Nintendo is widely rumored to be working on its next console, and the company may have even shown it to developers at Gamescom in August. Some studios might have the console already. Nintendo of America boss Doug Bowser cannot comment on these rumors and reports, but he did suggest in a new interview with Inverse that the Nintendo Account system in place on Switch currently might carry forward to whatever comes next from Nintendo. This should help “ease” the transition, he said.
“Well, first I can’t comment–or I won’t comment, I should say–on the rumors that are out there. But one thing we’ve done with the Switch to help with that communication and transition is the formation of the Nintendo Account,” Bowser said.
Nintendo’s previous consoles had their own account systems and players had to create new accounts for subsequent hardware launches. But the new overarching Nintendo Account changes this. It “allow us to communicate with our players if and when we make a transition to a new platform, to help ease that process or transition,” Bowser said.
“Our goal is to minimize the dip you typically see in the last year of one cycle and the beginning of another,” he added. “I can’t speak to the possible features of a new platform, but the Nintendo Account is a strong basis for having that communication as we make the transition.”
Nintendo’s CEO, Shuntaro Furukawa, said earlier this year that the next Nintendo console will use the same Nintendo Account system as the Switch, so hearing Bowser suggest something similar is no big surprise.
The latest rumor is that Nintendo will release its next console in 2024. Recently, Nintendo set the original Switch announcement video to private on YouTube, which sparked some speculation that Nintendo might be gearing up to reveal what’s next.
As of June 30, Nintendo had sold 129.5 million Switch consoles and more than 1 billion games. Nintendo will update these numbers when it makes its next earnings announcement on November 7.
In other news, Nintendo’s next big exclusive, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, is out now on Switch. GameSpot’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder review scored the game a 9/10.
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