After the incredibly short lifespan of the Wii U (rest in peace), there was a lot of speculation about how successful theNintendo Switchwould be. Luckily, the new hardware has been a runaway hit with an exclusive catalogue full of game of the year contendors. As theSwitchcontinues to hit its stride, some industry insiders are starting to wonder just how long the console will stick around.
During a recent investor Q&A, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto suggested that it is likely that the Switch could exceed the usual five to six year lifespan thatNintendousually aims for with home consoles. Miyamoto explained that the console’s unique features should allow developers to hardness the machine’s power in the years to come…
“Nintendo also has a system in place whereby the software developers focus on these hardware features in their development efforts for the continuation of the Nintendo Switch business.”
The recent announcement ofNintendo Switch Labo Kitsclearly show that the company has lots of crazy ideas about what else the Switch is capable of. It’s hard to imagine what other features could arrive in the coming years, but the machine’s portability and convience definitely make it a piece of hardware that we can imagine carrying around for at least five more years.
The main thing that may hold the Switch back asSony and Microsoft move on to the next console generationis the machine’s ability to keep supporting third-party titles. Third-party support hasn’t been Nintendo’s biggest strength in the modern era of gaming, but the Switch has made some big strides in that area. The console is holding its own at this point, but it will be interesting to see if it could continue to do so five years down the line.
