The Nintendo Switch successor will reportedly launch in March 2025, a delay that's down to the prevention of 'scalping.'
Earlier today, February 26, Japanese outlet Nikkei reported that the Nintendo Switch's eventual successor wouldn't launch until March 2025, and would boast a portability function, just like the current Nintendo Switch. This aligns with recent rumors, which claimed that Nintendo had delayed the new hardware out of launching this year in 2024.
However, the Nikkei report reveals that this is the earliest possible date that the new Nintendo hardware would launch at. It's entirely possible that the Nintendo Switch successor would launch after March 2025, it seems, which would take it out of launching in Nintendo's next fiscal year.
The Nikkei report also claims to know the reason for this delay. Apparently it's all down to Nintendo trying to secure as much stock of the new Nintendo Switch console before it actually launches, in an effort to combat scalping, where customers will purchase a console and then sell it on for a profit, drastically increasing the price in the process.
The report also claims that the Nintendo Switch successor will feature a larger screen than the standard version of the current console. The current screen size is six inches and two centimetres for the standard model, while the OLED model boasts a seven inch screen. There's no indication the Nintendo Switch successor will have a larger screen than the OLED model, however.
Last year, Nintendo's president confirmed that the current Nintendo Switch would receive new games until at least March 2025. This lends the new Nikkei report a little credibility - it's reasonable to expect the Nintendo president was able to confirm this date, if it's when the company was planning to launch its next flagship console.
Head over to our Princess Peach Showtime preview for a look at what we made of the Nintendo Switch's next big exclusive.
