Nintendo’s Next Console and June Direct Announced
The Announcement
On Monday, a huge announcement was made by Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa on X. Per the official tweet, the company will announce a new console within this fiscal year. This came as a shock to many, as there was little pomp and circumstance surrounding the event.
The Lowdown
This is Furukawa, President of Nintendo. We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct…
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) May 7, 2024
With the current fiscal year running until March 31, 2025, fans can probably expect a console announcement at some point in late 2024. The tweet also mentions a June Direct, albeit focusing solely on games for late 2024.
The coming months will no doubt unleash a flurry of speculation on what Nintendo’s next system brand will be. Perhaps more importantly, questions surrounding hardware will also become more boisterous than ever before. Will it drop as the Switch 2? Will a new identity be created? Will the ever-superior GameCube brand be revived? A GameCube diehard such as I will always hold out hope. Never tell me the odds. Just let me dream, dammit!
Quick Thoughts on Nintendo’s Next Console and June Direct Announcement
Right off the bat, I feel like this is the weirdest way to announce a long-anticipated product. Many reports have rumored a 2025 console release, but there was no immediate expectation of an announcement. Nintendo could’ve easily waited until their June Direct to drop this news.
Personally, I ended up selling my Switch about eight or nine months ago. I felt I didn’t use it enough, I have no undying loyalty to Nintendo exclusives, and I felt its replacement was on the horizon. After all, it’s already been nine years since the Switch was originally released. I’m looking forward to taking a crack at a newer, tougher system, especially if it prioritizes backwards compatibility.
Ultimately, I hope this console’s hardware isn’t a half-measure at upgrading. Sure, games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom pushed system limits to their maximum. They should be applauded for doing so. However, the Nintendo system can be so much more than it is right now. Will the company push their platform forward in a meaningful way with this next generation? Time will tell.
