Reports suggest next-generation Nintendo console dev kits are out in the wild, could release in 2024

Reports suggest we might very well see the next-gen Nintendo console as early as next year. Now quickly approaching the seventh year since the introduction of the Nintendo Switch, rumors were bound to start surfacing on the next-gen Nintendo console. We having been teased with a Nintendo Switch Pro for years already that never came to fruition – although you could argue that was always going to be the OLED model that eventually did see the light of day – and now the rumor mill is turning its attention to the next-generation of Nintendo hardware. 

Next-gen Nintendo console coming in 2024?

New reports cite multiple sources with knowledge of Nintendo’s plans and suggest the next-generation console could hit as early as the second-half of 2024. VGC says key Nintendo partners already have development kits for the new console right now. 

As expected, not much is known about the console. But it does sound as though it will be, at least in part, similar to Switch with both a portable on-the-go setup and at-home big screen gaming. It is also said to carry an LCD screen, as opposed to the OLED setup we saw Nintendo update its lineup with late in the Switch cycle, in order to keep costs down. 

It looks as though Nintendo will also be sticking with physical media for its next-gen console in the form of something similar to the cartridge slot we see now – many suggest the use of home consoles with physical media is on the way out, but it’s hard to imagine Nintendo giving that up this soon.  

Beyond that, it’s mostly speculation. 

Nintendo tends to jump to its next-generation of gaming somewhere in between the usual Sony and Xbox releases. This has been a mostly successful strategy for the brand and a 2024 launch of the next-gen Nintendo console would fit nicely in that regard. It would also make sense to see a second-half of the year release, giving developers as much time to bolster the launch lineup before it hit store shelves ahead of the holiday season next year. 

But only time will tell now. Are you ready for the next-generation of Nintendo hardware? Or do you think Switch has the legs to go another couple years?