Despite the myriad rumors over the past few months, Nintendo seemingly has no plans to launch a new Nintendo Switch in the foreseeable future. According to a recent report by Nikkei, the firm is facing a multitude of component shortages for the manufacturing and production of Nintendo Switch consoles. Thus, there are no internal strategies for the current fiscal year ending in March 2023 to debut any upgraded Nintendo Switch model, not at least until the Japanese video game company can turn around its components deficiency.
Shuntaro Furukawa, Nintendo's president, explained to Nikkei that the current goal is to amend these constraints and ensure the production of the Nintendo Switch remains on track. As it stands, the company has a grand total of three main Nintendo Switch models, the V2 original with a dock and handheld mode, the upgraded Nintendo Switch OLED model, and the handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite.
The aforementioned Nintendo Switch Lite first debuted in 2019 primarily intended for the casual market, given its lighter price tag of $200 and only-handheld mold. The firm's bumped-up version, the Nintendo Switch OLED, acts as a beefier version of the base console, utilizing much more screen real estate, a built-in LAN port, and enhanced audio. It launched initially last October 2021 and, as of May 2022, has already sold a whopping 5.8 million units.
Still, while it may have a good assortment of hardware and even some renowned Nintendo Switch games on the horizon and in its existing catalog, Nintendo is struggling to maintain its momentum. The firm's more recent financial results, released earlier this week, prove the Nintendo Switch, despite having surpassed a total of 111 million consoles sold, is starting to wane in sales as the semiconductor shortage takes hold.
Nintendo has not yet updated its current year estimates for Nintendo Switch sales, but the firm did remain rather positive in its overall demand outlook, citing that the console "remains stable in all regions." Even so, as the Nikkei report highlights, "demand for "staying at home" under the new coronavirus is slowing down." Add this to the fact that the future economic prospects are proving rather grim as inflation upends finances globally. The outlook for Nintendo is at odds.
Rumors of a potential upgrade to the Nintendo Switch have long been circulating for years, with many coining this new model, the Nintendo Switch Pro. That is, however, not to be confused with the already-existing Nintendo Switch Pro controller. A more recent report out of ComicBook.com highlights a hardware upgrade that is slated for the end of this year, which now goes against the words of Nintendo president Furukawa. The rumor stems from Twitter user Pixelpar, who claims that "a new model could be announced towards the end of the year."
It is possible that this is the case, yet it may also be implausible. The plausibility stems from complaints surrounding the reveal trailer for the next mainline Zelda game, titled Breath of the Wild 2. Many in the community complained about the trailer's showcase of a game running on a mere 30 fps, comparing the sequel to its predecessor with worries that the base Switch would not be able to run the game properly.
Yet, with Breath of the Wild 2 still quite a ways away, debuting sometime in the Spring of 2023, it's in line with expectations that a new Nintendo Switch console could be revealed or even released following March of next year. Software still slated for release in the next few months remaining of 2022 are Mario Rabbids 2, Bayonetta 3, Splatoon 3, and the highly anticipated Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
