• A gaming software firm indicated on Thursday that the Nintendo Switch 2 console could launch in September 2024.
• When pressed the company said it was simply guessing, but that didn’t stop IGN from “breaking” the news.
• Experts are expecting Nintendo to launch its next-generation console in the second half of 2024.

Late last year, reports indicated that Nintendo could be looking at March 2024 for the launch of the Japanese company’s upcoming console, the Nintendo Switch 2. The reports draw from data and trends of the original Switch console, and how the device is nearing its end of life after six years since its launch, selling around 19.5 million units so far.

Nintendo has confirmed that it is still planning games for the original Switch up until the winter of 2024, so midway through the year. It has not made any official comments on the Switch 2 – or any other new console it may be working on – at all. What is known is that Nintendo is working on a follow-up console and that Nintendo usually releases new consoles around the beginning of a new financial year.

This has not halted the rumour mill from spinning. This week saw analysts suggest that the Switch 2 console is indeed expected to launch in 2024 “probably in the second half of the year,” according to Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games, who spoke to CNBC.

An actual release date emerged online on Thursday as company AI Shark, the former Game Shark, issued a press release indicating that the Switch 2 will launch in September 2024, according to DigitalTrends.

“Formerly known as GameShark, AI Shark is set to redefine the gaming landscape with its revolutionary AI-enhanced technology,” AI Shark indicates in the release.

“The innovative gaming software is set to mark a significant leap forward in the gaming experience, bringing enhanced gameplay for beginner-level users. The official launch is planned to coincide with the Nintendo Switch 2 in September 2024.”

This last line sent the internet into a spin, with publications and journalists rushing to find the origin of the information. IGN “broke” the news, despite AI Shark backtracking the comment. The company told DigitalTrends first that the console would launch in “Fall 2024” and then later that “Nintendo has not officially clarified launch.”

It gets even stranger as Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier was told by AI Shark that it simply made a guess on when Nintendo would launch the console. Without official word from Nintendo – which will probably not reveal any information until it’s ready – the release date of September 2024 from AI Shark should be taken with a full, tall Cerebos table salt dispenser.

The fault lies with IGN who reported that AI Shark accidentally revealed the release date of the Switch 2, but didn’t indicate how the company received that information from Nintendo. AI Shark, a former game cheat code publisher, is now turning towards AI to help “individuals in improving their gameplay over time.”

What does that have to do with Nintendo? Nobody knows.

[Image – Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash]