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Nintendo has taken the wraps off a brand new Nintendo Switch that will hit store shelves on September 26, 2024. Unfortunately, it’s NO the console millions have been waiting for.
During a packed Nintendo Direct presentation broadcast on YouTube this week, the company unveiled a brand new entry in the The Legend of Zelda series, known as Echoes of Wisdomwhich will return to the top-down style of the previous adventures and feature Zelda as the playable hero.
The new title will be released worldwide on September 26, with Nintendo planning a special edition of its Switch Lite console to commemorate the launch. An early look at the keyboard during the launch revealed a gold color with black buttons and a small Triforce icon located under the right analog stick on the front. There is also a large Hylian Crest emblazoned on the back of the keyboard.
Aside from the great paint job, everything else about the Nintendo Switch console remains unchanged. Unlike the standard OLED Switch and Switch, which have detachable Joy-Con controllers that can be used wirelessly for multiplayer or when the console is connected to a TV, the more affordable Switch Lite is designed for gaming on the go.
It has a more compact design with a smaller 5.5-inch LCD touchscreen and 32GB of built-in storage… although this can be expanded via microSD card. You’ll get about seven hours of battery life before you need to grab the charger, though that varies depending on the title you’re playing.
Nintendo will launch a limited edition Switch Lite to celebrate the launch of the The Legend of Zelda:Echoes of Wisdom worldwide on September 26, 2024
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No word on UK pricing, but the latest limited-run Nintendo Switch Lite consoles – like Pokémon Dialga & Palkia Edition – retails for £199, the same RRP as the unthemed version of the handset, so we’d expect the new The Legend of Zelda repetition to achieve a similar price.
Elsewhere in the Nintendo Direct, we saw sneak previews of the Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Dragon Quest 3 HD — 2D Remake, Darkest Dungeon 2, Stray, AND LEGO Horizon Adventuresto name just a few.
But there was no sign of the feverishly anticipated sequel to the Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa promised in May that an announcement about the so-called Switch 2 would arrive before March 2025. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitterthe boss of the Japanese gaming giant said: “We will make an announcement about the successor to the Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been more than nine years since we announced the existence of the Nintendo Switch in March 2015.”
The Nintendo executive had already confirmed that this week’s presentation would focus on “software customization for the second half of 2024.” Nintendo broadcasts several trailer shows each year, with many of the titles appearing in the Direct presentations a complete surprise to viewers.
With less than a year until the Nintendo Switch 2 is announced, rumors are in overdrive regarding the Switch sequel. The latter is the second best-selling console EVER released by Nintendo, leading global sales of the Nintendo Wii, Game Boy and Game Boy Color, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and fast approaching the gold medal position currently held by the Nintendo DS.
The Sony PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling console of all time, with approximately 155 million units sold worldwide. By comparison, the Nintendo Switch has shipped 141 million – although it still has one last roll of the dice during the busy Christmas period with a host of new releases Zelda AND Mario titles (and a glossy new limited edition).
Whispers from the secretive Japanese gaming company suggest that its Switch sequel will have a larger 8-inch touchscreen, offer backwards compatibility for Nintendo Switch games, and feature redesigned Joy-Con controllers that slot into the side of the keyboard using magnets.
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This is Furukawa, the President of Nintendo. We will make an announcement about the successor to the Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will be more than nine years since we announced the existence of the Nintendo Switch in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct…
— 任天堂株式会社（企报広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) May 7, 2024
A more powerful processor to boost the handset’s resolution and graphics seems obvious, with Nvidia – the company behind the system-on-a-chip inside the current generation Switch – the most likely candidate.
Onboard storage is rumored to be 512GB, much closer to the Xbox Series S and a significant improvement over the 32GB and 64GB found inside the Switch and Switch OLED, respectively.