Amid a production transition resulting from the potential impact of international tariffs, a new report suggests that Nintendo has begun production on new Nintendo Switch models and may be preparing to reveal them soon. The Wall Street Journal reported on the news that Nintendo has opted to move some of its Switch production out of China and into Southeast Asia due to the threat of U.S. tariffs being imposed on electronics from the company. That same report hinted at the future of the Switch and when we might hear more about it.
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It was The Wall Street Journal who first broke the news back in March that Nintendo was reportedly working on two new Switch models. One of those would be a more powerful version of the existing Switch while the second would theoretically be geared more towards casual gamers.
Whether those Switch models are still planned or not and the specifics surrounding them remain unconfirmed, but The Wall Street Journal cited in its new report people who are “involved in the supply chain” and said production has begun in Southeast Asia for the Switch. More specifically, the production has begun on both the existing model that everyone can already buy as well as the new models. This suggests that the company might be preparing to reveal the updated versions of the Switch soon, the outlet theorized, though the sources involved with the supply chain were unwilling to give volume figures pertaining to these Switches.
Nintendo didn’t share a comment with The Wall Street Journal regarding the new models, but it did say that the Switches are being produced mostly in China and that the company is always exploring options.
Whatever Nintendo has planned for the next steps in the Switch’s lifespan, it didn’t have anything to share about that during its big E3 conference. Plenty of announcements were made that pertained to everything from The Legend of Zelda to Luigi’s Mansion, but there were no hardware announcements. Nintendo has said in the past that it had no plans to announce anything related to hardware during E3 2019 and doubled down on that later by saying it would be a software-focused presentation.
Nintendo hasn’t hinted at its plans for the Nintendo Switch, but look for some announcements in the future assuming they are gearing up for a reveal as some have suggested.
