Nintendo’s affordable Switch gaming console to launch in June: Report

Japanese consumer electronics and video game company Nintendo will reportedly launch a more affordable version of its Switch gaming console in June 2019. This is completely in line with previous rumours that have also suggested that the company is working a budget variant of its portable gaming console.

The report which claimed that Nintendo Switch will be launched in June first surfaced on Bloomberg. But then, it is not clear as of now what changes the company will be adding to its portable console. However, it has also been speculated that the new Switch will come with a smaller display or remove the dock capability completely for a device that can work with smartphones.

Till now Nintendo has not released the official numbers for the last fiscal year, Bloomberg has said that according to analysts the company has shipped 17.5 million Switch consoles. The number would beat Nintendo’s revised estimate that said that the company will be shipping 17 million units. However, it is still short of the original 20 million consoles goal.

A more affordable model of the Switch will help in enhancing the sales of the company. We should mention that Nintendo has also used this strategy in the past with its 2DS, and it did work back then for the company as it opened up the console’s vast library of games to customers and they had to pay less for it.

In addition to this, the report also says that the existing Switch will be getting a “modest upgrade” later this year. As we mentioned earlier, this is in line with the that appeared in The Wall Street Journal last month and said that the company will be launching a new model of Switch with “enhanced features targeted at avid video gamers.”

Coming back to Bloomberg’s report, it also said that “a more powerful version” of the Switch gaming console is not something that the company is working on at this time. So, whatever the company will launch in the next few months, it is not wise to expect a drastic upgrade in the performance.

It has also been reported by Emily Rogers on ResetEra that Nintendo may have plans of launching as many as 12 games for its Switch gaming console this year. Among these, three games are set to be launched as eShop-only titles, one as Nintendo Labo kit and two as Wii U ports. The remaining six games that Nintendo plans to launch this year are big retail games.