After yesterday’s confirmation that Nintendo of Europe would be discontinuing the Switch 1 in 2027, the company has now clarified that the original Switch model will still be manufactured in North America and Japan, at least for the time being. In a statement to IGN, the company wrote, “We plan to continue selling Nintendo Switch in regions outside of Nintendo of Europe.”
While no reason was given for the discontinuation, it likely is happening because 2027 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Switch’s launch. Specific console generations are lasting longer than ever nowadays, but ten years is still quite a feat when it comes to aging hardware. The original Switch was never cutting edge to begin with, and in 2027, it will be positively ancient in terms of performance. Even still, older consoles have a place in history, and with game libraries now expanding into the thousands of games, it would be a shame to lose older hardware if something is locked to it.
Thankfully, the Switch 2 plays something like 99% of Switch 1 games perfectly fine. There are a few outliers, but Nintendo has done well with its backward compatibility support for the system. I imagine more people would be upset by Nintendo of Europe’s decision if Switch 1 games couldn’t be played on its successor.
Check out more Switch content
Nintendo Switch 1 to be discontinued in Europe in early 2027
Takashi Tezuka states he’ll still be involved with Nintendo despite retiring from the company
Original Tekken coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this week as the latest Arcade Archives release
Leave a Comment
Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
