If you’ve been following our coverage of the Switch these past few weeks, then you’ll know that earlier this year some rumors have started surfacing with regards to a planned follow-up to the Nintendo Switch; two of them, in fact. A report from the Wall Street Journal has stated that these two models will be aimed at two separate markets: the casual players will get the cheaper, smaller Switch; while the much more avid players will get a Switch with more powerful hardware, reportedly to handle better graphical performance on different games.
This story gained traction just last week when Japanese publication Nikkei reported that the smaller and cheaper version of the Switch will be made available to the public sometime this fall, which falls in line with the Wall Street Journal’s previous report. What’s different is it now has a time frame, while the previous report has none.
Another report from Nikkei earlier this year goes into detail on what to expect from this ‘smaller and cheaper’ Nintendo Switch. The Japanese publication states that it will carry less functionality than the original Nintendo Switch, but will be more oriented towards portably play. However, one thing that won’t change is its ability to hook up to a TV. This report also offers some new information regarding the more powerful Switch, stating that it has met some development challenges and is most likely going to be temporarily delayed.
The latest report, this time from Bloomberg, now offers some good and bad news regarding the Switch and its new models.
The report goes on to corroborate the earlier ones from both the Wall Street Journal and Nikkei, stating that the cheaper device would be launched sometime this June. This is earlier than what was initially stated as a fall launch. If this is true, then we can expect something big from Nintendo this E3, as the gaming event is held in June.
What the sources fail to provide is the exact pricing of the device, although they say that it will certainly be lower than the original Switch, currently available now for $299. This lite version would also be smaller, and may lack the dock, which contradicts the original report from the Wall Street Journal.
The bad news, however, is that the sources claim that the earlier rumors about there being a more powerful Switch in the works are false. According to them, there is no such console currently in development that’s different enough to be warranted another branding from Nintendo.
What may have caused this confusion is the fact that Nintendo is indeed working on something, but it may very well be a very modest upgrade to the existing Nintendo Switch. It would most probably replace the current model on the market and is set to provide gamers with a substantial enough difference to notice without going through another model. It may also help with the performance of the Labo VR Kit.
That said, it’s just a short wait now until E3 comes around, and then we may finally get some substantial news with regards to the Switch and its future.
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UPDATE: In the process of writing of this article, a statement from Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa has been released in terms of the new Switch model's possible appearance during Nintendo's presentation at E3.
“As a general rule, we’re always working on new hardware and we will announce it when we are able to sell it,” he said during a recent earnings call, “but we have no plans to announce that at this year’s E3 in June.” (Source.)
While an announcement and launch on E3 has for now been written off, it may still be possible to see it in June, maybe even after the gaming event. We will cover the news as it develops.
