Beyond knowing that the Switch 2 is a real thing, and that it won't come before April 2025, not much else is known about the successor to Nintendo's hybrid handheld/console. That said, it appears that the console will be entering mass production next quarter, which should bode well for a potential official reveal down the line.

Information about production comes via the CEO of Weltrend, a semiconductor manufacturing plant in China. According to its CEO, Lin Chongtao, the company expects initial shipments of new consoles in the third quarter. Specifically, according to a translated article from Universo Nintendo, "orders involving video game consoles will recover in the third quarter, including initial shipments of the new PlayStation 5, Xbox and Nintendo Switch models."

The "new" refers to the rumored PlayStation 5 Pro, along with the three announced Xbox Series refreshes, including a 1TB Series S in white, an all-digital Series X in white and an upgraded limited-edition 2TB Series X. Whatever Nintendo names the Switch successor would be the third "new" entry.

Mass production would indicate that the console's design is potentially finalized, which means Nintendo could be closer than ever to actually hosting a reveal. Savvy fans might remember that Nintendo did reveal the original Switch back in October 2016, with a release the following March. Perhaps the Switch 2 will follow the same path.





As mentioned at the top, information about the Switch 2 has been relatively scarce to this point. However, two interesting bits of information have come out in recent months, helping paint a better picture of what to expect come launch.

First, the console might end up running gamers $499.99 when it is released. Japanese analyst Hideki Yasuda recently said that he expects the cost to rise that high, and that the console could be less powerful than a PS4 Pro. It will, reportedly, be equivalent to Sony's last-generation console, but not in the power department.

Elsewhere, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa revealed that the company will be manufacturing consoles en masse to help prevent potential scalping. A semiconductor shortage was responsible for the shortage of next-generation hardware, as well as existing Switch hardware, though Furukawa said the situation has been resolved, which will allow Nintendo to produce sufficient numbers of consoles to meet the demand.

Those final bits of information have all come in the last month, so it would seem like news about the Switch 2 is trickling out faster than ever. Only time will tell when Nintendo is ready to pull off the band-aid.

Posted: Aug 21, 2024 11:31 am
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.thegamer.com/nintendo-switch-2-will-reportedly-enter-mass-production-in-a-few-months-next-generation-consoles/