- The Switch successor was previously expected to be released in 2024
- Nintendo is delaying the console because it lacks a strong lineup of new titles
- Bloomberg reported that the new console may not ship until March 2025
Shares in Nintendo fell on Monday as the video game maker announced its latest console will not ship until after Christmas.
The Japanese firm was down almost 10 percent after it revealed it would delay the release of its Switch 2 console from the last quarter of 2024 to early 2025.
Investors are concerned the delay will result in poor earnings this year. Sales of the seven-year-old first-generation Switch have stalled and the delay means no replacement will be ready to meet holiday demand.
The current Switch console is around $300 plus tax. Analysts expect the new version to be $400 or more, and games will cost around $70 up from $50.
An announcement for the new console, which is yet to receive an official name, is now expected in six months.
Nintendo’s first-generation Switch was released in 2017 and after peaking in 2021 sales are now dwindling. Mario Kart has been a top-selling game
The company’s president Shuntaro Furukawa (pictured) did not address the delays directly during an earnings call
Mario has been a star character in Nintendo’s games since the 1980s
Some of Nintendo’s publishing partners were advised the game will not ship until March next year at the earliest, Bloomberg reported.
The original Switch was announced in October 2016 and released in March 2017. Although sales did not peak until 2021, when Nintendo sold almost 29 million units, they have been steadily declining since.
This year they are forecast to sell half that at just over 15 million.
The company’s president Shuntaro Furukawa did not address the delays directly during an earnings call but said Nintendo is looking to ‘maintain the momentum of the Switch business’.
The delayed release was caused by a shortage of first-party games ready to ship with the new console, according to the Video Games Chronicle.
Nintendo Co. was down almost 10 percent after it told game makers it would delay the next generation Switch until early 2025
Nintendo Switch can be used as a handheld device or plugged into a TV
Nintendo is behind famous video game series like Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda, with decades-old titles that now give the company enormous value.
To kickstart sales of a new console, it will need to release new games in conjunction with the new console.
Last year, Nintendo financed the blockbuster Super Mario Bros movie, which had a huge $377 million global 5-day opening, the biggest opening weekend ever for an animated title globally.
The company was ranked last week as Japan’s wealthiest company after filings revealed it had more than 11 billion in cash assets and no debt.