Despite saying it is moving its focus to Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo still plans to develop original Switch games.
Earlier this week during the company's financial report, Nintendo said it is shifting its "primary development focus to Nintendo Switch 2", which is a fancy way of saying we probably won't be seeing massive releases like Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong coming to the original Switch in the future. However, the company has elaborated on this, saying the intent is still to develop games for the original Switch for the time being, presumably outside of the announced duo of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Rhythm Heaven Groove.
During a shareholders' Q&A session (translated by Automaton) following the report, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa says that the company has new titles planned for the original Switch. He notes that "with software development costs increasing and development cycles lengthening, it is becoming more difficult than ever to consistently release new titles."
He adds that Nintendo "would like to recommend Switch software" to Switch 2 owners who missed out and that "we believe that maintaining the momentum of our Switch 2 business will depend on balancing the release of new titles with ensuring that staple titles continue to be enjoyed for a long time." Nintendo director and senior managing executive officer Shinya Takahashi also uses the upcoming Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 3.0 as an example, saying that updating past releases helps with the lengthened development time while giving older games a new lease on life.
Thanks to the backwards compatibility of Switch 2, this is a far less troubling issue than when Nintendo kept pumping out 3DS games after the Switch launched. While the 3DS' late-game library consisted mostly of remakes and ports like Luigi's Mansion, Captain Toad, and Metroid: Samus Returns, each announcement was met with frustration that it wasn't on Switch. Plus, late 3DS title Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey was such a flop that developer AlphaDream no longer exists.
At the very least any late Switch releases will be available on Switch 2. And considering we're still seeing games being released for the PS4 and Xbox One over a decade later, I suspect the Switch will see a similar level of releases in the coming years.
Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto says one of the reasons Pokemon Red and Green were made was because creator Satoshi Tajiri joked Mario couldn't be surpassed unless fans were sold 2 copies of a game.
