A New Nintendo Switch Model Could Be Coming in 2019 (Report)

By Liz Lanier

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Nintendo might be giving consumers a new and improved version of the Switch console next year, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The planned new model is likely part of ’s push to sell more of the console. Already, Nintendo anticipates selling 20 million units by the end of the fiscal year. The popular portable console was and still is a bestselling system for the company, though sales have slowed, naturally, since 2017, its release year. Since its release, the Nintendo Switch has already sold over 19 million units .

Nintendo has, in the past, released different models of its handheld consoles. This was a shift from the major advancements in new consoles in the Game Boy days (from the original to the Game Boy Color to the Game Boy Advance, to the Game Boy Advance SP, etc.). In recent years, slighter changes and enhancements have been added through new models rather than whole new systems.

For example, the original Nintendo DS was replaced with a lighter and brighter DS Lite, which then had different screen and console sizes offered through the DSi and DSi XL. The succeeding console, the 3DS, similarly was offered in a 3DS XL model and even a 2DS, which lacked the 3D function.

Should this latest development follow Nintendo’s history, the new Switch model will offer the same capabilities overall with added enhancements, perhaps in LCD screen quality or some other incentive to push new sales of the console.

While the Switch already has an impressive collection of games, the addition of upcoming titles like “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” and “Pokemon: Lets Go, Eevee! & Let’s Go, Pikachu!” are sure to entice new players to make the investment in a new console this winter. Oh, and the upcoming bundles for those games probably won’t hurt sales figures either.