Shares of Japanese video game company Nintendo fell by more than 7% on Friday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, although at the close they moderated the decline to 4.2%, hours after showing in a video of just over two minutes its Switch 2 console, the successor to the best-selling Switch, indicating that there will be more details on April 2.
The new model is similar in concept and design to the current Switch, one of the most popular gaming consoles, according to the teaser video. The video didn’t reveal many details about the device, but it did show off a new version of Mario Kart and confirmed that it would be compatible with games from the original Switch. It also appeared to show a larger screen for the new console, a new button, and magnetically attached Joy-con controllers. The company said more details will be revealed in April.
Investors in Tokyo reacted with disappointment at the scant officially released information on technical specifications, price and exact launch date, after weeks of leaks had been driving the stock price higher. With details about the Switch 2 leaked before the unveiling, the positive impact of the reveal was dampened by the lack of surprise factor. “The stock fell because the Switch 2 was exactly in line with what was leaked before and lacked surprises,” Hideki Yasuda, a senior analyst at Toyo Securities, told Bloomberg. “But I expect the stock to rise again as investors focus on the launch date and price after the April 2 announcement,” he added.
Analysts at Smithers Associates said the April launch was “disappointing” as March would have been a better month to capture Japan’s key sales season, the spring school holidays.
The Kyoto-based company showed off its new console for the first time on Thursday in a two-minute, twenty-second teaser video in which it showed off the new platform’s appearance and announced its launch for 2025, but without specifying a date or giving further details.
The hardware’s appearance is very similar to that of the original platform and will maintain the hybrid feature of its predecessor, which can be used both as a portable device and as a desktop device, hooked up to a television, as can be seen from the images.
Nintendo announced a series of events around the world where users will be able to try out the Switch 2 on May 31 and June 1. That suggests an official launch date in June, said Robin Zhu, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.
Nintendo will publish one of its Nintendo Direct videos on April 2, in which it shows news, especially focused on the Switch 2, where it is expected to reveal more details.
Game developers are counting on Nintendo’s new platform to boost a sluggish industry that’s competing for users’ time with an ever-growing array of entertainment. Consoles in particular are struggling against increasingly popular PC gaming, leading to project cuts and staff layoffs across the ecosystem. Many game publishers are already lining up some of their best developments for the new Switch in hopes of winning back players.
The new console will also support the company’s online gaming services, Nintendo said in November, though it has now cautioned that some games won’t be playable on the new hardware. Consumers have eagerly awaited the announcement of a successor to the Switch, which faces more powerful and modern upgrades from rivals Sony Group Corp. and Microsoft Corp. Aside from the new hardware’s features, the focus is on Nintendo’s ability to meet demand at launch.
The Switch has sold more than 146 million units so far. But the loss of momentum for the nearly eight-year-old console forced Nintendo to cut its full-year profit and sales forecasts and post its fifth straight quarter of profit declines.
The announcement of the Switch 2 had generated great expectations and the videos shared by Nintendo on its various official accounts had accumulated more than 70 million views on social network X alone, twelve hours after its presentation.
