Sharp's admission that it's making LCDs for a new console points to Switch successor

[midian182]

What just happened? Talk of a Nintendo Switch successor has been around for a long time now, but the biggest hint yet that it is in development has come from an unlikely source: Sharp. The Japanese company said it was supplying LCDs for "a new gaming console."

Bloomberg reports that Sharp Chief Executive Officer Robert Wu said his company has been working closely with an unnamed firm on developing a gaming console since it was in the R&D phase.

Wu added that Sharp is planning to launch pilot LCD-panel production lines for the new device during its current fiscal year, which ends in March 2024.

Sharp's involvement in a Switch successor would make sense. It has worked with Nintendo in the past, including providing LCDs for DS consoles and helping assemble the Switch, notes VGC.

Will anything ever beat the PS2?

There have been plenty of potential references to a new Switch console in the past, including one in the UK government's Microsoft Activision acquisition files. Most people believe Nintendo is working on one, though it's unlikely to launch until next year. Nintendo itself suggested in its recent earnings call that it won't be launching any new hardware before April 2024.

News of Sharp's possible involvement comes as sales of the Nintendo Switch have started slowing. It sold 17.98 million Switch handhelds for the year ending March 31, a decline of 22.1% from the 23.06 million units sold last year. The forecast is pretty pessimistic, too, as it expects to sell 15 million consoles through the end of March 2024.

But the current Switch shouldn't be written off just yet. There's a reason why the hybrid has gone on to sell 125.62 million units despite only launching in 2017, making it the third best-selling console of all time behind the Nintendo DS and top-selling PlayStation 2. There's also the fact that the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has just launched to rave reviews, and plenty of other big titles, perhaps even Call of Duty if the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard deal completes, are in the pipeline.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/98656-sharp-admission-making-lcds-new-console-points-switch.html

 

[EdmondRC]

Switch is so successful that Nintendo really is faced with a dilemma in how to bring Switch 2 to the marketplace. Option 1 would be to bring it out as basically a Switch Pro, at least in the early years and wait for significant adoption before releasing titles that are exclusive to the new platform. Option 2 would be to treat it as Nintendo has previously with maybe a couple of launch cross-over titles, but then quickly move to supporting only the Switch 2. Both have pros and cons. Option 1 would likely reduce the adoption rate of Switch 2,but would keep software sales up. It would also potentially hold back Switch 2 capabilities. Option 2 would reduce software sales but likely increase adoption rate. The Switch itself is such a good design I don't see Nintendo making significant changes other than performance upgrades.

I really think treating it like a Switch Pro in the early years, especially if they enhance current Switch titles, would be the better option in the long run, but we'll see. Nintendo has never supported a console long after a new console is released, at least not with new software. I think with Switch 2 that won't be the case.

 

[passwordistaco]

I guess that means a step backward from OLED to LCD.

 

[EdmondRC]

I guess that means a step backward from OLED to LCD.

More likely multiple versions.