The Real Truth About A Switch Pro Release

Rumors are the cousins of lies: Tell them often enough, and audiences will start to believe they are true. While some rumors hide a kernel of truth, most are as reliable as a bridge made of tissue paper, especially when an official statement rains on its parade. Case in point, the Nintendo Switch Pro. Switch Pro rumors have come and gone for the past several years with little to no impact. For example, design specs for a potential upgraded console were leaked shortly before the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 hit store shelves, but the Switch Pro ever appeared. That's because, according to Bloomberg, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa "doesn't plan to announce a new Switch model anytime soon."

This news came during an earnings report. Nintendo had announced a profit of $2.2 billion and sold 11.6 million Switches during the holiday season in spite of industry hardware shortages. More importantly, Switch software sales were boosted significantly thanks to games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which provided some much-needed escapism from the realities of pandemic lockdown. Nintendo believes it will sell 26.5 million more Switches over the course of 2021, but not due to an upgraded console. Instead, the company is confident that gamers will continue to buy more Switch and Switch Lite consoles, and it doesn't need a Switch Pro just yet. Bloomberg disagrees with this optimism.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Matthew Kanterman and Jitendra Waral, 2020 will mark the "high watermark" of the Switch's life cycle, unless Nintendo can provide something new. A Nintendo Switch Pro is obviously at the top of that list. Of course, new games such as Breath of the Wild 2 might also help keep the gamer interest train a chuggin'. After all, the world is still in the middle of a pandemic, and industry analyst Serkan Toto claimed, "The Switch has turned from being a console to a lifestyle product 'tailor-made' for Covid-19 times."

The realization that a Switch Pro is as far away now as it was when rumors first surfaced shouldn't be surprising. In 2020, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser told Polygon that Nintendo will run with the "momentum" it currently has and focus on its existing consoles. Despite third-party views to the contrary, Nintendo executives are confident that the company can coast on its existing success and "manage the life cycle differently."

Of course, Doug Bowser's and Shuntaro Furukawa's statements don't rule out the possibility of Nintendo working on a Switch Pro, just that Nintendo isn't in a rush to release one. As Shigeru Miyamoto once said, "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad." The same possibly applies to game consoles.