Nintendo has once again committed to releasing a new console before the end of this century.
In a recent presentation to investors, the company outlined its 'future outlook', stating that "Nintendo plans to continue to expand its business around the core concept of creating unique integrated hardware software products." A simple timeline outlines previous attempts, from the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii in 2004 and 2006, to the Nintendo Switch in 2017.
The timeline continues after that, but provides little more to go on. A single question mark fills the space where the company's "next gaming system" would appear on the slide, with the attached date reading just '20XX'. That means that Nintendo's happy to commit to new hardware on or before December 31, 2099, but doesn't necessarily want you to think it'll arrive this decade.
This isn't the first time this particular slide has been shared, but Nintendo's apparent desire to keep its hardware plans hidden is becoming increasingly strange the older the Switch gets. Nintendo does appear to have moved away from the generational approach set by Microsoft and Sony, but while Switch sales remain relatively strong, the console is starting to lose ground to the PS5.
With the Nintendo Switch OLED already available and rumours around a Nintendo Switch Pro continuing to swirl, it's probably only a matter of time until Nintendo unveils its next console, but until now, it looks like we're just going to have to wait.
While you're waiting, here's our list of the best Switch games.
