According to wfftech, Nintendo intends to increase production of the Nintendo Switch in the new fiscal year that begins in April. And this is quite unexpected for a console near the end of its life cycle.
Nintendo seems to think that since the chip shortage is more or less over, they can already meet the demand to sell more consoles.
Analyst Kenji Fukuyama said in a statement that even if console supply improves, judging from recent holiday sales, the NS is not so strong, and people will soon begin to speculate about the launch of Nintendo's next-generation consoles and try to avoid buying older models, and the slowdown in NS sales momentum is inevitable.
Historically, however, sales of Nintendo consoles have been driven primarily by first-party exclusive games, and Fire Emblem Engage, although unlocked today, is not Nintendo's main IP. The only confirmed heavyweight IP in 2023 is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a game that will definitely drive NS sales up.
Wfftech said Nintendo's real ace may be Metroid Prime 4, which was originally announced during E3 2017 and rebooted in 2019. We don't know much about the game, but if Nintendo intends to launch Kingdom Tears and Metroid 4 in the same year, there's a real chance that NS sales will exceed analysts' expectations.
As for the successor model to the NS, Nikkei speculated that it may be launched in the second half of 2024, after all, Nintendo will still focus on the production of the NS in 2023.