Nintendo Considers Switch Mini Variant For Even More Portable Gaming

It is standard procedure for console makers to release slimmer versions of their flagship game systems. Sometimes they come with upgraded hardware, too. A recent example is the Xbox One S, a more compact version of the Xbox One with a few nifty upgrades, such as support for 4K playback and upscaling. Well, it is not just Microsoft and Sony that see the benefit in offering thinner versions of their respective consoles, Nintendo is apparently considering the same thing with its crazy popular Switch system.

There are reports and chatter among analysts that Nintendo will not only shrink the Switch, but also beef up the hardware inside. The Switch Mini, as it's been unofficially dubbed, would offer greater portability and faster performance. Nintendo could even bump the resolution of the Switch's built in display if it goes that route, though obviously nothing is concrete at this point.

Why bother when the Switch is already so popular? According to Citigroup, building out a smaller version of the Switch could help attract younger users—kids, basically—who find the current Switch design a little too large for their hands. A Switch Mini wouldn't be quite so unwieldy in the smaller grips of a child. Kids would also benefit from a lighter design. So in short, Nintendo would be thinking of the children—oh, the children!


Of course, adults might also appreciate a more portable version of the Switch, especially if it included some other key upgrades. As it turns out, the Switch is powered by a regular ol' Tegra X1 SoC from NVIDIA, and not a custom chipset as originally thought.

In the meantime, Nintendo needs to focus on supplying the market with enough first generation Switch consoles to meet demand. Woe is the gamer who badly ones to get his or hands on one—they're incredibly difficult to obtain, and when stores do get limited stock from new shipments, they sell out immediately.

The Switch is officially Nintendo's fastest selling game console to date. After bursting out of the gate with more sales in the first two days than any other console in Nintendo's history was able to achieve at launch, the Switch has gone on to sell more than 906,000 units in the United States in March.