A former Nintendo employee has predicted the Switch 2 will launch in June, with a release date announcement due in the forthcoming Direct in April.
The employee, known only as Sean, was sales lead in Nintendo’s sales and retail department and appeared on the Kit and Krista podcast – also former Nintendo employees.
“They’re going to want the system to be out before the end of the summer,” said Sean, discussing a potential release date for Switch 2. “I would say at the start of the summer – end of school year, so you’ve got the kids in school talking about what they’re excited for.
“I think we’ll see a June launch, I’m thinking probably mid-June, maybe a little bit later than that. But definitely before the end of the summer that thing’s coming out.”
There are “good strategic reasons” for this, he said, from that end of school year point, to the ability for retailers to sell Switch 2 bundles at Christmas time. If the console launches at the end of the year, it means “something wasn’t ready”, Sean suggested.
It’s worth noting that Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2 hands-on tour begins in April and ends in June, too.
Another point of discussion in the podcast was the price point, specifically the upper limit.
“I can’t imagine it being too much more than $400… maybe $450 is the highest I can imagine,” said Sean.
That’s based on him not knowing the specific tech specs, though he’s “sure” the Switch 2 will have an Nvidia chip and be the next generation of the existing Switch chip. Further, he doesn’t think it will have an OLED screen as Nintendo will be making “trade-offs” to hit a specific price point.
What’s more, the original Switch likely won’t drop in price right away at Switch 2’s launch. “Don’t be surprised if Black Friday comes around and you can get an OLED Switch for a smoking good deal,” he said.
Sean also had some ideas to assist with pre-orders and the launch. That included using pre-orders to judge retailer allocation, but how can Nintendo know it’s a real pre-order and not a scammer? Sean suggested tying pre-orders to Nintendo Online accounts when purchasing direct from the company, either to prioritise those pre-orders or require it.
This is something Nintendo required for sales of its Alarmo clock, which Sean suggested was an intentional test ahead of Switch 2 pre-orders.
Another idea he had would be that consoles arrive with software preloaded on them, based on the games customers purchase. This is by no means confirmed, but just a cool idea he’d love to see implemented.
Lastly, Sean dispelled the myth that retailers had information now on Switch 2’s launch. Retailers know “nothing” at this point, he said, be that price or launch date. Any articles from retailers are just them guessing, not leaking actual information.
“When we know the launch date, that’s probably when retailers will know the launch date, or maybe a week or two in advance of that,” he said.
At the start of the month, Nintendo revised its financial forecast as it failed to hit sales targets with the current Switch, though president Shuntaro Furukawa said this wasn’t due to interest in the Switch 2.
A Nintendo Direct on the Switch 2 will take place on 2nd April, where we’ll presumably hear about the release date and price.
Until then, here’s everything we know about Switch 2.
