Nintendo’s next console launched is allegedly on the horizon according to the Japanese financial paper Nikkei Asia. A source close to Nintendo told the newspaper that development on its next console “seems to be progressing well, but a product launch won’t happen before next spring at the earliest.” It’s unlikely that Nintendo will confirm these rumors in the near future, but considering its recent fiscal year earnings results, the likelihood of a new Nintendo console is rising.

In a press release Tuesday, it was reported that Nintendo Switch sales were to reach 15 million, a 3 million loss in sales compared to its previous year of 18 million. Additionally, the Japanese company expects its current fiscal year profits to fall to 340 billion yen, a full 21% drop compared to its previous year’s profits of 432.7 billion yen. Even with the inclusion of the estimated sales of The Super Mario Bros. Movie weren’t enough to bump up profits, despite its “unexpected success.”

“A portion of the movie’s box office revenues, and revenues from secondary use of the movie, such as Blu-ray DVDs, will be included in our IP-related revenues,” said Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa. ” It is more significant in the mid to long term that [the movie] will be a powerful touch point for people who have never picked up a game before to become fans of Mario and Nintendo.”

Tokyo Securities Gaming sector analyst Hideki Yasuda gave a statement on Nintendo’s decline in console sales, noting that even the 15 million sales projection is  “…a bit of a stretch.”

“In the history of our game console business, we have never seen 10 million units of hardware [still being sold] at this stage,” said Yasuda. “We are now in unknown territory.”

The Nintendo Switch has been in circulation for six years, and as time has gone on, it has become clear that its high sales wouldn’t last forever. As pointed out by Nikkei Asia, Nintendo generates most of its profit from console and video game sales, it needs a new console to offset that loss of sales, a fact that many within the industry agree with.

Nintendo Switch sales are down overall 22% year over year, but OLED models are up 59%. While Switch sales have peaked and will continue to decline, there’s clearly demand for better hardware here. Nintendo now says no new hardware for 2023, so all eyes now on 2024? pic.twitter.com/qvw1eVQ21j

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) May 9, 2023