As reports mount that the Switch 2 will launch next year, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has shared some of the company’s views on the launch of a new generation of consoles, saying he believes its Nintendo Account system will help “ease the transition”.
Surprisingly, Bowser declined to comment specifically on reports of a Switch successor, but highlighted it vice versa (In the same interview where he talked about unionizing at Nintendo) The work the company has done with single sign-on for Nintendo Accounts.
“One thing we’ve done with the switch is to facilitate that communication and transition [to a new console generation]Bowser explained: “It’s about setting up a Nintendo Account. In the past, every console we migrated to had a completely new account system. By creating a Nintendo Account, we can communicate with our players when we migrate to a new platform to ease this process or transition.”
Since launching in early 2016, Nintendo Accounts has served as a unified account system across all Nintendo products, including mobile apps (starting with Meetomo and continuing with products like Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Mario Kart Tour), Switch, and services like My. Nintendo did.
Bowser’s words echoed Nintendo’s comments when he discussed the Nintendo account in 2021, referring to the “next gaming system”. Exactly how the company plans to use the accounts to bridge the gap between the Switch and what comes after remains a mystery, but Bowser added that Nintendo’s goal is to “minimize the decline you’d normally see in a game.” The last year of one cycle and the beginning of another”. It is not entirely clear whether this indicates a decrease in publications, a decrease in subscribers, a decrease in awareness or something else.
Of course, Nintendo has yet to comment on the latest reports surrounding the Switch successor; In September, Eurogamer broke the news that the company showed off the Switch 2 with an updated version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to developers behind closed doors at Gamescom. Sources also told Eurogamer that the Switch’s successor, which will retain the current model’s hybrid configuration, is expected to launch in the second half of 2024.
