With the Switch having entered the seventh year of its lifecycle, it’s clear that the hybrid console has entered its twilight era, and that it won’t be too long before we get to see what the next Nintendo console will be. And while it remains to be seen exactly how long it’ll be before the Japanese firm is ready to start talking about that, it has reiterated the important of ensuring a smooth generational transition for its userbase whenever that next machine does come around.
In a recent Q&A session with investors, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that the company hopes to use its Nintendo Accounts service – which was introduced in 2016 and is central to the Switch eShop system – to ensure that its customers can transition smoothly from the Switch to whatever its successor will be.
“As for the transition from Nintendo Switch to the next generation machine, we want to do as much as possible in order to smoothly transition our customers while utilising the Nintendo Account,” he said (via IGN).
This isn’t the first time Nintendo has spoken about this. Last year, Nintendo executive Ko Shiota also spoke about Nintendo Accounts, and stated that the service will likely be integrated with the Switch’s successor.
Whether that generational transition will also include plans for backward compatibility remains to be seen, though previously, Nintendo has been unwilling to concretely confirm whether the feature will be supported in its next console.
Earlier this year, reports claimed that work on the Nintendo Switch successor was “progressing well”, but that it wouldn’t be out until spring 2024 at the earliest.