TheNintendo Switchhas been on the market for over five years now. That’s enough time for many to start getting eager to see what’s next. And although recent updates from Nintendo suggest theyshouldn’t expect new Switch hardware any time soon, fans will find something new and Switch-n the near future, because Nintendo is reducing the size of the boxes its portable home console is being packaged in.
Video games have been a major chunk of the entertainment industry for a while now, and that success has naturally brought difficulties when it comes to meeting the overwhelming demand for new games and consoles. It can be a struggle at the best of times, and these days, with all the issues that have arisen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers have been having an especially rough time of it.
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As such, Nintendo is taking steps to streamline its process. Nikkei reports that the company will be shrinking the size ofSwitchboxes by 20%. This move is meant to improve efficiency by creating more available space when shipping consoles. The result is that Nintendo should be able to ship more consoles at once, while retailers should subsequently be able to fit more Switches on store shelves thanks to the smaller boxes.
This is hardly a new thing for Nintendo. In the past, the company did something similar with the 3DS by releasing later models without AC adapters so they could fit into smaller boxes. And the company has already been reducing packaging size for the Switch line with theNintendo Switch OLED modelreleased last year, so it makes sense that the company would eventually do the same with the base model.
Granted, smaller boxes won’t address the real issues still at work here, like the semiconductor shortage that’s been throwing a wrench in the assembly of new consoles across the industry. Experts have predicted the shortage could continue into next year, andNintendo is expecting to see a noticeable drop in Switch salesas a result of these supply issues. Still, making the move to more efficient packaging should help the company get more of the Switches it can manufacture into customers hands faster.
At over 111 million total units sold, the Switch is Nintendo’s best-selling home console, and despite being five years old and facing growing competition from Valve’s portable gaming PC, the Steam Deck, it looks set to continue selling well in 2022 and beyond. Withseveral highly-anticipated Switch gamesslated to launch within the coming year, includingSplatoon 3,Bayonetta 3,Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, andThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s sequel, it’s safe to say that Nintendo will be wanting as many Switches on store shelves as possible.
