Ahead of Nintendo’s E3 2021 direct, the company attempted to manage expectations by establishing that it would focus on software mostly releasing in 2021. This means there was a few notable 2022 games, such as the newLegend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2trailer, and many hoped it meant theSwitch Prowasn’t off the table either.
After all, for weeks ahead of E3, there were rumors about theSwitch Propopping up everywhere. Some expected a 2021 release with an E3 announcement, but the latest rumors all point to a 2022 release. Either way, there’s a ton of questions surrounding the rumored hardware, and Nintendo President of Japan Shuntaro Furukawa recently answered a question regarding its absence.
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Specifically, an investor asked about the reports of the new Switch model appearing at the Nintendo Direct E3 2021. The Investor’s question ended on, “what are your thoughts regarding the news of new models such as this?” It’s a million dollar question, after all, with many asking about the exact same thing. While thespecs, price, and more about the Switch Pro have “leaked,” Nintendo hasn’t itself said much to the fact. Recently, Nintendo of America PresidentDoug Bowser also commented on Switch Pro rumors, saying little and suggesting that it could happen when the time was right.
Furukawa’s answer to the investor’s question was very similar to Bowser’s, stating “Our company uses Nintendo Direct to inform our customers about individual products at the appropriate time.” This corresponds with the company’s use ofNintendo Directsto emphasize upcoming games, and it does fit with the company’s approach to E3. Unfortunately, it’s mostly a non-answer as it doesn’t explain why the Switch Pro wasn’t at E3 or anything about it really.
Furuwaka continued, “To achieve that, we are constantly developing hardware, software, dedicated peripherals, etc., but we refrain from making comments on specific products still in development.” This statement itself is a bit of a non-answer as well, as it could be read in one of two ways. First off, it could suggest that Furuwaka is not commenting because the specific product in development is, in fact, the Switch Pro, but it’s more likely that it’s a sweeping generalization that could be applied to anything.
Regardless, there’s a lot of rumors and hopes regarding the Switch Pro, all of which are reliant on it actually existing. Given thatSwitch Pro itself is just a fan-invented namefor the hardware, fans should continue taking all rumors and murmurings about it with a grain of salt. It seems that, when and if Nintendo is ready, it’ll show off the new hardware and not a second before.
