New Switch Model Next Year
Well, I'm a bit surprised. I haven't really heard that sales have been affected enough to really merit Nintendo putting in an effort. Though, perhaps they are simply slowly trending that way, or the company wants to do something while there is still some interest.
What boggles the mind though, is that the rumors thus far don't REALLY point to any much better hardware. The bulk of the rumor seems to focus on screen quality. Though, the suggested screen technology may also result in much better battery life. So, there is that I guess.
For me though, if Nintendo did such a minor refresh with no or no noteworthy performance tweaks. The only way it might impact my future buying would be if this release drives down the cost of the original model.
Unfortunately I don't see that happening. Nintendo seems to have no interest at all in releasing a cheaper Switch in North America. It was only a few months ago that they announced a version which shipped without a base meant for households with multiple devices. But it was only sold in their home country of Japan.
If they were really interested in boosting hardware sales elsewhere, they could simply release that same bundle elsewhere.
Which brings me to my prediction. If Nintendo releases new a Switch console next year AND it is fundamentally just an update on the display and not a substantial update on overall hardware. Then, it will simply replace the current Switch. There may be discounts on the original hardware until stock runs out.
If Nintendo doesn't improve the hardware in any other notable ways, then the cost to manufacture the current gen device will be substantially lower now than it was. I imagine a screen upgrade would simply bump the margin back to where it was. And, with no performance gains to speak of, there wouldn't be much excuse for a higher price tag on the new model. Nintendo wouldn't want the old model sucking sales out of the new one. Nor would they necessarily want it muddying the image going forward.
Nintendo treats hardware sales similar to Apple. Specifically, Apple before the point in time when they continued to sell older models. They know people can afford and will buy the "full price" model. So, they won't waste the effort.
If the new console ends up being markedly more powerful, and is effectively a new generation Switch with backwards compatibility. Then I think we're looking at a different story. I could then see the original Switch getting a permanent price cut with the new one slotting in either at the same price point as the current Switch, or, more likely at slightly a higher one.
Nintendo, historically, has no problem with 2 models of a console, as long as the more expensive one has a reason to buy it. Like support for new games which aren't guaranteed on the older hardware. But, they don't have a history of allowing such direct competition with themselves.
What boggles the mind though, is that the rumors thus far don't REALLY point to any much better hardware. The bulk of the rumor seems to focus on screen quality. Though, the suggested screen technology may also result in much better battery life. So, there is that I guess.
For me though, if Nintendo did such a minor refresh with no or no noteworthy performance tweaks. The only way it might impact my future buying would be if this release drives down the cost of the original model.
Unfortunately I don't see that happening. Nintendo seems to have no interest at all in releasing a cheaper Switch in North America. It was only a few months ago that they announced a version which shipped without a base meant for households with multiple devices. But it was only sold in their home country of Japan.
If they were really interested in boosting hardware sales elsewhere, they could simply release that same bundle elsewhere.
Which brings me to my prediction. If Nintendo releases new a Switch console next year AND it is fundamentally just an update on the display and not a substantial update on overall hardware. Then, it will simply replace the current Switch. There may be discounts on the original hardware until stock runs out.
If Nintendo doesn't improve the hardware in any other notable ways, then the cost to manufacture the current gen device will be substantially lower now than it was. I imagine a screen upgrade would simply bump the margin back to where it was. And, with no performance gains to speak of, there wouldn't be much excuse for a higher price tag on the new model. Nintendo wouldn't want the old model sucking sales out of the new one. Nor would they necessarily want it muddying the image going forward.
Nintendo treats hardware sales similar to Apple. Specifically, Apple before the point in time when they continued to sell older models. They know people can afford and will buy the "full price" model. So, they won't waste the effort.
If the new console ends up being markedly more powerful, and is effectively a new generation Switch with backwards compatibility. Then I think we're looking at a different story. I could then see the original Switch getting a permanent price cut with the new one slotting in either at the same price point as the current Switch, or, more likely at slightly a higher one.
Nintendo, historically, has no problem with 2 models of a console, as long as the more expensive one has a reason to buy it. Like support for new games which aren't guaranteed on the older hardware. But, they don't have a history of allowing such direct competition with themselves.
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