Summary
A Taiwanese parts supplier suggested that theNintendo Switch 2mass production will begin no later than September 2024. Taken at face value, this time frame potentially helps narrow down the announcement window ofNintendo’s next console.
Nintendo previously confirmed theSwitch 2 will be revealed no later than March 2025, i.e., during its ongoing fiscal year. While the company said nothing about the console’s prospective release window, subsequent reports suggested that the much-anticipated device will not hit the store shelves before April 2025 at the very earliest.
Nintendo Switch 2 Mass Production Possibly Starting Soon
And while some industry watchers have long been predicting that the Switch 2 mass production will begin in late 2024, the first palpable evidence substantiating that theory has now emerged during a recent investor conference held by Weltrend Electronics, a Taiwan-based fabless semiconductor company. Specifically, the group reported that video game console orders are poised to increase during the third quarter of the year, largely thanks to “new models of the PS5, Xbox, and the Switch,“MoneyDJreports. The quote appears to be referencing the already announced disc-less Xbox Series X model, as well as themuch-rumored PS5 Proand Switch 2.
Nintendo Will Likely Want to Reveal Switch 2 Before Mass Production Starts
If the Switch 2 is indeed planned to enter mass production no later than September 2024, then its announcement is plausibly just around the corner. Namely, Nintendo will ostensibly want to avoid having factory floor leaks—which are essentially unavoidable from the moment mass production starts—spoiling the Switch 2 reveal; the only way to do so is to announce the console before starting to stockpile it. Therefore, if the production timeline that Weltrend Electronics hinted at is accurate, the console will likely either be announced or leak in its entirety by late summer or early fall 2024.
For reference, the Switch was announced in October 2016, then immediately entered mass production in the run-up to its March 2017 market release. Four and a half months of production proved insufficient to avoid launch shortages, which plagued the console until much later in the year. According to recent insider reports,Nintendo wants to avoid similar shortages with the Switch 2by any means necessary, even if it has to keep delaying the console until it estimates its inventory is large enough to meet the early demand.
Given how the company ostensibly hasn’t significantly increased its production capabilities over the past seven years, it stands to reason the Switch 2 will need to have a longer gap between its reveal and release than its predecessor did. This newly emerged information indicates that will indeed be the case, especially in light of recent reportssuggesting that the Switch successor will launch in Q2 2025. If April 2025 is the earliest the console will hit the market and its mass production is indeed beginning in September 2024, then Nintendo is planning to stockpile it for at least six months prior to its commercial debut, which could be enough to avoid shortages and prevent scalping.
