Summer is fast approaching, and with it, the Nintendo Switch 2 release date.

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Eight years after the release of the original Switch, it has cemented itself as one of the most successful console releases ever.

But while excitement for its successor could scarcely be higher, questions have been asked as to why Nintendo has opted to launch the console in June instead of the typical pre-Christmas period.

As it turns out, one of the reasons for this is that Nintendo views summer as the ideal time of year to capitalise on one of the Switch 2's unique selling points – its portability.

In an interview with NPR, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser elaborated on the company's rationale.

"It's the start of summer season, and obviously, with a Nintendo Switch 2, you have a device that can both play at home docked like a gaming console, or you can take it out of the dock and take it on the go," he explained.

"It's a perfect game [console] for summer travel," he added.

This isn't the first time Nintendo has released a console in summer, with other handheld consoles like the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance launching in the US in July 1989 and June 2001 respectively.

Of course, this isn't the only reason, with software also playing a major role in the decision.

"As we looked at the games that we had prepared and ready to launch with the hardware, we thought just was very good timing," he noted.

This may strike some as an odd reason for a June release, as the Switch 2's launch catalogue has come under some criticism for being fairly sparse.

While Mario Kart World represents the pick of the bunch, other major titles like Donkey Kong Bananza and Metroid Prime 4 are set to release later this year, instead of alongside the console.

Additionally, while it wasn't cited by Bowser as a contributing factor, it seems safe to assume that the looming threat of GTA 6 will have played a role.

With no release date, developers and even film studios are considering delaying releases in order to avoid a potential clash with the GTA 6 release.

With the game speculated to release in that pre-Christmas period that Nintendo may otherwise have targeted for the Switch 2 release, it would be a surprise if that hadn't had an effect in the decision to bring the launch forward, even if at the expense of its launch catalogue.

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Authors

Alex Raisbeck
Alex RaisbeckGaming writer
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