A report has surfaced regarding the release of a new Nintendo Switch for next year. This report comes from the Wall Street Journal and cites many inside sources from the Kyoto-based company for this information. This new release of the hybrid portable-console will not make massive changes, according to said insiders.
The report concerning this hardware refresh for the Nintendo Switch states that it will be releasing in late 2019, with a potential to come out in the summer. Additionally, the Wall Street Journal states that the main change for this new Nintendo Switch is going to be its display. The current version of the console uses a “lower-end liquid-crystal display” that is missing standard technologies found in modern smartphones. The report posits that the newer version of the hardware will try to improve on its screen. This will make it “brighter, thinner and more energy-efficient.” However, it is noted that it will not adopt an OLED screen as found in more premium devices such as the iPhone X.
The Wall Street Journal adds that Nintendo may be making this upgraded version of its console to “maintain [its]… sales momentum.” Nintendo Switch sales reached 1.97 million units sold in its release quarter. However, in the same quarter a year later it sold only 1.88 million. In addition to this, the company’s stocks have also plateaued. This dip in revenue and sales, according to the report, is leading the Kyoto based company to move “quickly to ensure its flagship product doesn’t lose competitiveness” by updating its hardware. It should also be noted that Shigeru Miyamoto, who is now a creative fellow at Nintendo, wants to make the Switch’s lifecycle to be longer than usual.
The Nintendo Switch released in March of 2017. It’s worldwide sales, as of June 2018, sits at 19.67 million units. This far exceeds the lifetime sales of its predecessor, the Wii U.
