Rumors surrounding the release of the Nintendo Switch’s successor some time next year have been circling lately. These rumors, while unconfirmed, might just have been strengthened by Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser in a recent interview. Bowser also seemingly implied that Nintendo is hard at work to implement Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatibility.

In an interview with Inverse this morning, Doug Bowser discussed the Switch’s future and Nintendo’s general strategy for bringing games to their fans and staying in the conversation. As they got into conversation regarding Nintendo’s next console, Bowser made some intriguing comments about the company’s design philosophy:

Q. How — when you consider the idea of a successor to the Switch — do you think about helping those people who are on the console transfer to the next platform while reassuring them that the content and investment in the Switch will somehow transfer to its successor?

Doug Bowser: Well, first I can’t comment — or I won’t comment, I should say — on the rumors that are out there. But one thing we’ve done with the Switch to help with that communication and transition is the formation of the Nintendo Account. In the past, every device we transitioned to had a whole new account system. Creating the Nintendo Account will allow us to communicate with our players if and when we make a transition to a new platform, to help ease that process or transition.

Our goal is to minimize the dip you typically see in the last year of one cycle and the beginning of another. I can’t speak to the possible features of a new platform, but the Nintendo Account is a strong basis for having that communication as we make the transition.

There are a few inferences we can make here. For one, it sounds like Nintendo is putting an emphasis on ensuring that players transitioning from the Switch to the new console feel secure doing so. Calling out the Nintendo Account seems to imply that Nintendo wants the games associated with each user’s account to be accessible on their new platform, a process which would mark a first for Nintendo’s home console digital marketplace.

Second, Bowser referenced “the last year” of a console’s cycle, which hints pretty heavily at the fact that the Switch’s life cycle is coming to a close. Given that all the rumors point to a 2024 release for Nintendo’s next machine, this statement gives us a pretty strong indication that those rumors might hold water. It also lends to the idea of backwards compatibility. If Nintendo is looking to “minimize the dip” between consoles, they likely want players to feel like they can buy a Switch now without their game library being useless in a year. How can they do that? They can make their games backwards compatible.

As always, none of this is a hard confirmation of Nintendo’s plans, so take it all with a grain of salt. We’ll be sure to keep readers posted on any further updates or official announcements from Nintendo or elsewhere.

Even in its senior years, the Switch is still pumping out great games. You can check out our review round up for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which is apparently another instant classic from Nintendo, at this link.

Source: Inverse