At this point, it seems like Nintendo could sneeze and it would fuel speculation that the company is preparing to launch a follow-up to the Nintendo Switch, and sure enough, yet another curious move by the company has people anticipating the Switch 2 is going to be announced any day now.
This time, Nintendo's curious move is the discontinuation of physical copies of several highly popular Switch games. Spotted by Nintendeals and sussed out by users of ResetEra, these include games like Super Mario Odyssey, Fire Emblem Engage and Metroid Dread (full list shown below).
Naturally, this has led many to question why Nintendo seems to be removing some of their most popular titles from shelves.
A popular theory is that Nintendo may be prepping to brand these games with a "Greatest Hits"-style banner on the cover art. Others have said that these games will be rereleased physically so that they're compatible with both the Nintendo Switch and the console's rumored successor.
If that's the case, it's notable that usual party game hits for Nintendo like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate aren't on the list, which could indicate that both series are getting "Switch 2"-exclusive titles.
It may also simply be another strange move from Nintendo. According to President Shuntaro Furukawa, the company is not planning to announce the Switch's follow-up before March 31st, 2024, at the earliest. There have also been plenty of odd "moves" that have fueled speculation about a Switch 2 in the past that so far have not led to the console's imminent announcement.
In October, Nintendo removed the original reveal trailer for the Switch from YouTube, causing rampant speculation, but three months later, there is still no Switch 2. A month earlier, they held a Direct that had no announcements of new major IPs, making some believe the bombshell announcements were being saved for the Switch 2.
Whatever the case is, it seems likely we'll have to wait several more months before we'll have confirmation if any of these interesting business practices really are indicators of the next console from Nintendo.