The Nintendo Switch has been selling hotcakes ever since its initial release in 2017. With an army of over 111 million units sold worldwide, demand for the system has yet to truly wane. While momentum has slowed some, it’s not due to a lack of interest, but rather, a lack of available units to ship.
Like most other products around the world, the supply chain of the videogame industry has been strained over the past two years. But, now things are on the rebound and Nintendo wants to get as many new units out in the wild as possible. To do this, it has decided to implement a pretty small change that has a large effect—smaller boxes = larger shipments.
As reported by Japanese publication Nikkei, the Nintendo Switch units produced from August 2022 onward will be shipped in smaller retail boxes; their volume has been reduced by about 20%. This results in a shape that’s now a little taller rather than longer, though still small enough to pack more units in bulk containers for shipping purposes.
You may recall not too long ago that Apple made the controversial move to stop including chargers with new iPhone releases. While this did result in a lot of backlash from some folks in the tech world initially, like many other “controversial” things Apple has done, it was eventually emulated by other companies and the vocal community has had no choice but to begrudgingly accept it.
While Apple did cite the primary reason for this being to help with being more “environmentally friendly”, another positive result of this move ended up being the same as what Nintendo is doing now: packing more units up for higher shipping volumes. Also, as Nintendo Everything points out, the reduced number of packaging materials in the smaller Switch boxes also will be a benefit to customers who are more environmentally conscious.
It may take a little while before you see the new Switch retail boxes out in the wild, but seeing that this change is beginning with units produced this month, they’ll more than likely begin to turn up in time for the holiday shopping season within the next few months.
Nintendo’s President, Shuntaro Furukawa, recently confirmed that the company will not be releasing any new hardware or announcing any new hardware within the next fiscal year. Nintendo’s fiscal year concludes every March, so this means that no new hardware can be expected before the end of March 2023. While this does not completely rule out the long-rumored “Switch Pro” from appearing perhaps late next year, Nintendo’s firm dismissal of the concept in addition to continued moves (such as this) to focus on the existing Switch family does indicate that the Nintendo Switch, as we know it, will still be around for a good while longer.
Sources: Nikkei // Nintendo Everything