When the Wii launched in 2006, it brought about a significant shift in Nintendo’s approach to hardware, with the company choosing to stop focusing on power and technical capabilities and instead opting to create bespoke hardware with unique features to set it apart from the competition. That’s a model that all subsequent Nintendo platforms have followed, and though it remains to be seen whether the inevitable Switch successor will also feature some unique hardware innovation, it does look like it won’t be chasing power, like many would have guessed.
That’s as per the words of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who recently said during a testimony at the ingoing Microsoft vs FTC trial (via @BenjiSales on Twitter) that Nintendo’s next console won’t be matching the power of the likes of the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S.
Kotick revealed that he has had “active talks” with Nintendo about the latter’s next generation console, and said that the console is likely going to be roughly on the same level as Sony and Microsoft’s previous-gen consoles, the PS4 and Xbox One respectively, in terms of hardware capabilities.
During his testimony, Kotick also said that Activision’s lack of support for the Switch was “a bad decision” on his part, having underestimated how successful the system would be, and that the company will more strongly consider supporting its successor with software, regardless of whether or not it gets acquired by Microsoft. Read more on that through here.
As for when we might expect to hear something about the Switch successor through official Nintendo channels, that remains to be seen, though reports have claimed that work on the console is proceeding well, even if it won’t be launching anytime before spring 2024 at the earliest.