During an investor Q&A in Japan this week, Nintendo has apparently admitted that transitioning to a new generation of consoles when the Switch has run its course remains "a major concern".

Given the disastrous results of the move to the Wii U from the Wii some years ago, it's understandable why Nintendo would be worried, given the absolutely stellar continued performance of the Switch by contrast.

The aim on Nintendo's side is seemingly to ensure that users don't just feel tied to a single bit of hardware, but are incentivised to stick with Nintendo as a brand when it drops new tech.

Schemes like Nintendo Switch Online's subscriptions might help to tie people in more than they have previously managed, although continuing to put out classic titles in the Mario, Zelda and Pokémon franchises among others will likely also play a major role.

What this means for Nintendo's timeline on new hardware isn't clear, of course - after the launch last year of the Switch OLED there haven't been any hints as to when a proper follow-up console might arrive.

Another major question that will come up when such a device is announced will be whether it'll have backward-compatibility with Switch games, or if Nintendo is going to continue down the road of including this as part of its Online membership schemes.