Nintendo had a lot of games to show off at this year"s E3, but there wasn"t any mention of new hardware during the event, despite earlier reports that new Switch models were in the works. Now, The Wall Street Journal - which also initially reported that such devices were being worked on - is saying that the new Switch models have entered production in southeast Asia.
Apparently, the company is moving production out of China due to the ongoing conflict between it and the United States. Not only are the two new models being produced there, but the current one is also moving to the new location, presumably in preparation for potential tariffs that the U.S. might impose on imports from China.
The report is somewhat short on details about the new hardware, but it does say that one of the two new models will look similar to the one we have now, but with upgraded specs. The other will be cheaper and come with a new look, though there"s no clear indication of what that could mean. Previous reports have suggested that Nintendo may do away with Joy-Con on the cheaper variant, building the controls into the main body of the console.
Aside from that, the report mentions that Nintendo wants to have enough units to sell in the United States when they arrive on the market, but no clear indication of when that might happen. The company had some trouble meeting demand in the first few months of the Switch"s lifetime, so it makes sense that it"s trying to preempt a similar situation this time around.