An SoC manufacturer appears to be hinting at the arrival of the Nintendo Switch successor early in the year 2024, based on the latest information.
Chinese SoC manufacturer PixArt, which previously built the SoC powering the Nintendo Switch JoyCon sensors and hardware components featured in the Wii and Wii U before it, has stated in its latest financial report that a brand new game console from a Japanese company it is supplying parts to will be launched early in the year 2024, suggesting that it may be the Switch successor.
The launch of a new game console early next year rules out the possibility of a PS5 Pro or the Project Q handheld device, as the latter is set for release later this year in 2023 while the former is unlikely to see the light of day before Fall 2024. This leaves us with the only other major Japanese console manufacturer i.e. Nintendo. The source mentions a new console that “has not been seen for many years”, which could only be referring to a new Switch model or successor. However, only time will tell whether the launch estimate of early 2024 is accurate.
Previously, as part of the on-going case between the FTC and Microsoft over its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, judge Corley’s written ruling mentioned that Call of Duty is scheduled for release on a unreleased Nintendo Switch model that is currently in development. This suggested that the next console from Nintendo may be an iterative version of the Switch rather than a full fledged successor.
The ruling stated that the only apparent defects the FTC had identified with regards to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King was that, in its view, Microsoft was not omniscient and had not developed the ability to tell the future. Furthermore, it cited standard contractual provisions about “unanticipated and unforeseeable future events” and Microsoft’s commitment to making Calling of Duty available on an in-development Nintendo Switch model.
