Nintendo says it will still ship games for Switch 1, talks about balance with game releases

Although Nintendo is prioritizing games for Switch 2 and making games for that platforms, it will continue to support Switch 1.

We already heard that Nintendo Switch hardware will continue to be produced. As for actual games though, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has confirmed that the system will continue to receive games.

Furukawa said the following during the Q&A session of a financial results briefing today:

“While our development resources will shift primarily to the Switch 2, we will continue to develop Switch software and plan to release new titles in the future.

Our dedicated video game business is based on first popularizing the hardware and then continually releasing new titles. During the Switch generation, we achieved this balance well, with many titles becoming staples that continued to sell for long periods of time, maintaining the momentum of the platform as a whole. For the Switch 2, we believe it is extremely important not only to continually release new titles, but also to ensure that these titles continue to sell throughout the platform’s lifecycle.

Furthermore, with software development costs increasing and development times lengthening, it is becoming more difficult than ever to consistently release new titles. Since the Switch 2 can also play Switch software, we would like to recommend Switch software to consumers who are picking up a game console for the first time. Taking this into consideration, we believe that maintaining the momentum of our Switch 2 business will depend on balancing the release of new titles with ensuring that staple titles continue to be enjoyed for a long time.”

Nintendo director and senior managing executive officer Shinya Takahashi also had a few words to say about its approach to game releases in general. The company needs to balance brand new games for Nintendo Switch 2 and new entries in series as well as updating previous Switch 1 titles.

Takahashi noted:

“Our development team is always striving to deliver new titles at a good pace. With that in mind, we also want to continue to value things like the Animal Crossing: New Horizons update we announced the other day. We’re constantly considering the balance between developing all-new titles for the Switch 2 and new titles in the series, and updating Switch software. We’re also working to deepen our collaboration with new collaborators in addition to our existing partners, and to expand our development capabilities in both quality and quantity. Furthermore, with regard to R&D investment, we intend to allocate sufficient funds if necessary.”