According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo is working on two more models of their popular console, the Nintendo Switch. Though no concrete release date has been set, nor an official confirmation from Nintendo, rumours are that the two consoles could grace the shelves as early as this year. According to the report, the two models will be geared towards different types of gamers; one for the casual gamer and the other for the avid gamer.
The first model, tailored for the casual gamer, will see a decrease in functionality available in the current model of Switch. “To cut costs for the cheaper version, Nintendo plans to eliminate some of the functions used in the original Switch console, such as a vibration feature in its controllers, according to Nintendo suppliers.” While it is unlikely that the vibration feature is the only one to get the axe to cut costs, it is the only one specifically mentioned in the WSJ article. A “Switch Lite” was reportedly in the works earlier this year, though reports of the enhanced version seem to be new.
The second model will be a souped-up Switch to better accommodate the more hardcore gamers out there. According to an unnamed source who had some hands-on experience with a prototype for the new model, “You would be wrong to think the enhanced version is similar to what Sony did with PS4 Pro,” leaving the door for speculation on advanced features and changes open for discussion. While Nintendo was never the company to compete with Microsoft and Sony for the heart of the hardcore gamer, it will be interesting to see what types of changes are implemented into the advanced model.
According to the WSJ, “The new models are likely to be unveiled at the E3 videogame Expo in Los Angeles in June and possibly released a few months later, one person familiar with Nintendo’s plans said.” Unfortunately, the publication was not able to get a comment from Nintendo confirming the speculated timeline.