According to a report from the Wall Stree Journal, Nintendo is moving some of its production to Southeast Asia, and has also started production on two new Switch SKUs.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo has moved some of it’s manufacturing to a new location in Southeast Asia. This is apparently in anticipation of increase tariffs between China and America due to recent moves by the US government.
The same report cites people involved in the supply chain, who also say that the new manufacturing covers the current model of the Switch and two new models.
People involved in the supply chain said production in Southeast Asia has started for the Switch, including the current type and the two new models, suggesting Nintendo is getting ready to introduce them soon. They didn’t give specific volume figures but said Nintendo wanted to have enough units to sell in the U.S., the largest market for videogame consoles, when the new products go on the market.
It had been hoped that we might hear something about the new Switch models at Nintendo, but the company was clearly not ready to show off any new hardware yet. This news could mean that we see something very soon though, as there is a huge difference between this, a piece of hardware going into production, and where we are with the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
I imagine we will see some new hardware release along with Pokemon Sword and Shield, and there will more than likely be special editions of the console, with specific color schemes, to celebrate the release. Pokemon Sword and Shield is sure to be one of the biggest releases on the Switch to date, so it would just make sense to have new models available for people who may just be buying into the ecosystem for the first time.
Rumors have done the rounds for a while that Nintendo plan on bringing two new models of the Switch to the market. One is said to be smaller, going without the dock, and with the joycons as part of the main handheld, to target the portability market. The second is said to be a more powerful version of the Switch as we currently know it.
For now, all we can do is wait and see what Nintendo have in store for us.
