Nintendo's president Shuntaro Furukawa has claimed any successor to the Nintendo Switch would have to offer "new forms of entertainment" to consumers.

Speaking to Nikkei, via VGC, the exec explained that Nintendo is always researching new tech, despite the Switch only being at the midpoint of its lifecycle.

"The hardware and software development teams are in the same building, communicating closely and thinking about how we can propose new forms of entertainment," said Furukawa.

"In order to create a single piece of hardware, we have to do a lot of preparation several years in advance, so we are working without stopping. In the end, the deciding factor in whether or not to commercialise a product is whether it can create a new experience."

Nintendo's latest financial report confirmed that its flagship hardware had hit 80 million sales worldwide, officially surpassing the Nintendo 3DS.

The Nintendo Switch first hit the market in March 2017, and its popularity is still as palpable as ever.

Gametime

However, Furukawa went on to discuss games and how important they are to Nintendo as a company.

"The most important thing for us is to continue to provide new and interesting games," Furukawa said.

"The basis of Nintendo's game creation is to make it as intuitive as possible for anyone to play. We want to lower the barriers to play, and create many games that can be played by as many people as possible, including family members, through communication."

Over the past 12 months alone, the company has released several big hits, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The island-life title has sold 26.04 million copies as of September 2020.

Last night, Nintendo hosted its first Direct showcase for quite some time, during which there were some big announcements, including The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, Splatoon 3 and Mario Golf.