Nintendo Switch 2: Future of gaming could be a 'cloud console', company suggests
Nintendo 'must keep up', bosses say – but the future is not here just yet
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Your support makes all the difference.Nintendo could launch a new console that takes advantage of breakthroughs in gaming technology – but not until it is ready, it has said.
In recent months, companies like Google, PlayStation and Xbox have both stressed the potential of cloud gaming, which allows games to be played on any device by having the hard work of actually running the games to happen on a distant server. Systems like Microsoft's Project xCloud allow people to play along on their phone, while actually being connected to a bigger version of the Xbox at home, for instance.
Now, Nintendo says that it is thinking hard about such technologies and whether they could be useful in the Nintendo Switch, or a different version of it. Executives say that the technology is on its way and that Nintendo "must keep up".
"While we don't expect all games to become cloud games any time soon, the technologies are definitely advancing," said Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa at a meeting with shareholders. "We see a future where cloud and streaming technologies will develop more and more as a means of delivering games to consumers. We must keep up with such changes in the environment.
"That being said, if these changes increase the worldwide gaming population, that will just give us more opportunities with our integrated hardware and software development approach to reach people worldwide with the unique entertainment that Nintendo can provide."
Shigeru Miyamoto, the Nintendo director who created Mario and Zelda, said that cloud gaming will grow – but that it might arrive alongside, rather than instead of, traditional consoles.
The company has already worked to allow people to play across a variety of different contexts with the Nintendo Switch, which lets people run games either on their TV or on the move.
“I have no doubt that there will continue to be games that are fun because they are running locally and not on the cloud,” he said. “We believe it is important to continue to use these diverse technical environments to make unique entertainment that could only have been made by Nintendo.”
The company suggested that it will take a similarly cautious approach to subscription models. Those are another common topic in the gaming industry, with companies increasingly moving towards asking people to pay recurring fees for access to games rather than buying the games themselves.
"Subscription-based services are becoming common in all sorts of industries, not just the games industry," said Furukawa. "Those sorts of services have already been implemented within the game industry and it was even a popular topic of conversation at this year's E3.
"Nintendo's policy is that we will consider whether each product we offer is suited to a subscription model as we expand our business in the future."
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