Rumor: Switch 2 Factory In China Ran Into Assembly Line Quality Issues

There’s a new rumor that could be concerning about the Switch 2, but could also explain why we have been waiting for longer than we expected for that announcement.

This rumor was posted on the NintendoSwitch2 subreddit by user eastbigye. They claim to have made contact with a factory worker who’s actually assembling the Switch 2 right now. The factory is based in Shangdong China, and is owned by a company called Mitsumi AKA Qingdao Sanmei. They shared a lot of details, but let’s get to the headline and why this rumor was worth reporting.

Here is the translation they provided for what this unnamed worker said about quality control in their factory:

“About quality, production environment.The new pro controller feels very good and is more delicate than the 1st generation. However, I don’t know how the quality control is. Many of the newly opened assembly lines have a large number of new people working on a temporary basis. There are few old employees.

At the beginning, screws were missed, buttons were missed, threads slipped, the paint surface of the button shell was scratched, and the buttons rebounded and became sticky. Various questions. The squad leader was so anxious that he was holding everyone in his mouth. It’s getting a lot better now. The basic quality inspection found any faults.

I’m afraid something might slip through the net. After buying it, check to see if there are any scratches on the handle and rocker. The right trigger button is most likely to stick and not bounce when pressed. Try it.”

Now, of course, even as we reported this rumor, we will point out that we have no way of verifying if eastbigye or their source is telling the truth. But assuming that all of it is true, they did describe this as a situation from when the factory started production of Switch 2 products, as it seems they’re making both the Switch 2 console and its Pro Controller. In spite of their worries, we should be hopeful that Nintendo’s quality assurance, which does go from the factory all the way through Nintendo of America themselves, will catch any bad batches before they get sold to consumers.

But the other point of consideration if this rumor is true, is it could explain why the Switch 2 has not been announced or released yet. In 1983, then Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi famously decided to recall manufactured and released Famicom units that turned out to be defective. At the time, this was a pricey decision for Yamauchi and Nintendo. But much like Microsoft’s decision to replace every defective Xbox 360 hit with the red ring of death, Nintendo chose to eat the losses to keep their reputation with the Japanese gaming public.

Our speculation is if Nintendo saw there were serious issues with Switch 2 manufacturing, even if only in some factories, that would have forced them to keep holding back the console’s announcement, even if they obviously did not want to. Paired with Nintendo’s desire to have a large stock of consoles ready for launch, Nintendo’s hands were tied about extending that delay.

On the flip side, it’s possible that Nintendo already dealt with these issues before Shuntaro Furukawa declared they would announce their next console before the end of this fiscal year. In which case, this rumor could possibly be months, even years old. And of course it’s possible that none of this is even true. The only thing we are certain is true, is that once again, we are ultimately waiting for Nintendo to make their announcement.