OSAKA, JAPAN — Nintendo revealed a new Switch game system on Tuesday with a larger, sharper screen and more internal capacity than previous models. The Switch’s so-called OLED model will be released on October 8th. It has a 7-inch screen, which is larger than the original Switch’s 6.2-inch LCD. Both systems are about the same size, thanks to the current model’s thinner bezel. The OLED model’s suggested retail price in Japan is 37,980 yen ($342), which is around 20% higher than the original’s. The TV-mode dock now incorporates a wired Ethernet connector for more stable online gaming. The OLED variant has 64 GB of internal memory, which is double the 32 GB of the original Switch. The new option has the potential to extend the Switch family’s lifespan. The original Switch was released in March 2017, followed by the Switch Lite in September 2019. Both types will be available in the future. As of March 31, total Switch sales had surpassed 84.59 million units. Because of the pandemic, they had record-breaking unit sales of 28.83 million units that fiscal year, thanks to stay-at-home demand. In the current fiscal year, Nintendo expects Switch sales to fall 12% to 25.5 million devices, but the new model may drive an upward revision. The Kyoto-based firm has informed a number of component suppliers that it intends to create a record 30 million devices this fiscal year. However, the worldwide semiconductor shortage continues to be a source of concern. Adding a third Switch version will almost certainly make securing reliable chip supplies much more difficult. The scarcity means Nintendo won’t be able to create all of the items it wants, and production plans are more unclear than in previous years, according to Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa, who spoke on an earnings call in May./n
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