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Nintendo is hoping to alleviate Switch supply issues by shrinking the console’s packaging and making it easier to ship more of them at once.
That’s according to a new report from the Japanese site Nikkei (opens in new tab), which specifies a roughly 20% size reduction for the box of the original Nintendo Switch beginning this month. The new OLED model already uses a different, slightly smaller box which was presumably designed to be more efficient than the original, and now it seems like the base model is following its lead.
“The aim is to increase the amount of supply to the world by improving transportation efficiency,” a machine translation of Nikkei’s report reads. In other words, Nintendo’s trimming packaging to pack more Switch consoles into shipping containers and vehicles and more readily resupply store shelves and reserves around the world. This won’t increase the global supply, but it could improve the average consumer’s access to the console.
Multiple global industries are still struggling with material and resource shortages, particularly a lack of superconductors used in a range of hardware including game consoles. Last year, Nintendo produced six million fewer Switch consoles than planned as a direct result of these shortages.
Nintendo recently claimed that it will ramp up Switch production in time for the 2022 holiday rush despite falling short of production targets throughout this year as well. Additionally, company president Shuntaro Furukawa stressed that demand continually outstripping supply won’t lead to a Switch price hike “at this point” to preserve the platform’s momentum and remain competitive on pricing in the broader entertainment industry.
A recent report suggests Nintendo won’t launch any new hardware before spring 2023 at a minimum.
