The era of home gaming may be coming to an end… well, sort of. According to Nintendo’s new president, Shuntaro Furukawa, the powerful software and tech company isn’t necessarily planning to release traditional consoles in the near future. It’s somewhat surprising news given the extreme and very recent success of the groundbreaking Nintendo Switch.
The aforementioned gear, which launched almost two years ago, has been both a critical and financial triumph for Nintendo, who have shipped over 22.86 million units worldwide. Given this incredible figure, it seems a bit fishy to hear that the company doesn’t have its eyes set on the next home gaming setup.
In an interview with Nikkei, Furukawa stated that he and his development teams are not concerned with the idea of traditional consoles. Instead, he preached the importance of creativity and flexibility. “At the moment we’re offering the uniquely developed Nintendo Switch and its software, and that’s what we’re basing how we deliver the Nintendo experience on,” he began.
“That being said, technology changes. We’ll continue to think flexibly about how to deliver that experience as time goes on. […] Nintendo’s history goes back even farther than that, and through all the struggles that they faced the only thing that they thought about was what to make next.”
With just how unique and forward-thinking the Switch turned out to be, it isn’t necessarily shocking to hear that Nintendo is aiming for newer and more interesting ways to immerse gamers. That being said, we’re still far removed from the end of the Switch’s life cycle, so whatever succeeds it is still a few years away.
