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Nintendo to launch budget and high-end Switch models this summer

Two new console variations will reportedly be announced at E3 this year

Nintendo to launch budget and high-end Switch models this summer

Nintendo is bringing two new Switch models to market this summer.

That’s according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which claims a cheaper model will launch alongside a high-end edition with more “enhanced features”.

The cheaper model will reportedly lean further into portability, removing vibration features and lacking detachable joy-cons. Nintendo reportedly views this as a successor to the near-decade-old 3DS.

Full power

Less detail is given on the supposed high-end model. Though by looking at analogues in competing consoles, we could perhaps expect a more powerful machine with a higher-resolution screen.

Of course, it could also represent the other end of the binary, with a more portable budget edition, we may see a more traditional, more powerful living room box. Don’t expect more power to bring Nintendo any closer to virtual reality than its cardboard efforts so far, though.

The WSJ reported that further information will likely be revealed at this year’s E3 in June. This year's event is set to be a little quieter, as EA announced it won't be running its conference showcase this year.


Staff Writer

Natalie Clayton is an Edinburgh-based freelance writer and game developer. Besides PCGamesInsider and Pocketgamer.biz, she's written across the games media landscape and was named in the 2018 GamesIndustry.biz 100 Rising Star list.