Nintendo is planning a seamless transition from the Switch to the next console with Nintendo Accounts for gamers

Nintendo plans to give Switch gamers a “seamless transition” to the next console with Nintendo Accounts.

Speaking through investors Question and answer sessionTranslated by Genki on Twitter (below), Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has indicated that Nintendo Accounts will be a staple for users in the future.

“In terms of transitioning from Nintendo Switch to the next generation device, we want to do everything we can to seamlessly transition our customers while using a Nintendo Account,” he said.

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa says they plan to make a seamless transition for customers from Nintendo Switch to the next generation console with a Nintendo Account!

There are currently 290 million Nintendo Accounts across console and mobile.https://t.co/Y9O8vmeySz pic.twitter.com/OrIYQ1K5XU

Genki (@Genki_JPN) June 27, 2023

Nintendo has not historically been known for a strong or consistent online infrastructure as Nintendo Accounts were only offered with the Switch. The Wii U and 3DS both used a Nintendo Network ID, and although they could be connected to the modern service, the transition was far from smooth by many.

There are now more than 290 million Nintendo accounts in use across console and mobile, Furukawa said, however, which seems to give the company a solid foundation on which to build next-generation infrastructure.

Thus, this would be a move similar to what Sony and Microsoft have been doing for years, with users’ PlayStation Network and Xbox Live accounts now moving between three generations of devices.

Conversations about Nintendo’s next-generation console have been slowly building up recently, with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot saying earlier in June that he regretted releasing Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope on the Switch, instead wishing he was waiting for a console successor. control.

Nintendo maintains that the Switch is good for at least another year, however, saying in May that a successor to the Switch won’t be released until April 2024 at the earliest. This comes despite declining Switch sales. The console sold nearly 18 million units in the last fiscal year, down from 23 million units sold the previous year and 28 million units the year before that.

Rumors surrounding a new console have been circulating for years, with even analysts unsure if Nintendo plans to launch a Switch 2 (for lack of a better name) as early as 2021. The new console is said to offer similar enhanced graphics to the PlayStation 4 and its Pro model. It has, but there is no official information regarding the next piece of Nintendo hardware yet.

Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter for IGN. He’ll be talking about The Witcher all day.