Cheaper Switch model could remove TV docking feature, report claims
Hardware revision expected to launch alongside a second, more expensive model
A cheaper Nintendo Switch hardware model designed to appeal to casual gamers could remove the system’s docking feature, which enables users to connect the console to an external display, it’s been claimed.
Citing multiple sources including “parts suppliers and software developers”, the Wall Street Journal recently suggested that two new Switch models could be unveiled as early as E3 in June — one offering “enhanced features targeted at avid gamers”, and a second, cheaper alternative created to attract the Nintendo 3DS market.
Backing up this report, Eurogamer sources claim the cheaper model will feature a sturdier “kid-proof” design, and that Nintendo has created its budget Switch “for an audience which uses it in handheld mode only”.
They say the console could drop Switch’s docking feature, which lets users play games on a TV screen, although the report questions whether users may still be able to connect the system to an external monitor via some sort of additional peripheral. A Nintendo spokesperson told the site the company wouldn’t comment on rumour and speculation.
Nintendo Switch sales had exceeded 32.2 million units by the end of 2018, the platform holder claimed in January.
At the same time, it said Nintendo Switch software sales stood at 163.6 million units, led by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (15 million), Super Mario Odyssey (13.8 million), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (12.1 million), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (11.7), and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu/Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee (10 million).
Major first-party games set for release on Switch in 2019 include Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Pokémon Sword & Shield, and Luigi’s Mansion 3.
