• Nintendo has reportedly confirmed that the Switch 2 release date has been pushed back to March 2025.
• The news sent Nintendo’s shares dropping by nearly 9 percent on Monday.
• The Japanese gaming giant has been so far completely silent on the upcoming console, allowing rumours of an earlier launch date to get out of hand.

After months of rumours and publications grasping at straws to find some clue on when the Nintendo Switch 2 console would launch, Nintendo has reportedly told publications that they should not expect the device to be available until March 2025.

This means that the upcoming console will miss the lucrative end-year holiday period, when new consoles are usually released.

The news, first reported by Video Games Chronicles and later Bloomberg, marks the Japanese gaming giant’s first official move towards the Switch 2, which was believed to be in development since last year despite no official confirmation from Nintendo.

The company’s recalcitrant silence on the development of the Switch 2 led to a series of rumoured launch periods being reported on by the media, including that the console would likely emerge sometime in the middle of 2024.

Now that these reports are incorrect, investors have reacted negatively and Nintendo’s stocks have tumbled after the news, falling nearly 9 percent on Monday.

Nintendo’s strict adherence to complete silence on the Switch 2 has been detrimental to the company.

Anticipation from fans and excitement about the prospect that the console will feature upgraded hardware and graphics have created a media spin around the Switch 2.

Reports from the likes of Polygon last year that the original Switch’s declining sales would lead to the new console launching sometime in the second half of 2024 sent the net abuzz.

Then Bloomberg reported in January that the Switch 2 would feature a larger display at 8″ compared to the original device. The rumour mill went into overdrive with some speculating that the new console would have graphics close to the PlayStation 4, which would mark a major improvement over what many say is the main drawback of the original Switch.

With the news of the delay, and the fact that the original Switch is firmly in the end of lifecycle, analysts expect the company’s exclusive slate of games for 2024 will be sparse as Nintendo will hold on to its upcoming blockbusters to launch alongside the Switch 2 in March 2025.

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has promised to discuss more on the Switch successor in the next fiscal year after it reports its March-quarter earnings.

[Image – Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash]