Smaller, cheaper Nintendo Switch coming this fall before more powerful version: Nikkei

Nintendo’s rumored cheaper version of the Switch is set to be released this fall, according to a report in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. As previously reported, the device is said to be smaller and geared around portable play, but Nikkei says it will retain the ability to be hooked up to a TV.

A more powerful “next-generation” version with a major redesign is further off, according to today’s report, although it’s not clear from the language whether Nikkei is referring to the enhanced Switch model that The Wall Street Journal has reported is likely to be coming this year.

Nikkei’s report largely focuses on the internal culture and future challenges faced by Nintendo. Among other anecdotes, it cites that a major parts supplier for the company only heard last December that development on the mysterious “Quality of Life” business had been halted — five years after it was first announced.

“Quality of Life” involved a sleep-tracking project spearheaded by former president Satoru Iwata, who died in 2015, and Nintendo expressed doubt over its viability soon after. A source speaking to Nikkei now says that the project was canceled because the company wasn’t able to make a “Nintendo-like product.”