It was to be expected that some details about the Nintendo Switch 2 would be leaked before being revealed.
Details about upcoming game consoles are always leaked before their official announcement. Unlike a game in development, many people outside the console's parent company need to know about the device beforehand to maintain secrecy: third-party publishers and developers, parts suppliers, accessory manufacturers, retailers, and people at the console. factories. that do things. Someone somewhere in this expanding chain is going to go broke. Something is going to come out.
Still, the situation with Switch 2 right now is extreme. (Even the name has been leaked.) There has been a flurry of leaks in recent weeks, including apparent photos of the final hardware. The dam has broken to the point that peripheral maker Genki, which claims to have obtained a real Switch 2 through back channels, threw caution to the wind and showed off a mockup of the console at CES. Genki even has a detailed, animated rendering of Nintendo's new console on its website.
For most of last year, it was business as usual on the Switch 2. Some details emerged in reports from closed-door meetings with Nintendo partners, and a fairly complete, if confusing, picture of the shape and capabilities was built. Console features: Magnetic Joy-Cons, AI-assisted magnification technology, backward compatibility.
Then, in September, the leaks took a step further. Molds, schematics, and hardware specifications emerged from manufacturers in China that were detailed enough for a YouTuber to 3D print a mockup of the new console. Since then, corroborating evidence has accumulated to the point that only a handful of mysteries remain (mainly, what the new button, extra USB-C port, and optical sensor are for). We even have a good idea of the color combinations.
That's an unprecedented amount of data on a console that hasn't even been announced yet. What happened?
In all likelihood, it is a simple matter of time. Reports indicate that Nintendo originally planned to release the Switch 2 in 2024, but delayed it until 2025 to allow time to finish new games and build up enough inventory to avoid stock shortages. But this delay must have posed a dilemma for the company. If it announces the new console in 2024, it could have the knock-on effect of thwarting original Switch sales during the crucial Christmas period.
This hadn't been a concern when Nintendo announced the original Switch with a video in October 2016: the Wii U was a sales failure and Nintendo was eager to move on. But the Switch still sells in huge numbers to this day, and it seems like Nintendo probably felt that announcing its next move wasn't worth the potential impact on revenue.
This strategy is consistent with Nintendo's decision to reveal a detail about the Switch 2 before the holidays: that it would be backwards compatible, thus assuring players that Switch games were still worth purchasing.
Nintendo's strategy took its preparations for Switch 2 in opposite directions. On the one hand, it apparently wanted a late announcement and short promotional campaign to protect Switch sales. On the other hand, it supposedly wanted a long manufacturing period before launch to build up a good amount of stock. This resulted in an unusual situation: Nintendo was likely preparing for full production of the Switch 2 months before the console was announced. What appear to be final retail units have even started to appear on the market, all before an announcement is made.
So why would Nintendo (a company famous for its secrecy and litigation that simply love a takedown notice – did it seem to do anything to squash the leaks? This is essentially unknowable, and Nintendo will likely never say it. But it seems likely that Nintendo management was fully aware that leaks were an inevitable consequence of this launch strategy and decided to accept them, in this case, as the cost of doing business.
The good news is that, once the Christmas sales period is over, we can probably expect an announcement very soon. More than that: the Switch 2 is a tangible reality. It exists; It's being done right now. That doesn't necessarily mean its release is imminent. But it may not be too far away.