July 6 update: Nintendo has announced the Nintendo Switch OLED; a Nintendo Switch Pro is not in the works, at least not yet.

The Nintendo Switch Pro exists in a strange state of limbo, with a number of unconfirmed leaks and rumors making it seem very real, but then Nintendo has been extremely tight-lipped about the hardware they are working on. Until now.

During a recent shareholder Q&A, one of the company's investors managed to get a little more from Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa.

"It was widely reported that a new Nintendo Switch model would be announced at E3 this June, but no new model was announced at Nintendo Direct E3 2021," the investor said, reported Kotaku." What are your thoughts on these new model news?"

Unfortunately, even a question as direct as this is easy for a seasoned executive to dodge, and Furukawa dodged it like a pro. He replied, "We use Nintendo Direct to inform our customers about individual products at the right time."

"To that end, we are constantly developing hardware, software, and dedicated peripherals, but we refrain from commenting on specific products that are still in development."

"We are always looking for ways to improve our products," he said.

To be generous, one could say that "we are constantly developing hardware" is a tacit admission that the much-rumored Nintendo Switch Pro is still in development. It's not a "no" after all, but really the phrase is vague enough to refer to anything.

After all, the history books are littered with potential Nintendo products that never saw the light of day, from the Nintendo PlayStation to the original plans for the Wiimote as a Gamecube accessory.

Nevertheless, there are many reasons to believe that the Switch Pro is a reality and will appear relatively soon. In addition to being spotted on retailer listings, a person "familiar" with Nintendo's plans has said that a new version with a 7-inch OLED screen capable of 4K output when connected to a TV is in the works.

Should we be alarmed that such a product was not announced at E3 2021? Not really. Nintendo has not had a dedicated presence at E3 since 2013, preferring to make its announcements in its own Nintendo Direct recordings. And since the company can do these whenever it wants, there is no real reason why the Switch Pro should have appeared at E3 this year.

Of course, even if the rumor is correct and the Switch Pro is in development, and that is the company's plan, there is no guarantee that it will appear this year. With the ongoing chip shortage, such a guarantee is truly a matter of luck, and may be another reason why Nintendo is reluctant to officially announce its plans in the hardware arena, as avid gamers might hope.