker Sony, Japanese companies remain leading console providers, even as technology such as mobile and cloud offers alternatives for gaming.
(Reporting by Sam NusseyEditing by Elaine Hardcastle)
