Nintendo could be planning a new Switch console to boost what looks to be slowing hardware sales for 2019.
The Japanese gamemaker has started working with manufacturers to build a smaller and cheaper version of the Switch that could hit store shelves this year, Nikkei is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans. The report doesn’t shed much light on exactly what Nintendo has planned, but it suggests that the new console will focus more on portability, according to The Verge, which earlier translated the Nikkei report.
Nintendo’s Switch has proven to be one of its most popular consoles ever. The device can be placed in a dock attached to a television for living room playing or taken with you on the road for mobile gaming. Nintendo said in its last earnings call this week that it’s sold 32.2 million Switch units since the device launched in 2017. The company also posted its best quarter for Switch sales in the fourth quarter.
However, looking ahead, Nintendo said that things might not be so rosy. The company cut its Switch sales forecast from 20 million units to 17 million units for this fiscal year.
To keep its price down, the new Switch could ditch the dock that connects it to the television, making it more of a portable companion, according to the report. A smaller footprint, which also seems likely, could help to keep its costs down, as well. The report didn’t cite any possible pricing or availability.
Nintendo did not immediately respond to a Coins2Day request for comment on the report.