In the Nintendo Switch’s second year on the market, Nintendo apparently intends to focus on releasing new console peripherals rather than launching any kind of upgraded or revised hardware.
This information comes from a report in the Wall Street Journal, which states that sources have said Nintendo’s main focus is on better manufacturing and continuing to ship to meet the demand of the current Switch console.
Nintendo is known for releasing revised versions of its hardware - that DS lineup was pretty busy for a while - but if the Wall Street Journal’s sources are correct, the company is taking a different approach with the Switch. According to the report, Nintendo hopes that taking longer to release different versions of the Switch hardware will help to extend the console’s life cycle beyond the usual five to six year period.
Nintendo Stick
Instead, the report states that Nintendo is relying on “additional network-related features and peripherals to be attached to its USB Type-C port“ to keep sales strong in this second year.
Given that the Switch is only just turning one year old and its sales are still extremely strong - the total number of sales is expected to reach 17 million by the end of this month - there doesn’t seem to be any reason to release another version of the hardware.
While there can always be a slimmer form-factor or a larger screen, releasing a Switch 2.0 this year, or even next, would only dilute and confuse a product line that’s currently doing well.
Nintendo Labo is perhaps, then, the first of many peripheral experiments we’ll see from Nintendo this year.
