Here’s a look at the question and answer in full (translated via Google):
I would like to ask about the positioning of the Nintendo Switch 2. Will the new hardware be similar to the Nintendo Switch, or is the Nintendo Switch 2 a bridge to an innovative next-generation console that has yet to be announced? The Nintendo Switch 2 doesn’t seem to have much of a generational revolution. Is this just a one-off, or will the plan be to continue the concept of the Nintendo Switch and update each function in the future, rather than releasing hardware with a completely new concept?
Furukawa: Development of the Nintendo Switch 2 began as an official in-house project around 2019, but we are always researching and developing new hardware, including basic technical research. The Nintendo Switch has been blessed with many good fortunes, and even in its ninth year, many customers are playing it. On the other hand, over the past eight years, software developers have come to need higher hardware processing performance in order to realize one of Nintendo’s most important values: “proposing new ways to play.” Therefore, this time we aimed to design hardware with a large capacity in terms of processing performance. We believe that games such as Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza offer new ways to play that were not possible on the Nintendo Switch.
As for the question about the innovativeness of the hardware, the Nintendo Switch 2 may not look like it has changed much in appearance. However, in fact, both the hardware and peripherals have been completely redesigned, and we feel that it is a very Nintendo-like product, filled with various creative ideas and the commitment of Nintendo’s development team to developing hardware and software together.
In the future, we will develop various titles centered on the Nintendo Switch 2 and provide new play experiences. We aim to make the Nintendo Switch 2 the new standard for Nintendo Switch by creating hardware that continues to surprise our customers.
Nintendo has forecast a total of 15 million Switch 2 sales over the course of the next fiscal year, with another 45 million software unit sales to boot. The console will launch globally on 5th June 2025.
