Nintendo may be working on developing original game franchises in an effort to become less dependent on the Mario and Zelda franchises.

In an interview with Japanese publication Nihon Keizai Shimbun (courtesy of VGC), Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa explained the company's plans to invest more in original games in the future.

Furukawa said, "Games are not a necessity of life. In order for customers to choose games in their limited time, they have to be interesting. Competition is tough and we cannot be optimistic.

"In the future, we will focus on creating new game series as well as long sellers like Mario and Zelda."

Nintendo has always had a wealth of game IP and has several huge franchises under its exclusive control. These include legendary series such as Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Animal Crossing. [Mario celebrated its 35th anniversary last year, and Zelda is celebrating the same milestone this year.

Splatoon is arguably Nintendo's most recent franchise and has become one of its core franchises. The first game in this colorful shooter series debuted on the Wii U in 2015, with a sequel released for the Nintendo Switch in 2017. Splatoon 3 was announced earlier this year with a 2022 release date.

Nintendo has released several original titles for the Switch, including ARMS and Ring Fit Adventure. However, it seems certain that the plan is to try a new series more often - while, of course, making sure that the flagship franchises that break into the bank account are continued.

In the same interview, Furukawa commented on the Switch's expected lifecycle: "I always say that the Switch's lifecycle is still in the middle, but you can play both console and portable games on one hardware, so there is a wide variety of software for it. The life cycle can still be extended."

Given that the Switch was originally released in 2017, it appears that Nintendo intends to keep using the system for at least another four years. Of course, we can't rule out the possibility of a mid-generation refresh like the Nintendo Switch Pro coming out much sooner.

Furukawa also spoke about current Switch inventory issues. He said that "some retailers may run out of stock in the future" and "in some cases may not be able to adequately prepare for orders."

While not abundant, Switch supplies have been fairly stable over the last year, although the initial lockdown following the coronavirus pandemic took a fairly significant hit on inventory levels.

However, it appears that finding a Switch to purchase in the coming months may become more difficult. So be sure to check our guide to where to buy a Nintendo Switch for the latest inventory information.